tap filter investigation anand patel 28 august 2012 (2)
TRANSCRIPT
This document is the property of Strix Ltd and the information contained is CONFIDENTIAL
The drawings and information may not be reproduced or used without the prior written consent of Strix Ltd
The designs and concepts herein are patent and copyright protected
Presented by
Anand Patel
2012-08-28
Contents
1. Purpose/Inspirations
2. Project: Tap filter market• Research question
• Definition
• Raw Data
• Scope of market• Price
• Countries and competitors
• Realisations
3. Testing of Brita product
4. Results
5. Potential of Aqua Optima• Market position
• Strategy
• My Idea
6. Summary of work experience
Project – faucet tap filter
Research Question
Is this a product that Aqua Optima should spend
money and resources onto develop in 2013?
Essentially:
• Investigate the market through Internet research
• Test a leading brand (BRITA 2289)
• Report
• My view if Aqua Optima should invest
Firstly, what is a faucet filter?
• Domestic, day to day filter
• Uses a carbon filtration process and fit directly on your faucet (tap).
PUR is the
second leading
brand in the
faucet filter
market
Research
My Priority: ‘What makes a good filter?’
• N:SRON\AquaOptima\Arnie stuff\
Scope of market
Price:
• Ranges from £15 to £1000
• Ideal domestic pricing is about £40
• Vast range of prices dependant on product
differentiation. Eg. BRITA/PUR
• Price is dependant on type of filter and extras
• For BRITA, they can charge extra through
branding/popularity
Scope of market
Competitors/Countries:
• Market leaders are BRITA and PUR
• Other outbound competitors:
• US: BRITA US, PUR, Culigan, Instapure, Omnifilter,
GE, Dupont . (Take a small percent of market
share)
• UK: BRITA UK Prozone (anomalous), Kinetico
• China/Asia: PUREEASY, XTK (abbreviated)
• More detail, refer to ‘Brief Evaluation Handout’
Realisations• Products tend to be misleading
Example Enviro, claiming ‘10 Stage Filtration’:
Stage 1: 30 micron filter pad Stage 2: 8 oz of KDF-55 filter agent Stage 3: 10 micron filter pad Stage 4: .5 Sub micron fine mesh coconut shell carbon Stage 5: 10 micron filter pad Stage 6: 1.3 oz of cation exchange resin Stage 7: 30 micron filter pad Stage 8: 3.5 oz of ultra fine GAC filter agent Stage 9: 2 oz of calcite Stage 10: 30 micron polishing filter
Testing of BRITA product
From first glance....
Test procedure
N:\SRON\AquaOptima\Arnie stuff\Tap research -
faucet.xlsx
Test Results
• Chlorine levels have been significantly reduced
• Turbidity has been reduced on both units
• Flow rate consistent on tap supply
• Hard water flow rate stagnated at interval 100L
• Scale testing needs to be confirmed
Results- hard water termination
Lime scale build-up
General conclusion of BRITA 2289
•Consumer convenient
•Works well under tap water conditions
•Inefficient under hard water mains
•Dependent on the quality of piping, which
varies with each household
•Reliable product
Market
• Not a saturated market
• Two main producers (BRITA and PUR)
• Acts as an oligopolistic market (like soft drinks
market)
• Set prices, where other firms follow
• PUR/BRITA are giants – Economies of Scale,
skilled labour and a great labour force.
• Product differentiation
However for Aqua Optima.....
WE CAN COMPETE:
• Same characteristics/experience/reputation
But the question is...
Will we get a return?
Response to question:
Is this a product that Aqua Optima should spend
money and resources onto develop in 2013?
Yes, as it is a strategy in opening a new market, which is
ESSENTIAL in times of recession.
My general strategy:
1. Differentiate - Expand filter range
2. Capital development
3. Exploit services scheme
4. Intellectual Property (IP)
Target Market – target consumers
Who?
• Ages of 25 onwards
• Sport... NSC?
• People with a poor access to drinking water. Ie. Greg
Allen!
Where to sell/retailers?
US: Kmart, Wayfair, Amazon US, Drugstore, Walmart, Savestore
UK: Amazon, Dyas, fridgefilter shop, Amazon UK
Europe: ProTechshop, Pixmania
A Target Market – infiltrating the
bottled water market
Cost per litre =
46p
Cost per litre =
3p
Cost analysis, over three years
Cost analysis
Marg. Cost Full Cost
Selling Price (unit + 1 filter):- 14.86 14.86
Selling price of 1 unit 10.12
Selling price of 1 filter 4.74
Marginal Cost:- 7.43 7.88
Contribution:- 7.43 6.98
Total Volume 3 Year Period:- 36,000 36,000 Faucet unit vol. only
Total Volume 5 Year Period:- 60,000 60,000 Faucet unit vol. Only
Development Costs:- 10,000 10,000
Capital Investment:- 35,000 35,000
Cash Generation over 3 Years 222,480 206,104
Payback number of Units:- 6,057 6,452
In-depth strategy and forecasts
Product Assessment Brand BRITA PUR Aqua Optima 1 Aqua Optima 2
Price (£) 44 30 £34.99 £59.99
Filter Price 30 20 £24.99 £34.99
Filter Type 2-stage 3-stage 2-stage 3-stage
Lifetime 3 months 4 months 3-4 months 6 months
Predicted retail prices, from market judgement
What I have learnt
• Never Judge a liquid by its smell!
•Strix is more than just kettles!!!
What I have achieved
• Prepared myself for University
• Gained experience/ solid background in
lab work
• Perspective on a job which is science –
related
• Perspective on research
Always look under a kettle before using it
(WARNING.. Scalding is a possibility)