Hidden Opportunity ID 2 Example
This is an example of evolution of a preliminary product idea.
Short Bio
Instructor of MAE154. Interests include machine design, snowboarding, and backpacking.
Contact info: ndelson@ucsd.edu
Title: Garbage Can Cleaning with UV Radiation
Deeper Dive into Unmet Need
The original concept was to clean residential garbage cans with UV lights mounted on their lid. I was originally encouraged when I found that a person started a business to meet this need using traditional cleaning methods as shown below. This seemed to validate that their was a need in this area.
Existing Residential Cleaning Business indicates there is at least some need
Problems with Initial Concept
However, I found a number of problems with this initial concept:
Garbage cans are property of the city and modification of them is not allowed.
I was concerned about the complexity of the design and high possibility of breakage of the solar panels, since garbage lids themselves are frequently broken during automated garbage collecting.
Most importantly, I felt that residential garbage can cleaning was not a compelling need. I could not get any of my neighbors interested in the concept.
Pivot to New Concept
I pivoted from a solution for myself to a solution for earlier adopters where the fly problem would present more of a compelling need. The new target market is restraunt owners where customers have to walk by commercial garbage cans in their parking lots. Commercial garbage cans are large metals bins that are emptied as shown below:
The new concept is to mount high powered UV lights inside the garbage truck. Right after the garbage bin is emptied the UV lights blast the inside of the bin.
Early Adopters
Restaurants owners where customers have to walk by commercial garbage cans in their parking lots. Look at restaurants by the coast where parking lots are small, and restaurants are high end.
Market Research into Competitors
A breakthrough came when I found out that there are a number of existing companies that have trucks that go around after the garbage disposal company and clean the commercial garbage bins. This solution is a very expensive approach requiring separate cleaning trucks and drivers. I also found out that the water runoff from spray cleaning garbage can be an environmental problem, and that some cities are looking into prohibiting this. The UV solution should be much less expenses, since the dumping and cleaning could be done with a single truck and there will be no water runoff.
The Blast N Clean competitor has a neat looking video, but is shows a very complex and expensive system that requires filtering and pumping water within a truck
Possible Additional Product Features
Water or steam blast to further clean the garbage can
Mounting a GPS unit in the garbage truck, so the driver automatically knows which business paid for the UV cleaning.
Groups Impacted by the Project Including: Customers, Sales, Distributors, Installers, etc.
Restaurant Owners, Apt Building Mangers, and Retail Business with parking lots close to their garbage storage areas. I should be able to interview some of these.
Private Garbage Collection Companies. These would be my target customers, and I should be able to interview these folks.
Garbage Truck Manufacturers and Maintainers. Initially we would sell retrofit kits to maintainers and eventually license the technology to the garbage truck manufactures.
Garbage container cleaning companies. I would be competing with these companies,and I would like to find out about the size of their business but it may be hard to interview them in depth.
High Risk Technical Areas
Do flies even breed in garbage cans, or do they just feed there?
Will UV light actually kill the fly larvae?
Will UV kill bacteria or other organism in the garbage, and will this help with fly problem?
Even if fly larvae and bacteria are killed will smell be eliminated and fly population reduced?
Technical Risk Reduction Test:
I could dip a 2 Q-tips into spoiled orange juice. I would zap one of them with the UV light in my Sonicare UV toothbrush sterilizer. Then I would put the 2 Q-tips outside on flypaper. I would see if indeed the UV sterilized Q-tip attracted fewer flies.
Sonicare UV Toothbrush Sterilizer
High Risk Marketing Challenges
Will businesses pay to have their garbage containers cleaned?
Will UV cleaning be acceptable, since the cans will not look clean?
Will garbage collection companies be open to the idea?
Minimum Viable Product:
Create a hand held UV cleaner. Follow garbage truck around in a car, and then sterilize can after garbage is emptied for a few customers. See what they think.
Sources of Income and Estimates
Work with garbage disposal companies, so that they could add a cleaning option for their customers. They could move into the garbage container cleaning business with little added expense. Ultimately our company could build the UV devices and sell them to the garbage disposal companies. I estimate we could build a UV cleaning unit for a cost of $2,000 to $10,000. Existing service contracts for cleaning are $9 to $6 per cleaning of a single bin.
I don't have the numbers of companies that currently pay for container cleaning, but the fact that there are existing companies that do container cleaning with a separate truck is an indication that a market exists. The UV sterilization approach should be substantially lower cost, since only a single truck would be necessary.
Literature Search Results and Relevant Links
http://www.blastnclean.net/ => shows competing product that is much more expensive that UV Cleanings
http://clean-a-can.com/ => shows competing product that is much more expensive that UV Cleanings
http://1000ideas-en.blogspot.com/2011/08/unusual-business-idea-business-of.html
Summary
There is an existing business of cleaning garbage containers using specialty cleaning trucks that spray water and solvents. But this existing approach is labor intensive and requires a large amount of capital investment. The UV solution would be much less expensive. I did a patent search and found nothing close to this, which should help with competitors. While there are technical and marketing challenges to overcome, the market is large (we all have garbage), and ultimately the product could extend to both the residential and business garbage sectors.