Team:ECUST China/Implementation
Phycocyanin is a pigment-protein complex, which can be divided into three grades：food grade, cosmetic grade and pharmaceutical grade. The food grade category accounts for the highest proportion of the sales market, followed by the pharmaceutical grade. However, phycocyanin is mainly physical extraction from spirulina, and about 50%～90% of the cost is from extraction. In addition, phycocyanin has poor stability. Considering these two factors, phycocyanin is expensive and its application and production is limited. For exactly this reason, we created the Magic Blue —— focusing on providing a convenient solution for the enterprises and individuals in the phycocyanin product line, making phycocyanin can be applied in more aspects in order to improve its economic and social benefits and bring more benefits to enterprises and individuals.
In order to achieve our goal, we introduced phycyanin-related genes into S.cerevisiae and promoted the expression of phycocyanin in S.cerevisiae through selective regulation. On the other hand, we further improved its stability by site-directed mutation.
Our target users cover every link of phycocyanin production and sales chain, including the initial producers, processors at all levels and final distributors, as well as regular individual consumers. We have identified the needs of our potential customers and their requirements of fragrances through market research. But those have not yet been covered by other existing solutions.
For the initial producers of phycocyanin, their current production method not only consumes a lot of resources and costs a lot of production, but also is restricted their further expansion of the market because of the lack of heat resistance of phycocyanin. If they can solve one of these problems, they will win great market competitiveness. They are our friendly collaborators.
Phycocyanin is widely used by all levels of processors. As a kind of food additive, natural blue food color is in great demand. In order to win the favor of consumers, phycocyanin is a good promotion hotspot. We use yeast to produce phycocyanin directly, which gives the yeast its color and also makes it easy for processors to use it conveniently and directly. Considering the processors' pursuit of product quality, reputation and production profit, they will be our main target users.
With the well-known of phycocyanin’s efficacy, it has gradually entered people's daily life. And S. cerevisiae itself contains rich nutrients, which means combing these two will further enhance its nutritional value. More importantly, we make it accessible to more people with lower prices and higher quality. Therefore, the general consumer is also our main target customers.
In order to verify that our project was feasible, scalable and creative, we conducted CAD modeling.
The constructing of the 3D hardware can guide us to construct our idea of how to implement our project really and making the project possessing integrity.
Combining the characteristic of our modified yeast and consulting to the professor specialized in fermentation, we finally determined the flow diagram of our Phycocyanin Beer Production Factory as follows:
After decided the volume and other details of the factory, we got down to construct the 3D model, further realizing the implementation of our project. The follow picture show our final 3D model.
Based on this hardware, we can later magnify the production scale with increased size and parallel number of bioreactors. The factory is characterized with our own yeast’s feature and can really make the ‘Magic Blue’ come true!
During the project, we undertake the responsibilities to conduct experiments safely, we also fully considered the influence of stakeholders on autonomy, well-being and justice.
First of all, phycocyanin, as a natural pigment, has been widely used in the fields of food, drugs and cosmetics. It is the only sky blue pigment allowed by FDA and is internationally recognized as a safe food grade pigment.
We used the yeast--Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288c which is classified as risk 1, so it barely cause harm to people or the other living things. The strain we've used are harmless to human being and surrounding environment. It’s world-widely used engineered strain which has been proved to be safe.In order to ensure absolute safety, we selected food grade Saccharomyces cerevisiae and conducted experiments with amino acid nutrient deficient strains.
We selected p426-snr52p-grna and ptdh3-dcas9 double plasmid system and both plasmids have been proved to be stable plasmids, which are widely used in experiments. They rarely produce unpredictable mutations and are very safe.The plasmids and genes we selected will not cause safety problems in theory.
In addition we conduct food production in a special food laboratory to completely distinguish between biological experiments and food experiments.
In addition, in order to develop our project sustainably outside the iGEM competitive framework we adopted the form of simulated entrepreneurship. Most importantly, we finally reached cooperation and support with Zhejiang Binmei Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Our team adopts the marketing strategy of "4Ps+4Cs". 4Ps is the most commonly used and effective marketing mix strategy, including Product, Price, Place and Promotion. At present, the business world takes consumers as the core and puts forward the 4Cs marketing mix strategy based on consumers, including Customer, Cost, Convenience and Communication. In order to strengthen the communication and combination with consumers making products close to the market.
● Determine product positioning
Phycocyanin belongs to the product of high and new technology field, applying in food dyeing and other fields. Compared with the traditional product industry, the core content of the market competition of high-tech industry lies in the fact of industry standards.
● Define the scope of products and services
According to the expected consumer group positioning of the product, the main consumer group of our product is young people. So the product design, specifications, style and packaging should try to fit the trend of young people, and promote on the platform with more young people.
