Stak was a capstone project when Ken earned his Master’s Degree in Product Design and Development at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. As part of a team, several Product Opportunity Gaps (POGs) were identified to outline potential opportunities in the home. One POG was coined ‘My Garden’ and the team developed it as a product considerate of market trends in food awareness for the discerning home chef mindful of budget and quality of ingredients.
The output was a concept for an indoor growing product that encourages a healthy lifestyle while meeting the criteria of quality of craftsmanship, modern design, and emotional value. The vertical design facilitates multiple plants in a single sturdy footprint. Each pot is sized to allow for healthy root growth and a custom root guard provides the appropriate drainage. An outward facing spout provides the outlet for plants to flourish as a lithium-ion rechargeable battery powers an LED grow light that projects an additional 4 hours of growth each night before turning off.
The team conducted market research to verify concept and branding, developed a marketing strategy, prepared a financial analysis with a 5 year IRR and NPV analysis, sourced a full BOM for offshore production, outlined a future opportunity product vector and pitched the concept to a group of venture capitalists, business owners and corporate executives in attendance. The product continues to be in development.
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