Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2:

Interviews:

Samantha McCormick: Works as a full time fertility specialist for leader dogs for the Blind in southeastern Michigan. She packs lunch most days and works at a facility far from home, thus she can’t ever come home for lunch. She doesn’t usually leave mid day as her shifts are too busy and it often feels like a waste of time. She will typically pack something simple ie. leftovers from previous meals or a sandwich and makes do until she can get home. She would like to be better at cooking but feels she needs a lot of instruction to make it enjoyable. 

Polly Ford: Works as a paralegal at a local law firm with three grown children. Packs lunch daily and usually packs the same thing so she can buy bulk items without wasting much food. Although she would like to eat something different everyday, the cost and selection encourages her to keep packing and bringing lunch. She does eat out occasionally as a treat or because she has forgotten to bring substantial food for the day. She hated packing her children’s lunches was discouraged because lots of food was wasted. Her husband eats at home, stops for food or doesn’t eat. As long as the prep is not too treacherous, she would be interested in having someone else cook for her, however she would like it to be simple and not too treacherous. Prepackaged meal kits offer a lot of variety but are a ton of work and she would not be interested in this for her mid day meal. Under $10 per meal she would consider but otherwise she is not interested.

Lauren Frith: Mother of 3 young children, works part time. She is able to work from home bit with her job and works at the office the other days. She moderately enjoys cooking and typically packs food or at least substantial snacks for her days in the office. Typically she works with colleagues who leave for lunch and she doesn’t like to leave at this time to go get food because she has more scheduled lunch breaks. Doesn’t think that she would be interested in spending money to have someone else prepare this meal for her because its pretty easy to throw things together and she is often home or close to home throughout her days.

Amy Tran: Single, works more than full time as a paralegal and case manager. Occasionally she takes leftover food for lunch but often does not bring anything. Doesn’t feel that it is worth the hassle to go find food and simply just keeps working until it is time to go home and figure out something there for dinner. She would be interested in having someone prep meals for her to avoid having to make the decisions about what to eat and not have to leave to go find something. She is moderately concerned with eating healthy food but would really prefer to eat good tasting food, not a sandwich packed from home. Likely she would forget to place the order every week if it was not set up for her though— could see this being a hassle.

Josh Jardin: Husband with two children. Works at a financial office close to home but travels during the day to meetings. He never brings food with him and instead comes home for lunch almost daily. He prefers to get out of the office on days that he can an likes to come home throughout the day to check in on his kids (particularly in the summer when they are home alone). This provides a nice break in his day. Typically eats whatever is in the fridge and already pretty much assembled ie. frozen meals or leftovers.

Inside the boundary vs. Outside the boundary:

Inside the Boundary-

Who is In:  Busy professionals who work outside the home, people who would like to eat good food and are willing to pay for quality meals. These people may eat out habitually.

What the Need Is: Lunch that is thought through already. Something that is consistently tasteful, healthy and offers variety to break a rut of “easy” foods.

Why the Need Exists: People often don’t want to make another choice when lunch time comes or dislike the process of picking out what to make. 

Outside the Boundary-

Who is Not: Busy individuals who work at home or have the flexibility to stop home. People who have very strict dietary restrictions or are incredibly picky eaters. 

What the Need Is Not: People worried about saving money by eating out. 

Alternative Explanations: People are lazy or dislike cooking. People prefer the break throughout the day to leave and get food. People may prefer the restaurants they eat at or socializing with coworkers during this time. Some people really do like eating the same thing every day and would not be interested in variety. People may not want to spend the money on food or fear it would get wasted.