Sunday, October 5, 2014

Idea Journal - Entry#9 Cookie package Prototype


I am using this post to show examples of both the storyboard technique and the prototype which will be displayed in class.  The storyboard technique is shown here with actual photos instead of the usual hand drawn sketches.  They are easily interchangeable and provide the visual references needed in the storyboard exercise.  The other component is a certain flow of progression and text to guide the viewer to understand how the story unfolds.  In this case, its a how to create a prototype of a Cookie box.  At the same time, the prototype is an often skipped or misunderstood in the pitch process.  But its actual not difficult to do and help to show how a customer would interact with the potential product, how it compares to other products already available by competitors or through alternatives and generally can open up a discussion for improvements and modifications with members of the entrepreneur's team and or investors.

Idea Journal - Entry#8 Mindmap of Cookie Idea Journal using SCAMPER


The mindmap above depicts the use of SCAMPER to create an idea journal on Cookie related business concepts.  This will serve as a visual summary of tasks already performed which shows the mindmaps can be used as a planning tool or as in this case as a tool to reflect on progress.  The image in the center is a cookie that has been bitten into to reflect that we sunk our teeth into the subject matter of Cookie biz.  Then you can see that Ideas and Journal are also imagined using a light bulb and an open book, respectively.  Going clockwise, each of the letters in SCAMPER is addressed as in each of the blog entries as follows:


Where a pretzel represents substituting traditional flavors for crazy flavors; substituting traditional ingredients like milk, eggs and wheat for others to make them more accessible to people with dietary restrictions.


Here we identified how to combine cookies and airlines.  We found the company who has filled this particular niche by becoming a supplier of cookies individually wrapped an perfect for consumption with coffee during a flight.


In 2007, I found a trend emerging of cookies for those in the military.  It seems it was not a fad as I was able to find many companies who are adapting soldier care packages for those serving their country at home and abroad.


To modify, magnify or minimize cookies I found a company who tried to outsize their competition by constructing the world's largest cookie and an oven to cook it in which equated to taking up a football field.  The added modification was it was packaged in $10 portion to promote sale for fundraising purposes.


Cookie decoration has beeen elevated to an art form.  We built on this to see business concepts where the decoration and art part were the basis of generating value for customers.


A core assumption of a cookie is that it is baked.  If we remove the baking, then cookie dough is what remains.  This is a clear trend as well as many offer cookie dough businesses for both cooking later or eating as a gourmet treat as is.


To explore how to innovate the cookie we looked at popular food items like pizza, fantasy solutions for eating in space, added protein concepts that use ground bugs instead of more common flours and also how inputs like kitchen tools, the not so humble cookie cutter could spin out as a new specialized niche.

All this covered in one hand drawn mind map. 


Idea Journal - Entry#7 Reverse or Rearrange Cookies

Coming to the end of SCAMPER. I also want to rearrange the leading question to "what are the World's most unusual (bizarre, weirdest, etc.) cookies?"  Based on this question I certainly uncovered some ways the Cookie business is being rearranged to create unique selling propositions such as:

Forced Relationship between Cookies and Pizza that two leading brands collaborated on creating the Oreo Dessert Pizza available at Pizza Hut locations.

 and another variety 
Hershey's Chocolate and Pizza


A Webshop called Think Geek offers up strange treats like Evil Misfortune Cookes (with mean messages inside, not nice but I guess theirs a niche) which certainly would not be my choice but does fit the weird category.  They also fill the sweet and crunchy cravings of Geeks and Astronauts alike with Astronaut Ice Cream which is freeze dried in single serve packs.


A Company called Bitty

Bugs and Cookies....say what!&%!???... Yes the Bitty Company slogan is "We make delicions, high- protein baked goods with.....cricket flour!"  The subtle hint can be seen in the dot over the "i" in their logo below.


One of their products can be seen below which is called Chocolate Cardumum Cookies with the (hidden extra C for Crickets)


Here is an entry that focuses on the those who actually do enjoy the process of baking their own cookies.  The business of The Cookie Cutter Shop is to provide a wide variety of accessories to the home and professional bakers to perfect the shape of their creations.  Some of their unusual cookie cutters include
Mystical and Medieval Cookie Cutters in shapes of dragons, castles, mermaids, fairies, wands and beyond.
Girls will be Girls Cookie Cutters in shapes of hairbrush, nailpolish, mirror, blowdryer, dresses and crowns.
Men at Work Cookie Cutters in shapes of drills, screwdrivers, ties and suits to appeal to both the blue collar and white collar male.

