Assignment - Use Business Knowledge to Create Innovative Products

This assignment is a challenge to use business knowledge to create innovative products. The challenge is based on Grainstone, a company for Premium Brewers Flour that produces : flour made from upcycled brewers’ spent grain, a co-product from the manufacture of Australian beers. And my team decided to make an Energy bar snack. 

This requires a Group Written Report with a 4,000-word .

Structure

• Title Page
• Contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction (with a clearly stated purpose) 
• Business Need  - Flesh out the problem; include Value Proposition & Business Model Design reasoning; Customer Profile (who are they and why?); Minimum Viable Product; Strategy (outline of a strategic approach to bring your 'idea' to market). May also include the performance of existing competitor products.
• Project Overview - includes value chain, packaging, branding, and marketing.
• Schedule 
• Impact 
• Risks
• Financials - This includes your projected (budgeted) sales over your first year of trading and projected goals. Covers ROI, pricing, and how much you are seeking from your investors.
• Summary of Options and Recommendations (includes conclusion comments)
• References
• Appendices 

my job is to write about the section of “ Business Need  - Flesh out the problem; include Value Proposition & Business Model Design reasoning; Customer Profile (who are they and why?); Minimum Viable Product; Strategy (outline of a strategic approach to bring your 'idea' to market). May also include the performance of existing competitor products.

2000 words or could be more / Reference APA style

Product: Energy bar, customer:  health-conscious customers and the problem: unmet need: healthy snacks not tasty as traditional snacks, price and quantity.

Below are some tips that can help.

Value Proposition

Note for tutor: for more detail  read file Unit 4 Problem Solving Business Tools.  Particular slide 40 to 55.

What customer problem does your product solve?

​​“Describes the benefits customers can expect from your products and services”

The Value Proposition Canvas has two sides that need to ‘fit’ together.

SIDE 1 - Customer Profile – clarifies your customer understanding 

SIDE 2 - Value Map – Describes how you intend to create value for

your identified customer.

THE ‘Fit’ – Both sides need to come together to achieve a ‘fit’ for a Value Proposition.

Business Model

“A Business Model describes the rationale of how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value.”  Is the way organisations use their resources to make their money.

use one of these ‘patterns’ as a guide to design (this task) business model for the innovative idea.

Five Business Model Patterns:

1. Unbundling Business Models 
2. The Long-Tail >>> Note for tutor (I think this approach is fit for the task but If you change it is fine.)
3. Multi-Sided Platforms 4. Free as a Business Model 5. Open Business Models

 Note for tutor for more detail read file week 5 Business Model Patterns. And slide 37 to 47 questions can help for Value Proposition.

Minimum Viable Product; Strategy : choose one of three types. for more detail read file Unit 6 Lean Start-Up_Forming Business Strategy.

Not for tutor: Below is general information about the company, I am not sure if you will need it.

Grainstone Challenge

Grainstone

• Fairly new, young company 
• Not available in retail yet - haven’t been marketed to consumers
• Still in the manufacturing & refining process
•  Brewer’s spent grain is mainly from barley - where the unused portion of barley from the brewers are taken and turned into a fine alternative flour 

The nutritional content of the product ( premium brewer’s flour)

• Brewer’s spent grain: high protein, high fibre ( compared to wheat flour), 

• more iron, zinc and magnesium than regular flour

• The high fibre component makes it difficult to be used in bread products

• Vegan & vegetarian friendly
• Low FODMAP ( complex carbs) certified

Nutritional info from grainstone packaging

• Low gluten, unbleached, has iron & zinc
• 5 health star rating 
• 1400kJ / 100g
• 14g of carbs / 100g
• 2.0g of sat fat/100g

Cooking properties of the product

• Food safety: does not have to go into a cooked product
• Shelf-stable: up to 2 years
• Does not have a strong flavour/aroma
• Taste: soft, nutty taste
• Colour: brown
• Limitation: Harder to use in bread products- due to higher fibre content - only 20% inclusion rate
• Can be used as protein isolate - meat alternatives
• Higher inclusion rate: puff snacks, chips
• Consistency in every batch: there are seasonal varieties in barleys - however there is an acceptable range of consistency in the output product

Company potential goals

• To supply to food manufacturers - a wholesale - key ingredient in food products
• Preferably partner up with companies - to promote - new product innovation
• Ideally across Australia
• The main goal of a new product: profitable, ethical and sustainable while promoting health benefits- nutritional
• Establish demand for a sustainable and nutritious product

Target consumer 

• Health-conscious consumers
• Consumers who give importance to the sustainable aspect of the products
• Consumers who shop at health stores, pay attention to what they are buying/supporting
• Possibly gluten intolerant 
• On diet - low FODMAP

Price of product 

• $4.50 per kg - bulk orders ( to food manufac.) - price decreases as scale increases
• Forecast: to $1 per kg on bulk orders
• $10 per 250g - retail - pretty pricey
• The targeted price range for product innovation :$7-10 (retail)