trust your food

6SensorLabs background

- Founded in 2013 at MIT

- 15 full-time ppl (90% engineers)

- Based in San Francisco

- First product is Nima, a portable gluten sensor (DTC)

How Nima works

How to get product feedback before you build a product

Market research and prototyping techniques to test:

- Your market

- Price points

- The ecosystem in which your product lives

- Product features

Used quick ways to unpack our assumptions

1. People are stressed about avoiding certain foods and find it challenging when eating socially.

2. Millions with food allergies and sensitivities want to test their food when eating out.

3. People are willing to pay to test their food.

4. People would want to test multiple foods each week.

market

Survey to quantify pain points and address assumptions

1. Frequency of eating out? 2. Frequency of getting sick from food when eating out? 3. What would you test? 4. Frequency of testing? 5. Willingness to pay per test? 6. Most important features?

market

Tool tips: - Google form - Facebook ads, audience

targeting

Evaluate responses

1. 4x/week 2. 1 out of 3 times 3. 80% said yes 4. 3x/week 5. $0 - $2,000 a test

6. Most important: - portability - sensitivity - accuracy - speed - price

market

Test prices

1. Create a product promotion landing page

2. Test multiple price points 3. Evaluate conversions

price

Tool tips: - unbounce.com for

multivariate testing

- Tested 25 variations: - 5 sensor prices - 5 disposable prices - Evaluated conversions

Test prices price

Product impact: demand curve to understand price elasticity

Tool tips: - Follow-up with a conjoint

analysis to further test your price points

Understand the ecosystem where your product lives

- Took 10 GF consumers out to eat

- Asked open-ended questions

- Gave them a proto and asked them what they would test

say do

think feel

ecosystem

Product impact: stress and mistrust drives frequency of use

Demographic:--!"Associate"art"director"at"a"media"company"(creates"commercials,"promo"videos)"!"Early"20s,"recently"moved"to"SF,"goes"out"o=en"with"friends,"""

DO-!  When"she"was"first"diagnosed,"got"one"slot"of"the"toaster,"a"

dedicated"pan,"etc."but"it"wasn’t"enough."SFll"got"sick"unFl"they"really"separated"her"stuff"

!  Got"“hook"worm"therapy”"in"England"–"supposed"to"help"with"allergies"

!  Used"to"feel"the"onset"of"gluten"very"soon"a=er"eaFng,"now"takes"a"lot"longer"

!  Checks"a"lot"of"yelp"reviews"before"choosing"where"to"eat"--

Libby-C-!  22"!  Goes"out"with"

friends"o=en"

SAY-!  “I"know"I’ll"get"sick"at"least"once"a"month”"–"knows"she’ll"get"

gluten"bombed"regularly"!  “I"feel"like"I"have"to"apologize"before"I"order”"–"feels"bad"about"

asking"a"bunch"of"quesFons"about"cross"contaminaFon"!  “feel"embarrassed”"–"about"asking"quesFons"when"she"gets"her"

food"!  When"asked"about"if"there"was"one"thing"with"gluten"that"tested"

posiFve"!"“If"there’s"something"on"my"plate"with"gluten,"I’m"not"eaFng"any"of"it”"or"if"she"ate"it,"“I"wouldn’t"enjoy"it”"(it"would"stress"her"out)"

"THINK--

!  Doesn’t"like"always"having"to"be"the"person"who"decides"where"to"eat."Wants"her"friends"to"do"it"too."“Doesn’t"want"to"be"that"annoying"person”"who"always"decides"

!  Afraid"of"brunches"–"a"lot"of"cross"contaminaFon."Suggests"picnics"+"mimosas"instead"

FEEL""!  Feels"a"lack"of"freedom"now."Worried"about"where"she"can"go"

out"to"eat"!  Trusts"pasta"–"“they"would"have"to"be"preVy"dumb"to"cook"it"in"

the"same"pot”"!  When"she"gets"glutened,"gets"“serious"brain"fog”"like"she’s"

“really"stoned”."Then"gets"stomach"issues,"has"to"run"to"the"bathroom,"etc."

"

GF-Profile:-!  Diagnosed"celiac"in"high"school"!  “know"I’ll"get"sick"once"a"month”"!  “Serious"brain"fog”,"stomach"issues,"

etc."!  Former"Celiac"blog"columnist"

"

Product-!  Wants"the"product"to"be"very"discreet,"unless"we"push"it"the"exact"opposite"direcFon"and"make"it"very"out"there"and"flashy"!  Wants"the"product"to"be"small"enough"to"fit"in"her"clutch."Would"prefer"manual"shake"if"that"enabled"it"to"be"easily"transportable"!  SoluFon:"Seeing"the"soluFon"makes"it"feel"very"medical."Worried"about"geZng"the"liquid"on"her"food"and"if"it’s"dangerous"!  Spoon:"The"spoon"would"be"easier"to"use"than"not"having"one,"but"it"makes"it"feel"like"a"fecal"sample"!  The"big"benefit"of"our"product"for"her"would"be"using"it"at"new"locaFons,"restaurants"without"GF"menus,"etc."–"“it"would"open"so"many"

new"doors”"!  When"asked"how"long"she"would"wait,"she"said"a"minute,"and"then"specified"that"she"just"picked"a"number"randomly"that"was"a"short"

amount"of"Fme."The"important"thing"was"to"not"make"her"friends"wait"for"her"when"eaFng"

User Profile:

Prototype context your product will live in

- Asked 10 GF consumers to the office - Set up a “dining room” - Circle on a menu what they would

want to test

ecosystem

Product impact: need to design for solids and liquids

Test product forms with clay and foam features

- I carried a clay model around for one month

- Tested foam models with users

Product impact: narrowed to two shapes that people loved

Build looks-like models features

- With the ID firm, we built two look-like models based on the feedback from foam models

Product impact: the triangular product delivered the best user experience

Tool tips: - Work with a great ID firm

that understands your vision

Test different parts of the functions

food grinding

food sampling

features

Test non-functional protos with users

- Sent to 10 people around the U.S.

- various demographics - various ages - asked to carry around for

two weeks

features in context

Product impact: Nima brings a sense of security

features in contextTest value propositions with users

The testing never stops

Summary

1. First understand if it’s needed before it’s doable.

2. Prototype your product but also the context in which your product lives.

Pre-order Nima at nimasensor.com

@shireenyates@nimasensor