Figure 1:mindmap of our IHP

Introduction:

Our questionnaire aims to find out public awareness and acceptance of beta-carotene produced by microorganisms since it is a quite new concept for people. And this questionnaire can help us target our customers and is a great guidance for our future product development.

Up to 9.20, we received 318 results and we selected the issues most relevant to product development for cross-analysis.

Figure 2: Questionnaire survey link

Figure3: public acceptance on ß-carotene produced by microorganisms

From figure 3, the table clearly shows that except people who under 12 years old, majority of our potential customers would like to buy ß-carotene related product produces by microorganisms and some of them show extraordinary passion on microorganisms-produced ß-carotene, especially in group of 26-35 years old. Considering the purchasing power, we believe that targeting the 19-45 age group will maximize our sales since nearly all of they are college students and office worker. Particularly those between the ages of 19 and 35, in fact, they accounted for 83.7% of the nutrition market, which indicates that they pay attention on personal health and has great purchasing power.

Figure 4: the way people want to consume ß-carotene

According to the results, people of almost all ages prefer to consume ß-carotene in the form of drinks, and there is not a very hot and good taste of healthy drinks containing carotene on the market at present, we found this pain point, and decided to make a drink containing ß-carotene. Our goal is to make this drink taste good, work, and stand out as delicious and healthy in today's competitive market for drinks. This means that our experiment needs to increase many steps, after successfully cultivating saccharomyces cerevisiae producing ß-carotene, relevant tests on the taste and safety of subsequent drinks are also needed.

Figure 5: the aspects people pay more attention when buying related products of ß-carotene

Figure 6: problem people concern when using ß-carotene

From our questionnaire, we find out that only a few people have no concern on using ß-carotene, most of them are worrying about intake ß-carotene may cause some other diseases or bring yellowing skin. So before we sell our product on the market, several test on safety of our product have to be done and we need to properly use advertising to educate the audience about the safety and effectiveness of our products

According to questionnaire survey, we obtain a good implementation about our product strategy, target customer, and education activity. We would design a drink containing beta carotene in the BP part, targeting young people aged 19-35. We need to actively promote knowledge about beta carotene to children and adults, increasing their understanding of beta carotene. We also need to introduce to them the advantages of our laboratory's gene editing technology about producing beta carotene, let more people understand gene editing technology and beta carotene.

Purpose: Learn details about ß-carotene that we need to concern when we try to make our product

Since we want our customers to buy our products with greater confidence and trust in our brand, we interviewed a nutrition expert to ask about side effect of carotene and carotene related product in order to decide the amount of carotene in the products we make.

Figure 7: online interview with Dr.Huang

1. Can you briefly introduce the function of beta-carotene?

Ans: ß-carotene is a trace element and the most diverse type of carotenoid, which is an active substance and natural pigment in food. Because of its existence, food will show orange and green plants, such as pumpkin.

Function:

• it is A source of vitamin A and vitamin A can protect vision, night vision function, prevent eye diseases
• Immune support, which can boost immunity against infections such as viruses, bacteria and mycoplasma
• Keep the skin healthy and promote the growth and repair of skin cells.
• Anti-oxidation: When cells in the body metabolize, they will produce a kind of waste called free radicals. ß-carotene has the antioxidant function to remove free radicals generated by metabolism, thereby preventing diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by the accumulation of free radicals.

2: Which group of people uses beta-carotene?

Ans: It will be needed at all ages, and the recommended intake is not the same. For instance, the recommended intake for middle school students is 4.6mg of beta-carotene per day, which is equivalent to one and a half carrots

3: Many people on the Internet reflect the side effects of beta-carotene, such as skin yellow, excessive intake of poisoning, disease, etc. When we make a questionnaire survey, we find that many people worry about these side effects. Is it true? If there are these side effects, do you think people should still use beta-carotene?

Ans: Just like you won’t give up eating for fear of choking, you can't resist beta-carotene because of rumors on the Internet. Beta-carotene is recommended for intake in trace elements. It is recommended to take in the form of food (from dark yellow, dark green, dark yellow plants and dairy and soy products), according to the Dietary guidelines for Chinese residents, our daily intake should be 300g. If there are related diseases, under the guidance of a doctor, ingest carotene can be a quick way to replenish. Although there are many effects of beta-carotene, but it can not be used as medicine, it is recommended to eat a balanced diet to consume ß-carotene.

4: Because office workers cannot eat regularly and healthily, they may lack ß-carotene in their body. In the future, in what form do you think ß-carotene will be more competitive in the market?

A: You can replace vegetables with some quick-fix products sometimes, such as carrot juice, and take a small amount of oil, because carotene is fat-soluble, otherwise its absorption will be very limited.

Summary and Implementation:

From our online interview, we learned that although ß-carotene may bring some side effects, according to the expert, as long as you do not exceed the recommended intake, it is beneficial to supplement in the form of food. For those who cannot take their meals regularly and healthily, it's okay to substitute a drink that contains carotene

We know that our drinks should not exceed an adult's recommended daily intake of ß-carotene, it ought to cover 60%-70% since people can obtain ß-carotene from variety of food, so that it will not bring side effect that our customers previously concerned and will be safe and effective. In addition, we need to properly educate our target customers, such as inform them about the importance of ß-carotene and safe carotene content in our products.

According to the expert, for those who eat three irregular meals a day, carotene can be supplemented by vegetable juice. So we conducted a survey of the vegetable juice products on the present market. We found that mixed vegetable juice in the market now is actually very cheap, but since they extract ß-carotene directly from vegetables, their cost will be high in long run. Therefore, we need to choose the most productive one from three combinations in our experiment which can low down our cost and promote the sale of our products.

Purpose: Understand the current market for carotene-related products

When we decide to use our microorganism-produced ß-carotene to make juice and sell in the market, we find that we do not know much about the ß-carotene-related products on the market at present. So, in order to find out more about the current market for beta-carotene, we spoke to another nutrition expert about the carotene products they use at work and what they expect the form beta-carotene will take in the future.

Interview:

1. In your clinical experience, do you know which beta-carotene products or drugs are currently on the market, and what are the similarities and differences between them?

A: beta carotene softgel, oral liquid, etc.; The content and dosage form are different. β-carotene products or drugs mainly include natural carotene soft capsules, ‌ betacarotene capsules, ‌ carotene capsules and so on. ‌ These products are primarily intended for beta-carotene supplementation and ‌ for people who need beta-carotene supplementation. ‌

2. In the field of clinical treatment, what diseases can ß-carotene treat?

A: Treat night blindness, solar dermatitis, insomnia, etc.

3. In what form do you think the products related to beta-carotene will be more competitive in the market in the future?

A: Compound preparations rich in beta carotene and other nutrients may be more popular, moderate content, good taste and good absorption are the advantages of everyone's choice.

4. What difficulties do you think the products related to beta-carotene will encounter in the market?

A: If it is used as a health care product, its bioavailability and content may be suitable for healthy people is a more concerned issue for the majority of people. If it is targeted at beta-carotene deficiency or high demand population, its taste and whether it is convenient to carry need attention.

Summary and Implementation:

From the interview, according to experts, the compound preparation with moderate content and good taste may be more popular with customers in the market, and we learned that most of the carotene-related products and drugs on the market now appear in the form of capsules and pellets, with different contents but relatively single types. So the drink we make is quite new to the customers and has high potential to get public attention.