Product Design / Strategy
Product concept for Savannah Bee Company
Challenge
Savannah Bee Company is an American brand known for its honey varieties, honey-based beauty products, and national meads. It was founded with the mission of educating people about the important role bees play as pollinators of our food.
The design team was challenged to conceptualize a radical innovation to help the company grow and support its mission.
Courtesy of Savannah Bee Company
Research
Field Research and Interviews
We spent a week doing field visits to the local store and bee garden, where we interviewed sales associates, customers and beekeepers to gain a better understanding of the the client needs and the brand purpose and vision.
Trend Research
Four relevant trends for the market and business were identified:
- 41% of global beauty consumers use a DIY product monthly.
- 71% of Americans prefer prefer to self-serve .
- 71% of Americans prefer prefer to self-serve .
- Millennials value customized products.
- 50% of Americans have turned to a natural remedy to treat an ailment, rather than prescription medication.
Competitive Research
The team researched local and international brands that sell honey-based products to identify the areas of opportunity for Savannah Bee Company.
Data Analysis
Product Mix Analysis
The team did a product mix analysis to identify which product lines had more potential for expansion and which ones should be reconsidered. The team identified an opportunity to link 3 of the most popular items from the company - Wellness, Food and Beauty.
Empathy Map
A set of empathy maps were created to gain a deeper insight into the brand's current and potential customers. One of them described users interested in natural DIY beauty products and the other one people who look for natural remedies.
Competitive Map
To identify an opportunity and advantage for Savannah Bee Company competitors were positioned on two different competitive map. The attributes on each map were chosen based on the market trends and brand purpose data obtained during the research phase.
Opportunity
There is an opportunity to strengthen Savannah Bee Company's offering by developing a line of customized natural remedies that combines the brand's flagship products and provides an educational self-service experience.
Solution
In order to expand the product line of the organization and elevate its customer experience in multiple point of sales, we proposed a touchscreen honey infuser machine that provides a custom-made experience to users for creating natural honey-based remedies for their common health and beauty needs such as a sore throat, dry skin, and lack of sleep.
Product Design and Experience
The honey infuser concept was designed to reflect the Savannah Bee Co. commitment to the environment and education.
The exterior of the product was designed to resemble wooden beehives and to repurpose old wooden beehives from the company's farm.
The touchscreen takes customers on a virtual pollination journey where they can select the type of remedy they need while learning about the benefits of honey infusions.
Users start by selecting the type of concern they want to address - Health or Beauty - followed by a selection of ingredients that combined with the brand's honey varieties will address their need.
By the end of the process, the customer walks away with a tailored honey jar full of benefits and promised potential.
Future Opportunities
The honey infuser experience could represent an opportunity for the brand to create and expand a new line of infused honey products such as at-home honey infusers, infuser pods, and retail honey dispensers.
