EXAMENSARBETE INOM TEKNIK, GRUNDNIVÅ, 15 HP STOCKHOLM, SVERIGE 2018

Product development in low income markets Identifying user needs and approaches in design in a low income market, with focus on the water filtration market in Malaysia

NATALIA LINDGREN

JULIA MORTENSEN

KTH SKOLAN FÖR INDUSTRIELL TEKNIK OCH MANAGEMENT Preface

This study has been carried out within the framework of the Minor Field Studies Scholarship Programme, MFS, which is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. The project is executed as a bachelor thesis in Integrated Product Development (MF131X) within the department of Machine Design at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. It has been executed in collaboration with the water purification company Blöndal Group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

We want to use this space of the publication to thank some of the people who were especially helpful during this project. First and foremost, a big thank you to the Blöndal CEO, Sophus Broberg, for inviting us to Kuala Lumpur, giving us a warm welcome and a lovely stay in Malaysia. We are also especially grateful to the company technical director Tommy Tan, for his constant guidance and the company engineer Yusri Hussin, for always coming forward when help was needed. Of course, thank you to our supervisor at KTH, Gunilla Ölundh Sandström, for supporting us throughout the project. Last but not least, a big thank you to SIDA for helping us realizing this project.

1 Abstract

The water situation in Malaysia is not ideal. Due to the unsatisfactory quality of the piped water, the demand of domestic water filters in Malaysia is increasing. At the same time, 40 percent of the Malaysian population are described as a low income group who are especially vulnerable against increases in living costs. Developing products that meet the needs of consumers who are constrained in resources is vital for straining the growth of poverty and reaching the global SDGs. To ensure that the access to clean water is achievable for all, regardless of income group, established methodologies within product development in emerging markets with low income target groups needs to be identified.

The intention with this study is to identify and evaluate some of the existing models and methods within this area through thorough research and a case study. The main focus is to analyse the methodologies for identifying user needs, as well as the approaches in design and conceptualization, when developing products for the lower income group. An extensive literature study has been made, in combination with interviews from Engineers without borders, Sweden. The results were that no models or methods were frequently used in their different projects but every project was individually structured. These results were then applied in a field study in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During the field study, a market analysis took place and a new product concept was shaped. The project was in collaboration with the company Blöndal, a water purification company in Kuala Lumpur. Their point of use water filter called Källa 8 was ​ further developed, guided by the identified models and methods gained from the predevelopment research.

Before the development of Källa 8, the user needs were identified through surveys, in-home visits ​ ​ and shorter interviews. To translate the identified user want and needs to product attributes, a House of Quality matrix was used and worked as a basis of discussion during the conceptualization of the new Källa 8. Throughout the conceptualization, the mindset originating ​ ​ from the theory of Frugal Innovation was constantly present.

The result of the market analysis clearly pointed to a too high of a price of the product, but stating that the already existing design of the product was both attractive and important for the lower income group. These attributes were later realized by foremost changing the configuration of the piping in the product. The purpose was to make the filters easily changeable, sparing the users the service cost of changing the filters. This was done without interfering with the most valued features of the product.

2 Titel: Produktutveckling inom låginkomstmarknader Identifiering av användarbehov och utformning av produkter med låginkomsttagare som målgrupp, med fokus på marknaden för vattenfilter för hushåll

Sammanfattning Vattensituationen i Malaysia är inte ideal. På grund av den dåliga kvalitén av kranvatten, har efterfrågan av vattenfilter för hemmabruk i Malaysia ökat. Samtidigt beskrivs 40 procent av Malaysias befolkning som en del av en låginkomstgrupp som är särskilt sårbara för ökade levnadskostnader. Att utveckla produkter som möter behoven hos konsumenter som är begränsade i ekonomiska resurser är avgörande för att förhindra tillväxten av fattigdom och för att uppnå FN:s Millenniemål. För att försäkra att tillgången till rent vatten är uppnåeligt för alla, oavsett inkomstgrupp, måste beprövade metoder inom produktutveckling i tillväxtmarknader med låginkomsttagare som fokusgrupp identifieras.

Målet av denna studie är att identifiera och utvärdera vissa av de existerande modellerna och metoderna inom detta område genom grundliga studier och en fallstudie. Huvudfokus ligger på att analysera metoder för att identifiera användarbehov samt konceptualisering och utformning av produkter för låginkomstgrupper. En omfattande litteraturstudie har gjorts samt intervjuer med Ingenjörer utan gränser. Resultatet från intervjuena visade på att inga specifika metoder användes frekvent utan varje project utformades på eget vis. Detta resultat applicerades sedan på ett fältarbete i Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Projektet var i samarbete med företaget Blöndal, ett vattenfilterföretag med huvudkontor i Kuala Lumpur. Deras så kallade “point of use”-vattenfilter, vid namn Källa 8, vidareutvecklades med de identifierade modellerna och ​ ​ metoderna från förstudien som ledsagare.

Före vidareutvecklingen av Källa 8, identifierades användarbehoven genom enkätundersökningar, ​ ​ hembesök och kortare intervjuer. För att översätta de identifierade användarbehoven till faktiska produktegenskaper, utarbetades en så kallad House of Quality-matris som sedan användes som diskussionsunderlag under konceptualiseringen av det nya Källa 8. Tankesättet som användes ​ ​ under utformningen av den nya produkten härleddes av konceptet Frugal Innovation. Frugal Innovation visade sig vara en värdefull teoretisk ramverk, men var inte så lätt att implementera på just denna fallstudie.

Resultaten från marknadsanalysen visade tydligt att produkten kostade för mycket men att den yttre designen var attraktiv och viktig för låginkomstgrupper. Dessa attribut realiserades i produkten genom att främst förändra konfigurationen av rören i produkten. Anledningen till detta var att minska underhållskostnader för användaren, eftersom hen själv ska kunna byta ut filtrena. Detta gjordes utan att större förändringar på produktens högst värderade egenskaper.

3 Table of contents

1. Introduction 6 1.1 Problematization 6 1.2 Objective 8 1.3 Research questions 8

2. Theory 10 2.1 Malaysia 10 2.2 Low income consumers 11 2.3 Understanding the user 12 2.4 Conceptualization from collected user needs 14 2.5 Product development concepts for low income markets 15 2.6 Källa 8 16 2.7 Domestic water filtration systems 19

3. Method 20 3.1 Literature studies 20 3.2 Interviews 20 3.3 Processing of interviews 21 3.4 Comparison of literature studies and interviews 21 3.5 Market analysis 22 3.6 Product development 25 3.7 Conceptualization 25

4. Results 25 4.1 Models/methods/processes for customer integration 25 4.2 Models/methods/processes for product development 26 4.3 Identified customer needs 28 4.4 Development of Källa 8 30

5. Discussion 36

6. Conclusions 40

Bibliography 41

Appendix A: Interview guide for interviews with Engineers without borders, Sweden Appendix B: Survey used during market analysis Appendix C: Results from the surveys Appendix D: Comments and observation from short interviews Appendix E: Comments and observation from in-home visits Appendix F: Comments and observation from sales staff encounter Appendix G: Used standard tube fittings

4 1. Introduction In the following section, the problematization, objective and research questions are being presented.

1.1 Problematization At the UN World Summit in September 2015, world leaders adopted to the 17 Sustainable ​ Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change (UN, 2017). Significant progress has been made in reducing poverty, but the amount of people still living in poverty is unacceptably high. Furthermore, the progress is often temporary for people who have been lifted out of poverty. Food insecurities, economic shocks and climate change are a constant threat (Worldbank, 2016). Whilst it is common to believe poverty only implies to people living in rural surroundings, urban poverty is an existing problem and implies to a great number of cities around the world (Lawhon et al., 2013). One of the main reasons for a growing urban poverty is a growing portion of people in the city not affording their living situations (UCLG, 2014). Hence, developing products that meet the needs of consumers who are constrained in resources is vital for straining the growth of poverty and reaching the global SDGs.

In 1992 a Chinese firm developed an energy-efficient and low-cost microwave that was small enough to fit inside small apartments in China. This took microwaves from being affordable for only 2 percent of Chinese households to a mass market of 60 percent. This example illustrates the growing demand of low-cost and high-value products in the emerging markets. Development of products that are directed to the often neglected masses can dramatically raise the living standards of these great amount of people. Typically, for Western firms, the organizational structures and business models are designed for development of relatively advanced products adapted for the few at the top of the economic pyramid (Gassmann et.al., 2011). Meeting the needs of consumers who are constrained in resources consequently introduces shortcomings in the commonly used methodologies.

Adding to this, Aline Krämer (2015) argues that a low-income context also introduces limitations when working with conventional approaches to new product development. Methods of integrating and understanding the user in product development such as experiments, surveys and focus groups are conformed to western consumers. Such techniques can fall short in the lower income markets due to factors such as low literacy or perhaps difficulties conducting the methods due to infrastructural weaknesses. Income factors are also combined with cultural and social factors that likewise influence the approach within working with defining user needs in order to develop products. Understanding and empathizing with the users in the specific market is necessary for gathering useful results. Consumers are often deeply affected by regional culture that influence habits, values, consumption patterns and behaviour. All of these factors calls for new, customized methodologies within customer integration and design that are more adjusted to these specific lower income markets (Weidner et.al, 2010).

5 A territory that needs extra attention from the field of product development is access to clean drinking water. The sixth SDG is to ensure access to water sanitation for all. Although this is an absolutely essential part of the world we live in, the UN estimates that at least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is contaminated. Often, this goes hand in hand with poverty (UN, 2017).

The water supply situation in South-east Asia is not ideal. WHO/UNICEF (2017) report that 94 percent of the South-east asia population at the least use an unimproved drinking water resource placed within 30 minutes of their living areas. At best, this percentage use certified water resources, available always on premises. This means that 6 percent of the South-east Asia population have an even lower standard of drinking water. This type of drinking water is either qualified as unimproved, surface water or is situated over 30 minutes away from the users living grounds.

When it comes to Asia, Malaysia is a country that has excelled in regard of the SDGs. Malaysia has achieved most of their SDG goals, although they are still struggling with water related issues. The growing population, rapid urbanization and industrialization of Malaysia are straining the water supply and in combination with threats of climate change, the future forecasts more frequent shortages of water and severe drought. The water service industry in Malaysia is under reform to ensure proper water supplies for both current and future needs (Teo, 2014). Unfortunately, construction of highland roads and deforestation has resulted in water contamination (Law, 2005). The water situation varies within the country: 11 percent of the rural population only have access to an unimproved water resource, which also applies to 1 percent of the urban population (WHO/UNICEF, 2017).

The Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2017) states that the water supply has increased largely from 2015 to 2016 because of the rapid population growth. They point to a growing demand of clean water and a high percentage of the population served with piped water:

“Demand for clean water resources increase in tandem with population growth ... 95.7 percent of Malaysia population were served with piped water in which 97.2 percent was urban population and 93.5 percent was rural population 2016.” - Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2017.

Nevertheless, there are uncertainties regarding the quality of the piped water. A study of 20 ​ selected areas in Kuala Lumpur, with 100 collected random tap water samples combined with consumer surveys, shows that the tap water quality was considered safe for drinking according to the guidelines of the Malaysian Ministry of Health. However, the consumers had argued that the quality of the water was acceptable except on certain days. The fluctuation of water quality was also amplified by the test results, that showed a significant variation of water quality among the samples. Half of the households in the study had domestic water filters installed and 74 percent of the households boiled the tap water before consumption (Ibrahim et. Al., 2007). This suggests

6 a distrust among the consumers about the tap water quality. Due to this, domestic water filter systems has become widespread (Law, 2005).

