4A Forming an Opportunity Belief

The goal of this assignment was to start off with a belief/suspicion of there being an unmet need out there for something, go out and ask potential customers about their thought on the subject, and then come back to reflect of how your initial thought changed because of the activity. 

Initial Thoughts: I believe that sushi, especially sashimi, is too expensive. There is an unmet need for cheap and high quality raw fish that is felt by those who serve as well as love the dish. The need comes from a fascination with and demand for the Asian cuisine as well as an individual dietary preference for raw fish/sushi. To address this need, business currently provides cheap sushi by filling it with less raw fish and instead, with cheaper alternatives like vegetables and cheaper meat options. I am 70% sure there is a strong demand for this problem to be solved.

Current Solution to Problem: Over the last few years, more and more fish suppliers have been switching to aqua-farming their fish and directly shipping their product to the buyers. They raise fish in huge fish plants, by-passing the expenses of going out into the wild to catch wild fish, and instead farming fish in controlled facilities. The facilities have flash-freezers on locations which is necessary to make the fish meat “sushi-grade.” This way, they have eliminated the cost of boats that are equipped with freezing units, and expedite the process of cleaning the fish and freezing it, which will decrease the chance of parasite in the fish. 

Method: I focused on the most accessible population at hand who has this unmet need- college students and sushi joints that want to meet the overflowing demand of customers. College students have a great demand for ready-made meals as well as a large variety of choices to choose from, seen by the abundance of restaurant lining streets. That being said, college students are a great litmus test for the rest of the population that wish sushi would be cheaper, so I think focusing on and addressing college student’s concerns is a smart and strong first step that will carry through to the larger market for sushi.

I asked two college students and Sushi Chao, a local Sushi joint on University Drive, questions such as how sushi is priced, what the problem means to them, when did they become aware of this unmet need, how long they have had this need, and how satisfied they are with the current solutions.

Results Summarized: The consensus is that sushi is a luxury product and not a practical everyday meal. One college student who was walking out of a Sushi Chao explains this thought process by comparing the price of a hamburger, which would be able to sustain her for longer at a lower price tag, to sushi which would be less bang for her buck. For a college student, the trends, as expected, was that low price and long sustainability is a priority. (Long sustainability being how long a meal can keep you full before you become hungry again.) To another potential customer I interviewed, the obstacle of getting quality, cheap sushi means he often substitutes it with less satisfying meals. Food is a huge part of our lives and comfort; being able to provide that comfort is an important goal.  

The first interviewee realized this unmet need when she arrived at college and found solace in sushi because of its similarity to the Asian cuisine she ate with chopsticks when she was at home. Additionally, the greater supply in sushi on a college campus, with multiple restaurants as well as a campus wide agreement with AFC to sell their sushi at P.O.D. stores, make sushi a more accessible meal. However, the issue of high price isn’t fully resolved by its ubiquitous presence.

Customers questions the current effectiveness of aquaculture. In fact, the second interviewee was concerned about how ethical the solution was. He explained that when writing an essay for Economics, Food, and You, he read that big companies whose business plans mirror those of the previously mentioned solutions uses practices that aren’t environmentally friendly because they care more about maximizing income instead of sustainability. To the prototypical millennial, environmental sustainability is an important issue that often influences buying habits, therefore the current solutions aren't fully meeting the needs of the customers.

Additionally other than college students that demand lower priced sushi, one of the main obstacles in lowing sushi costs is that the price of the supplies needed to produce sushi (the rice, the raw fish, etc.) do start adding up. The manager of the local Sushi joint explained to me that the prices of sushi is nuanced. There is added risk in being a fish supplier bear, such as the increase risk of food-borne illness of customers that intake their product. Unlike other meats suppliers (chicken, beef, etc.) raw fish suppliers have the responsibility of flash-freezing fish to hopefully eliminate parasites that would be killed if cooked. That added responsibility is a cost. Additionally, the ethics of performing aquaculture and overfishing our oceans puts a needed limits and regulations to protect the environment. However, these factors all raise the price. 

Conclusion: A solution to this problem is definitely a work in progress. After talking to these prototypical clients, I’m more intone with what customers are looking for, say environmental concerns. I didn't realized how nuanced the process is, the cost that go behind each roll was elusive. Additionally, it has pushed me to go back the drawing book to research more into the process of making with “sushi-grade” fish. The central idea of more sushi for less money is still intact, but the method of achieving that goal is being reconstructed. With more research and time, it will become a much more feasible endeavor.

At the end of the day, I've learned that it is essential to listen to the people we are producing for because if we don't actually know what they need we are just metaphorically shouting into the void and not truly accomplishing what we set out to do: make people's lives better.