To many it must sound either weird or even horryfying ...the evolution of a box for the dead..,but if you think about it carefully death is the only certain thing in life. This is what motivated our group to look into the market that serves the dead.
Funerals are known to be a very sad and confronting occasion. It's all about saying goodbye to loved ones. If we have a look at funeral services, in the Netherlands in particular, these are very cold and emotionless. Except for the flowers, the setting is very sober and the choice of coffins is very limited. Our group wants to explore if there is a market for designer, and even customized, coffins. The idea is that a coffin is the last tangible thing one can buy for their loved one, so a bit more personalization and exclusivity would be welcomed by the family. A designer or personalized coffin would also be representative of what the deceased stood for in his/her life and would represent his/her values depending on the design that was chosen. This would give the family a chance to express emotion through a tangible last pursuit for the deceased. With this product we aim to make funerals less sober and more interactive.
The aim would be to design the coffins out of biodegradable materials. It would consist of a standard wooden coffin, that would be completed with a designer sleeve, as per the customers wishes. These sleeves would be interchangeable. Initially our team want to produce 25 designs of sleeves, which would be complemented by a service that gives customers the possibility to order a customized design in a later phase.
As we embark on the journey of investigation of our product, we realize that we are dealing with a rather exclusive market and customer. In the Netherlands, the customer can be seen from different perspectives: Undertakers, Insurance companies, people ordering their own coffins or family members that buy a coffin for ther loved ones. To get all this customers on board for the product we need to know what drives them in a decision of selling or ordering a coffin. We also need to proof some assumptions to ourselves, before we proceed. The main assumptions we are looking to jusify are:
Funerals are known to be a very sad and confronting occasion. It's all about saying goodbye to loved ones. If we have a look at funeral services, in the Netherlands in particular, these are very cold and emotionless. Except for the flowers, the setting is very sober and the choice of coffins is very limited. Our group wants to explore if there is a market for designer, and even customized, coffins. The idea is that a coffin is the last tangible thing one can buy for their loved one, so a bit more personalization and exclusivity would be welcomed by the family. A designer or personalized coffin would also be representative of what the deceased stood for in his/her life and would represent his/her values depending on the design that was chosen. This would give the family a chance to express emotion through a tangible last pursuit for the deceased. With this product we aim to make funerals less sober and more interactive.
The aim would be to design the coffins out of biodegradable materials. It would consist of a standard wooden coffin, that would be completed with a designer sleeve, as per the customers wishes. These sleeves would be interchangeable. Initially our team want to produce 25 designs of sleeves, which would be complemented by a service that gives customers the possibility to order a customized design in a later phase.
As we embark on the journey of investigation of our product, we realize that we are dealing with a rather exclusive market and customer. In the Netherlands, the customer can be seen from different perspectives: Undertakers, Insurance companies, people ordering their own coffins or family members that buy a coffin for ther loved ones. To get all this customers on board for the product we need to know what drives them in a decision of selling or ordering a coffin. We also need to proof some assumptions to ourselves, before we proceed. The main assumptions we are looking to jusify are:
- There is a market for designer coffins
- Our product pricing will be reasonable and attractive to our customers
- Customers will be wanting to spend money and time on it
- There are biodegradable materials available that can be used in the production process
- Just In Time delivery will be possible for the customized coffins
- There is less competition in this market
Great start. I just want to share with you a trend in sustainable urns, such as this one (a friend of mine has it...): https://urnabios.com
ReplyDeleteThank you Luca, We are definitely going to look into it.
ReplyDeleteExactly! That's what entrepreneurship should be about: Learning + Fun. Today, let's try to get much more detailed about customer segments and how to create value for them. For you, it will be particularly valuable to consider not only the functional jobs, but also the social and emotional jobs that your different segments want to get done. Good luck!
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