Until access to treated, clean and piped water is fully attained, point-of-use water treatment has emerged as an attractive and cost-effective approach to the problem. Point-of-use water filtration systems cleans the water directly from where the water is being used, meaning that access to clean water is made possible even via a contaminated water source (Parker Fiebelkorn et al., 2012). The demand of domestic water filters in Asia Pacific is increasing due to the growing population, pollutants and growing awareness of the consumers (Broberg, 2017). The demand needs to be met by a product accessible for all and manageable by all, with a target group that includes a lower income audience.

In Malaysia, the lower income population is represented by nearly half of the population in 2009. Amita Singh et al. (2013) define that those living in the bottom of the Malaysian society had an income of less than 742 USD per month, of these, 40 percent resided in urban areas and 40 percent had no school certificate. In 2009, that would mean that approximately 9 million were placed in the low-income category. There is an extreme income gap within the population. The majority of Malaysians are members of the working class and can be found at the lower levels of the inequality spectrum (Singh et al., 2013). This introduces another issue, namely that low-income consumers are often low educated. A problem that can arise from working with products related to hygiene and sanitation is that consumers are not aware of their needs (hand-washing or the importance of drinking clean water) (Gradl et al., 2008). Thus, when trying to understand and specify user needs, one may have difficulties communicating their desires or product feature. This too, calls for customized methodologies in product development.

1.2 Objective The aim of this project is to identify and evaluate methods and approaches for identifying user needs and designing products in a lower income- and emerging market. Since Malaysia is an example of these rapidly growing emerging markets, it is a suitable market to focus on in this study. To nuance the understanding of these methods, an intent is to put them in practise. Therefore, a collaboration with the Blöndal Group, a water purification company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was initiated. The fundamental idea of the project is to further develop the PoU water filter system Källa 8, making it more adapted for mass market retail with focus on the ​ ​ lower income market. The models and methods of design and user need identification will be applied and evaluated in this product development process, with focus on the pre-prototype phases.

7 1.3 Research questions To lay a good foundation for the product development in Kuala Lumpur, thorough preparatory work will take place. This will be covered by the following research questions:

RQ1.1: When focusing on a low income market, what models and methods for ​ identifying customer needs are recommended in literature and used by low income market oriented organisations? RQ1.2: What models and methods are most suitable for developing products for low ​ income markets, according to literature and low income market oriented organisations?

The second part of this project, will be to apply the preparatory studies on the product development of Källa 8. This results in the following research question: ​ ​

RQ2: What changes in design of the PoU water filter system Källa 8 can be done to ​ ​ meet identified customer needs?

8 2. Theory This section is divided into two parts: One introducing the theory that is relevant for research questions 1.1 and 1.2 and a second for research question 2. The first part will thus treat the methodological part of this project in sections 2.3 - 2.5, while the second will be treating the technical part in sections 2.6 - 2.7. As an introduction to this, there will be some general theory about Malaysia.

2.1 Malaysia In this section, general information about Malaysia is presented.

2.1.1 General information Kuala Lumpur, with its 7 million inhabitants, is the capital of Malaysia and is located in the west coast of the country (Landguiden, 2016). The population of Malaysia reaches almost 32 million inhabitants (Nations online, 2016). About half of the population is ethnically Malay, under a fourth is Chinese, around 7 percent are Indian and 12 percent indigenous, according to statistics from 2010. There are plenty of small languages used in Malaysia, especially on the island of Borneo, but the main language is Malay and English is widely used. Over 60 percent of the population are Muslim (sunni), around 20 percent are Buddhists and the rest are mainly Christian and Hindus. Between the 1800 century and 1963, Malaysia was a British colony (Globalis, 2015).

2.1.2 Geography Malaysia is geographically divided into a western and an eastern part, one found in the south tip of the Malay Peninsula and one found on the island of Borneo. The western part of Malaysia, on the peninsula, is rich in high mountain ranges, except for the low land coastal areas. The Malaysian climate is characterized by high temperatures and humidity, especially during the monsoon that affects the eastern Malay Peninsula somewhere in October to the end of March. Rainforests cover close to a third of Malaysia. Environmental problems that Malaysia are influences by are the poor air quality in the larger cities due to unregulated emissions from industries and traffic. Another issue is the contamination of drinking water (Globalis, 2015).

2.1.3 Society and politics Malaysia is divided by 13 states where each state is led by a sultan. Every fifth year, one of these sultans are chosen to be king. Although, this is a so called symbolic monarchy, and the country is essentially led by the government (Nations Online, 2016). The political parties are principally organized by ethnicity and religion. The conventional right- and left political phalanxes cannot really be considered as established. UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) have been the dominating party since the independence, though over the last years the Islamic party PAS (Parti Islam se-Malaysia) has gained power in one of the states and introduced sharia laws (Globalis, 2015).

During the three decades between 1989 and 2014, the city of Kuala Lumpur has grown with a rapid urbanization (Boori et al., 2015) and still is (The Malaysian Department of Statistics, 2017).

9 Approximately 75 percent of the Malaysian population live in cities (Landguiden, 2016). The country is turning towards a more industrialized, multi-ethnic and business attractive civilization. Whilst there still are areas of great poverty in Malaysia, the percentage is below 1 percent. Instead, the poorest 40 percent of the population in Malaysia are described as a low-income group who are financially unstable. They are called “The bottom 40” in economic terms. These people are vulnerable against increases in the cost of living and handling financial obligations. Compared to other countries in South-east Asia, the income inequality is high (World Bank, 2017).

2.1.4 Economy and trade Malaysia is one of the most developed and wealthy countries in Southeast Asia, with a GNP slightly lower than Singapore and Brunei (Nations online, 2016). The economy of Malaysia is in many aspects export-dependent: rubber, oil and wood are exported in large volumes (Globalis, 2015). Although, by attracting high technology industries, Islamic finance and biotechnology, the country is aiming to achieve high-income status by 2020 (Nations online, 2016). In the 70s the government introduced reforms to compensate for the high proportions of Chinese and other minorities workers by giving the native Malays specific advantages in education and the public sector. Chinese and other minorities are therefore vigorously discriminated in large parts of the working life (Globalis, 2015). Nevertheless, a large ethnic Chinese minority holds economic power despite the Malay political domination (BBC, 2018).

Since the Global Financial Crisis in 2009, Malaysia has recovered rapidly with an average of 5.7 percent per year between 2010 and 2017. The World Bank report, 2017, implies that Malaysia has a near-term economic outlook which reflects an open and diverse economy and is the reason external shocks have had minimal impact on the country. The growing income as well as the growing urbanization has a positive effect on the domestic demand which solidifies the economic growth. Because of the growing economy, the low-income groups are seeing growing numbers, where the income amount for The Bottom 40 has increased. However, the increase is not enough for an economic security for these people (Worldbank, 2017). Furthermore, the Indian population in Malaysia are among the poorest in the country due the positive discrimination of Malays (Landguiden, 2016).

2.2 Low income consumers In this report we define the low income population and our target group based on the report “Millennium Development Goals and Community Initiatives in the Asia Pacific” written my Amita Singh et.al. Henceforth, when using the term “low income” we refer to

“…households with an income of less than RM2,300 (US $742) per month with a mean income of ​ RM1,440 (US $465)” (Singh et.al, 2013). ​

10 2.3 Understanding the user In this section, theory regarding understanding user needs is presented.

2.3.1 The importance of understanding the user The importance of understanding the user as a designer has been empathized in many commonly used models and methodologies for design and product development. Nonetheless, within the field of design thinking. Design thinking answers the question of “What are designers and engineers ​ ​ ​ really thinking and doing, when they create products, services, and enterprises? ” (Meinel, 2011) and can be ​ described as “...a systematic and collaborative approach for identifying and creatively solving problems” (Luchs, ​ ​ 2016). A lot of research has been conducted within this area ever since the 1960s, when the interest of deriving a design methodology started to grow (Johannesson et al., 2013). There are hundreds of specific methods and tools related to design thinking. One common feature in most modern theories of design thinking is the focus on identifying user needs in the earliest stages of the development process (Johannesson et al., 2013). In order to design products that are successful in an aimed market, understanding the needs and wants of the customer is of high importance (Luchs, 2016). This is emphasized in the modern idea of design thinking, that takes a ​ human-centered approach rather than just focusing on the graphic factors of a new product (Meinel, 2011).

Design thinking is commonly illustrated as a series of iterative key-activities in a product development process, as seen in a variant below (Meinel, 2016). The visualization of design thinking can be more dynamic in a nonlinear, iterative fashion. Though, this linear form of illustrating the tools of design thinking is well suited for novice teams (Luchs, 2016). This particular form, with five key activities, is often presented in literature (Meinel, 2016; Luchs, 2016; Marcus, 2016). In this project, our focus will be concentrated on the second and third step of the proposed process in the following figure:

Figure 1: Design Thinking

2.3.2 Methods of understanding the users and their needs To obtain the needs and wants of the customer, a thorough understanding of the market and the competition is needed. This is partly achieved through preparatory studies: describing the potential users and market characteristics in notions such as demographics, culture and so on (Mital, 2014). Studying the demographics of users in variables such as nationality, income or geographical living is the most frequently used factor to describe users (Marcus, 2016). The value of the preparatory work is often pointed out in product development literature, nonetheless within the theory of design thinking. The preparatory studies can partly be in form of literature studies, which lays a solid foundation when trying to understand the product user. Furthermore,

11 a literature study should perhaps be combined with other forms of predevelopment work to get a more multifaceted understanding of the user. As Luchs (2016) puts it: “The Internet is one source, ​ but interviewing and talking to customers is critical.”. In other words, it is important to use different ​ sources of material to promote versatility. The direct contact with users promoted by Luchs (2016), is further supported by Johannesson et al., who points out that“The richest information is the ​ firsthand information” (2013). Interacting with the future product users is therefore an essential. ​ ​ ​

The PDMA handbook of new product development by Kenneth B. Kahn (2013) continues to enhance that valuable information that is obtained by putting project members in the situations where the problem that the product is aimed to solve occurs. As a developer of the product, to use the product routinely can enlighten the pros and cons of the product and collect tacit information. To critically observe and maybe even live with the customers plays the same role. In this way one also learns the customers’ language and behaviour, which is of importance when translating the needs into actual product attributes. These approaches are significantly more time consuming and one might argue that it is not financially justifiable. For many companies and designers, it is not really viable to live with or interact with the customers in such a manner. This implies especially within a low income market, where projects might be restrained in resources.

Anil Metal (2014) also emphasizes the interactive approaches of obtaining user needs and wants. Of course, communicating directly with the users and customers of the product in any form, is a conventional and well-functioning way of understanding the users. In this way needs can be identified directly and more efficiently, especially when collecting tacit information.

A popular way of customer integrating market research is to use focus groups. A focus group usually consists of 6-10 persons of similar demographic background, that are a representative sample of customers. With the presence of a moderator, this group then discusses certain product related topics together (Mital, 2014). Arranging a focus group might yet be difficult and depends on a handful of factors. For example, knowing how to gather and where to look for a representative sample of customers is a challenge of its own. Difficulties with using focus groups is also the amount of time and energy every individual needs to provide. To motivate people to attend a meeting of this sort, compensation for the time invested by the participants might be expected (Seymour, 1987). Since the product development preparatory study is often relatively limited in resources (Johannesson et al., 2013), and especially when designing for a low income target group, this method falls short.

