25A – What’s Next?

What I Think Is Next: I plan on implementing a cooling system in The Spicer, which allows cooks to store fresh herbs, such as basil, mint, and rosemary. Fresh herbs can be used for cocktails, desserts, and dinner recipes. I also plan on improving the machine by adding a Smart device system. Now customers will be able to measuring spices using their Iphone or voice command. This will be helpful when cooks are busy making two things at once or when their hands are unclean for measuring. They will no longer have to stop what they are doing to measure ingredients, but can use voice command.

Existing Market Interviews:
Number One: Female, junior in college age 21
1. Reaction to what I think is next: It would be cool to have both dry and the fresh herbs, for example parsley and basil are better fresh while red pepper flakes are better dry. I would use the smart device function. For example, while tenderizing meat I could ask the machine to measuring out spices, which would save me time.
2. What should we be doing that we are not planning to do? When you add the Smart Device you should not only have it measure spices, but also allow it to inform the cook information about the spice. Program the machine to describe the taste of the spice the cook is adding. For example when dispensing basil the machine would tell the cook what other spices would be a good compliment with it.
3. What would the customer want next? Customer would want an add on device that chops, minces, or diced vegetables.

Number Two: Female junior in college age 21
1. Reaction to what I think is next: I think the new ideas are very useful. A place to preserve fresh herbs is very beneficial. It frees up space in the refrigerator.. I would not use an app on my iphone to control the device. It seems like more work than just selecting the spice by hands. On the other hand, I would use the voice command. This would be great to utilize when reading off a recipe.
2. What should we be doing that we are not planning to do? It would be good to increase the size of the machine to hold not only spices, but other dry ingredients such as flour. Most of the time I measure out all my dry ingredient at the same time, so it would be more convenient for me to have them all in the same place.
3. What would the customer want next? Customers want a larger selection of spices instead of only 12-15.

Number Three: Female senior in college age 21
1. Reaction to what I think is next: The Spice is a great product idea. I would buy it. Just over the weekend my mom asked me to measure a specific amount of rosemary and thyme for a steak sauce we were making and I had no idea how much to add. The new ideas are really creative and beneficial. Millennial love apps, so being able to control the device through your phone is a good idea. Since you are targeting a young audience they will be tech savvy.
2. What should we be doing that we are not planning to do? I would want the machine to alert me when the spices are running low. Whether it be a button that lights up on the machine or a notification on my phone something that allows me to know when to refill the spices.
3. What would the customer want next? I would want the machine to be pre-programmed with my favorite recipes. This would allow me to chose the recipe I was cooking, so The Spicer could dispense the ingredients I needed without having to tell it.

Reflection: 
After interviewing three people in my current market I now know what to improve to continue to grow in this market. All three people loved my new ideas of adding a cooling system and artificial intelligent to the design. Most of the new concepts my interviewees created were based of artificial intelligence.

My first interviewee was interested in programming the machine to describe the taste of each spice when dispensed. She also wanted to add an application that automatically chops vegetables. My second interviewee advised me to make the machine larger so she could store more cooking ingredient such as flour. She was also interested in increasing the number of spice holders. My third interviewee wanted the machine to signal here when spices were getting low. She also wanted The Spice to be pre-programmed with recipes, so she would not have to tell the machine what spices she needed. All three interviewees gave me great, innovative ideas on how to improve my product.

New Market: Since my current target audience is young adults, my new market will be an older generation. Some of the ways my product could be modified to better meet this market include making the font on the machine larger, creating a thorough user guide, and making sure the process is as easy as possible. Since my product is already very easy to use the only issue I see would be with technology. Some of the older generation are not as tech savvy, so using an Iphone to control the machine may be a problem.

New Market Interviews
Number One: Male, age 67
1. Reaction to what I think is next: I think it's a great idea to add a cooling system to store fresh herbs. This new invention gives you another selling point. I personally would not use the app function, since I do not own an Iphone. I would use the voice command function if it was simple and easy to understand.
2. How do think my business might help customers like you? When my eye sight was bad after surgery it was hard for me to read the small labels of the spices.The machine would have helped me to read the labels. It would also make me want to cook more since the process of preparing ingredient would be easier.
3. What adaptions would need to be added to make the product successful in your market? I would would want the company to provide a money back guarantee and a decent warranty for a year if the product broke.

Number Two: Female, age 61
1. Reaction to what I think is next: As a gardner I really enjoy the cooling system. It would help me store spices from my garden or the farmers market. I would not use the app function. I am not proficient with technology so it would just slow me down. I would use the voice command though.
2. How do think my business might help customers like you? Since all the spices are in one place it would help me with organization. The price point would be a big factor for me, since I already have many spices. I would rather buy this for a gift for someone else like a new bride.
3. What adaptions would need to be added to make the product successful in your market? I would need a simple user guide. I struggling with setting up devices, so it would be helpful if the machine  had a button that played the set up direction out loud.

Reflection:
What surprised me the most was this market's concern for price. Since most people in this age range are close to retiring I assumed they would not be worried about money compared with the younger generation. My first interviewee pointed out a money back guarantee and a decent warranty. While my second interviewee said price would be a large buying factor.

My assumption about creating a set up manual was correct. I also was corrected about technology possibly being an issue. My first interviewee did not own an iphone, so my new invention would not be applicable to him. This new market is not as attractive as my existing market. As a result of being an experienced cook, it would be more convenient for them to estimate the spices rather than purchasing a new product.