This case study can be used as a stand-alone case or in conjunction with INSEAD case study "Brazile Telecom". This case takes up Frank Drummond's story when he decides to leave the telecoms business and return to the US where he starts a new venture to develop a new type of baby bottle. He calls on the designer who he worked with on the one button phone. The case describes how they start by defining the brand values as the first step to develop a tangible product that reflect such values. The case then focuses on the development of an innovative baby bottle - looking at the different aspects involved in the concept, design, manufacture and marketing of an innovative baby bottle that will create value for both the parents and babies alike: from the textures, materials, shape, size of the bottle and teat as well as the packaging.
1) From an entrepreneurship viewpoint, this case series emphasizes the value of focusing on a specific user?s need (e.g. mobile communication for elderly people; transitioning of breast feeding to bottle in babies). It shows the value of focusing on a niche market to develop an innovative solution. It demonstrates the many advantages to starting small and growing one step at a time by creating value in novel ways for a specific market segment. 2) From a product development process viewpoint, these cases helps students understand the challenge of evaluating and selecting product concepts - a critical stage in the concept development phase.
- Brand values
- baby bottles
- niche markets
- concept selection
- product design
- start-ups
- innovative design
- concept scoring
- RD0311
- AR2011
- AR1011