Individual interviews can hence be easier and cheaper to arrange than the focus groups, depending on the profoundness of the interviews. In the individual interviews, one can get a deeper understanding of an individual’s habits and needs without requiring too much of their energy and time. The same goes for in-home visits, although in-home visits allow closer interaction with the users in their everyday environment (Mital, 2014). If interviews are conducted in a everyday environment of the user, one gets detailed information that in many ways can be of crucial significance when identifying user needs. The user is not obliged to have

12 the ability to describe their problems or actually be aware of their problems if the study is carried out in the right environment (Johannesson et al., 2013). Interviews of this sort are also easier to arrange than a focus group, since one does not have to consider the schedules of several people or consider locations for interviews. The flexibility in location and time is a definite benefit of individual interviews, compared to focus groups. Focus groups may furthermore be in very artificial settings where the participants’ behaviors change according to their interpretations and rules of the surroundings (Seymour, 1987). This leaves in-home visits and single interviews as easily implemented methods in resource restrained projects with a low income target group.

Since the participants in interviews and in home visits are relatively few, the findings can not be representative for the larger population. The obvious limitation of these techniques, is the size and amount of information that can be collected (Seymour, 1987). Quantitative research can therefore be a solution or used as a complement to the information gathered from qualitative research methods. Quantitative methods can be in the form of market surveys or shorter interviews. While qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews focus on the individual answers, in quantitative studies the collected data can be processed and statistically analysed (Johansson et.al, 2013). Surveys are used for collecting answers and insights surrounding the factors beneath customer decision-making. Surveys can contain questions with rank alternatives, grant points to different options and have the respondent express preferences. This broadens the set of insights in customer needs, preferences and requirements. As this method is often performed in a larger scale than qualitative methods, a broader set of customer needs can be recognized and therefore taken to consideration for new products. A constraint to the method is that the given answers can be misleading because questionnaires usually are not sure where they stand in the different questions of interest (Kahn, 2013).

Quantitative methods might additionally leave important information out since they are often based off of questions that need only statistical answers, for example where, how much, how many. The methods often leave out questions of deeper meaning, for an example why and how. Qualitative and quantitative methods can therefore be simultaneously used or crossover mixed (Frels, 2013). As surveys are handed out one can simultaneously fish in customers for longer interviews.

2.4 Conceptualization from collected user needs Once the user needs and wants are identified, they need to be translated into technical demands and specifications. In the theory of design thinking, this is a part of the ideation-step. A tool that is often referenced to within the field of product development is Quality function deployment, QFD. ​ ​ QFD is mainly for development of established solution concepts and also involves competitor analysis, so called benchmarking. The method is based on four steps, of which the last one is translating of customer needs and wants in to technical specifications for production and construction (Johannesson et al., 2013).

13 To use QFD as a tool in product development, the information is often structured in a matrix, often referred to as a House of Quality (Johannesson et. al, 2013). An example of the ​ construction of the House of Quality can be seen in the Result section 4.4.1 in this report. Different forms of matrices are frequently used in this phase of the product development. Apart from the House of Quality, Pugh’s Matrix is also a common method. Pugh’s Matrix is a model ​ that helps decide and prioritize between concepts and the least favorable alternatives are sorted out. However, the model requires several concepts to compare, while the House of Quality focuses of comparing and evaluating product properties and attributes (Johannesson et al., 2013).

2.5 Product development concepts for low income markets Product development in the South Asian context comes with the challenge of catering to demands of huge populations with constrained economic resources. In literature, the concept of Frugal Innovation has therefore emerged as a popular core business strategy in the South Asian ​ markets (Bhatti et al., 2013). Frugal Innovation is diligently referred to as reverse innovation: the core idea is to develop products that fit the special requirements of emerging markets and that are in a price range reachable for non-affluent customers (Weyrach, 2017). The term can also define as

“…responding to severe resource constraints with products having extreme cost advantages compared to existing solutions” (Gassmann et al., 2015). ​

Three criterias for Frugal Innovation can be defined as substantial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities and optimised performance level. It is often that the cost reduction aspect is emphasized when speaking of Frugal Innovation, as these products are characterized much lower cost in comparison to the conventional products on the market. The second criteria refer to that Frugal Innovations often are stripped of minor functions and are focused on the core benefits and essential functions. Furthermore, to capture the full meaning of Frugal Innovation, the performance level is significant. Although, this also means avoiding over-engineering which is common in developed markets (Weyrach, 2017).

There are a lot of concept for product development for low income markets, a lot of them overlapping with the Frugal Innovation concept. BoP innovation (Bottom of Pyramid) is a concept closest related to Frugal Innovation. Though, while Frugal Innovation focuses on developing countries as a whole, including both low-income and emerging middle-income segments, BoP innovation focuses on those with an annual income of less than 1500 USD. Frugal Innovation also includes characteristics of many other overlapping concepts such as good-enough innovation, disruptive innovation etc. Consequently, Frugal Innovation has a broad and inclusive scope (Hossain, 2018).

Bhatti et al. (2013) argues that innovation in South Asia and other emerging markets are not about innovating for those with the greatest purchasing power, as the commonly used practice

14 often boils down to. Instead innovation is about reconfiguration of already existing products to fulfil needs at lower costs.

2.6 Källa 8 This section is a description of the Point of Use water filtration system by the Blöndal Group.

2.6.1 General information

Figure 2: Blöndal’s Point of Use Water Filtration System Källa 8 ​

Figure 3: Front of device with the pressure gauge showing 0-10 bar (left picture), GAC and UF (middle picture) and digital counter (right picture).

Källa 8 is a Point of Use water filter equipped with two cartridges: the Ultra-Filtration Membrane (UF K8) and Activated Carbon (GAC K8). The water feeding into the filtration membrane will be for one of two purposes: either to filter the water for consumption or to flush the membrane for cleaning of the filter. The flushing or the membrane is to prevent it from choking and

15 enhance the lifespan of the filter. The flushing is done when the “main water tap” is turned on. When the “filtration faucet” is turned on the filtration takes place. The water passes through the UF membrane and the particles in the water reduces to 0.01 micron before passing through the GAC media for odour and Chlorine removal. After this the filtered water is safe to be consumed from the “filtrate faucet”. Källa 8 is also equipped with a digital display module with daily counter ​ and buzzer features that is powered through batteries. The digital counter counts the days in use: starting from 365 days down to zero. When the counter indicated “0” an alarm is triggered to inform the user that the cartridge needs to be replaced. These features are all presented in Figure 2 and 3 above.

2.6.2 Technical specification Point of Use filter

Dimension H380 x W260 x D113 mm

Weight Approx. 4.0 kg

Average Flow Rate 2.0 ~ 3.0 l/min

Max. Pressure Limit 3 bars Table 1: Technical specification of the Point of Use Filter shown in Figure 2.

Ultra-Filtrations Membrane Activated Carbon & Kinetic Degradation Fluxion

Filtration Capacity 10 800 litres 3 600 litres

Pressure Range 1 ~ 3 bars 1 ~ 8 bars

Temperature Range 5 ~ 40 °C 14 ~ 45 °C Table 2: Technical specification of the two different cartridges in Källa 8 shown in Figure 3. ​ ​

16 2.6.3 Features and current design

Figure 4: Removable top- and front cover

The device shown in Figure 2 is designed with a top cover. The top cover is equipped with the monitor and is removable as shown to the left in Figure 4. After removing the top cover, the front cover can be detached, as shown to the right in Figure 4.

Figure 5: Connectors for filter water (left), flush water (middle) and inlet (right).

On the side of the device, there are three openings: one for filter water with a ¼” diameter, one for the flush water of ½” and the inlet with a diameter on ½”. These are all shown in Figure 5. Källa 8 is attached to the wall with 2 screws, with a distance of 148 mm. ​

2.7 Domestic water filtration systems The following is a presentation of different types of techniques for domestic water filtration systems.

2.7.1 Activated Carbon Filter Activated carbon filters consist of a base material of usually coal, wood and coconut shell. The base material has been subjected to a carbonization process and heat- and steam treatments. Activated carbon attracts substances that attach to the carbon particles and the filter efficiency depends on its chemical properties, making them attract to various contaminants. Most organics attach to the carbon surface very efficiently, because of the similar material properties. The smaller molecules- the better attraction. Also, the so-called adsorption works best at low pH values and low temperatures. It is also a time dependant process, where long contact time and

17 lower flow rates leads to more removed contaminants. Carbon filters are not universal and they for example do not remove heavy metals or iron in the water. These filters are appropriate if the water is free from bacteria, as the carbon filters risk to be a microorganism breeding ground (Law, 2005).

2.7.2 Membrane Filter A membrane filter consists of a thin film of a material with very small pores, that are only large enough for water to flow through. The contaminants are left on the top surface of the membrane if they are larger than the pores of the film. The most common membrane materials are ceramics and polymers. Membrane filters are suitable for prevention of contaminants with a large particle size, as salt, metal, viruses or bacteria. The size of the membrane pores are directly correlated with the efficiency of the filtration. These filters can be used both at point of entry (PoE) and point of use (PoU) in domestic applications. For PoU filters in ceramics is the most used membrane material and for PoE fiber (rayon, cellulose, etc.) is the most common. These filters also risk encouraging bacteria growth. This is very efficient for removing particulate matter and sediment, although it lacks in effectiveness when it comes to dissolved pollutants (Law, 2005). This advanced treatment process is being looked into by projects under the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications (Department of Water Supply, 2007).

2.7.3 Reverse Osmosis A water purification process based on reverse osmosis consists of several elements and filter, of which one is a so-called semi-permeable membrane. This type of water filtration removes heavy metals, viruses, bacteria and other impurities very effectively (Law, 2005).

2.7.4 Distillation Distillation is a natural process where the water is evaporated and leaves the contaminants behind. This is an effective method of removing bacteria, dissolved solids, heavy materials etc. Since this method requires heating of water over 100°C, it is not very energy efficient as a water purification method. Distillation can produce up to 99.5% purity in water (Law, 2005).

2.7.5 Ultraviolet Light (UV) Ultraviolet light is common in water filtration and is aimed to kill bacteria, microorganisms and viruses. If there are a lot of solids in the feed water, the UV can not reach the microbes, which makes this method dependant on a pre-filtration of particles. This method does not affect minerals in the water that are beneficial for humans. UV filtration does not eliminate many organic chemicals and is not appropriate for water with loads of suspended solids (Law, 2005).

2.7.6 Combination filters There are water filtration systems that use a combination of the treatment systems described above (Law, 2005).

18 3. Method This project was divided into two sections. The first part was the preparatory work, which involved literature studies and interviews concerning product development for low income markets and identifying customers needs. The second part of the project was in form of a case study, foremost concerning the development of the PoU water filter Källa 8 by the Blöndal ​ Group. This part was executed according to the methods derived from the preparatory work from part one, so that the second part of the project had a solid basis to work from. The development project took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where Blöndal was situated.

3.1 Literature studies The literature studies have involved research of methods for integrating customer needs and product development for a low income market. Apart from this, studies have been made of the country of focus and also of the product of interest. This study was necessary, as the information gained from the literature studies contributed to a broad information spectra. Different models form the same fields were gathered and compared against each other. The literature studies involved analyses of books, websites, articles, journals and statements from people of relevance. KTH’s own search database was primarily used to ensure the reliability of the sources used. Examples of keywords used in the search database are: user integration, design thinking, Frugal ​ Innovation, etc. See the Bibliography for the complete addition of sources used. ​ ​ ​

3.2 Interviews Four qualitative interviews with active members of the Swedish organization Engineers without Borders, Sweden have taken place. Engineers without borders, Sweden is a non profit ​ organisation working with countries in need of sustainable technical solutions. The organisation has experience in working with developing countries and different types of low income contexts. They are known for their close interaction with their target groups and customers.

