Innovation: The Easy Shot Liquor Bottle

This term I have a new product innovation class, and today we have an assignment due for which we had to create a new product or innovation and explain how we would sell it and do all that other stuff. My innovation was the Easy Shot Liquor Bottle. I got the idea from a bottle of mouthwash that I posted about this summer. I think it's a pretty good idea, and if you really want to, you can take a look at my write-up after the jump.

BACKGROUND
After a recent trip to the dentist, I was encouraged to start using fluoride mouthwash regularly to help prevent cavities. When I left the dentist’s office, I went to the grocery store to pick some up, and that night when I used it for the first time, I noticed something different about the bottle. It had a tube in it, much like one you would find in a bottle of soap, that fed into a cup that was built into the neck of the bottle. When you squeezed the bottle, much like pumping a soap dispenser, the cup would fill up with mouthwash. With a fill line on the cup, it was easy to get the right amount to pour into my mouth, and there was no mess because no mouthwash could escape the bottle without squeezing it. Immediately after using this bottle, I had an idea: the Easy Shot Liquor Bottle.

PRODUCT
The Easy Shot Liquor Bottle would use the same principles as the previously mentioned bottle of mouthwash. A plastic bottle that holds 750ml, the standard “fifth” in the liquor industry, that has a plastic tube that runs from the bottom of the bottle into an opening in the cup/neck at the top, which is 1oz., the standard “shot”.

The overall design of the standard plastic liquor bottle would be the same; the only things that are changing are the design of the neck of the bottle (adding the shot cup), and the way the liquid is dispensed from the bottle (squeezed into the cup and then poured out). While an entire new version of the traditional plastic liquor bottle would need to be produced as the shot cup is built in to the neck, I believe that this change is more of a component innovation than it is an architectural one.

OPPORTUNITY
Being a college student at the University of Oregon over the age of 21, I have experienced the ways different people use alcohol. One of those ways is end user consumption; the end user being a consumer who goes to the liquor store and buys a bottle for personal consumption. Say, for example, a college student.

Part of the college experience is going to parties, and at parties, students drink. One of the primary ways they do so is by taking shots. Pouring shots can be messy, with spilling and over-filling often occurring because the wide mouth of traditional liquor bottles lets the liquid out too quickly. Plus, not everyone has a shot glass handy. The Easy Shot Liquor Bottle combines a shot glass with the bottle, so there is no need for an extra glass, and because you squeeze the bottle to dispense the liquor, the user can regulate the pouring speed very accurately, so the risk of spilling or overfilling is greatly reduced.

The second type of consumption I see most often is at bars, and this is where this product may really flourish. In order for this product to work, the bottle needs to be plastic so that it can be squeezed. The liquor that is generally sold in plastic bottles is less expensive and more mass-produced, which bars use typically as their “house” or “well” liquors. If any other bar-goers are like me, they often choose the less expensive route when they go out, meaning they buy these “house” or “well” drinks.

I can assume, then, that a bar goes through a lot of liquor that comes in plastic bottles. I will also assume that bars aim to maximize profits as any other business does, and one way of doing that is limiting the amount of alcohol they put into their mixed drinks. Often bartenders use shot glasses for this reason, but over pouring and spilling still occur. This new design will allow bartenders to regulate the amount of alcohol they put into drinks more accurately and without the over pouring and spilling because the shot glass is built in. This results in accurate pours more consistently, as well as less cleaning costs with the reduction of shot glass usage.

These are the two main uses I see with this bottle, only because they make the desired jobs of both of those customer segments easier. However, there is one other major player in the equation: the distributor.

MARKETING
The above opportunities explain how this new product will benefit the consumer, but those consumers will not be the same consumers that this product will be marketed to. The bottle needs to be filled with liquor before it reaches the end users, so the consumer I will be targeting is the distributor. There are many different liquor companies in the industry today, so likely there are even more distributors, as some companies may contract out. The knowledge conditions that I would need to be aware of in marketing this product is who the liquor companies buy their bottles from, and where exactly in the process the bottles come in. Essentially, who do I talk to in order to get my product used?

It may turn out that I have to talk to a bottle manufacturer and sell them my design, which they will then take, sell to the liquor companies, and distribute. These are all factors I need to research. However, I will assume that I will be undertaking the production of the bottles, and pitching them to a liquor distributor myself.

The reason why distributors of low-cost liquors that come in plastic bottles should adopt my product is to both differentiate themselves from the rest of the cheap bottles that essentially look the same and also to possibly elevate their cheap liquor into the next class.

To the cheap liquor drinker, cheap liquor is cheap liquor is cheap liquor. However, if one brand comes in a new, better bottle, the consumer is more likely to buy it over the others. Also, the perceived value of the liquor may be higher because of the new bottle, and thus it would seem like the consumer is getting better liquor for less money, and would likely pay more for it. This increased price would likely cover any initial production costs of the new bottle, and eventually, when it becomes mass produced, profits would increase because of that raised price.

It may also be worth noting that the perceived value to bar owners of the liquor they may conserve with this design through reduced spilling or over pouring is in fact not that great, as any bar with a trained bartender should have minimal spilling and bartenders may still be generous with their pouring. Therefore, you should not worry about losing any sales volume because of this bottle.

Another, potentially money saving possibility is to use this bottle on higher end liquors. Some of the liquors that are produced in more expensive glass bottles could be distributed in this plastic bottle instead. The move to a plastic bottle would reduce bottle costs, but would also be justified to the consumer because of the squeeze bottle technology. Therefore, a plastic Easy Shot Liquor Bottle of your product could be sold for the same price as the glass bottle, but would cost less to produce.

I have spent some time explaining how this could be profitable for others, but it can also be a profitable venture for me. If liquor distributors begin adopting my product, I could then market it to their competitors as a way for them to keep up with the industry. If I can leverage one against another, without burning any bridges of course, then this could grow into a company that distributes bottles to liquor companies.

I could also choose to sell the design to a manufacturer who is deeper into the industry life cycle than I am, knows the business and has the capital, and this could be a competence enhancing innovation for them. In a perfect world, this design could even become the new standard. However, this is not a perfect world, so I must also be prepared for that not to happen.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
There are a few possible problems that I need to take into account in this venture in order to be prepared. For example, what if distributors and/or manufacturers are not anxious to adopt my idea? I could take my product to bars myself and try and get them to adopt it and load the alcohol in the Easy Shot themselves. I could also put the product in catalogs that bars use to order liquor products such as shot glasses, pitchers, etc.

I could market this product online to end users and bars alike, through either a retailer like amazon.com, or on a website I create for the product with streaming videos showing how the product works and how easy it is to use, and a system to order them directly from me.

While these routes are ultimately not as profitable as getting a big liquor company behind my product, I feel that this product is marketable for all the reasons I have mentioned, and will be a success if it is given enough of a chance.