Design Thinking for Innovation Course Peer Review Assignment

1) Challenge- Strategy to solve India’s biscuit consumption problem and introduce

healthy variants instead

Recently I participated in a case study and market strategy competition where we had to  address India’s nutrition or sanitation problem. I selected biscuit consumption. Biscuit is  India’s largest consumer product, but highly nutrient deficient. It is mostly made of Wheat flour,  Vegetable oil and Sugar without contributing much to the nutrition quality of the food. India  accounts for 23.8% of global malnourishment & ranks 67/80 in Global Hunger Index. 62%  (~250 million) of urban population are micro-nutrient deficient. Also, during pandemic,  urbanites have shunned the sunlight causing Vitamin-D deficiency. This leads to major chronic  diseases like diabetes, obesity, anemia, cardiovascular disease, and weak bones among  women. Individuals are less productive at work and student in their studies. Low productivity  causes inefficiency, hampering India's economic growth and the viscous loop continues.

2) Selection of tool: Mind-mapping Tool

Mind mapping is looking for patterns and insights in a large quantity of data you collected during  your exploration of what is the current reality. The goal is to establish criteria for the what-if idea  generation phase. Which comes next. This phase is pivotal in the design thinking process. Mind  mapping helps in transition from what is to what if. I used this tool since I had a huge chunk of  Primary Research data available with me to dig deep into it. I believe for analytical innovation  mind mapping is the best tool to use.

3) Application: Using Mind-mapping Tool to solve my problem

As was rightly said in the course, mind-mapping is about getting into the mind of consumers.  Through mind mapping, we extract meaning from data in a way that lets patterns and insights  emerge. Patterns and insight, we might otherwise have missed.

First, I conducted a primary research surveying 200 participants across all age, gender  and income levels. Then I analysed them and understood that consumers are reluctant to  consume healthy biscuits since they are not aware of the ingredients with which regular biscuits  are made.I brainstormed to arrive at a conclusion that if we can make them aware of the  ingredients, they will be more mindful of their consumption and hence will shift to healthier  options.

4) Insight:

The key insight that I gained from applying this tool is that consumers are reluctant to  consume healthy biscuits since they are not aware of the ingredients with which regular  biscuits are made. Mind-mapping tool helped me step in framing the right survey questions  which further helped in identification of the problem area. It helped me step in customers shoe  and see through their lens. Another insight that I gained was, respondents agreed to refer to  ingredients from now on. Also, they are willing to shift to healthier variants provided the  taste is preserved.

5) Approach:

Mind-mapping tool has proved to be extremely beneficial in conducting my primary research.  Presently I am not sure how to apply it differently next time. However, with the knowledge gained

from this course and with evolving situation and experience, I am sure I’ll be able to use it even  better.