The respondents were picked out based on their experience in working within engineering projects in developing countries. All the respondents had been involved in different international projects concerning product development and establishing the utilization of product solutions in low income contexts. These interviews were for greater knowledge about product development in developing countries, different cultures and the low income focus.

The interviews were semi-structural, meaning the interviews followed an interview guide (see Appendix A) with prepared themes and questions but left room for other follow up questions and discussions. Each interview was thirty minutes to two hours long. The focus of the interviews were mainly of what models are used in practice for customer integration and product development. With the use of interviews we could get a more realistic view of how product development and customer integration would look like in such environments.

Informal interviews with the Blöndal Group were also acquired for further knowledge of the market, product and customer. These took place at the Blöndal office in the form of meetings.

19 3.3 Processing of interviews The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The transcriptions were thoroughly read and the important material was highlighted. From the highlighted text, keywords were commentented to the side of every transcribed interview. These keywords were later compared (both between the highlighted texts and between the interviews) and combined into themes that helped us organize and compare the interviews. Themes from the integrating customers part of the interviews that were used were: observations, interview customers, preparatory studies, prioritize the needs, communication, ​ culture and behaviour, too obvious of needs to involve customer. The themes from the product developing ​ part of the interviews were: cost, use already existing products and ideas, logical framework approach, ​ spread/multiplying effects, environment, divide project into smaller parts. As the themes were distinguished, the commonalities and patterns in the interviews became more evident. The similarities and differences were analysed and later led to the result presented in the result section.

3.4 Comparison of literature studies and interviews The literature studies and interviews were compared afterwards for a broader insight and ​ understanding before applying the material to part two. Our interest was mainly in those models that both the literature studies and the interviews refer to. The negative aspect of comparing interviews with literature is that they might not refer to similar things, meaning we are left with two interfering conclusions. However, both methods are necessary for thorough and reality-based perspectives on the subjects. Both aspects of the interfering conclusions were taken into account and discussed in the Discussion, found in section 5.

3.5 Market analysis Prior to the development stage in part two, research for customer integration and market analysis took place. Surveys and interviews of different lengths with potential users were planned for a more direct knowledge of specific issues that need focus. Some interviews were carried out in homes of potential users, while some took place in a public area where random respondents were approached. Since working with focus groups was discussed to be both time- and financially demanding, the method was not found to be feasible for this resource limited project.

Challenges with the communication can occur in such methods because of language barriers and others aspects. Despite this, it is beneficial to go straight to the source of information, that is, the customers themselves. Surveys can be, as stated in the beginning of this report (section 1), hard to implement in lower income markets because of infrastructural weaknesses. After discussing potential whereabouts for conducting surveys and other market analysis methods, we realized that this problem does not apply to Kuala Lumpur. The infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur is in relatively good condition and the many malls of Kuala Lumpur attract people from every income class. Obtaining respondents was simply done by approaching people randomly in malls and doing in home visits. To use quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews and home-visits) methods simultaneously made sure that both profound customer integration information and statistic information was being collected.

20 3.5.1 Surveys and shorter interviews Firstmost, we visited Blöndal booths in two different malls a day each. We, accompanied by other employees on the company, handed out surveys (see Appendix B) to customers, future customers and those interested. When an interest was acknowledged, we asked for a shorter interview with more personal questions about their lifestyle and needs when it comes to the quality of drinking water. These interviews do not have any interview guides but are based off of the survey questions. The surveys were used for statistical reasons to answers questions of ​ uncertainty and to understand what the customers are interested in when it comes to water filters. 84 surveys were handed out, less than 50 were evaluated as shorter interviews where further questions and discussions occurred.

One of the (optional) questions of the questionnaires was the income. This information was used to understand how customers and future customers thoughts and wants could be linked to income groups and how people of different incomes could value different aspects of a product and of water.

Meanwhile handing out surveys in the malls, questions and themes were discussed with those who had the time. With this method, an understanding to how the questionnaires answered the surveys was acknowledged. This information was used to understand how much a customer or future customer thought about a certain value and what made them prioritize them the way they did. Anecdotes and examples were used to describe how they thought when buying products, using products, home cultures and experiences surrounding drinking water from different sources and treatments.

3.5.2 In Home visits Second to first, a day was spent together with a couple of so called “door knockers” from the company sales branch. These employees do home visits to sell Blöndal products and services. When manageable, we asked the future customer for an interview (with the intention of the interviews being somewhat longer than those in the mall). These in home visits with inclusive, unstructured interviews, have the purpose of understanding the person of interests wants and needs in relation to his or her surroundings. Together with the company’s seller, we arrived at a low income place in Klang. Four in home interviews were accomplished. These interviews were unstructured, meaning they did not follow any interview guide. The answers, tacit information and lifestyle observations given from the interviews were recorded straight away. These records were later read and thoroughly discussed to intersect this with the information from the surveys and smaller interviews, see Appendix E.

3.5.3 Discussions with the Blöndal sellers For formality reasons, the day planned for in home-visits started off with a meeting with the sales department for the Klang area in Kuala Lumpur. Nine employees attended including the Regional Sales Manager who discussed sales results and selling arguments. This meeting provided much relevant information on, from experience, what the future customers were interested in

21 and in what stage they were interested in different values. Since these sellers communicated every day with future customers they were well aware of what issues and what strengths the product had according to the future customers.

Of the two sellers that we later door knocked with, one had further explanations and discussions surrounding the pros and cons with the product according to what the approachable persons have said and insinuated towards. In tandem with a lot of observations, all of these approaches provided us with a lot of information to understand the market and identify the user needs. All this information was recorded.

3.5.4 Merging the data

Interview Amount of Time of each How the interviews interviewees interview were executed

In depth interviews with 4 30 - 90 min By telephone or over a Engineers without borders coffee.

Surveys 84 < 15 min Handed out survey in malls.

Short interviews <50 15 min Discussions in combination with the handed out surveys.

In home visits 4 5-25 min Interviews and asking questions in suburban neighborhoods.

Sales staff encounters ~3 - Meetings and informal discussions. Table 3. Practice of part 1

This market analysis gathered not only statistical material but also a deeper understanding of the encountered people. The information gained from all the interviews and observations during the study was compared to the statistical data gained from the surveys. As the commonalities in collected data was underlined, distinct user needs emerged. It resulted in a multifaceted collection of user needs and wants. These identified user needs were then applied to a House of Quality matrix. The House of Quality model was chosen over Pughs matrix (see 2.4) as the model for ​ development of established solution concepts because of its greater emphasis on customer needs.

22 3.6 Product development After this, we began designing the PoU water filter to be adjusted to a greater amount of people in Malaysia and their homes. This work was in line with the methods we have chosen from the prestudies, where the product development process derived from design thinking (see 4.3.1) was ​ the primarily guide throughout the entire process. The used process visualization was used, since it was constantly referred to in literature and relatively simple to work with. Frugal Innovation (see ​ ​ 4.4) was used as a central theory in the product development of Källa 8 because of its South ​ Asian adaptability and prosperity in product development in low income contexts. While developing the new concept of the product many factors and restrictions were followed.

3.7 Conceptualization The concept of the product was constructed both in the computed aided program: Solid Edge and also as a prototype. The concept was presented and handed to the director of Blöndal Technique and the Corporate Executive Officer of Blondal for evaluation.

23 4. Results In this section, the summarized interviews, market analysis and product development stages are presented. Sections 4.1 - 4.1 present the results from the interviews with Engineers without borders, Sweden.

4.1 Models/methods/processes for customer integration All the interviewees explained that no specific models/methods/processes are used. Every project works in its own way and in a collaboration with a local organisation. Many explained it like the local organisation have good indications of the surrounding customers needs and wants.

Interviewee nr. 3: “... The local organisations are usually very good at helping to solve these questions. Because ​ they know how everything looks and what is up…”

They all mentioned that talking to the future customers, observations of the surroundings and preparatory studies are important methods for customer integration and to understand what the biggest problems are.

Interviewee nr. 1: “... start with seeing the reality and what they use and experience as problems. This you do ​ best with a combination of studies and discussions…”

Interviewee nr. 1 and 4 mentioned how often prioritizing between the customer needs is needed. Interviewee nr. 1 continued with discussing how to prioritize between them and mentioned comparing them in pairs and in factors like the cost, to choose what needs to focus on:

“... One way is to just compare by pairs … The important thing is how to think. If you already have concepts, ​ you can compare concept to concept so that you solve the prioritized needs. And then the other factor is of course the cost…”

Interviewee nr. 4 said that some of the needs are so obvious that a customer integration is not on the table: “... The access to clean water, toilets and also waste management, these are such universal needs. They are so obvious just like that. So in those cases we haven’t brought up any dialogs around it ...”

4.2 Models/methods/processes for product development

All the interviewees explained that no specific models/methods/processes are used frequently. What they usually do is reuse products that they have used in other projects or re design products other organisations have developed.

Interviewee nr. 4: “... To a very large extent, it’s really just to use things that have already been tested, that you ​ know works…”

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Interviewee nr. 1: “...You know, don’t reinvent the wheel again, that’s always a good ground rule...” ​

Interviewee nr. 1 mentioned Practical Action: ​ “... There is a resource called Practical Action, if you dig into it you can find loads about this. Practical Action, google it. If you haven’t heard of it before, they have plenty of these “do it yourself” solutions and so on. So start with looking there before trying to come up with your own idea”

Practical Action is a humanitarian organisation alike Engineers without borders, Sweden, with a ​ goal of ending poverty and increasing the global health without straining the environment. Practical Action focuses on technology and how product oriented projects will help achieve their goal. The organisation provides those interested with free downloads of technical information from their projects.

3 out of 4 interviewees talked about the importance of adapting the product to its surrounding environment. For an example, interviewee nr 3. mentioned a water tank product that had to be suited for a school environment:

“ ...It’s really important to adapt the projects to the environment. An example is the projects built in schools where children are around. There is the risk of them climbing on it. For this reason, many water tanks are over ground so the children can’t reach them. Those built under ground are otherwise preferable since the ground will cold the water, but in those cases the roofs of the tanks will be reachable for the children…”

For economic reasons and for product multiplying effects, the product should be built using local materials and resources.

Interviewee nr. 1: “... The other factor is of course what the concepts costs and so on. You now have a vision of ​ this being a solution that people know will have a fast multiplying effect. Take for instance UV-cleaning for achieving disinfection. The easiest way is to just use a PET bottle and put it out in the sun for some hours…”

All the interviewees talked a lot around the importance of planning and especially communication. The picture created after the interviews was of a organisation based off of communication between different projects, with other organisations and with the local organisations. All to make sure information would be shared to those who could have use of it. This communication structure is not only used for product development issues but for everything, for example customer integration too.

Interviewee nr. 3: “...I think communication is very important in every situation. You notice that as soon as the ​ communication falls short, the whole project stops, you can’t really follow through then. So the communication part is really important…”

25 Interviewee nr. 2: “... We have contact with them on the spot. What materials and competence do they have. ​ Then you use all this knowledge. I was in Kamerun several times and that’s when you got a sense of things…”

Interviewee nr. 2 and 4 mentioned Logical Framework Approach ​

The Logical Framework Approach is a method for the analytical, follow up and evaluation parts of a project or program. LFA consists of nine steps to guide the user through the planning of project. The method is based on the idea that what justifies developing projects is that the service and the products corresponds to the needs of the people or the target group (Sida, 2003).

