Opportunity Belief

A natural alternative to caffeine/ coffee to jumpstart one’s day

  The unmet need is the necessity to not feel sluggish during the day because they did not get enough sleep or had too much sleep leading to grogginess and under productivity. Furthermore, the individuals who has this need are those who have to get up early in the morning either for school or work, and this need came from the necessity to earn a degree/ education or the need to make a living in today’s modernized, competitive world. Now, people are meeting this need by drinking caffeinated beverages whether that being coffee or energy drinks that may not be the healthiest for people. With the aforementioned criteria and the importance of being alert and attentive in society, I would say that this opportunity exists at a 70% level.

  In essence the prototypical customer for this product is 16-65 years old for those in high school to adult life until the range where health risk could rise due to over activity due to caffeinated drinks, no particular gender, all class, no specific marital status, and all age ranges.

Interview 1: 

  Led to an interest in the product and the answers seemingly supported the idea to have a natural alternative to coffee because of their need to wake up early to be at the hospital to work. Coffee has been the main source of their energy to wake up early and get through their long shift. They are open to finding a new avenue to get their energy levels up that does not involve coffee.

Interview 2: 

  After the second interview, the person who has a 8:30 lab class for his engineering major found that Monster energy drinks would suffice him to get through the lab and complete his homework later in the day. He has always been aware of his need to consume caffeine to focus and make sure his course load of work is completed by their due dates. Since high school he has needed various forms of caffeinated beverages to make it through his days of classes and part time jobs. He wasn’t open to the idea of a natural alternative to caffeine let alone his favorite Monster energy drink.

Interview 3: 

  The final interview consisted of someone who works at a local Gainesville restaurant who finds the need to use caffeine pills to get through her shift at work. She has been aware of her need since she started working at the restaurant to make sure she works at peak performance however this need only occurs sometimes depending on her energy level and mood. She would be open to a natural alternative to caffeine pills that would give her a similar boost to energy without the possible side effects.

Reflection: 

  I learned that my opportunity does have some grounds in reality even though there are some people who have brand loyalty to coffees or energy drinks. The most surprising thing was that despite the increasingly need for healthy alternatives to common consumables some people are willing to stick to unhealthy means to maintain their lifestyle that they have known for so long.

Summary: 

  Much of my original opportunity is still there despite realizing that some people would rather drink coffee or energy drinks. I would say that the percentage from the being of the trial as decreased to about 60-65%. With that being said my opportunity is not more accurate than when I started due to my realization. Finally, I believe that there exists a trade-off between adapting and staying firm on your idea due to you either change your product or incur the risk of not making it to market or earning any revenue. For my partial scenario I would stay firm, however, because the whole point was to create an alternative to caffeinated drinks or caffeinated supplements. If I were to adapt it, it would lose its original purpose in my opinion.