The Kitchen Business
Business DesignHow might we capitalize our experience as porcelain manufacturers to create a new business unit dedicated to kitchen design?
Challenge
Develop a new kitchen countertop business unit for a leading porcelain materials manufacturer. Capitalize the company’s operations in the creation of new products and services around kitchen furniture design. Define the target audience, channels and value proposition for a new business unit.
Approach
Working with the company’s Chief Innovation Officer we conducted a context immersion which consisted of primary and secondary research. Looking to understand the landscape through a benchmark of competitors in the same category: countertops, opportunity sizing for this industry, and a foresight scan for signals of disruption in the kitchen / home space.
Primary research consisted in interviewing consumer segments, home owners who had remodeled in the past year, and kitchen designers. With consumers it was important to understand the entire remodeling experience and what part countertop selection played within it. Kitchen designers provided insight into the business landscape and their relationship with providers and brands.
As part of secondary research, we conducted a foresight scan for signals of disruption in the kitchen / home space. We looked to expand their vision by thinking of how emerging technologies such as 3D printed houses and smart kitchen surfaces might change the expectations of future consumers.
Outcome
The resulting strategy was to introduce this new material by educating the market. The first horizon for the launch was to develop a differentiated service targeted at kitchen designers, understanding them as a key player in the ecosystem.
Designing a complete business model means offering profound actionable insights, but also quantifiable information that helps the client make decisions with financial tools. We developed an opportunity sizing and a quantification of the initial possible revenue.
Additionally we created narrative materials for the new business unit to be clearly understood by senior members of the organizations. A clear purpose statement can allow the client’s team to develop a vision and pursue the opportunity with greater clarity.