Interviewee nr. 2: “... Logical framework approach. SIDA (the company) have partly designed this model and ​ it focuses a lot on not just saying “well we have a lawn mower so we should sell it in South Africa”, but to more dig in to what the problem is. Do they really need a mower? Maybe they only need a scissor. Or maybe not a scissor, they need an ice cream machine. It’s about really going to the depth of problems and from this realizing the consequences of different things. What do the people really need and what can we do to help?...”

Interviewee nr. 4: “... We have used a method for recognizing what needs and goals and so on that aren’t ​ connected to the technical solutions but are connected to the “Okey, how are we supposed to manage this problem. How should we prioritize activities and so on. It’s called logical framework approach, LFA.

As the interviewees further described how some projects have worked they have mentioned in different ways how they have worked. We have been able to see as versions of already existing models/methods/structures when comparing the interviews with our theory. For an example, interviewee nr. 1 mentioned comparing concept in pairs. This could be seen a version of Pughs Matrix. Also, all the interviewees have mentioned the reuse of products and reuse of products with further adjustments, we related this to Frugal Innovation in the meaning that further ​ adjustments have been to improve and simplify the products.

Over all it was understood that when working with smaller projects, no expressed models/methods/structures are used.

When it comes to the product development, using already explored ideas and products is the ultimate way of finding product solutions in this particular environment. One of the reasons is knowing that the technical solution works.

4.3 Identified customer needs In this section, the information regarding the user needs provided by the market analysis is summarized. It is worth mentioning that of the 57 respondents who entered their household income, 47% had a household income of less than 2000 RM per month. 77% of the respondents had a household income under 8000 RM per month (27 non responses).

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4.3.1 The need for water filters During our study, it was evident that there is a huge demand for domestic water filters in Malaysia. A total of 88% of the respondents did not drink water directly from the tap (4 non responses). 74% of the respondents had some kind of water filter installed at home, such as PoU, PoE, dispensers etc. (3 non responses). A vast majority (89%) of the respondents believed that water filters were currently a necessity (4 non responses).

People were not fully satisfied with the piped water provided by the government. The respondents were asked to rank their tap water quality from 1 to 10, where 1 is not satisfied at all and 10 is very satisfied. The tap water quality scored an average of 5.7 out of 77 answers, showing that the tap water quality was slightly above average, according to the respondents. They were also asked to estimate how important tap water quality was for them on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 was not important at all and 10 was very important. On an average out of 77 respondents, the importance of tap water quality ended up with a value of 8.7. One interviewee discussed this thorough. He/she said that the water situation in Kuala Lumpur is horrible. “Just go look at what the rivers look like, that’s what we have to drink here”.

Because of the dissatisfaction of the piped water, the consumption of water bottles is also quite high. The respondents were asked to approximate how many bottles, regardless of size, they bought each month. On average, out of 39 respondents, they bought approximately 39 bottles each month.

The study also showed that people were willing to pay for the access to clean water. The respondents were asked to enter a price they were willing to pay each month for unlimited access to clean water. On average, people were willing to pay 93 RM per month. Since the amounts stated by the respondents varied from 0 RM to 500 RM, the median of the suggested monthly amounts were 69 RM.

Several of the interviewees seemed to value clean water and seemed to want filters. For instance, one of the interviewees in the malls showed us what kind of bottled water he/she drank. The interviewee held up a bottle of deionized water and said “I only drink this”. Another example is at one of the in home visits, where a family had had a water filter installed before. It came with a free of charge installation. However, they realized that as soon as they had to pay a monthly bill it became very expensive and they had to deinstall the filter. They explained that they were very interested in having a water filter because of the need of clean water. Since they could not afford a filter they drank the tap water unfiltered.

The price was a hot potato throughout the entire market analysis. The analysis pointed towards a need in decrease of price for water filters. As explained above, one in home visit family had to uninstall their water filter because of the monthly price. Price was also valued greatly according

27 to the survey answers and the sellers. One of the sellers had said that because of the economy situation in Malaysia at the time being, money is a scarcity for many.

4.3.2 The user wants and needs After discussion, literature studies and brainstorming, seven different key qualities of a water filter were derived (see the survey in Appendix B). The quality of the water was evidently the most important quality, as 28 out of 38 respondents placed the price as the topped ranked attribute. 23 of the respondents then placed price as one of their top three most important values. Furthermore, 24 respondents also placed durability as one of the top three most important values. The design of the water filter was evidently the least important attributes among the respondents. Only 9 respondents placed the design in one of their top five ranked values. Other values that were mentioned in the blank option was customer service (how easy it ​ is to contact the company or a repairman), the taste of the water after filtration, the amount of space the filter device claimed (due to space limitations in homes) and also the variety of functions, products and/or customizations.

At the morning meeting at the sales branch, it was pointed out that the design of the filter is one of the main reasons why people bought the product. A lot of people place the filter on top of the sink instead of under. The appearance of the Blöndal products was often the winning argument for the door knocking salesman. This was reasserted by interviewed salesmen too. The importance of the design is especially apparent when the customer sees the aluminium. A lot of the products in the market are made out of plastic and when the customer sees and feels the aluminium of the Blöndal products, they often perceive the product as durable and of high quality.

When the salesmen were asked what the challenges of the product were from a selling point of view, they all answered that the price was too high: “because of the economy, people can’t afford to buy Blöndal products”. Another challenge for the salesmen was to make people understand why the product was necessary: “They are not using any filters and they do not see any problems and they therefore think they don’t need filters”.

One of the in home interviewees had a water filter of another brand installed. The interviewee was very pleased with the filter: it was easy to use, it could be used all the time, it could provide the family with both hot and cold water, it looks good, the price was good and the service was good. The interviewee explained that he/she spends a lot of time in the kitchen, therefore he/she appreciated the design and looks of the product since it is very visible. Another interviewee who owned a Källa 8, was also very satisfied with the product. He/she mentioned ​ ​ that the water had good taste and resulted in clear colorless water. Important qualities that the interviewee mentioned was the availability and good quality. He/she continued with saying that they paid a service fee at 400 RM for Blöndal to change filters every year and that this was expensive. He/she would like that a change would happen here.

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4.4 Development of Källa 8 4.4.1 House of Quality

Figure 6: Quality derived from market analysis

A summarization of the user needs derived from the market analysis was formulated and applied in the House of Quality matrix seen in Figure 6 above. The identified and weighed user needs are in the left section of the matrix. Firstly, the weighted sum emphasizes that changes in the cartridge connections could lead to a lot of product improvements. This is also supported by the competitor analysis. A lot of filters in the market have simple changeable and user friendly filter cartridges. Secondly, changes in the material, shape and filtration capacity (changing filter types) could also lead to increased product value. The matrix insinuates that the development of Källa 8 ​ should not focus so much on adding functions or improving filter performance, as it shows to be satisfying. Avoiding to over-engineer the product is important, as it also can lead to a higher price on the market.

The matrix led to the conclusion that the main focus in the development was to make the filter cheaper. The development work therefore concentrates on cutting down manufacturing costs and making the filters more user friendly and easily interchangeable, so that the sometimes

29 expensive service fees could be reduced. This goes hand in hand with changing the filter housing to a more user friendly design. This is especially important since the competitors has the advantage in that area. Although, it was also concluded that the changes should be made without jeopardizing the appearance of the product. This is because the design of the product was one of the company’s main advantages in the water filter market. This also concerns the developed ​ filtration technique such as filtration substances, cartridge order, filter compositions, inside structure of filter etc. A lot of the popular PoU filters in the market require cartridge change every three months or so. Therefore, the yearly required change of cartridges for Källa 8 is a great ​ market advantage and will not be of focus during the product development.

4.4.2 Design concept

Figure 7: Overview of the new concept of Källa 8, with an outside- and inside view ​ ​

The main focus of the developed concept was that the filter cartridges should be removed and attached easily. This was achieved by gathering all the piping behind the housing wall and having the filter cartridges being pushed in to the wall. The outer lid of the housing is remained somewhat unchanged, to save costs on mold changes for the extruded aluminum. Furthermore, users often expressed appreciation for the non-plastic exterior. The concept overview, with outside and inside view, is illustrated in Figure 7 above. As shown in the picture, the pressure gauge is placed inside the filter house, between the cartridges. This is to minimize processing on the aluminium cover and to move the gauge pipe to the backside. The logo on the outside front part is changed to a metal finish sticker instead of the plastic glued plate.

In the concept several different standard PVC quick fittings were used. These type of tube fittings are very accessible, cheap and reliable for this type of water applications. The quick

30 fittings are equipped with a collet, which can also be described as a “gripper”. The collet is shaped with teeth that holds the tube firmly in position when pipe and fitting are being pulled apart. The fittings are also mounted with a (often blue) lock ring to secure the gripping collet. These quick fittings come in plenty of different shapes and sizes and are very easy to get a hold of in Malaysia. See Appendix G for specified fittings.

Figure 8: Inside of filter house, mounted bulkhead fittings.

In this concept, these fittings are used in a somewhat unconventional way. The collet together with the lock ring are being detached from five of the quick fittings mounted to the wall. The wall where the filters are attached are equipped with bulkhead fittings, as seen on Figure 8 above. As the collets and lockrings have been removed, the fittings do not lock the filter when a force out of the wall is applied. Without the collets, the pipes from the filter cartridges can easily be pushed in and out. The filters consequently need to be fixated to the wall to prevent leakage and detachment of cartridges once mounted into the wall. This is done by plastic wall clamps, shown in Figure 7 (right). The holes for the bulkhead fittings on the wall are made oval. This is so that the positioning of the bulkheads can be adjusted to withstand margins of error during manufacturing of the cartridges.

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Figure 9: Aligned elbow fittings combined with short pipe on UF cartridge.

The pipe fittings for the inlets and outlets of the filter cartridges were replaced with elbow fittings combined with short pipes. The fittings are aligned, so the pipes are all pointing to the same direction, see Figure 9 above. The distances between the pipes of the filter cartridge are matched with the bulkheads on the wall. With this arrangement, the short pipes of the filter cartridge can with a push be inserted into the collet-free bulkhead fittings in the wall. This can be compared with the original cartridge connections shown in Figure 3.

Figure 10: Piping behind inner wall showing left- and right side positioning of side inlet and outlets

The connecting pipes are then gathered on the backside of the wall. The backside of the bulkheads are attached with elbow stem fittings in different sizes. The pipes are cut in an

32 appropriate length to be adaptable for both right and left positioning of side inlets and outlets. This can be compared with the original pipe connections shown in Figure 3.

Figure 11: Attachable back wall

The piping is then hid behind a detachable back wall. The back wall is attached to the inner wall with click on hooks. Se Figure 11 above. This can be compared with the original configuration ​ ​ and design of the back wall shown in Figure 4.

Figure 12: Adjustments to filter house lid

The filter house lid is also expanded in depth according to Figure 12 above.

33 5. Discussion The results for each research question is discussed in this section. The information gained from the literature study is compared to the experiences from the field study. Furthermore, the methods are evaluated and eventualities for future research is brought up.

