Beginning point:
I believe there is an opportunity to decrease food waste when
college students buy groceries they cannot finish. The unmet need is a grocery
store that sells quality groceries in smaller sizes/quantities at an affordable
cost. People who have the need are students who grocery shop for only
themselves (no spouses or sibling to share groceries) or adults who live by
themselves. When college students buy groceries (e.g bread, vegetables, cereal,
hummus, other perishable foods), the foods come in larger portions and will go
stale/rot/be inedible by the time the single consumer will finish. The need has
always existed but I believe people haven’t thought about creating a specialty
grocery store for those needs. Often times, a single consumer only needs enough
for one serving. Currently, people are meeting this need of over stocking their
fridge with food they cannot finish by just accepting that grocery stores do
not carry smaller servings/individual servings. They simply buy the food and
finish what they can and dispose of the rest (which increases food waste and
our greenhouse gases). I am 70% sure this need exists.
Identifying the prototypical customer:
A prototypical customer for the new grocery store is the
college student living by themselves (either in a dorm or apartment), that
cooks for themselves or even a working person that lives by themselves. Anyone
who cooks or buys food and finds themselves throwing away most of the food they
bought because it was too much for them alone to finish, can benefit from this
store.
Interviews:
Interview #1:
Type of customer: dedicated to grocery shopping, college
student, lives in an apartment with 3 other roommates
1.
How often do you go grocery shopping? Why?
a.
Every week because I meal prep at the end of
every week to prepare for the next one.
2.
Do you finish all of your groceries that you purchase?
a.
Yes, I use most if not all of it in meal prep
but sometimes I do have leftover fruit or vegetables or milk that goes bad.
3.
What are your thoughts on when grocery stores
sell you more than what you need?
a.
I’m glad they sell food in large quantities,
when I meal prep, I need more than one chicken breast or more than a couple of
eggs, but I do wish that some foods were sold in smaller quantities.
4.
How often do you throw away food you do not
finish?
a.
I probably throw away food a couple times every
2 weeks.
Reflection- This person would be
great for my opportunity but I do have to keep in mind people that meal prep
that want larger portions of food when they go grocery shopping. I think now my
store can be a “you only buy as much as you want” type of store (i.e if you only
want a cup of rice or 1 celery stalk, you can).
Interview #2:
Type of customer: not dedicated to grocery shopping, college
student living by themselves.
1.
How often do you go grocery shopping? Why?
a.
I don’t really go grocery shopping because I
usually just eat out at restaurants but sometimes I’ll get groceries from
Publix or where ever.
2.
Do you finish all of your groceries that you purchase?
a.
Not really, because I just buy groceries
sometimes from the store and I’ll forget about it for a while since I eat out. So
by the time I get to them again, I have to throw it away.
3.
What are your thoughts on when grocery stores
sell you more than what you need?
a.
It sucks that food goes to waste because I don’t
ever cook but when I do, I only cook for myself so sometimes I only want enough
for myself, most stores don’t really sell that.
4.
How often do you throw away food you do not
finish?
a.
Maybe 6 times a month, randomly, depending on
how much I eat out that month.
Reflection- This person doesn’t
really cook and eats out most of the time which still makes them a possible
customer for the grocery store. They would not be a loyal customer since their
primary focus is eating out with the occasional home made meal.
Interview #3:
Type of customer: Working person, not committed to cooking but not opposed to
it, lives by themselves.
1.
How often do you go grocery shopping? Why?
a.
It depends, I only go if I feel like cooking or
I try to make food with whatever I have leftover/laying around. I don’t really
care about cooking.
2.
Do you finish all of your groceries that you purchase?
a.
Sometimes, I just throw something in the freezer
if I think it’s about to go bad.
3.
What are your thoughts on when grocery stores
sell you more than what you need?
a.
I wish stores had single serving bread or
smaller amounts of food but it’s expensive to buy in single serving.
4.
How often do you throw away food you do not
finish?
a.
I usually throw away milk and vegetables or
whatever else, every 2 weeks.
Reflection- This person made me
realized foods that people purchase often should be the focus; foods that
people do not purchase often (e.g rice, seasonings, dressings) do not need to
be purchase in bulk or by single serving. They also emphasize single serving
foods which reinforces my idea for that.
Summary:
The idea of a grocery store that
sells only as much as customers need, is still there. Though the interviews made
it clear I still have to work on small details and whether I want the store to
be a “single serving” store or one where customers can purchase as much as they’d
like, I think it’ll be useful to give consumers more control of the quantities
which will in turn reduce their overall food waste. I believe entrepreneurs
should adapt to the needs of the consumers because the customers are what
support the business or idea the entrepreneur. The idea can be overall the same,
but small details can be adapted to what customers need more of.
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