Paving Your Own Yellow Brick Road
A few lessons on Pivoting and Go-to-Market Executions
Before KitcheNet made its grand entrance into the world of office fruit delivery, we used to be a community-focused produce box company, bringing fresh veggies to the Chicago Southside.
While our mission was noble, we struggled with balancing the economics of basket size and repeatable customers.
One recurring piece of feedback? Not enough fruit in those veggie bags! We later realized that customers were finishing the fruit before they even made it home, sparking the idea for a dedicated fruit box service. Talk about a lightbulb moment!
Navigating a pivot is no easy feat. If you are in the middle of one, I hope the notes I jot down will give you some courage!
Avoiding the Trap: Interest ≠Paying Customers
When we tested the prototype, in the underserved community, in our own incubator office, or during the free tasting at big offices like Leo Burnett, RXBAR, as well as WeWork, we got raving reviews.
Then I add a $10/week price tag, and we can barely get any sign-ups. For the 1-2 sign-ups, the variability in preferences was so significant that each delivery led to us losing money.
This is a hard place to be for an entrepreneur: The customer who loves your product is not willing to pay for it. Since we are not a digital business, our customers can’t become the product. As painful as it might be, this is a sign to cut your losses. Remember, if you keep going down this path further, it will only take longer for you to come back.
Fortunately, WeWork office managers were inviting us back for paid tasting services. If they hadn't expressed this interest, we might have closed our business by then.
Uncovering the Path: Clarifying Functional and Emotional Pains
Contrary to popular belief that we're a delivery company, KitcheNet's appeal is in fruit curation and social validation.
You see, these office managers adore using fresh fruits to energize their communities. The tricky part is that they're often daunted by the task of sourcing the fruits themselves. Especially after 1-2 bad experiences - like getting fruit flies or finding uneaten apples left to rot on the shelf - they start to doubt.
Their real pain points revolve around the unpredictability of their community's reaction to the fruits they choose and their lack of knowledge of the fruits. What they're truly interested in is a service that takes the guesswork out, guaranteeing the excitement and delight around a fresh, diverse fruit selection every time.
Expanding the Path: Beachhead and Mass Market
While the input from WeWork is encouraging, there continue to be challenges for sustainability. After all, there are only 8 WeWorks, and even if they are eating fruits every meal, it is hard to cover the operation of a small but mighty team of 3.
If WeWork serves smaller offices, could the model be applied to larger tenant management offices in upscale buildings? This led to reaching out to high-end commercial property management like Hines and JLL.
Within a month, an invitation was received to participate in their community event. After seeing the excitement in the lobby, they ordered 50 boxes of fruit as Christmas gifts for their tenants - an early sign that the heart of Chicago's office buildings was ready to embrace our services.
Paving the Yellow Brick Road: Enhancing the Offering
Finding the right offering in the food and grocery world requires careful observation. Two influential business leaders left a lasting impression on me: Robert Mariano, founder of Mariano's, would spend time in his grocery store parking lots observing customers' purchasing patterns. Rich Melman, founder of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, would meticulously review every plate sent back to the kitchen, studying how to enhance his restaurant menus.
When it comes to our work at KitcheNet, we're certainly addressing the pain points of office managers. But the real magic lies in ensuring office workers themselves become loyal, repeat fans.
For that, two key aspects need to be consistently repeatable every single week: the element of discovery of great-tasting fruits, and the aspect of community sharing and virality.
We test various fruit varieties, pairings, and other aspects to perfect these two drivers of our unique product. In the early days, we talked about how each box opens up a small concert inside of their office.
Hi,
I'm Trista. I ran a social enterprise that delivered office fruit subscriptions to help address food deserts in Chicago. Now I write about my experiences because I believe these scrappy stories are interesting and can inspire others.
If you've read this far, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Even a simple "gobanana!" in the comments would provide huge motivation for me to keep writing.
I'm also very interested in learning what other topics you'd like me to cover next. Thank you so much, and have a fruitful day!