Challenge

We run a cocktail business in a small town and sale cakes as accompaniment to the drinks. These  cakes are however supplied to us by different providers. Compared to the cocktails, the sales  resulting from the cakes were not that great. A question was posed on how best we could maximize  cake sales and profitability. To figure out the answer to this question, we deployed design thinking.  With the objective already in place, went through all the initial design thinking process steps to  obtained the answers to what is and what if using several of the design tools. To decide on what  works and what works, our tool of choice is as described below.

Selection

A learning launch was our tool of choice. It is a tool for figuring out not only how to generate great  concepts, but also figure out which one’s wow and work in the market place. The concept is a wow if  it is profitable, doable and wanted by customers. This tool was picked due to its ability to reveal  insights on the validity of our assumptions.

Application:

To figure out which cakes our customers liked most, we had a variety of cake flavors baked in small  quantities, in different sizes and shapes. These were them displayed in different formats at several  of our outlets in the town. To obtain data about the cakes from the customers, we observed and  noted and inquired on what they purchased. These data allowed us iterate on the cake flavors made  to best fit the customer needs.

Reference: video 1 and 3 week 4

Insight:

Initially, many of our customers were drawn mostly to five of the cake flavors, three of which we  discovered from the customers had a one of our special flavors. The other two were flavored  differently but we liked less than the other three. We iterated between the special flavor and the  flavors in the other two and the results wowed us. The resultant cakes became the top picks for our  customers. In the few weeks that followed, we observed an exponential increase in sales. By the  third weeks, our sales were double those of the cakes we used to sale and they are still rising.

Approach:

For now, the learning launch is still the tool of choice as its outcomes are increasingly paying off.  More to that, a lot has already been put in place in terms of expenses and therefore reusing the  same tool will be less costly. Being design thinkers however requires flexibility when need be. If the  accumulated data requires a different approach, we shall sure not miss out on the innovation  opportunity.

