PROJECT AURA
Product Manager of CleanSlate UV's First Consumer Product
Collaborative Project (Team Size: 2) - Jul 2020 to Aug 2020 | Product Management | Competitive Analysis | R + D
Summary
"It's a startup within a startup."
That's what one of my old co-workers at CleanSlate UV said to me. During the last six weeks of my internship, he tasked me to build a foundation for CleanSlate’s consumer product and thoroughly understand if it is feasible for our company to enter the business-to-consumer market. Project Aura aims to analyze the unmet needs and pain points of the current UV-C consumer market to ultimately design a product that adds value to the user’s life without compromising our company values such as sanitization efficacy, industrial design aesthetic, and cycle time duration.
Project Objectives
Map Competitive Landscape
Validate Consumer Profiles
Define Engineering Specs
Design Gap
How do we fill the gap to solve the problem and achieve the final state?
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Current State
Gap
Final State
Smartphones and other personal products are infected with germs
All personal product surfaces are sanitized using UV-C light
Why "Project Aura" ?
I wanted to give the project a name that would motivate me. A long time ago, I used to write science fiction and one of the characters that had to push through some serious adversity was named Aura.
Competition
We're not the only ones...
What's out there?
The portable UV-C sanitizer market in new, growing, and relevant. Prior to the height of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020, there were 25 products on the market and 8 individual companies specializing in UV-C sanitization technology. As of July 2020, there are over 115 UV-C products available for purchase and total of roughly 80 different companies – and this number will only continue to grow.
(August 2019 - July 2020)
Product Styles
Not all consumer UV-C sanitizers were created equal. Various small UV technology companies tried different approaches to sanitization. Three distinct types of UV-C sanitizers currently exist in the consumer market: Wand-style, Bag-style, and Box-style.
Wand-style
Box-style
Bag-style
Product/Market Fit
Where do we fit?
Understanding the Competition
Our key take-aways from analyzing the current portable UV-C sanitizer market include the following...
% Growth 2019-2020
569%
Incoming Products
10+
Total # of Products
115+
Most Active Month for Product Release
April 2020
Market Favoured Product Type
Box-style
Market Favoured Price Range (USD)
$50-$100
Products Launched in 2020
85+
Competitive Landscape
Amid the large and growing consumer market, there are only a handful of companies and products that could compete with CleanSlate UV when it comes to making an impact as a global leader in UV-C sanitization technology space. We can better understand our competition by mapping them out across a Competition Landscape. This landscape schematic will consist of 3 metrics: Product price, sanitization efficacy, and company size.
Low Cost
High Sanitization Efficacy
Required Features
What do the users need?
Competitive Characteristics
Rechargeable Battery
Unique Industrial Design
Portable
High Product Compatibility (PC)
Can sanitize a wide range of
product geometries
Competitor Shortlist
Phone Soap Go
Rock Box
HoMedics UV-C Phone Sanitizer
Samsung UV Sterilizer
Portable
Rechargeable Battery
Unique Industrial Design
High PC
Proposed Product Features
As a result of early market research, I proposed four new product features based on what was lacking in the UV-C consumer market. The purpose of this proposal is to drive the next steps of discovery for the product and investigate alternative ways to add value to the user’s life and their experience with our product.
Contactless Sanitization
Limiting or removing any contact points during the sanitization process eliminates the risk of cross-contamination. This ensures the product we design actually solves the problem.
Sanitization Process Feedback
The product must stimulate the user’s senses in a way that builds trust between the user and the device. There must be some kind of sensory indication that the product is actually working (LEDs, sound effects, etc.)
Less than 3 Minute Sanitization Cycle Time
The new cycle time for our portable consumer UV-C sanitizer is aimed to be less than 3 minutes without compromising the sanitization efficacy. Not only will this make product use more efficient, it also gives our device a competitive edge. All portable UVC sanitizers have a cycle time of 10 minutes or more.
Case Studies
Who are our consumers?
The goal of the following consumer case studies is to iteratively pinpoint the primary consumers and discover answers that will influence and drive inspiration for new features and high-level design decisions.
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The case study begins by imagining potential consumers through the use of consumer profiles. They explain who the average consumer is and how they behave. Their thoughts, senses, and, feelings are all explained. You can run through their typical day to see their patterns and where there might be a need for a sanitization device. People purchase products or services for three reasons: to satisfy basic needs, to solve problems, or to make themselves feel good; it will be crucial in determining where the solution lies so it can be marketed accordingly. The second step is to begin validating the consumer profiles through surveys and interviews.
Consumer Profiles
Profile Example: Kathy
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Mother of young children
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Lives in a suburban home
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Cares about children’s health, hygiene, and safety
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Values higher-quality products and lifestyle
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Owns a Dyson vacuum, a Roomba, and similar products
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A typical day includes lots of driving to different locations:
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Store, school, kids' extracurriculars, gym, friends' houses
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Next, I targeted a survey to individuals who fit Kathy's profile.
Survey Results
In total, we got 42 "Kathys" to answer our survey in two days!
In addition to the questions above, I asked several short answer questions in regards to current cleaning habits.
Survey Summary
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New consumer profile should be investigated – Married women over 65
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Most people are satisfied with their current cleaning methods 🡪 Different methods may not be needed
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Alternative data collection methods must be used in the future 🡪 Determine if there is market demand
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Users favor portable cleaning products
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Users purchase sanitizers to protect their own personal health and their families
Conclusion
Where to next?
Roadmap
The UV-C market is unique.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic, UV-C technologies were mainly reserved for medical applications. Now, the consumer market is being educated about the benefits and use cases of UV-C light at an exponential rate. However, it is still a relatively new technology and its continuous demand in the consumer space is still uncertain. The next steps for Project Aura aim to verify or refute the market demand for portable consumer UV-C products by following the roadmap bellow.
