Blog Post #1: Week of March 4
What is your product idea and who is your audience:
My product idea is pizza-stuffed spring rolls, basically just spring roll wrap filled with pizza ingredients like cheese, sauce, and toppings, then fried until crispy. Pizza-stuffed spring rolls can appeal to families and children who enjoy pizza but also Chinese cuisine. Spring rolls can be an alternative for kids’ lunches or after-school snacks because they are bite-sized and easy to carry.
What are your plans for data collection and modeling, as a group or individual:
Our plan for data collecting is to create a survey using Google Forms and do research on similar products. I also plan to use Excel to create tables and calculate the price it will be for the spring rolls along with our marketing price and profit.
What is your role in the team:
My role in the team is to create a recipe for our product and the number of ingredients needed, including the pizza fillings, spring roll wrappers, and any additional toppings or sauce, and financial planning. I need to determine the portion of ingredients needed for each spring roll and the cost it is to make. I also need to decide the amount we will sell each box of spring rolls and the number of spring rolls that will be in each box/packaging. I need to make sure we make a profit on the products by pricing the product at a higher price than the production and packaging cost.
Blog Post #2: Week of March 11
What progress has your team made so far? Have any new ideas, questions, or challenges arisen from this work?
My group has made a lot of progress in creating our product. Currently we created a product design/logo and name. We decided to name our product Italian Spring Bites, a mix of Italian and Asian cuisine. Alongside this, I did the financial planning and recipe/ingredients needed. We decided to use 2 different flavors, cheese, and pepperoni, with pepperoni being a bit pricier than the cheese. Overall, the main challenge we faced was collaborating, but other than that, our group was able to decide and agree on each other’s roles and ideas.
What progress have you and your group made on collecting data? How was it collected? How has that supported your design choices?
My group made progress by creating a product survey to establish our target audience and the product they preferred. Along with this, two logos were produced, and a vote among random ISB students determined which logo we should choose. I also went to Walmart’s website and researched the ingredients we should use, and the pricing, including the calories in each item.
Have you worked on visual or financial modeling? If so, provide some insight into those processes.
I have worked on financial modeling by creating an Excel sheet and collecting data on the price it would take to create one spring roll and the amount it would take to create 5 (the amount in each box of Italian Spring Bites). I also calculated the price I would sell each box for and the profit we would be making for selling 1 box. I calculated this by subtracting the price we will sell each box for by the base price of one box and finally dividing it again by the base price and multiplying it by 100 to return the profit percent increase.
Blog Post #3: March 18th
Ensure you’ve reflected on data collection and visual/financial modeling completed by the team
Do you feel that your product has met the goals you set at the start of the process? Did design choices still fit your target audience? What would you do if you had more time or resources?
Yes, I believe our product met our expectations and we were able to complete every goal we set for ourselves. Although we may have had a rough start and trouble deciding what to do our group was finally able to agree and distribute tasks amongst one another. Our design still appeals to our target audience, but I believe it can extend beyond simply those who appreciate Italian and Chinese cuisine to something that families and friends can enjoy as a quick and easy snack at home or on the move. If I had more time and resources, I would go and cook the spring rolls so it gives us a better idea of how our product will look and taste. I would also allow classmates and other students to try our product and criticize it, giving us their honest opinions so that we can collect the data and improve our design and recipe.
How would you evaluate your contributions to the team? Anything you’d like to work on in terms of teamwork?
Although I completed my portion of my workload, I would have liked to communicate with my group members more and hear their ideas. Overall, my group members and I were able to complete our work as a team. Thus, there wasn’t much communication and sharing of ideas.