Testing the Hypothesis (II)

         The opportunity presented from my previous post revolves around a goal of healthy diet and living for college and university communities. However, this goal has certain boundaries, due to both physical, mental, and economic barriers.

         When discussing these boundaries, we must discuss three categories of questions regarding who, what, and why people are affected. I interviewed 5 individuals (backgrounds can be seen below) and asked questions focusing around why my opportunity does not apply to them.

QUESTIONS

1.     Do you consider yourself to have a healthy diet?

2.     Do you have a solid concept on the fundamentals of nutrition?

3.     How many times a week do you eat at a restaurant or fast-food establishment?

4.     How many times a week do you cook or prepare your own food?

5.     What kind of diet lifestyle do you follow? (ex. Vegan, paleo, omnivore)

6.     Do you have any health problems?

o   If so, do these health problems affect what you can and cannot eat?

BACKGROUND (INTERVIEWEES)

1.     Male, Caucasian, Active lifestyle

2.     Male, Asian, Active lifestyle

3.     Female, Asian, Sedentary lifestyle

4.     Male, African American, Sedentary lifestyle

5.     Female, Hispanic, Active lifestyle

WHO

The interviewees’ answers tended toward lifestyles of physical activity, basic grasps of nutrition, and replacement of restaurant food with home-cooked meals. This was an interesting side to see as it allowed me to gain a perception of a consumer with little use for the opportunity I have presented.

Some of the interviewees, when given an idea of how the opportunity could become tangible, were still interested. One stated that “although I don’t eat out often, it would be nice to be able to track and know what exactly I’m eating. Also, I don’t like to eat heavier meals, so seeing a calorie count could be nice”. Another interviewee stated interest citing that she would like to see transparent information regarding ingredients and nutrition of restaurants so that she could make “healthier versions of take-out food”.

With my focus on interviewees who either had an active lifestyle or kept their personal eating habits accountable (or both!) it seems like these ‘potential’ consumers already have created access to nutritional information and have applied it to their own lives.

Certain businesses, primarily specialized or local restaurants, fit within this interest, but may not have the available financial resources to track and compute the nutritional data on their menu. Smaller restaurants may not have the manpower or care to do so, and larger restaurants may simply have too many items and/or variations of said items to keep track of such data.

WHAT

Looking at my opportunity critically, there may be too thin of a line of differentiation between a university display of nutrition compared to the national mandate that nutritional information be available publicly within fast-food and restaurant chains.

This concern comes from both the interviews and reflection of the idea of the opportunity. One of the interviewees mentioned that he eats out about 3 times a week, but that nutritional information is usually readily available when asked for at the restaurant. Additionally, since federal law mandates nutritional information to be available, there may not be enough interest for a separate program or system to be put in place. This interest would primarily be towards a financial concern, where redundancy often leads to disinterest.

WHY

When analyzing the need of the people regarding the opportunity, I feel as if the underlying cause tends to be related to motivation. This second set of interviewees were more interested in bettering their personal health and fitness, especially through diet, which allowed them to capitalize on their nutritional knowledge. This resulted in less need for the opportunity given, illustrating the boundaries of said opportunity.

INSIDE	OUTSIDE
WHO Busy/lazy students, professors, employees	WHO Those with initial knowledge and/or time
WHAT Information and guidance for healthy eating habits and restaurants	WHAT Not a replacement for readily available information or motivation for health-dedicated individuals
WHY University/college communities don’t have transparent & available access to diverse options for food that may relate to a healthier lifestyle	WHY Universities will not fund information that is already deemed available, and restaurants may be limited in their ability to provide specific nutritional information