Opportunity Belief

BELIEFS

Out of the bugs I tinkered with, I believe the idea relating to grocery-carrying bags may be the most applicable.

The unmet need relating to these bags relates to a bag with a strong enough material that has the option of being re-used for its purpose, but not having to be re-used if the consumer does not wish to do so.

Middle class households and their heads are the primary consumers that this bug targets. These people have a stable income that allows spending for an “accessory” item, while being educated to be driven towards an environmentally friendly choice.

This need has always existed, but there has never been a cost-efficient or consumer-appropriate way to funnel these needs.

People often use simple paper bags or reusable options with plastic materials/nylons. Sometimes these options are sold/sponsored by the grocery chains themselves, making them their own niche market. From this standpoint, I’d assume there is about a 20% chance that this opportunity exists; it just depends on the ambitions of the developer and the appeal/marketing to the consumer.

CUSTOMERS

I gathered three prototypical [target] customers that gave some insight related to the opportunity:

Question: How often do you buy groceries a month?

1. “Two times a week, as I like to keep a fresh fridge.”
2. “Once a week.”
3. “About once a week, to try and eat healthy and grab snacks.”

Question: Do you ever use a re-useable bag for your groceries? If so, how much did it cost to acquire such a bag?

1. “No.”
2. “Yes, I actually have three! I like to bring them because I have larger loads of groceries since I go once a week, and they can fit more stuff in less bags!” “I just use the store bags, and I think they were about $3 a piece? But I also, get a discount with them!”
3. “No.” “I don’t feel like buying those bags because I feel as if I would forget to use them.”

Question: If you have/were to have a reusable bag for your groceries, what would be the single most important feature it could have?

1. “Probably weather-proof. I don’t want to be going out in the rain if I have to and get all of my groceries soaked. That’s gross.”
2. “I like that they’re more environmentally friendly because I feel bad about having to use so much plastic whenever I went grocery shopping." “Also, since my bags are through the store, I guess another nice feature is that I do get the discount. Makes everything cheaper.”
3. “Storage because I buy A LOT of snacks. But seriously, it would be nice to be able to possibly separate certain areas in a reusable, aka hot and cold and wet/dry.”

Question: Why do you/don’t you use a reusable bag for your groceries?

1. “Honestly, I’m just too lazy to buy one and remember to bring it to the store. I feel kind of bad for saying that because I feel like I’m bullying the earth with all the plastic I use. Maybe next time I’ll use paper.”
2. “They make my life easier and I feel as if I’m helping the Earth a little bit by not using the throw-away bags.”
3. “I just don’t feel like spending money to buy bags *laughs*. I re-use the plastic bags for trash bins so I don’t feel as bad when I use them to throw things away later in.”

Question: Would you be willing to pay a premium price for bag that offers more capabilities/design than a standard reusable bag offered by a grocery store? Why or why not?

1. “It depends on what it offers. Also, it can’t look ugly because I’m not walking around the store with some 10 ft. bag that has zebra stripes on it!” “If it was rain-proof and looked nice, then maybe. But it also has to be reasonably priced, because those bags are free at the grocery store for a reason man.”
2. “Probably not, as I feel as if with the discount given for me, it’s not really worth it. Maybe if the store accepts any kind of reusable bag, and there’s some sort of special pouch that makes everything easier I might think about it. Otherwise, I’m just going to stick my bags that I already have.”
3. “Nah. I just don’t see the point, since honestly the bags they give out I actually use a lot. So probably not. Unless it’s free too! Or they pay me *laughs*.”

REFLECTION

                I learned that my opportunity is probably aimed at a very specific niche market/clientele. It seems like the need for the grocery bags is already achieved through free efforts that outweigh the disadvantages such as flimsy material structure. The most surprising thing I learned was that most people would not mind to use a bag, simply for the environmental standards/morality. All three interviewees mentioned they felt bad about the amount of plastic used for standard grocery bags, but only one of them really felt the need to take action on their personal beliefs.

SUMMARY

I don’t believe much of the original opportunity is there. I feel as if a large amount of marketing and networking within major food/grocery chains would need to be achieved in order to make the brand effective.

I think the opportunity has gotten more focused than what I started with, as originally I only focused on the material of the bag. It seems like customers would be possibly more focused on the ergonomics and environmental ramifications of its usage/production.

When crowd-sourcing ideas, the core values of the producers should stay the same. If the aim of creating a product is to primarily increase awareness of a subject, then that core principle should stay. If consumers are indicating toward a specific market/area of interest for that principle, then that is where the producer should lean.