What if the toothbrush industry was more sustainable?
Meet The Team
Kaley Blask
San Antonio, TX
B.S. Interior Design
M.F.A. Design for Sustainability
Anais Cipriano
Paris, France
M.F.A. Interior Design
M.A. Design for Sustainability
Eliska Skarolkova
Prague, Czech Republic
B.A. Industrial Design
M.A. Design for Sustainability
Christopher
Beardsley
Tallahassee, Fl
B.S. Studio Art
M.A. Industrial Design
M.A. Design for Sustainability
My responsibilites on this project was design research, prototype builder, CAD designer, and presenter.
Objective
Brand Self-Actualization
Design a memorable and meaningful user-centered innovation for a company that enables users to behave more sustainably even as it drives real improvements in that company‘s sustainable practices. The solution must not be implemented by greenwashing, but only through a lasting commitment to change in the company. Explore methods and means of brand self-actualization through meaningul user-focused behavior change by reconciling the tension between the present state and desired future state of your company.
Industry Research
The first step in our research process was to analyze different oral care brands to familiarize ourselves with the industry. After studying Colgate, an sustainability integrated brand, and Weleda, a purpose-driven sustainable brand, our research led us to Aquafresh which we believed lacked a sustainable focus, based on our understanding of The Natural Step Funnel Analogy.
Secondary Research Tools
A.U.D.I.O Analysis
To gain insight into Aquafresh’s environmental impacts, we conducted an Aspects/Upstream/Downstream/Issues/Opportunities (AUDIO) analysis.
Stakeholder Engagement Map
A Stakeholder Engagement Map is the technique used to identify the all individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments that might be directly or indirectly influenced by the company that is being focused on.
Sswot Analysis
sSWOT is a sustainable analysis tool that is an extension of the traditional SWOT analysis tool, through a sustainability lens.
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Four Action Framework
Blue Ocean’s Four Actions Framework is used to reconstruct buyer value elements in creating a new strategic profile. The framework poses four key questions: eliminate, reduce, raise, and create (ERRC), to challenge an industry’s strategic logic.
Strategy Canvas
The Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas tool is a simple and effective way to compare different types of brands within the industry, revealing the market space which is available for capture.
Academic Publication
We examined publications on the toothpaste industry, the impacts of materials of toothpaste itself, as well as examine GSK, Aquafresh's parent company Annual Report and Sustainability report to understand how might we provide a solution that would work best for Aquafresh in becoming more sustainable.
Initial Opportunity Development
Entering the initial opportunity phase, the team had a solid idea of the goals that we wanted to achieve. Understanding Aquafresh weaknesses in the areas of ingredients toxicity, waste management, and water contamination. We knew we could create something that connected Aquafresh to nature and the community. We evaluated our initial opportunities that we gained from secondary research on a timeline to determine which oppertunity would be the most viable and realistic for Aquafresh. Ultimately, we came out of our first ideation phase knowing that part of the solution we would create would be a natural product line for Aquafresh. Through this process we created 3 hypotheses about toothpaste consumers that we centered our primary research around.
Hypothesis
1.
Most people do not know what ingredients are in their toothpaste.
2.
Most people do not care what ingredients are in their toothpaste.
3.
If people knew what ingredients were in their toothpaste, they
would be more inclined to use natural alternatives.
Primary Research Tools
Online Survey
The online survey served as a way for us to capture general, initial information about dental hygiene habits to help us narrow our focus for our cultural probe.
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We wanted to find out—
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If there is a correlation between diet and dental care habits
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How much people value their oral health
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Patterns in dental care habits
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Which toothpaste brands people use
Cultural Probe
In order to change consumer behavior, there needs to first be consumer education. We wanted to design a cultural probe event that was informative and fun, while also using it as a tool to understand people’s mindsets as toothpaste consumers.
What we came up with was an interactive game where users guess what ingredients are in their toothpaste (left), and then have the most common harmful ingredients and their side effects revealed to them (right).
Empathy Map
We utilized an empathy map to analyze the information we gathered from our survey and cultural probe. This tool was appropriate for this type of data because it organizes information based on the user’s behavior and experience while using a product or service.
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After reviewing all of our information, empathy map, and affinitization results, we looked back at our original hypotheses to see if we had proved them right or wrong. As it turns out we semi-proved them all, prompting us to turn our hypotheses into three theories which we then used to solidify our final solution.
Hypotheses
1.
Most people do not know what ingredients are in their toothpaste.
2.
Most people do not care what ingredients are in their toothpaste.
3.
If people knew what ingredients were in their toothpaste, they
would be more inclined to use natural alternatives.
Theories
1.
Most people know there are harmful ingredients in their toothpaste, and even still they are hesitant to make the change to a healthier alternative.
2.
Most people know that there are harmful ingredients in their
toothpaste, but they do not know the specifics.
3.
Most people are alarmed after learning about harmful ingredients’ side effects, and are willing to switch to healthier alternatives once they gain that knowledge.
Solution: A.Fresh
Current Logo
Having gathered and affinitized all the data from primary research, the team realized that due to the familiarity of Aquafresh, it would be inefficient to try and covert the brand towards being a natural and sustainable brand and required a series of holistic solutions. Through multiple phases of ideation, we decided that by creating a sub brand for Aquafresh, Aquafresh could attract a new natural, organic market group as well as appeal to their current consumer market. Wanting to be recognizable by Aquafresh customers, yet being different enough to stand on its own we created a all organic sub brand called A.fresh.
By changing the font and simplifying the name, this new logo allows Aquafresh to launch a new product line that is separate from its current offering, while still maintaining their other products. The logo conveys a sense of freshness, naturalness, and youthfulness. It is
inspired by the idea of A.fresh Start for Aquafresh.
All Natural Aquafresh Line Rebranding
Packaging Redesign
In order to make the product fully recyclable we removed the traditional plastic spout and cap found on most traditional toothpaste packaging. We designed the packaging of A.fresh in Tetra Pak material that way to seal the product and ensure its freshness. Additionally, with the packaging graphic design, we've included a return stamp that allows for customers to mail back their empty toothpaste for us to reuse and recycle.
Greener Shipping
The secondary packaging for the A.fresh product can hold more product per box, therefore reducing the space needed for shipping. When less space is needed for shipping, more boxes can fit per truck, reducing CO2 emissions because less trucks are needed to transport the product.
Mobile Dental Truck
To launch A.fresh, we are proposing the A.fresh Start campaign—a truck that travels across the United States to promote the new brand and to connect Aquafresh with its new target market. The A.fresh Start campaign is a fresh start for Aquafresh and a fresh start for their customers. That is why the truck will offer free dental health screenings by a dental health professional, educational materials, and free samples of the new product for users to test out. Through the A.fresh Start campaign, we hope to reconnect the consumer to the product and to nature.
A.fresh Campaign
The A.fresh travelling tooth truck pilot project campaign will pass through 23 major U.S. cities in the span of 3 months. This will give the truck roughly 4 days in each city to administer free dental screenings and advertise the new, natural A.fresh toothpaste line. During these months, the truck will try to align its schedule with marathons, music festivals, or food truck festivals that are passing through these cities. We strategically chose these locations because they are the most likely to contain a large portion of our target market.
