To test the five concepts, the EY etventure team helped mooh cooperative by targeting consumers through interest and behavior patterns on social media platforms as well as keywords on search engines. The EY etventure team also built prototype landing pages for the proposed products, releasing them into the market as if they were already developed and ready to sell. The implementation of a tracking system helped enable a broad evaluation of interaction, including the frequency that advertising was displayed, the number of clicks on the advert and the individual steps users took on the prototype website. This enabled data to be gathered on the popularity and likely success of the concepts. For example, consumers were asked to enter their postal code to see if the product was available in their area by tracking how many people chose to enter their details for different products, the relative popularity of each product could be assessed.
This data-led approach enabled EY etventure to report with confidence on the viability of different ideas and empower mooh cooperative to make more informed and forward-focused decisions about the future direction of their business while lowering the risks around their new digital business.
Of the five prototypes launched, there was one clear winner: cheezy, a premium cheese delivery service offering Swiss cheeses that research identified as not available in major supermarkets. Part of cheezy’s appeal was bringing the romance of the farm shop directly to people’s homes, and offering the opportunity to feel, smell and taste fresh produce. This is a connoisseur’s cheese experience, with options for one-off purchase and monthly subscriptions that enable customers to taste a range of quality regional cheeses throughout the year – without leaving their homes.
Cheezy targeted an unexplored niche that offered something surprising and new – and wanted – to consumers in Switzerland. There are many traditional cheese shops in Switzerland, but they often don’t have a holistic online presence. By comparison, cheezy offers an innovative consumer-centric digital presence with a stylish design that competes with the best cheese subscription services globally with an easy-to-use website, or an app, that make the ordering and billing process as smooth as possible. The concept had two further key aspects that appealed to mooh cooperative: firstly, most consumers recognize differences in quality between cheeses and are willing to pay accordingly for delicious cheese; and secondly, it takes a lot of milk to make cheese.