Team:NCKU Tainan/Entrepreneurship
Overview
Stress is a significant factor in inducing depression and other mental health issues. However, no specific solution is available in the market despite its severity, which is why our team has decided to develop MenTAUR as a solution. Along with research, entrepreneurship is essential for our project. Therefore, our team has initiated activities and mentorships related to this field to explore more possibilities, such as expert visits, participating in business competitions, and collaborating with other iGEM teams.
To bring our vision and mission into reality, engaging with our potential customers and stakeholders is crucial. Therefore, the first question we had was: What kind of food/drug category should our product be considered? To further understand the customer’s needs, we conducted a survey and collected hundreds of responses from all ages. The responses offered us their views on GMOs and their willingness to try our product. Those insights were valuable and helpful to us in building our business model and market analysis.
To understand how business works in the real world, we consulted and visited the traditional bubble industry and biotechnology companies. As a result, we received advice and feedback from a realistic perspective to plan our business model. At first, we proposed our Menbles as a health supplement. Nevertheless, after researching and consulting more experts, we realized it is more suitable as a functional food. Thus, we finalized our Menbles as a probiotic stress reliever. Furthermore, we also worked together with other iGEM teams to exchange insights about business models and markets in other countries.
Last but not least, we joined a business competition called FITI from which we gained experience in preparing business plans and presentations. With these, we aim to implement our project’s values into a commercial business.
WHAT WE HAVE?
Mission & Vision
The statements define the objectives and future vision of MenTAUR.
Visualize-Design-Test
Identification and analysis of the values of Menbles through a business model.
Product Value
Simple summarization of our Menbles’ value proposition.
Interview Insights
Insights gathered from entrepreneurial experts.
FITI
FITI business competition and our business plan.
Future
How we envision MenTAUR in the future.
Mission & Vision
Our mission is to develop and distribute a novel and effective solution in combating stress-induced depression by integrating it within bubble milk tea.
Our vision is to become a focal company leading the modernized bubble industry possessing health-beneficial functional products.
Visualize-Design-Test
Business Model Canvas:
Problems
Due to the pandemic, stress-induced depression has been increasing significantly.
Solutions
Menbles, a bubble that can reduce symptoms of stress by autoregulating the production of taurine.
Value Propositions
1. Innovative functional bubble drink for consumers with high-stress levels.
2. An affordable and easily accessible product that is suitable for consumers of all ages.
3. Available for both humans and pets.
Customer Segments
Our product is mainly served for busy and stressed individuals, such as students who experience academic stress and working adults coping with workplace stress.
Channels
Social media serves as a communication bridge between us and our potential customers. Through social media and personal websites, we can reach multiple markets in different countries, connect with global partners through our website, and partner with marketing professionals in the distributor companies.
Customer Relationships
Building a relationship with our customers is essential for long-term beneficial interactions. Promotion and bulk purchase discounts could be offered to loyal customers as special gratitude for supporting our business and brand development.
Revenue Streams
The revenues of MenTAUR will be gained through the purchase of distributing companies and collaboration with organizations, such as schools or companies.
Key Resources
1. MenTAUR members as the internal players.
2. Investors who provide funds to carry out MenTAUR’s vision.
3. Biotechnology company as our Menbles manufacturer.
4. Regulation approval and patent application afterward.
Key Partnerships
1. Bubble factories for mass production of Menbles.
2. Bubble tea shop as Menbles leading reseller and connecting between consumers and us.
3. Marketing specialist for reaching our target audience optimally.
4. Government associations like TFDA to certify our product or the Intellectual Property Office to help with patent applications.
Key Activities
1. Research and development of Menbles for humans and pets.
2. Production of Menbles.
3. Education toward Genetic Modified Organisms and synthetic biology to increase public acceptance.
Cost Structure
Firstly, most of the starting funds will be allocated to the research and development section. Then, when the research is completed, we will use part of the funds for applying patents and regulations. Finally, after passing the authorization, the funds will be partly used for marketing and branding to build a name for ourselves and gain optimal profits.