● Focus on selling points
Phycocyanin has been artificially extracted had appeared in the current market, but its stability is poor. What our team has come up with is an improved product that extracts phycocyanin through genetic engineering with higher efficiency and a new process. We also overcame the problem of phycocyanin instability by using yeast.
In the mature conditions of the company's various work, the company can price according to the "cost + expected profit" pricing method in order to obtain higher economic benefits in the attractive market of phycocyanin to consumers.
For phycocyanin raw materials sale to enterprises ---- establish professional teams and seek cooperation companies.
● In the upstream products, we will form a biological engineering professional team, with Zhejiang Binmei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. to seek cooperation and promote our produce phycocyanin yeast.
● Develop new blue cakes in cooperation with popular offline innovative pastry manufacturers such as RenGee. Determine the flavor, production process and technology of innovative blue cakes, and sell them directly through pastry manufacturers.
● We will cooperate with TSINGTAO to develop phycocyanin for brewing beer, and combine it with the beer brewing industry to produce the first generation of producible blue craft beer and put it into the market.
For phycocyanin processed products sale to final consumers —— identify target customers and cater to consumer needs.
● Aiming at young consumers, we take blue food as a breakthrough point to promote direct sales through online platform software that young people use more, and attract the young market through live broadcast and Xiaohongshu (an e-commerce platform in a community). To stimulate the consumption desire of middle-aged consumer groups with the health care effect of phycocyanin.
● As a popular food among contemporary young people, craft beer brewed with blue yeast has more distinctive features and unique visual impact, and phycocyanin can also bring more different flavors to beer. Such characteristics are interlinked with the psychological characteristics of the young group in pursuit of fresh stimulation. Through the characteristics of fast propagation of young groups and strong acceptance of new things, to create domestic consumption of blue beer.
Promotion strategy, including brand promotion (advertising), public relations, promotion and a series of marketing activities. Enterprises use a variety of information communication means to stimulate consumers’ buy desire to promote product sales achieving marketing goals. In the promotion strategy, we should pay attention to actively communicate with customers and consumers.
● We media marketing promotion
● Offline activity promotion
● Attend
international
and domestic exhibitions
● In line with national policies
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a framework used to evaluate a company's competitive position and to develop strategic planning. SWOT analysis assesses internal and external factors, as well as current and future potential.
● S(strength)
There are few blue drinks in the market. Blue is easy to cause visual impact and stimulate people's desire to buy. Compared with the traditional synthetic food colors, phycocyanin has the characteristics of health and excellent flavor, which is favored by consumers and has an advantage in the market competition. Compared with other natural blue food colors (such as gardenia blue food color), the preparation of phycocyanin has characteristics of simple operation and high yield are suitable for low-cost mass production, making phycocyanin more competitive in the price market.
● W(weakness)
According to preliminary market research, the price of synthetic blue food colors is less than one-fifth that of phycocyanin, so it is not competitive in the whole food color market. In the natural food color market, gardenia blue food color is widely known and occupies a larger market share. Phycocyanin needs more publicity to have a chance to gain more market share.
● O(opportunity)
International food health organization recognized phycocyanin. With the improvement of people consumption level and health concept of gradually deepening, phycocyanin audience will continue to expand. At the same time, with the phycocyanin into the market and production technology mature gradually, believe the multi-function phycocyanin price will be more competitive, more popular with the consumers.
● T(threat)
The threat of phycocyanin not only comes from the food color market, but also the fermentation market. The traditional yeast production has a very mature production process and product standards. The launch of new products will definitely impact the original market and standards.
Company as a supply chain, mainly play the role of a supplier to survive phycocyanin. Provide relevant enterprises or food company blue food color and phycocyanin based raw materials to let “phycocyanin yeast" form their own profit model by providing phycocyanin production and supply as well as the characteristics of its homegrown containing phycocyanin food two ways. The main source of income is production and sales income.
After the early stage of the company in the aspects of equipment and marketing spending, in the medium-term growth will be slow in financial cost, product design and maintenance expenditure spending, but at the same time will continue to increase the cost of marketing spending to increase product propaganda, improve product awareness to strengthen influence, expand the market. As the operation of the company progresses and the scale of production expands, the cost of wages is expected to increase moderately, as well as the cost of office supplies, which will be reflected in the annual increase in overhead.
"Phycocyanin" customers may have a slow growth in the early stage, but with the expansion of customer base number, good reputation will stabilize old customers and attract more target customers to become new customers by relying on the spread of customer word of mouth. The number of customers will grow faster and the base number will steadily rise.
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IGEM_ECUST@outlook.com
ID:IGEM_ECUST
ECUST_China
East China University of Science and Technology
Shanghai,China
