Applying Learning Launch into a real-life challenge

The Challenge

The challenge was to create a new food service concept for the consumer market and to test it out via a  learning launch. Naturally, the concept needed to capitalise on the then-current trends and demands of the  marketplace, and be profitable as well as implementable. The launch would be a pop-up restaurant in a  hipsterish-part of a capital city.

The Selection

Learning launch, pilot, prototype – it doesn’t really matter what you call it, since the underlying principle  remains pretty much the same: trying out new ideas and concepts with real customers, getting real customer- feedback. Where Eric and Eric’s learning launch differs slightly is in its emphasis on learning from the  experience, more effectively highlighting the iterative nature of design thinking. Be it a successful or a failed  launch, the main goal is to learn and hopefully take something away from the entire experience.

For this simple reason I chose the learning launch tool (and the design thinking approach in general) to address  my challenge. I wanted to use the launch as an opportunity to test new ideas, but also to learn from it and in  doing so improve my future output. The design thinking approach as a whole was also a step outside my usual  comfort zone and I saw it as a great opportunity for broadening my thinking and growing as a professional.

The Application

Based on primary data collected through observing and interviewing the people living in the area I would set  up my restaurant, I started drafting mind maps and journey maps. I then used these in a co-creative ideation  session I held with local participants. The ideation phase was super fruitful, and I found myself with an  abundance of interesting new ideas and concepts. Taking my personal capabilities as well as the specific  requirements of the location I would be holding my launch at in consideration, I selected one of the most  promising-sounding ideas: a takeaway restaurant serving porridge with customisable toppings (think Subway  but with porridge instead of bread).

I then started developing an implementable menu around the chosen concept. Based on previous data, I  realised that my target audience appreciated healthy, organic, locally produced food, as well as customisability  and environmentally friendly cutlery + containers. Keeping all this in mind, I came up with my menu and finally  set up my pop-up food stall which would serve as my learning launch.  The launch itself was a great, buzzing  success, and on the first day I even ran out of food to serve –the local community seemed to love really what I  was offering!

The Insight

I think the learning launch was a great way to test an idea with real customers. I got a lot of great feedback,  which I’m sure I’ll be able to draw upon in my future work.

I have to say I was a bit sceptical of this approach at first, arrogantly thinking that “I already know what my  customers want”, based solely on my extensive experience in the industry.  Turns out I knew far less than I  thought I did – and after a few interviews with real people I started to understand the real value of involving  customers in the creation of new service concepts. Most importantly, it was delightful to see how super happy  the people involved in my project were to take part and many were even flattered to hear how much I valued  their input. And just like that, together we came up with a novel food service idea and it worked wonders!  What a great, fun, and educational experience overall and a brilliant way for identifying real-world needs and  finding solutions for them.

The (future) Approach

Next time I would probably dive headfirst into the design thinking process and leave my naïve doubts behind.  If I were to do this project again, I would have liked to involve customers even more, for example in the actual  menu creation stages to really nail down those flavour notes. Perhaps next time I’ll set up (or rent) a test  kitchen to facilitate more involvement! 