Many others too.

For a new business idea a Cookie World concept might features some of these recipes like the Anzac, national Cooke of Australia, the Panellet from Spain or even the pepper Cookie, Paprenjaci of Croatia..

Too weird not to mention include:

The Savory Cookie Trend where you the feature is the saltiness instead of the sweetness.

These odd cookie creations were the brainchild of photographer who is described as a women with the look of the perfect 1940's model housewife and baking skills of Tim Burton.


The wacky and wonderful world of Cookies leaves me with many ideas to reflect on which I will do in my next blog featuring a hand-drawn mindmap of my Idea Journal Journey on Cookies for Entry#8, coming soon.











Idea Journal - Entry#6 Eliminate What? from Cookies to Get....




While many people love Cookies, they often are willing to just simply purchase them from someone else because of the time it takes to buy the ingredients, set up the equipment, pre-heat the oven, bake cookies a dozen at a time and clean up afterwards.  However, there are businesses that could offer ways to reduce these steps to save both time and effort for different types of customers, both consumers and re-sellers.


One such company is FatBoy's Outrageous Cookie Dough catering to those who seek "No Messy recipes to slave over for hours" (problem) --- solution "All you have to do is open the box, break apart the cookies and bake to unlock the magic within."  They offer sales through health food stores like Whole Foods and Garden of Eden Gourment as well as through regular grocery stores like FoodTown.  Directly the product can be bought online and for individual household consumption or for fundraising purposes.




Other models of cookie companies trying to Eliminate to innovate include:

How about not having to cook at all...The Cooke Dough Cafe focuses on edible, gourmet cookie dough you eat as is.  

Cookie dough sales may seem odd to those new to this industry segment this article featured on Bloomberg Business Week way back in 2001 even refers to it as "One Tough Cookie of a Market"

In the article it highlights top competitors including... Pillsbury and Otis Spunkmeyer






Friday, October 3, 2014

Idea Journal - Entry#5 Put to Another Use

Hmmmmm....new ways to use cookies.....as an art form...

A step by step guide to creating Pop Art Cookies like Semi Sweet Blogger Mike


Or building on a skill set in cookie baking and decorating, the website Crafty offers online classes with confectionery artists like Autumn Carpenter.



The website has a transparency feature which shows how many students have signed up for various art courses. The cookie decorating one had over 5000 people sign up for the course which costs $34.99.  The facebook pictures of many of the customers are also present so its easier to create a profile of this segment interested in this niche.





Idea Journal - Entry#4 Modifying Cookies


What business bakes the biggest cookies....

I can change the cookie to be as big as a football field may have been the inspiration for the Immaculate Cookie Company in Flat Rock, NC, USA....


This is just a series of a long list of adventure seeking spirit of the entrepreneur behind the brand and his team who keep imaging what magic they can work with the skills and ingredients they have.  With an ever expanding arrays of ways to modify their own products and service to the community. The record breaking cookie was sold in special boxes in slices and raised $20,000 for the Folk Artist's Foundation which fused talent and special interests.


Idea Journal - Entry#3 Adapting Cookies for....

Cookies are symbols of baking with love.  When you think about the warmth and sweetness in a Cookie, it can conger up memories of family, friends and sharing and caring.  So when you want to communicate a message of love to someone who is far from home a cookie gift is a good choice.  Ideas about cookies can certainly relate to business but the first example we see was a concept born of love with a woman starting an action called "Treat the Troops".  Jeanette Cram has earned the nicknames "Crumbs" and simply "The Cookie Lady" devoted to baking cookies for military men and women serving the US.  She has got an army of volunteers of her own to focus on this cause.


When someone like Jeanette comes along and finds a gap in the market and fills it through a nonprofit seeking initiative it does not go unnoticed. She now fills scapbooks full of the thank you notes she receives from appreciative beneficiaries.  But besides her, others also begin to fill this gap for the same segment as can be seen with other cookie businesses that have popped up to adapt to the military and their families...

The recipe website Allrecipes.com understands this trend and offers a how-to section on their page.



