Reflection on data collection and visual/financial modeling completed by the team:

After testing our first recipe of Fairy Pavington in the kitchen, I conducted a sensory taste test survey once consumers got a taste of the product. Through the results of the latest sensory taste test survey of our product, our group received rather positive data among the classmates who rated our product.  Consumer surveys helped us enormously in the evaluation process of our product as we were able to determine consumer preferences and change particular features of our product based on desires and choices. For the creation for every question, I tried to eliminate bias and evoke honest opinions within consumers. Although I could not survey our target audience (mainly British and Australian dessert lovers) within our school and the answer choices were rather limited (3-4 choices for every question), we were able to get about 10 responses to assist our group in assessing our Fairy Pavingtons.

Do you feel that your product has met the goals you set at the start of the process? Did the design choices still fit with you target audience? What would you do if you had more time or resources?

I personally think that the product has exceeded my expectations and goals at the start of the project. Although some resources were limited (options for the size of sprinkles, cooking time of meringue filling), the final product, in terms of appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture, met our group’s standards despite it being the first test. If more time was available, our group would be able to perfect the recipe and even produce the package of the product based off the packaging design. This would have created much more completed image of the product, providing a better experience for consumers. However, we received an average 4.25/5 stars rating for our product, which I believe is a great achievement.

How would you evaluate your contributions to the team? Anything you’d like to work on in terms of teamwork?

I personally thought our teamwork had a huge impact on our final product: we split roles evenly and all worked individually on our parts while sometimes coming together to share opinions. We tried incorporating everyone’s ideas and preferences into the product without changing too much of the original concept. This led to our group’s success as we all had a clear goal. However, each person contributed to the group differently, therefore some aspects of the product, mostly financial planning and the pricing of the product, was not worked on or acknowledged in the end. This could have been due to lack of time or responsibility issues, which should definitely be worked on next time. However, according to the multiple consumer surveys, the average cost consumers wrote down was 25 RMB for a box which includes 6 cakes, with one outlier of 80 RMB. This does not address the cost of labor and equipment usage, also not ensuring that we receive have profit, but it does provide us with a basic idea of how much a box will cost.

What progress has your team made so far? Have any new ideas, questions, or challenges arisen from this work?

So far, our team has developed recipes for both the cake and the meringue filling based off of consumer preferences and results from the previous survey. By using the mode, (most popular answer/majority) we summarized and planned out the details for flavor, appearance, texture, price, and packaging. This was organized with Excel graphs as shown below.

Furthermore, we plan on testing our recipe in the kitchen soon, but are not sure if the recipe can be made in only one class. The surveys could also be biased as the choices are quite limited, therefore consumers might not write down their true opinion towards the question.

What progress have you and your group made on collecting data? How was it collected? How has that support your design choices?

Additionally, as the group member in charge of consumer surveys, I have created another survey focusing on the sensory details (appearance, aroma, texture, flavor…) of our product for consumers (classmates and teachers) to take while trying our first version of Fairy Pavingtons. This sensory taste test survey will help our group observe human reactions to the product determine factors and design choices which we will need to adjust to improve the overall experience of the dessert.

Have you worked on visual or financial modeling? If so, provide some insight into those processes.

So far, other teammates have designed models for the packaging of our dessert as well as picking out the labels, font, and color. Financial planning needs to be completed since the ingredients are already secured. The product can’t be too expensive for the income of our audience but also not too cheap as there is no profit. While the mode (highest number of votes) for the pricing was 20 RMB for 6 cakes, the average was 22.5 RMB. However, the actual pricing we decide on will need to acknowledge the labor and cost of ingredients in order to earn profit.

What is your product idea and who is your audience?

Our product, Fairy Pavington, is a combination of three popular Australian desserts including fairy bread, lamington, and pavlova. This afternoon tea dessert mainly targets the Australian and British audience of all ages as the product fuses traditional Australian cuisine, which was inspired by British cuisine.  The product was inspired by a common habit of the British: having a cup of tea with their desserts. By having a tea flavored lamington sponge cake with a meringue filling (mimics the texture pavlova) and finally coated in chocolate and sprinkles, these three fan-favorite Australian desserts will clash into one single product. Additionally, since these desserts are often eaten as snacks, afternoon tea, morning tea, or a light meal, this dessert is suitable for all ages, with a light tea flavor for adult tea-lovers and a colorful and vivid sprinkle coating that appeals to children.

What are your plans for data collection and modeling, as a group or individual?

After receiving the filled-in consumer surveys, our group will develop the recipe and create packaging ideas based on consumer preferences. This data collected will help our group determine what ideas to use and what to eliminate. Once we’ve created initial samples our product,  another consumer survey and sensory taste test will help us make changes on texture and taste. Individually,  I will create models on the structure and dimensions of the final product and use Excel to organize and create graphs on the consumer surveys.

What is your role in the team?

My role is to create consumer surveys and organize preferences based on the most preferred flavors, textures, costs, packaging, and more. Once I have collected the filled-in surveys, I will use the data and find the mode (the most preferred option in one category) to help our group determine aspects of the recipe. However, it might not be possible to find our targeted audience (British and Australian students and staff) within the school so the survey data might not be reliable.

What are some potential challenges you may run into over the next three weeks?

I’m guessing that we will face challenges on managing our time and accurately developing the recipe and pricing. Having the time to actually make the product will also be a challenge as we might be short on time and resources. Since this recipe is very complicated, a lot of details and changes need to be unified and determined within our group. I am also worried how the flavors will mix as the combination of tea, chocolate, and meringue has never been tested before.

 

Initial design: