The outcomes of our summer research have allowed us to make decisions regarding the design of the product and will allow us to create a physical prototype of the product that is informed by research.
We conducted a literature review that included 15 scientific articles found from the University of Michigan library as well as in the reference section of other papers. The biggest outcome of this was the work we put into solidifying our values, and because one of the biggest results was that consumers want to see those clearly defined values, we want to list them on our website and social media platforms so that they can be seen and we can be held accountable to those values. Those posts will be part of what we plan to do in the fall.
The survey we worked on received complete responses from 175 people living in the US who use makeup. We were able to conclude from their responses that there is an interest in the multi-use balm from our target audience and that consumers believe it is also more sustainable than a single-purpose balm. This will allow us to proceed in the fall knowing that the product we are developing will be effective and impactful. Other outcomes from this survey was that we were able to decide that we will have a recycling program for any non compostable packaging and we decided on a color for the multi-use balm. For the color we chose cherry red as it was one of the moderate colors that was not as polarizing and we want to produce something everyone can enjoy. Additionally, as there was not a significant difference between the two moderate colors in participant preference we went with our personal preference.
We realized the importance of research and this research helped us finalize a lot of aspects of our project, like the color of the project and type of packaging. It also led us to sit down and solidify our values as a team, and lay out how we can keep with those values as we move forward with the project. Part of our values was making sure that we are listening to what our target audience actually wants, and so we realized that we want to continue our research via conducting focus groups after having prototypes of the final product. We also want to do another literature review to learn more about marketing – social media and cosmetic marketing in particular.
Finally working with a chemist to turn our idea into reality (we got our first samples recently)! And also getting the sample containers from manufacturers. We’re so excited for everything to come together.
So far this fall we have been able to order samples of three different types of packaging we could use to hold the balm in, and have been building relationships with the suppliers over email(talking about the project timeline, price, materials, design, etc.) so that when we do decide we will be ready to move forward with them and order the actual packaging. We have also received and tested the formula samples from the chemist and will send that feedback to them shortly so that they can move onto the next round. Besides this we have created a draft of questions we would like to ask in the focus groups and have been discussing the format in which we will hold them. A lot of what has influenced this success is sitting down together and talking through what we have done and next steps.
We’re behind on starting the social media sites, this will soon take top priority.
The biggest challenge has been time. And making sure we are staying on track. That can be difficult when it isn’t just us working on it but we have to wait also for the people we are working with. Like the chemist, and the packaging manufacturers to get back with us on emails. To mitigate this challenges we can plan ahead and make sure we are keeping realistic timelines for everyone involved and sticking to them. And that means talking to the chemist and the manufacturers about our timelines and thiers.
One thing we are going to do is to look to add another person to our team this month who can help us get back on track with the social media side of things.
I think managing time and not getting behind will continue to be our biggest challenge because with classes and exams everything can get a little hectic. To avoid this I think the biggest thing we can do to try and avoid this happening is to plan ahead. And do a bit more one week if we know that the next we have a big exam.
We think the weekly check-ins with Sarah have been really helpful in keeping us on track and talking out any problems we come across. Right now we think that having that time to talk out the logistics of planning the focus groups and then after that any resources that can help us best analyze the results of the focus groups