Competition Analysis
To ensure that MenTAUR can compete in the commercial market for depression medication, we carried out a market analysis to identify potential competitors for our product.
The most common treatment of depression includes a series of antidepressants, sedatives, beta-blockers, and nutritional supplements. These treatments usually require a prescription from a medical professional. Considering that many people who suffer from depression do not seek medical help, these medications might not target patients. We noticed that patients with depression often do not seek help from professionals as they are afraid of the expenses, the stigmatization, or the side effects of treatment. Even with a medical prescription, drug adherence is still low due to physical exhaustion. Hospitals have prescribed many antidepressant brand names in Taiwan. However, most fall into selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIsz) and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), like the brands Prozac (SSRI) and Cymbalta (SNRI). Due to these drugs having strong side effects such as impotence, these medications can only be obtained by a doctor's prescription and have lots of precautions when taking these drugs.
Moreover, there is a probiotic and dietary supplement approach developed by long-standing American chemical company DuPont. They are also looking to improve brain health, focusing mainly on stress by studying the correlations between gut microbiota and the gut-brain axis. The probiotic is named HOWARU Calm.
SWOT Analysis
Product Value
Interview Insights
Trade wind biotech
Trade Wind Biotech (TWBIO) is a pioneer company based in Taiwan that implements synthetic biology as its core technique. We were allowed to visit their factory and laboratory led by Dr Lance, the CEO of TWBIO. We also invited team CCU_Taiwan to join us on this trip, and both of our teams received a lot of feedback from Dr Lance regarding entrepreneurship and presentation skills.
Chen En Food Product Enterprise Co., Ltd
Our team was honoured to interview the general manager of Chen En Food Product Enterprise, Mr Vincent, as Chen En is one of the largest bubble suppliers in both local and global markets. Before the online interview session began, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with them. As a giant bubble supplier, they provided advice on preparing our bubble with the engineered bacteria inside. In addition, they also gave us valuable market data to further our business model.
8D Tea Fresh Kitchen
We visited a local handmade bubble tea shop in Nantou and their IoT live kitchen to learn more about bubble production and marketing. They also suggested we market our product as chilled ready-to-eat (RTE) food, allowing us to position it in the market correctly. We also witnessed how they made bubbles from scratch and learned of the sterilization and bubble heating process. For more details, please click on the file below!
FITI
From IP to IPO Program (FITI) is a startup business competition in Taiwan on information communication, biology, medicine, science, and technology. In this competition, we were required to submit a 20-slide presentation showing the business plan for our startup. During the preparation, FITI provided an advisor, Ms. Peggy Chen, who clarified the competition's guidelines. Furthermore, through this competition, we met with our team consultant Dr. Lance Chang, the First Grand Winner of the FITI competition, and the CEO of Trade Wind Biotech. Gaining support and assistance has been especially helpful for us when conducting our business plan, especially in developing our marketing strategy.
Future
In the future, complying with Taiwan's food safety regulations will be our top priority. After our research is completed, we aim to distribute our product to be authorized by the government. Only when this step is completed will we move forward with our business plan. We have designed two areas of products for humans and pets according to our three-generation business plan. Apart from profit, we hope to build a sustainable project and provide more job opportunities in Taiwan and worldwide.
Reference
- 財團法人醫藥品查驗中心. Investigational New Drug (IND). Cde.org.tw. Published 2019. Accessed October 17, 2021. https://www.cde.org.tw/drugs/med_explain?id=34
- Mutaflor® Australia. Mutaflor Australia | Mutaflor® the probiotic for life! Published January 22, 2016. Accessed October 17, 2021. https://www.mutaflor.com.au/
- 食品藥物管理署. 什麼是「健康食品」？讓食品藥物管理署來告訴您! Published July 24, 2014. Accessed October 17, 2021. https://www.mohw.gov.tw/cp-3203-21850-1.html
- Daniali SS, Darani FM, Eslami AA, Mazaheri M. Relationship between Self-efficacy and Physical Activity, Medication Adherence in Chronic Disease Patients. Adv Biomed Res 2017;6:63
