Sip and Cheer: The Rise of Hope’s Team-Themed Drinks at School Games
Hope and Her Thirsty Friends
Meet Hope, a vibrant 14-year-old who loves school events. Whether it’s a football game, a school dance, or a charity run, Hope is always there, cheering and participating. One hot afternoon at a school carnival, Hope and her friends found themselves parched, searching for something refreshing. The lack of tasty and healthy beverage options sparked an idea in Hope’s mind: why not start a water and beverage brand focused on middle and high school events?
Jobs to Be Done: Quenching the Thirst
The first step for Hope was understanding the job her beverage brand would do. She realized that her product wasn’t just about hydration. It was about providing a refreshing, healthy, and exciting experience at school events. The beverages needed to be cool, flavorful, and branded in a way that appealed to her peers.
Hope identified three main jobs her products would fulfill:
1. Quenching thirst with healthy options.
2. Enhancing the fun and excitement of school events.
3. Offering a cool, branded product that students would be proud to drink.
Hope’s example: She observed that her friends often bought sugary sodas or plain water. There was a clear opportunity to introduce flavored waters, natural juices, and smoothies with fun, student-friendly branding.
Customer Discovery: Talking to Thirsty Teens
Hope knew she needed to understand what her fellow students wanted. She used a simple survey to gather insights from her peers. Here are five questions she asked:
1. What’s your favorite drink at school events?
2. Do you prefer flavored water, juice, or smoothies?
3. How important is it to you that the drink is healthy?
4. What kind of packaging do you like (bottles, cans, etc.)?
5. How much would you be willing to pay for a drink?
Unique tip: Hope offered free samples of her homemade flavored water in exchange for survey responses. This not only got her valuable feedback but also started building a buzz around her brand.
Business Model Insights: Crafting the Perfect Beverage
With the feedback she gathered, Hope refined her business idea. She discovered that her peers loved the idea of flavored waters and smoothies, especially those with natural ingredients and cool packaging. Here’s what she learned:
• Value Proposition: Healthy, tasty beverages that make school events more enjoyable.
• Customer Segments: Middle and high school students who attend school events.
• Key Activities: Creating delicious drink recipes, designing attractive packaging, and setting up a booth at events.
Drawing from the insights of “Good to Great,” Hope knew the importance of having the right people on her team. She enlisted her friends who were passionate about health and had a knack for making drinks.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Starting Small and Smart
Hope decided to test her idea with an MVP approach. She started with a simple booth at a school football game, offering two flavors of water and one smoothie option. She used the “Concierge MVP” method, personally making and serving the drinks to understand customer preferences better.
Steps to create an MVP:
1. Develop a few drink recipes based on the survey feedback.
2. Create a simple, eye-catching booth for school events.
3. Offer free samples and gather real-time feedback from students.
Hope’s MVP was a hit! She quickly learned that students loved tropical flavors and appreciated eco-friendly packaging.
Financial Planning: Crunching the Numbers
Hope needed to understand the costs and set a price that ensured profit while being affordable for students. Here’s a basic calculation she did:
Cost per drink: $1 (ingredients, packaging)
Selling price per drink: $3
Profit per drink: $2
To make $1,000, Hope calculated:
$1,000 ÷ $2 profit per drink = 500 drinks
She realized she needed to sell 500 drinks to reach her goal, which seemed achievable with consistent participation in school events.
Brand Customization: Team Spirit in a Bottle
Hope decided to create different brands and labels for the different school teams to make her drinks even more appealing. This idea was inspired by her observation that students loved showing their school spirit and supporting their teams. Here’s how Hope went about it:
1. Research Team Colors and Mascots: Hope researched the different teams at her school, noting their colors, mascots, and popular slogans.
2. Design Unique Labels: She designed unique labels for each team’s drinks, incorporating the team colors, mascots, and slogans. For example, the football team’s drink was labeled “Tiger Punch” with a roaring tiger and bold orange and black colors.
3. Collaborate with the Art Club: Hope collaborated with the school’s art club to create eye-catching and professional-looking designs for each label.
4. Promote Team-Specific Drinks: At events, Hope’s booth featured team-specific drinks, encouraging students to buy drinks that supported their favorite teams. This not only boosted sales but also heightened school spirit.
Actionable Steps: Making a Splash
Create the First Batch: Hope and her team prepared their first batch of drinks, focusing on the most popular flavors.
Set Up at Events: They set up their booth at various school events, starting with the next football game.
Gather Feedback: They continuously gathered feedback, tweaking their recipes and packaging based on student preferences.
Hope’s journey into entrepreneurship had just begun. With each event, she learned more about her market, refined her products, and got closer to her goal of making a splash in the beverage industry at school events. With her creative branding strategy, Hope’s drinks became a hit, making her a well-known name at school and sparking interest from other schools in the district.
