Assignment 9: Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

For the 5 interviews I sat down with: a 33 year old woman who has been vegetarian for 10 months, a 20 year old man who has been vegan for 3 years, an 18 year old woman how has been vegan for 2 years, a 29 year old woman has has been plant based for 8 months, and a 19 year old man who has been vegan for 5 years. All interviewees should fall into this opportunity because of their dietary restrictions, but they do not express the need for a mobile app to help create an easier grocery shopping experience. They each shared how they easily navigate purchasing groceries with most saying they stick to buying products that they know are safe to eat from researching online or buying products that are certified vegan. They say grocery shopping is made easier by repurchasing the same products and sticking to a limited number of companies. Some expressed using an app to scan new products would be more cumbersome while grocery shopping.

Who: People that have been following a vegan or vegetarian diet for a long time might be comfortable in their purchasing habits and wouldn't be interested in an app that could help expose them to a larger variety of potential food products.

What: I think this need to create an easier grocery shopping experience for vegans and vegetarians differs for people new to the diet or that live in a place with a more limited selection of certified acceptable foods than for people that have been following it for a longer amount of time or live in a city where there are many options available.

Why: I think time and experience are underlying causes for the different needs. The outsiders have become comfortable with their limited options or have developed habits that make grocery shopping quick and easy in comparison to those that do fit inside the boundary.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is in: Vegans or vegetarians that are frustrated with grocery shopping and face difficulties finding acceptable products.	Who is Not: Vegans or vegetarians that are not frustrated with grocery shopping and are comfortable with their current options.
What the Need Is: Want an easier grocery shopping experience by quickly being able to decide if products are acceptable to consume.	What the Need is not: They have developed habits that make grocery shopping easy and do not need an app’s assistance.
Why the Need Exists: Some ingredients can have an animal or a plant source and it is often not clearly labeled which it is derived from.	Alternative explanations: Time and experience has made them efficient at grocery shopping, stick to specific brands they know are safe, aren’t comfortable using an app while grocery shopping.