A company opened in 1955, Butter Maid features a service where customers can create Build-A-Cookie Care Packages,








Idea Journal - Entry#2 Combine ---- Cookies and....

What goes together with Cookies....
I can bring together Cookies and Milk to Welcome Santa...

In the City of Sasche, Texas they combine Cookies with Santa, an annual parade and fundraising events for charity.

I can bring together Cookies and Coffee to eat together as a snack....
The Biscoff cookie was founded in 1932 and markets itself as Europe's favorite cookie with coffee and it has designation on its website as the Airline cookie.  They have individually wrapped portions that are kept in sanitary packages.

I can bring together Cookies and Flowers as gifts...


The company Cheryl's Cookies is based in Ohio and started with a simple formula of Cookies and soda pop in a retail outlet but has grown into a thriving Gift Business.  They state their mission and offer as 
"Our Mission
To provide the finest fresh-baked gifts and desserts for all of life’s moments, delivered with warmth and backed by our guarantee of excellence.
Our Promise As our customer, we promise you:
  • Delicious cookies and fresh-baked goods
  • Only the highest quality standards
  • Friendly service focused on excellence
  • Trustworthy, dependable products and services
  • Unique gift ideas and exclusive packaging
  • The strongest guarantee in the business"







Idea Journal for Cookie Business - Entry#1 Substitue


The following 9 blog entries will document my investigation into potential Cookie businesses.
 Using leading questions from the SCAMPER technique combined with Google image searches, I will discover unique selling propositions around the humble Cookie.  Why Cookies?  Well I am a talented cook with training to work in the hospitality industry and it was always a dream to open up a fusion cafe which of course would feature destination worthy cookies.  While it is not conducive to my current lifestyle.  Perhaps there is a potential business model that would work for me and I will explore the ideas here.   




Cookies are made of a combination of key ingredients including:
Flour
Eggs
Sugar
Fat
Flavorings
Toppings

in some different ratios.  But to substitute anyone of these core ingredients could be the seed behind an innovative cookie business like....
Flourless cookies - The Wow Baking Company
based in Kent, WA, USA this company features wheat-free and gluten-free certified cookies for wholesale and retail markets.

Eggless cookies

Bloom Cookies based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada this Cookie company focuses on egg-free and dairy-free cookies that are suitable for vegans.  They serve other outlets and therefore are concentrated on wholesale business.

Crazy Flavors - 



Cookieyum based in Chicago, Illinois is a local cookie bakery that tries out unusual flavor combinations to specialize in crazy flavors.  Pictured above is one of the many cookies pictured on their facebook page. This one contains pretzels and chocolate as well as peanut butter chips.  Cookie Yum, indeed!

Therefore, for this first letter S - I tried to find substitutes for the usual to see how several cookie businesses are finding their own niches.

Next up....C for Combine....





Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Idea Journals based on SCAMPER technique


In our course this semester at ZSEM, we are teaching entrepreneurship with many hands on elements. One of the graded elements is an idea journal which simply enough tasks each student with identifying and industry subsector of their interest and concentrating on developing ideas around a related product or service theme to explore opportunities for their own potential business.  This exercise gives the students alot of choice.  Freedom to choose industry, subsector, product or service in additon to style.  The students can choose whether to approach the idea journal through a D-I-Y medium or aided by technology using a variety of blog platforms including this one, blogger.

The journal is worth 10% of the grade in the course and the students will learn how to use the creative technique SCAMPER to really investigate one focused theme.  Therefore each letter will then create one entry which will include both visual example (from simple Google Image searches) with supplemental text where the student writes down a story about how this image addresses the questions linked to each of the letters (S-for substitute and so on...).  But alas, SCAMPER is only 7 letters so there are some additional entries the about portion of the blog should inform any reader from class or stumbling upon their blog why it was created, when and by whom.  Then there should be the 7 SCAMPER based entry #8 which should focus on using any other creative technique to explore the idea from those we learned in class (Random Input, Forced Relationships, Storyboarding, Mindmapping,etc) and then #9 should be an actual prototype of a product you could develop.

The assignments are due for online versions by 10.10.2014. So for visitors to this blog, you can check back after then to see some of the examples of student work.  Over the next 2 days, I will be posting my own online Idea Journal blog as an example for the students.  My offline version will be photographed and uploaded here as well.

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