5.1 Models and methods for identifying user needs The most mentioned ways of understanding the users, both in literature and during interviews, were the interactive ones. The main message taken from most of the interviewees from Engineers without borders was to “just ask”. Meaning, when identifying the needs of users one simply has to listen to what he/she has to say. This common message was also found in a lot of literature. However, this was not as successful in this project. During our shorter interviews and in-home visits we would ask straight on questions: what they think of their water filter, what could be improved, what they wished for etc. Unfortunately, the interviewees kept themselves very short, giving us often very perfunctory, positive and sometimes indifferent answers. Based on many of the answers from these questions, the conclusion would be that the users are satisfied and no changes would be needed. It was almost impossible to get a hold of constructive answers without leading the interviewees too much.

This was undoubtedly an issue during the interviews. This could be due to the environment where the interviews were held. Getting a hold of interviewees was a minor obstacle during this short amount of time and with the limited familiarity with the local whereabouts. We were therefore compelled to approach interviewees when they were on the move. The interviewees were often happy to contribute and participate in an interview, but were often on the go somewhere. The same goes for the in-home visits, where help was taken from the company door-knocking sales branch. However, the sales in the suburbian Kuala Lumpur were found to not involve a lot of door knocking since most of the houses were gated. Meaning, the houses were enclosed and not equipped with doorbells. Contact was mostly made when the resident was just arriving or leaving the home. This introduced the same limitations as in the mall setting - people were busy and wanted to keep it short. Because of these reasons, the interviews were sometimes rushed and held in a messy environment such as in the malls or on the street of their neighbourhood. This sometimes hindered the interviews from going into depth and getting the full attention of the interviewee.

The language barrier was also complicit in the limitations of the interviews and the surveys. A lot of questions in the survey were not understood and left blank, leaving high percentages of non-responses in the processed data. Assessing the credibility of the results from the surveys is therefore complicated, since it is impossible to know if the respondent understood the questions or just answered randomly. The similar problematics goes for the in-home interviews. An interpreter was often needed in the in-home visits. Since the only ones available at the time were the salesmen, they had to act as interpreters, even though their english proficiency was also very limited. This long transferral of information (from interviewee to processed data) introduces potential misinterpretations and inaccuracies. Yet, when communicating without a interpreter, it

34 was also easy to put words in the interviewee’s mouth and leading them in their answers if they were very unaccustomed to the english language.

The language problematics also made it necessary for us to help some respondents to answer the surveys. The surveys should ideally be responded anonymously and single-handedly to avoid nudged answers, especially as some of the questions concern private topics. One could imagine that writing down your income with someone looking over your shoulder could be a sensitive matter. Nevertheless, the surveys provided us with a lot of useful data and the approach worked very well for the urban environment. Surveys require little time for the often busy people and the mall was a great place for reaching out to people. Although, the reliability of the processed data could be increased if the surveys were made in several languages. Since a lot of languages are used in Kuala Lumpur, there is a point of making the surveys in malay, chinese, indian and so on. This would improve the variety in respondents and decrease the sources of error. This would on the other hand call for necessary translation help.

The in-home visits were a valuable complement to the shorter interviews and surveys in the malls. In particular, it was a great way of getting a hold of tacit information that could not be provided from the surveys. Tacit information is often brought up in literature and was in this study shown not to be limited by poor communication during in-home visits. As an example, a couple of interviewees that did not own a water filter at home, showed up a behavior that was interpreted as shame. One interviewee said that he/she had owned a water filter previously, but that it had to be deinstalled. When asked why, the interviewee waived the question and it was later understood that the family could not afford it. The similar behavior was shown in a interview with another family, who showed to be uncomfortable with the questions. The behavior around some of our questions gave us a lot of information that was not possible to get from the surveys. From instances like this, it was later made clear that it is of importance to focus on reducing the price of Källa 8. ​

Tacit information could also be collected in the malls. Respondents could for instance rank the design of a water filter as the least important attribute, but could on the other hand light up when they would see the actual product. This was also pointed out by the salesmen. The customer would probably say that they do not need or want any special design of a water filter, but when it came to buying one it always played a big role. Often, it is the the decisive factor for customers during sales, according to the salesmen. The filter was often placed on top of the sink, instead of under because of this. This was something not really brought up by the product development for lower income markets, either in literature or by the interviewees from Engineers without borders. Developing a product that users can be proud of and be happy to use is also an important factor to consider during design in this type of market. In this case, it could ultimately mean that more people want to own a water filter and therefore less people would drink contaminated water. If the broad goal is to decrease the amount of people drinking unsanitary water, then one has to so consider how to make people want to drink clean water. In

35 many cases, there could be a point in also considering the visual aspect of products, which can often be neglected in literature.

Furthermore, it was important that the research covered a representative group. Almost half of the survey respondents were a part of the predefined low income group. And the neighbourhood in which the in-home visits were conducted was mainly a low income area, as stated by the salesmen. From that point of view, the collected data can be considered to be fairly representative of the low income group. However, many times when approaching a couple (man and woman), a family or a group of people, the woman/women often stayed in the background while we got to talk to the man/men. We often directly talked to the women, encouraging them to also take a survey or asking them questions directly. Yet, in many cases this was not a working strategy. This can have an influence in the collected data. It is important that the data is based on a great variety of people, as insight about households matters can vary in a household. During the literature study, it was hard to find established strategies for how to gather interviewees or respondents in these types of projects. One of the conclusions from the case study was that the way the respondents/interviewees were approached made a difference in the result. This field therefore calls for further research in order to find specific well-tried methodologies.

5.2 Models and methods for developing products in low income markets The main tool used in the project, that was deduced from the literature studies, was the House of Quality. This tool is commonly used within all fields of product development and worked well in this type of project too. When all the data was collected from the market analysis, the House of Quality was an optimal way of simplifying the results and creating an overview of the research results. The tool was a suitable way of shedding light on the competition advantages and user needs, as well as pointing out what should be of focus in the development step. During the product development step, a lot of different concepts were presented to the company before settling on the final one. Using a Pugh’s Matrix would therefore also have been appropriate to prioritize between concepts.

During this study, one goal was to obtain and evaluate a suitable model or method for product development in lower income contexts. A summary can be made from the interviews with Engineers without borders: no specific models, methods and processes were really used in practice during these types of product development projects. However, the interviewees often spoke in terms similar to the theory of Frugal Innovation. The interviewees spoke of using existing products and avoiding to “reinvent the wheel”. Frugal Innovation has characteristics based on the same mindset. Frugal Innovation was discussed often within product development in lower income contexts during the literature study and became one of our main theories to follow in this project.

Henceforth, the theory of Frugal Innovation came to be not so easily implemented on this particular case study. It was challenging in this market to develop “products having extreme cost advantages compared to existing solutions” (Gassmann et al., 2015), since there already are

36 products with these attributes on the market. It was noticeable while in Kuala Lumpur that domestic water filters is a booming market in Southeast Asia. There are a lot of different water filter products available and along with this, a huge demand from the people. The filters vary in price and in technical advancement even though it technically is a fairly simple product. During the product development, we therefore had to focus a lot on the competition, as seen in our final House of Quality (see Section 6.4.1). Because of the characteristics of the market, a conflict between the theory of Frugal Innovation and the trademark of Blöndal occured. An example of when this conflict occurred was with the housing for Källa 8, where we could have chosen to ​ ​ make the housing into plastic instead of aluminium. Plastic would have been cheaper to produce- meaning it would lower the cost. However, the aluminum housing was, as stated before, one of the more preferable characteristics according to the market analysis. We also had to take in regard the importance to stand out from the competitors. Having to consider the company’s demands and wants was a restraint when adapting the product from a Frugal Innovation point of view.

This was constantly in discussion and the conclusion was to apply the Frugal Innovation mindset onto the core functionalities and perks of Källa 8 and make these more reachable for non-affluent ​ ​ customers. The long lifespan of the filters, the good filtration by the two cartridges and the neat ​ appearance of the housing therefore became the attributes that we worked around. Ultimately, ​ we did not interfere much with these core functionalities, but mostly focused on finding a design that would make them more attainable for the masses in the Malaysian market.

In summary, Frugal Innovation is not an easily implemented theory when working with product development for mass production, yet has a good core concept to work from because of its elemental central idea. This way of thinking would not only adapt a product for a lower income market but also, most likely, lower the production costs by avoiding over-engineering and appeal to a broader mass. Therefore, it is a good model to be acquainted to and to constantly reflect over when working with product development in emerging markets.

5.3 Changes in design of Källa 8 The goal in the product development phase was to apply the information gained in the preparatory studies and market analysis on the product development of Källa 8. After we had ​​ ​ identified the user needs, the main focus became to make the filter cartridges easily changeable and sparing the customer the expensive service costs. In addition, the new concept was designed with emphasis on not raising the costs of manufacturing and with the mindset originating from Frugal Innovation. The solution was to cut down expensive aluminium processing and make the filters changeable to spare the customers the service fees and the presented final concept in Section 4.4.2 became the result.

The appearance might seem insignificant, but during our study it has been concluded that is is of considerable essence. Aluminium is an expensive and energy consuming material, which unfortunately has become Blöndals eccentricities in the jungle of domestic water filters. To make

37 Källa 8 more suitable for mass market retail for the lower income groups, the next step would be to look at material and manufacturing alternatives without jeopardizing the appearance or performance of the product.

The final product concept that was developed is a result of close interaction with the research and development department of Blöndal. During our time in Malaysia, we gained a lot of knowledge of the domestic water filter market and the company role in it all. The developed product is in line with a lot of restrictions that were brought up by the company engineers. For example, we avoided to change the design of the aluminum front part as changing the mold of the extruded aluminium would mean too high manufacturing costs. This would consequently raise the price of Källa 8. A possibility was to change the aluminium part for a cheaper ​ ​ alternative, but the aluminium is what was shown to be most appreciated by the interviewed users and also one of the company’s trademarks.

The new concept requires 4 cm more space in depth. This can be problematic, for the often crowded households in Kuala Lumpur. An alternative would be to find better suited fittings, that to not require that much space behind the wall. Looking into changes on the filter cartridge can also be considered a future step, since they could be designed to save more space.

38 6. Conclusions In this study, a lot of different models and methods were evaluated through the development of Källa 8. Surveys showed to be a good way of getting a broad overlook of the wants and needs of ​ a lower income group in a urban setting. To add nuance to the non-tacit information derived from the collected surveys, in-home visits with shorter interviews is a suitable way of integrating the user. These methods do not require particular funding, but many steps of the execution has to be considered thoroughly. Picking the right time and place for an interview is of essence. It was understood that there is a lack of established methodologies and strategies for approaching and gathering interviewees/respondents to be a part of these types of studies.

Frugal Innovation is a commonly brought up concept for product development in emerging markets. The core idea of the concept is valuable, but not so easily implemented in practice for this particular case study.

The methodologies derived from the predevelopment work of this project resulted in a new concept of Källa 8. One of the most evident user needs was that the product has to be cheaper. ​ ​ So the focus was to spare the users the sometimes expensive service fees, by making the cartridges easily changeable. This was done by configuring the pipe fittings and gathering the piping behind the wall, not seen by the customer. There is still room for further development of the product, where focus should lay on material- and manufacturing alternatives.

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42 Appendix A Intervjuguide: ​ Intervjuobjekt: xx från Ingenjörer utan Gränser Datum: Plats: Företag/Projekt: Namn:

Bakgrund: I vårt kandidatexamensarbetet ska vi åka till Malaysia och fördjupa oss i produktutvecklingsprocessen. Vi vill undersöka hur metoder för identifiering av användare och utformning av produkten ser ut när man jobbar med denna specifika marknad. Syftet med intervjun är att få en inblick i hur detta fungerar hos Ingenjörer utan gränser. Rapporteringen av denna intervju kommer endast användas som grund till kommande forskning och förhoppningsvis vara en hjälp till att identifiera metoder för kundintegrering och utformning av produkter för utvecklingsländer.

