Proof of Concept for an innovation to replace single-use packaging

An innovative service concept to reduce single-use packaging waste

The early-stage start-up had an innovative idea: They were going to launch a new type of holistic service concept to the market, bringing together a physical packaging product with logistics, wash, deposit system and a digital service to reduce the amount of single-use packaging waste generated by takeaway dining.

At the beginning of our project, there were still plenty of questions. How would users feel about this kind of service concept? How would the service work as a whole? How could they make using the service as easy as possible?

The startup asked for our help designing and implementing the digital part of the service concept. We needed to validate, whether the intended service model was viable for end-users and businesses, and whether end users would use a digital service. In order to find out, we would have to test the idea with actual users.

Light project, big impact

Kamupak had been granted Business Finland’s innovation voucher, which set the scope for the project’s budget. We began with discussions with our client to immerse ourselves in their business idea and together figure out, how we could best help them in this first stage. 

In innovation voucher projects, it’s crucial to focus on the essential - what can we do lightly, with substantial impact to help the startup move into their next stage. Having discussions with a partner who understands the cost of developing different technological solutions and what kind of options are available makes the founders’ job easier. 

A Proof of Concept or POC is far from a final product, but it’s extremely useful in the early stage when a concept needs to be tested with users before investing heavily in building the actual product or service. When planned well, a POC can be a very light project. 

Validating the idea with a POC

We set out to create a POC that would be used in Kamupak’s pilot project. Together with our client, we designed how the pilot project would be implemented as a whole. Budget was limited, and we would have to define the scope of the pilot and POC clearly to one use case and phase in the user journey.

The POC we created was a mobile-only website that would be used in the pilot project to test the idea with real users. The users would either scan a QR code or manually enter a code located on the physical food packaging onto the mobile site, where they could find out more about their meal and the Kamupak pilot and fill in a questionnaire about the service. We implemented the service based on visual layouts delivered by the client. Implementation was only a small part of the project – the biggest work was done in the service design phase. 

On the mobile website, we gathered important usage data about how many users actually ended up using the digital service and how they used it. Our client gathered further insight about users’ feelings and perceptions of the digital service as well as the physical product with user interviews.

Results

When working with early-stage startups, our primary goal is to produce results that will enable our client’s business to continue. For Kamupak, the successful pilot project was an important step in validating the idea, designing the service concept and gaining insights about end-users. Furthermore, the pilot played a role in building the Kamupak B2B partner network and securing funding for their next stage.

After the successful innovation voucher project, Kamupak continues to develop its service concept with Business Finland’s Tempo financing.

"Working with Sangre was easy, things progressed quickly and communication was effortless. As a result, we were able to validate and test our idea and the technology, which was very important in this stage."

- Founder Iida Miettinen, Kamupak

We want to make things that have an impact not only on our clients’ business, but also on the surrounding world in a positive way. That’s why we’re excited to work with Kamupak and help their project forward in the fight to reduce single-use packaging waste. 

Do you have an innovative business idea that drives positive change in the world? Get in touch via the form below and let’s discuss how we can help.

Find out more about the innovation voucher on our innovation voucher -service page. If you want to know how Kamupak successfully applied for the voucher, read more on our blog.