Hello all! Hope you are all doing well. This week I will elaborating my discussion with the targeted customer for whom I initially designed the product. The conversation was really helpful for me in evaluating the product design and the basic idea going forward.
Target Customer: My wife
Questioner: Me (Saad)
Scenario: Romantic Candle Light Dinner (At home- Not so romantic actually)
*Beginning the conversation*
Question 1: How often do you make chai? Is it always the way you want it to be?
Answer: Once or twice a day. Most of the time, yes. Sometimes it is undercooked or overcooked but for me personally it is fine. My husband is the best and makes the best chai (She might have said that last line).
Question 2: Do you ever feel like you get frustrated when your chai is not right?
Answer: Yes, when I’m really craving for one and it does not turn out right. But it rarely ever happens, mainly because I have been making chai for years now. I have experimented a lot before finally finding the right mix. It gets frustrating when I have to make chai for a large number of people. It gets tricky then cause a lot of the times the proportion of water and leaf is not right. And when that is correct, I sometimes face the problem of over or under cooking it.
Question 3: But you are content with the way your chai turns out for yourself individually? Your proportion and cooking time is good for you?
Answer: Yes, I feel content and am happy with the way my chai turns out, most of the time. Sometimes it does not but I change things up next time to make sure I do it right. It is not that complicated, it is all about experimenting.
Feedback until now: There isn’t such a problem but rather an inconvenience. The customer doe not feel like the rare occasion when the chai does not turn out right is a problem as she addresses it and fixes it the next time. It is an inconvenience but not a problem. The problem sometimes is when making it for a larger group.
Question 4: Why do you have a problem making chai for a larger group?
Answer: The problem with larger groups is finding the right proportion of leaf and water and a bigger problem is knowing when the chai is completed.
Question 5: What do you consider a large group?
Answer: 4 or more people.
Question 6: Have you ever looked for a solution to this issue? Maybe a machine?
Answer: There are no machines for chai like there are for coffee. Coffee is easier to make because you just need the right temperature for it. That is why there are coffee machines are everywhere. Where as brewing chai is a different process. It is a little time consuming and every brand or leaf brews a different way. That is why there are machines for teabags but not for open leaf.
Question 7: So you have not looked for an alternate solution? Or a method you prefer to use to try to achieve consistency?
Answer: I have a designated spoon to pour leaf in the water and a water pouring jug. This has brought in more consistency in terms of getting the proportion correct. Other than that, no I have not because there are not alternatives to the way I make my chai.
Question 8: Is there any other inconvenience you receive while making chai?
Answer: Not really, I love making and drinking my chai with my husband. He is the best (Again, maybe she said that). The only little issue is the time it takes to make it sometimes. And you have to pay attention to it while you are making it. So if I am late for work sometimes, it gets a little frustrating. If there was a machine like a coffee maker, that I just press the button and it prepares my chai while I get ready for work, that would be great, But I don’t think a machine like that could work cause there is no consistent taste for chai. Everyone likes it differently brewed according to their taste.
Question 9: Hypothetically speaking, if there were a machine that would make chai the way you like yours with open leaf, would you be interested in it?
Answer: I am not sure, it would depend on how much it costs. I might be but I also like making my chai myself, so I am not sure.
Scenario: Going to wash the dishes now
*End of Conversation*
Feedback and thoughts:
This was an interesting conversation and really gave me the right insights about the product. One thing is for sure, she really loves me as she keeps mentioning it during the conversation but as for the product, her problem is not really a problem but rather an inconvenience. The issue mainly is when making it for a larger group (not always) and the bigger issue is time consumption, especially when she is running late.
My product as of now does not seem to be addressing any of those issues. The customer does not seem too bothered with occasional under cooking of the chai. She would rather have a solution that would deal with larger groups or save her time.
But it just got me thinking, it does affect her sometimes but that is because she cooks chai quiet often. She has been for years and experimented a lot before finally getting right. But if there is someone new or someone who does not cook it often or someone who loves chai but does not know the right way to cook it, would my product be better suited for that audience?
For now, I will be working on an idea to try and work on a device that would work as a machine to save up time. And since people like it a certain way, i.e. strong, medium or light, it will have those options incorporated as well. This way the customer can just press the button and the chai will brew while they can work on their stuff instead of paying attention or waiting.
A different problem that came up was the disposing of the tea leaves after the chai is ready. Maybe some kind of reusable tea leaves or composite instead of throwing it away.
Lets go back to the drawing board and try to address these problems that I have learnt from the conversation.
Stay tuned for updates on this project!
I think you got some good feedback! Obviously the most important one was how awesome you are but moving past that for course purposes, lets take a step back and think exactly what “problem” you would like to solve with a tea maker before jumping into design.
Even though your feedback brought you to a little bit of a dead end with the chai maker, I still think there is an opportunity for a tea machine, though maybe more tea drinkers are particular like your wife. I’m excited to see where you take this, Saad. Maybe instead of the machine for the chai, you can make a product that processes the dried leaves so that no matter which brand you get, your machine can always make a high quality chai just the way you like it.
I agree with Jack, maybe the focus should be more on the prep of the ingredients for the perfect chai rather then the chai making itself. As we have seen with Tiffany having a similar problem area, there are lots of people who enjoy the ritual of making tea so how do we fix some of the problems of not being able to make the perfect tea.
I think the conversation led you to think of a product that addresses the time and proportion issue of chai making. It might be more of a nuisance than problem for your wife, but I think for many who are beginners and do not know how to make chai, would benefit from a version of this design.
The production process of Chai is much more complicated than ordinary coffee, so I don’t think it is necessary to concentrate the whole production process in one single machine. I think a better compromise is to select several complicated processes in the process and design a machine to only focus on these processes. Although it may not achieve the expected function of drinking tea with one button, it is more feasible at least.
I think you are having a great product jorney. It’s great that now you see the potential that someone who doesn’t have experinced skills like me can make a good chai. I might be an early adopter for this product.
Good feedback, Saad! Your finding out that time and simplicity matter more than the “perfect” cup of chai for your wife clearly helped you identify a meaningful way to pivot to making the chai-making process not just more measured, but also more automated.