1. a) Vad är din roll på din arbetsplats? b) Hur länge har du arbetat på xxx? c) Vilken roll har du i företaget? d) Har du arbetat utomlands under din tid på företaget eller inom något internationellt projekt? I så fall, vilka länder har du arbetat med? e) Vilken typ av produkter och till vem har dina projekt varit riktade till? 2. a) Hur arbetar ni med att identifiera användarbehov? b) Vilka metoder/modeller/processer används? c) Om flera metoder, vilka används till vilka tillfällen och vilka funkar bäst/sämst? 3. a) Vad är ofta svårigheterna med att integrera kunderna i produktutveckling? b) Vilka är kunderna? (low income, U-länder..) 4. Anpassar ni era metoder mycket beroende på var ni är och vilka era kunder är? Om ja, hur? Om nej, varför inte? Hur förhåller ni er till kunderna annars? 5. Hur sammanfattas materialet som hämtas in? (ex Pughs matris ..) Hur prioriterar ni de olika behov som framhävts? 6. Hur går idégeneringen till efter att användarbehoven identifierats? Vad är det viktigaste att tänka på? 7. Hur prioriterar ni mellan idéerna? Vad tänker ni ofta på när ni väljer ut idéer som ni vill ha i produkten? Vilka faktorer behövs för att generera idéer? 8. Hur går ni tillväga för att få fram produktlösningar till användarbehoven? 9. Hur skiljer sig dessa marknader och kunder åt från en “vanlig” marknad? Hur hanterar ni detta? 10. Hur mycket undersökning sker innan ett projekt faktiskt sätts igång?

Appendix B Survey

Appendix C Survey Results

A: Do you drink directly from the tap? Y/N

B: Do you treat your tap water before drinking? Y/N C: Do you have any form of water filter installed? Y/N

D: If yes, what brand? What kind? E: Or do you only drink bottles water? Y/N

F: Approximately how many water bottles do you purchase every month? G: Do you believe water filters an necessity today? Y/N

What do you believe is a reasonable price per month for unlimited access to clean drinking water? H: RM/month I: What do you think of the water quality of your tap water? 1-10 (10 is very satisfied)

J: How important is the quality if your tap water? 1-10 K: Price 1-7

L: Quality 1-7 M: Design 1-7

N: Accessibility 1-7 O: Durability 1-7

P: User friendliness 1-7 Q: Repairability 1-7

R: Other S: What water filter brains do you know of? Top of mind

T: Are you acquainted with Blöndal or do you recognize the brand? Y/N U: Would you like a free home water analysis done by Blöndal? Y/N

V: Monthly household income? RM X: Comment

The red marked boxes are nonresponses.

Survey 1 - 17: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

A: Y N N N N N N N Y Y N N N N N N

B: Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y

C: Y Y Y N N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

PoE Bio 3M + D: Aura Aqua Pure PoU Cuckoo E-spring Panasonic Panasonic Coway Coway

N E: Y N N Y N N Y N Y N N Y N (Dispenser)

F: 3 0 20 5 1000

G: Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

H: 100 49 150 50 300-500 0 150 60

I: 6 8 5 5 1 6 5 5 4 5 8 1 5 10

J: 8 10 10 7 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 1 4 10

K: 3 3 3 1 2 1 5 2 5 1 5 2 2

L: 4 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1

M: 5 6 2 4 7 5 2 7 3 1 6

N: 2 2 4 1 6 7 2 6 1 2 4

O: 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 3 2 3

P: 4 1 5 1 4 5 1 4 2 3 5

Q: 2 1 7 1 5 1 5 1 3 2 1 7

2 customer service: easy to contact the company or a 8 R: repairman The taste

Britax 3M Panasonic Coway S: Aqua Pure N Coway Cuckoo

T: N N Y N

U: N N Y Y N

8000- 2000 0- 2000 - 0- V: 2000 0 2000- 8000 8000 2000 2000-8000 0-2000

Filters must not X: be plastic

Survey 18 - 34: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

A: Y N N N N N N N N N Y N N N

B: Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N

C: Y Y Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Amway, D: Panasonic Coway Coway dispenser Coway Coway Cuckoo

E: Y Y N Y Y Y N N Y Y N N N Y Y N

F: 3-4 36 7 30 5 30-40 5

G : Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

H: 20 80-100 150 200 100 200 30

I: 5 1 1 3 3 5 5 5 7 5 6 2 3 8 10 7

J: 8 10 10 7 10 9 7 9 10 7 2 9 8 10 7

K: 1 1 1 1 4 3 1 1 1 8 1 4 5 2 1 1

L: 2 1 1 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 3 2 2 1

M : 5 1 7 8 5 1 7 1 5 8 5 1

N: 5 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 1 6 1 4 1

O : 2 1 4 3 7 1 3 1 2 3 2 1

P: 2 1 1 6 3 2 1 1 5 1 1 7 4 3 1

Q : 1 5 3 6 1 6 1 1 1 6 3 1

R: -

Amway Coway Coway Cuckoo S: Cuckoo Cuckoo Coway Coway

T: Y N N Y Y Y N N N

U: N N N N Y Y N N N Y

2000- 8000- 2000- 0- 0- 2000- 50000- 50000 - 2000- 2000- V: 2000-8000 8000 20000 8000 2000 2000 50000 more more 8000 8000

X:

Survey 35 - 50: 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

A: N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Y N

B: Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N N Y

C: Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N Y Y

Cuck PoE, Thai D: H20 Cuckoo Alkane oo Cuckoo Espring Coway Diamond brand Coway

E: N N N N Y Y Y Y N N Y N N Y N N

F: 10 3 8 10 2 30-40 10 2

G: Y Y Y N Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y

H: 30 20 100-150 20 200 500 30 100 150 30 50

I: 2 10 4 5 6 3 6 3 1 6 5 5 3 4

J: 10 10 4 5 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 5 10 10 9

K: 3 8 1 2 1 6 0 3 7 6 1 2 2 4 5

L: 1 1 1 1 1 8 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1

M: 7 1 8 7 1 4 6 5 7 6 6 1 7 7 7

N: 6 1 1 2 3 1 7 4 2 4 7 1 6 2 2

O: 2 1 2 1 7 1 2 3 3 5 4 1 4 3 1

P: 5 1 1 1 4 1 5 2 5 3 3 1 5 5 2

Q: 4 8 1 1 1 5 1 4 6 4 7 5 1 3 6 3

2 space limitatio R: n

Coway Coway S: Alkane Cuckoo Diamond

T: N N N N Y N N N N N

U: Y N N Y N N N N N N N N

20000 - 0- 2000- 20000- 8000- 2000- 8000- 20000- 8000- 0- V: 50000 0-2000 2000 0-2000 8000 50000 20000 8000 20000 50000 20000 2000

Tap water is the most convenient way of having clean water that can be used for washing and X: drinking

Survey: 51 - 66: 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66

A: N N N N N N N N N N N N N Y Y N

B: Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N N Y Y Y Y Y

C: Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N N N Y N Y N Y

Tupper D: ware Coway Coway Coway Alkene Nesh Diamond

E: N N N N N N Y N N Y Y N Y N Y Y

F: 0 15 3 3 10-15 2-3 5 12 6 12 20

G: Y Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N

H: 167 100 69 25 100-200 50 0 50 50 150 90

I: 5 10 7 5 8 6 5 4 3 5 9 10 6 5 5 10

J: 10 10 10 10 10 8 5 10 10 10 9 10 9 10 10 10

K: 6 6 6 2 5 6 1 3 2 2 6 1 1

L: 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1

M: 7 1 8 7 8 7 4 6 6 5 7 6 1

N: 2 5 2 6 5 2 6 7 4 7 2 7 1

O: 3 2 3 3 2 4 7 2 3 3 5 1 3 1

P: 5 3 2 5 1 5 3 4 5 6 4 4 1

Q: 4 4 7 4 5 3 5 5 7 4 3 1 5 1

R: 8

Blöndal Blöndal Coway S: Cuckoo Coway Coway Blöndal cuckoo

T: Y N N N N N Y N Y

U: N N N N N Y N N Y Y Y

0, 20000 2000- 2000- 8000- 0- 0- 2000- 2000 - 0- V: Retired -50000 0-2000 8000 8000 20000 2000 2000 8000 8000 2000 0- 2000 0-2000

Blondal is Maybe for the a very Quality future Blöndal reputable of can have air X: 11 brand water purifier

Survey 67 - 81: 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81

A: N N N Y N N N N N N N N N Y N

B: Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y

C: N Y N Y Y Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y Y

Ionized D: Cuckoo megg oasis water BIO AURA Coway

E: Y Y Y Y N N N N N Y N N Y N Y

F: 39 15 20 24 0 20

G: Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y

H: 100 30 20 20 50 50-100 100 70

I: 7 7 5 10 5 5 5 7 7 10 6 7 5 6

J: 10 7 5 10 10 5 5 7 10 10 6 9 5 9

K: 5 1 1 1 3 8 1 2 4 3 2 1 5 1 2

L: 8 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

M: 5 1 8 1 6 8 1 8 7 7 6 3 6 1 6

N: 8 5 1 1 1 1 1 5 2 1 3 3 2 1 4

O: 8 1 1 1 4 1 1 3 6 1 5 2 1 8 3

P: 5 1 1 1 7 1 1 4 3 1 7 3 1 1 5

Q: 8 1 1 1 5 1 6 5 3 4 5 2 8 7

7 R: variety 1

Diamond Coway Bio aura Cuckoo S: Coway Cuckoo Cuckoo Coway

Y T: Y N N (ice bear) N N Y Y

U: Y Y N N N N N Y Y

2000 0- 0- 8000- 2000- 0- 0- 8000- 0- V: -8000 2000 2000 20000 8000 2000 2000 20000 2000-8000 0-2000 2000

X:

Survey 82 - 84 and summarization: 82 83 84 Summarization:

A: N N N 10 Y, 4 O

B: Y Y Y 11 N, 5 O

C: N Y Y 21 N, 3 O

BIO AURA (2), 3M AQUA PURE (1), PoE and PoU (1), Cuckoo (6), E-spring (2), Panasonic (4), Coway (12), dispenser (2), H20 (1), Alkane (2), Diamond (2), poE (1), Tupperware (1), Nesh (1), MeggOasis (1), Ionizedwater D: Dispenser Panasonic (1)

E: Y Y N 45 N, 4 O

F: 50 48 38,75 bottles in average

G: Y Y Y 8 N, 4 O, Y 72

H: 0 20 93.4 RM/month in average, 37 O

I: 5 3 3 5,74 i average, 7 O

J: 5 8 8 8.48 i average, 7 O

K: 1 5 3 1 (6), 2 (11), 3 (8), 4 (3), 5 (2), 6 (7), 7 (1), 8(0)

L: 2 8 1 1 (27), 2 (8), 3 (1), 4 (1), 5 (0), 6 (1), 7 (0), 8 (1)

M: 3 7 1 (2), 2 (0), 3 (1), 4 (1), 5 (5), 6 (10), 7 (14), 8 (3)

N: 4 8 4 1 (2), 2 (8), 3 (3), 4 (10), 5 (2), 6 (7), 7 (5), 8 (0)

O: 5 8 2 1 (2), 2 (7), 3 (15), 4 (5), 5 (4), 6 (1), 7 (3), 8 (0)

