11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. 

• I am a 20-year-old junior info systems major at UF. I'd like to consider my skills to be organization, customer service, and problem-solving. I've worked in retail for multiple years where I have seen first hand how customers react to different products and services.
• My aspirations for my business concept is to lead a business that helps both consumer wellness and the environment. I can see myself being reflected in the business, and I can see the business not only help customers minimize their environmental impact, but myself as well.

2) What are you offering to customers?

• I am offering to customers a replacement for single-use plastic that looks and feels similar to plastic, as well as having the durability of single-use plastic products. There will be 2 products offered, a single-use straw and a single-use bag.

3) Who are you offering it to? 

• The customers I am offering this product to are the everyday consumers and small businesses who have not taken action to replace single-use plastics, and may be impacted by new laws banning plastic. These are the iced coffee drinkers who hate paper straws, the athletes who finish their workout with a smoothie and throw away the plastic straw, the moms who have had their paper bags rip on them while trying to get their kids inside the house, and the businesses who have been scrambling to find an affordable replacement for their customers. These customers all have in common their dependency on durable products that tend to be single-use plastics and their new forming need for a replacement that they won't need to remember to bring or have fall apart in seconds.

4) Why do they care? 

• Customers will want to use this service for a multitude of reasons. The small businesses that need a replacement to plastic products and want to keep their customers satisfied, with as little change as possible will cling to this concept as they will receive scrutiny for not having a good solution. Some customers may just be fed up with paper products, or want to do more for the environment and will be attracted to this product. The customers who are aware of the current environmental impact single-use plastic has had will want to take part in a change that will require minimal effort from themselves as not everybody can remember to bring reusable bags or afford reusable straws that were made in a sustainable way.

5) What are your core competencies?

• What sets my concept part from everybody else is that my product will be durable, single-use, and biodegradable. Many of the current replacements to plastic are paper products and those rip easily or get destroyed when they get wet, rendering them useless. My product will be able to withstand liquids and share the same durability single-use plastics have.

I believe that these elements fit together in the sense that they are all taking a step towards protecting the environment, and reducing pollution. The weakness would be getting the products to catch on and incorporate it into daily life since paper products are already being used as replacements, and consumers/businesses may not feel the need to look for a better solution.