New product ideas

I had given my students of MBA ISM at UPES recently a project about New Product Development. They came out with three products. The products were

1.      Hair care taker: According to the students this was an electronic microprocessor controlled hair care consultant. The group claimed that this product was capable of letting the users know many things about hair care. The users can know about their dandruff status, when they would need a hair wash, the type of shampoo they should use and even the type of hair style they should sport. The group claimed that the product would be available at a cost of Rs 2500/- and it would be marketed through upmarket hair salons like the Habibs. 

2.      Pen +:The second group came out with an idea of a Pen+. Pen+ is an intelligent pen. This pen can be used on any surface and it works like an ordinary pen. This pen has a display that can tell the writer if he had committed any spelling, grammatical or punctuation mistake. It can scan copy and edit any matter. The pen comes with an internal memory. The one issue that is a bother is the different hand writings that the pen will encounter. The pen will have to get used to and learn to read the writer’s handwriting just like a voice activated automatic typing facility that is available in a laptop. The auto correcting facility when one is writing could create confusion in the writer. The cost of the product is Rs 1,995/-. 

3.      Easy Auto Wrap: The third group came out with an equally interesting product. They talked about an easy wrap product. According to this group the water in the overhead water tank of a house would become too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. The Easy auto warp can be wrapped around the water tank. The warp around would create an air pocket and would reflect the hot air in the summer thus ensuring that the temperature dose not increase in the summer and would see that the water does not lose the temperature in the winter by insulating the water tank.

But the problem would exist, how the auto warp will ensure that the temperature would reach a comfortable temperature in the summer before the auto warp steps in and controls the temperature from reaching uncomfortably hot level. Same would be the case in winter. The water needs to be heated up from the un comfortable level to a level that is comfortable for the water to be used for taking a bath. This product inherently has many issued that need to be tackled. The group claims that the product can save around 20,000 to 40,000/- rupees per year on less electricity usage.

All in all very interesting new product ideas. But they need to be worked upon. The products need to   be tested both in the lab condition and in real life. The customers should be willing to shell out the hefty money that is being demanded. Products will be a success only if the consumers feel an acute need and would feel stressed if they are denied the products.