P: 6 8 5 1 (0), 2 (3), 3 (5), 4 (9), 5 (14), 6 (3), 7 (3)

Q: 8 6 1 (1), 2 (1) 3 (4), 4 (8), 5 (9), 6 (7), 7 (6)

Other attributes that were brought up in ranking: 2: Customer service, easy to contact the company or a R: repairman, 8: The taste, 2: Space limitation, 7: Variety

3M Aqua Pure: 1, Britax: 1, Panasonic: 1, Coway: 14, Cuckoo: 10, Amway: 1, Alkane: 1, Diamond: 3, Blöndal: 3, S: Bio Aura: 1

T: Y Y NO: 27 st, YES: 15 st (one said ice bear), -: 32 st

U: N N N NO: 35 st, YES: 15 st, -: 32 st

0- 8000- 20000- V: 2000 20000 50000 0-2000: 23, 2000-8000: 16, 8000 - 20 000: 9, 20 000 - 50 000: 6, 50 000 - more: 2, -: 28

Other comments: "Filters must not be plastic.", "Tap water is the most convenient way of having clean water that can be used for washing and drinking", "Blöndal is a very reputable brand", "Maybe for the future, Blöndal can X: have air purifier"

Appendix D Short Interview comments and observation

The surveys combined with the shorter interviews were held at two different malls in Kuala Lumpur: IPC and Giants. Knowing where to turn to talk to our target group was a bit hard. We were recommended to approach people in malls, since they attract a great range of people from different social groups. The IPC mall was a bit “high-end”, which was reflected in the respondents income and water situation. Many already had filters or were prepared to pay a higher monthly cost for a filter. However, since we tried to hand out surveys to as many as possible, surveys were also handed out to people who worked in the mall which lowered the percentage of higher income questionnaires to the total. The other mall, Giants, attracted evidently more of a lower income group. 10 out of 24 respondents stated a income of less than 2000 RM each month compared to 13 out of 60 in the first mall. It also became much harder to communicate with the interviewees in the second mall, since many were very bad or insecure with their english. Many had trouble understanding the questions and declined the surveys because they could not understand english neither spoken or written.

One aspect that was not taken into consideration was if people in the malls were used to filling out these kind of surveys or not. A great amount of the of the questionnaires got very insecure when they did not have an exact answer to different questions on the surveys or questions we asked them afterwards. Because they got insecure many decided not to fill in these questions on the survey and laughed insecurely and apologetic if they did not know what exactly to answer. They were not comfortable with guessing. One example was the survey question of how many bottles of water they drank per month. Because they did not have an exact answer, they did not answer at all.

An observation made was that many were not ok with drinking the water supplied by the government. Even those who we did not discuss further with would shorty comment that the piped water is “horrible”, “dirty”, “sometimes brown”, “not drinkable”, “looks like it’s taken straight from the ​ rivers”, etc. Often, when talking to people, they often asked us where we were from. As we ​ answered Sweden, there were a lot of occasions where the respondent commented on the fact that in Sweden we are provided clean and free tap water. In a few cases it was clear that this was something people ached for. Water filters, bottled water and the process of boiling dirty water can be both expensive and time consuming. One interviewee discussed this thoroughly. He/she compared the water in Kuala Lumpur with the water in Europe, mainly using the U.K. and Sweden as examples: “They drink their tap water and that’s how it should be”. The interviewee ​ continued with saying that the water situation in Kuala Lumpur is horrible. “Just go look at what the ​ rivers look like, that’s what we have to drink here”. He/she was very confused as to why we have come ​ to Kuala Lumpur to study the water when the water in Europe is so good and the pipe water is drinkable. He said that Kuala Lumpur is a lost cause.

Many times when approaching a couple (man and woman), a family or a group of people, the woman/women stayed in the background while we got to talk to the man/men. We often tried to directly talk to the women, encouraging them to also take a survey or asking them questions directly. Yet, in many cases this was not a working strategy. This can have an influence in the collected data. It is important that the data is based on a great variety of people as insights about household matters can vary within the households. One household may have different opinions considering the water.

While filling out a survey, an interviewee also showed what kind of bottled water he/she drank. The interviewee held up a bottle of deionized water and said “I only drink this”. The discussions ​ ​ later were about how important the water quality is and what minerals should be provided by the drinking water.

One interviewee discussed how income matters when deciding the reasonable cost for water every month. The respondent mentioned that some people earn less and some earn more, and depending on that, the respondent said the price mattered. The interviewee also mentioned the difference between rural areas and urban. Rural areas can take drinking water straight from the rain easier but their piped water is really bad. Vice versa for urban.

Another interviewee mentioned that he/she lived with his/hers daughters and therefore had two different homes with different situations. One house was situated close to the mall and had good pipe water. The other house was situated somewhere else in Kuala Lumpur where the piped water was really bad and they therefore had a Blöndal water filter installed.

Appendix E In home visits summarisation

We visited two different neighborhoods in the Klang area in Kuala Lumpur. The Regional Sales Manager said these neighborhoods are of lower income housings.

Interviewee nr. 1 Interviewee nr. 1 had a coway water filter. The respondent said he/she had very little concerns with the product and was very happy to talk about it. The respondent spoke english but was not fluent. Therefore the conversation was very elemental. The respondent listed only the positive qualities of the product and did not have anything negative to say: - very easy product to use. - can get both cold and hot water and very easy to change between these two. - it looks good. - good price. - good service, the company comes every three months and changes the filters. - available all the time. - good water.

He/she also said that they are a big family and that everyone uses it more often than on a daily basis. The interviewee drew the example that he/she has a baby to feed milk formula to and the eas of the hot, clean water was safe and practical.

The interviewee said he/she spends a lot of time in the kitchen, therefor the design and looks of the product is important because it is very visible. It was noted that the product was large and placed next to the sink on a table top.

The respondent explained that he/she pays a monthly cost for the water filter where the change of the water filter every third month is included in the price.

Interviewee nr. 2 The interviewee had a Källa 8 Blöndal water filter and was happy with it. He/she said it was a ​ ​ very good filter where the water had good taste, had clear water with no color. Important qualities that the interviewee mentioned was the availability and good quality.

The interviewee said the product was used every time drinking water was needed. He/she explained that this was very often since they were many using it: three different families, around 15 people. The respondent implied that the accessibility of the drinking water and the ease of just opening a tap for drinking water was important because of the amount of people using it.

He/she continued with saying he/she paid a service fee at 400 RM for Blöndal to change filters every year and that this was expensive. He/she would like that a change would happen here. This was the only negative aspect the interviewee could think of.

Interviewee nr. 3 An interviewed household contained talking to many in the family (we talked to around six different family members). Because of uncertainty and insecurities about their english knowledge, they switched persons to talk to constantly. Apparently they had had a cuckoo water filter installed before. It came with a free of charge installation. However, they realized that as soon as they had to pay a monthly bill that it became very expensive and they had to deinstall the filter. They explained that they were very interested in having a water filter because of the need of clean water. Since they can’t afford a filter they drink the tap water instead. It was obvious that the interview was very uncomfortable for the family. They seemed ashamed for not being able to afford a filter even though they wanted one.

The only two concluded values that were important to the family were price and the water quality. Since they could not afford the product they felt they could not afford the luxury of evaluating other values to the product than price and clean water (water quality).

Interviewee nr. 4 The respondent had just arrived from work and looked tired. He/she had a child come welcome him/her home. The respondent was very bad at english and not interested in talking. The interviewee was uncomfortable with talking with a interpreter. After a few questions with all answers no, the respondent walked inside.

The conclusion from the questions that were answered was that a water filter is not really needed and that the respondent did not have one. It was observed that the respondent found it uncomfortable to talk about owning a water filter or not.

Appendix F Sales staff encounter results

Meeting For formality reasons a meeting with the sales department in Klang, an area of Kuala Lumpur, was held in the morning before heading off for in home visits. Nine attendants at the meeting, including the Regional Sales Manager, Mr. Robert T. The meeting started off with different sales employees presenting their weekly results and the manager commenting to it. The comments included strategies for customer interests and sales approaches. The manager discussed what the pros of the product were from a selling point of view and talked about what values that always sold.

Many of the pros that the manager discussed could be connected to the customer wants and needs. The manager said that the design of the product was a very selling aspect due to its looks. The design of the product is different to others on the market and it looks very good. This can show as to how important the design of the product is and therefore a user want. The manager later noted that this was a want that grew on the future customers. The first and second time they were shown the product, they were not interested in the design but others factors, such as price and quality. Meanwhile the third time they were shon the product, the design was the factor that made them buy the product.

When Robert T. elaborated, he stressed that one of their strongest arguments for the product is that it is made out of aluminium. He continued with saying that plastic is toxic and gave the example of fish dying because of plastic particles in the water. Counterproductive to his statement, the product parts that come in touch with the water are not made out of aluminium but mainly plastic. Even though this argument that plastic is toxic and aluminium is not, doesn’t support the product, it shows that a customer want lies in health and good, clean water. This argument also supports that a customer want is non dangerous and good materials.

Another sales trick that the manager presented was an experiment with a pill which showed the amount of chlorine in the water by changing the water into different colors. He said that the reactions from the future customers were strong and inclined that water quality is one of the larger concerns according to the customers.

Other aspects that were discussed at the meeting was the approach to clients. When talking to a family it is important to both talk to the husband and the wife, according to the manager. Both need to enjoy the product. The wife who will use it the most needs to like it, and the husband with the money needs to like it. Many of the sales agreed to this and meant that most households were of a housewife and a working man.

The meeting turned to talk about what differences can occur now that a new government is situated*. The new government had promised to remove the Goods and Service Tax (GST) in Malaysia and the manager wanted to discuss what differences could occur in their sales. He asked questions such as how does that affect rentals? He informed us that rentals was his name for letting ​ ​ the customer pay off the product costs monthly instead of buying it straight away. However, not many things were said about this.

Conversations with Salesman After the meeting we followed a salesman named Ng to go door knock. While we waited for his collegue to come, we discussed the product more. Discussions about the cons of the product were discussed from a customer and future customer point of view. Ng’s arguments were based off of the experiences he has had as working with future customers for many years. The biggest concern he expressed was the price. He started to discussed the price in comparison to other water filter companies and implied that the Blöndal Källa 8 is one of the more expensive on the ​ ​ market. He later talked about the economy in Malaysia implying the economy is strained for many households in Kuala Lumpur and people hold on to their money. Because of the economy people decide not to buy the product: “because of the economy, people can’t afford to buy Blöndal products”. ​

If Ng could change one thing it would be the price: “The price is too high. Also it is hard to get people to understand why they need water filters. Even after the I explain and present, the customers are not interested”.

The next problem was, according to Ng, that many in Kuala Lumpur do not use water filters at all because they are not aware of the water quality of the piped, government water: “they are not using any filter and they do not see any problems and they therefore think they don’t need filter. In Klang, very much competition”.

He explained that the chinese markets in Malaysia are very focused on economy. They do not believe that a water filter should be so expensive so they are very hard to sell to. Therefore, the branch is focused on (muslim) malays.

He later elaborated in saying that many in Kuala Lumpur and in the Klang area for in factories and similar employments. These people make less >2000 RM/month and are financially instabil with this. Therefore many of them work double shifts and or work weekends and or work nights too. They are never home and hard to get hold of. This means those few people that you get a hold of are very tired and not interested in making any buying decisions. He implied that this is a struggle for him when working.

Ng also mentioned how bad the the english skills were in the rural areas. Appendix G GI:

GII:

GVIII:

TRITA TRITA-ITM-EX 2018:138

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