Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

1: Owner of Bakery (44M):

            I chose to interview this baker because I suspected that although his business may have the need for better bagging solutions, it probably lies outside the boundaries of my scope and outside of his consciousness. For instance, think of times when customers pastries get melty in the hot sun. However, I’m not sure that many people ever think to attribute this to the boxes they’re put in.

            During my interview, I asked him if he has ever had any complaints from customers about the bags/boxes he uses (for pastries, cakes, etc.). He was surprised that I asked, and said no, not really. He already has a pretty good solution for the bigger ticket items like cakes (thick white boxes), and the donuts always stay pretty temperate. Besides, people enjoy when they are a little melty.

            This was a good perspective to have, as it allowed me to see that even takeout from places like bakeries was out of my scope. In this circumstance, it’s almost like customers enjoy the experience of a slightly melted, warm donut, and the important cold items are just shielded in massive boxes as has become so accustomed. They are less worried about the weight, so they don’t care for a lightweight solution. Additionally, they don’t have to worry about things melting through the bags or boxes.

2: Manager at upscale steakhouse (32F):

            I chose to interview this manager because I wanted to test the boundaries of my product in the upscale food industry. I was unsure just how much takeout was common, if at all offered, at such places. Additionally, I wanted to gauge if they had the need.

            During my interview, I asked the manager if she’s ever had any complaints with how they bag things. She said no, and that in all honesty, it was rare when a customer asked for them to bag their food up to take it home for leftovers. Many of the wealthier customers simply did not care for such things and always preferred it to be fresh. When someone did ask them to bag, they never said anything about the branded plastic bags they provided.

            This was an interesting realization, because it showed that not all places who could offer takeout/carryout actually end up offering it due to the desires and wants of their customer base. This is definitely something that I need to keep in mind- sometimes customers are conscious that they DON’T need my product! They care about freshness and quality, not keeping their takeout warm.

3: Ice Cream Parlor Manager (27F):

            I chose to interview this manager because I wanted to see if my product(s) could have any potential use in the frozen treats/foods business. This would help me further focus and define my market scope.

            I asked the manager how often that she has customers getting ice cream to go, and she honestly said that it’s less than 10% of customers. In such an event, customers usually end up walking around the downtown area surrounding the parlor anyways, so it would be just like if they were sitting down and eating in the parlor. Thus, she has never had any instances of customers complaining about their ice cream melting too fast- the paper cups and waffle cones suffice plenty well.

            The parlor also offers ice cream cakes from time to time, but they offer big thick white boxes (like the baker) to keep their customer’s purchase nice and cold. Thus, they have no need in this domain either. From this interview, I was able to deduce that I can rule out places that offer icecream/frozen treats since they don’t have much of a customer base that could benefit from my products. If anything, they care about the taste and in person eating experience at the parlor, getting away from reality for a little. This is something I will keep in mind going forward.

4: Mom & Pop Sandwich Shop owner (55M):

            I chose to interview the owner of this local family-owned sandwich shop because I wanted to gauge if local, family-owned places and their customer base were a good target for my products. I remember when I was a kid, my family would get takeout about 2-3 times a week from the same shop in Chicago. This has always been a trend in my family. However, one thing that I remembered was that we never had issues with our food being cold or, if it was, we never even thought twice because we loved the food and the owners so much.

            I asked the owner what percentage of his customers typically order takeout, and he said about 80%. They didn’t have much room for seating in their shop, and most of their business comes around lunch and dinner time, so most people seem to prefer takeout. I asked if he’s ever had issues with customers being unhappy with how warm (or cold) their food was, and he said no, not in particular. He has a lot of regulars at the shop who have been ordering for years, and they are all very friendly. This leads me to believe that when restaurants can develop a good, intimate relationship with a customer, the customer usually tends to overlook the little things like lukewarm takeout or minor imperfections. The experience makes up for it.

            Thus, from this I was able to learn that sometimes having a loyal customer base isn’t always a good thing from my perspective, because the customers may at times be loyal to a fault and won’t be quick to find faults.

5: Butcher (37M):

            I chose to interview this butcher because I wanted to see if my products could potentially be expanded more into the market of groceries/specialty food items (meats, sausages, cheeses, etc.). Although this is a fairly niche market, they still do a good deal of business and tend to have very loyal, intimate customer bases.

            I asked the butcher if he has ever had customers complain about how he packages/bags things, and he flat out said no. He takes a great deal of time in wrapping all of his meats and cheeses in thick, white paper that he wraps multiple times to keep his products fresh and cold for his customers. He also offers thick brown paper bags to all of his customers for further protection. It’s something he’s very cognizant of, so he’s very quick to make sure there are no issues in that area. The last thing he needs is for one of his customer’s products to go bad and to get them sick.

            This helped me to realize that although businesses may all be in the same domain (food and eateries), they all have vastly different needs and customer bases with their own unique needs. Thus, when I am evaluating who to market my products at, I need to make sure it is businesses (and their customers) who actually have the need on a day to day, conscious basis.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the boundary
Fast Food Restaurants (chains like McDonalds, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A… places with a drive through that do lots of greasy and fast food) and their customers.	Sit-down restaurants, grocery stores/ butchers, ice cream parlors/ bakeries, mom and pop shops with loyal customers, upscale eateries, etc.
The need is for a cheap, lightweight, insulated, waterproof bag to keep customers food warm, and to keep grease or juice from leaking out of the bag into their cars/scooters/etc.	The need is NOT for groceries, take home food after eating (leftovers), ice cream, pastries, desserts, things of this nature that already have solutions/do not have the aforementioned problem.
The need exists because businesses (and their customers) are conscious of the fact that there currently does not exist a good solution that solves their issues and associated inconveniences (mentioned above).	Many of these places simply do not have the needs because their customers do not have the awareness- an issue or problem isn’t truly either of those unless there is consciousness of it in the person having it. It really is that simple. Solutions either already exist or do not need to exist.