Ten weeks ago, if you would’ve told us we would have a fully digital finale, we would’ve thought that was crazy! But during last Thursday’s finale, we can confidently say, Enterprise By Design 2020 was a success, even though all of our teams, academic experts and judges were in different locations, meeting digitally on Zoom.
Since our time switching to digital meetings, teams have been able to have meetings online, sessions with academic experts and large group meetings. Though it was hard getting all the research they had hoped for our companies during this lockdown, our teams were still able to put together Pecha Kucha presentations, 30 second promotional videos and business plans for their product ideas for Halen Môn and DMM!
About the live finale-on Zoom!
Zoom has taken the world by storm, being used all over the world for meetings, teaching large groups of students, and now a virtual Enterprise by Design finale! With 54 people in attendance, our finale might not have been in person, but we’re happy that thanks to modern technology, everyone involved was able to be in attendance, with very few interruptions or glitches we might add!
With the help of Zoom, our live finale was able to take place at the exact time it was planned, just in loads of different locations across the UK! With computers open, mics off and a few fun snacks and drinks on hand, our judges were ready to watch the presentations.
Earlier in the day, the teams had sent in their pre-recorded presentations, where they talked out their ideas over slides and pictures to give the judges a good sense of their design, branding, market research, and the viability of their product. Afterwards, each team was put in the hot seat, as the judges asked them questions about their ideas, and challenged them on their design and pricing decisions.
The Judging Criteria
Using breakout rooms, our judges were able to meet at the beginning of the night like they normally would to finalise what the criteria were for our teams’ presentations, and to watch a video on Enterprise by Design’s challenge for this year. The judging panel was made up of Alison and David Lea-Wilson, the founders of Halen Môn; Stuart Sissins, a design engineer at DMM; Pryderi ap Rhisiart, the director of M-Sparc; and Pro Vice Chancellor of Education and Student Experience at Bangor University, Professor Carol Tully.
Based on their weekly sessions with talks and tasks across Business, Arts, Science, and Engineering, the judges looked at how our teams applied the lessons they’d learned from the 10 week experience and their unique ideas as a multidisciplinary team.
After sessions learning about sustainable packaging, branding and marketing their ideas, how to use effective design, and visiting the partnering businesses, our judges were looking for ways that our teams presented ideas that were feasible to manufacture, interactive for the customer, aesthetically pleasing in their design, financially viable to produce, and reflective of Halen Môn’s and DMM’s values and branding.
During the Q&A session, our judges wanted to know aspects such as how our teams ideas would stand out, was the packaging of their product viable, was the pricing realistic, how they would handle international shipping, and how they had developed their ideas to be Welsh-focused?
After seeing this year’s presentations, Pryderi ap Rhisiart said, “the quality of the presentations from this year’s EBD cohort was outstanding, moreover each team showed skills that employers will require in industry. The ability to collaborate, to think outside the box, to communicate with confidence like the EBD teams is invaluable.”
The Winners
During the finale, our 11 teams presented ideas from high end egg products for chefs and sustainable packaging for carabiners to salted egg products for children’s lunchboxes. Through their presentations and videos, our teams got to show concept drawings, photos and full designs of their product ideas, showcasing unique branding, their target market and even websites that explained their concepts further!
First place — Team Tulip
The team that stood out amongst the rest was team Tulip, who came up with the concept of Anglesey-sourced eggs flavored with Halen Môn’s tasty salt. Their concept, called NestEgg, would be competing with other popular egg companies on the market, hoping to sell their eggs in high end supermarkets as tasty, Welsh produced, sea-salted eggs. The flavored eggs would come in biodegradable packaging and be targeted at health conscious cooking enthusiasts with an interest in high quality ingredients. Their distinctive name, bright branding and eco-friendly packaging caught the eyes of the judges, and we can’t wait to see how this idea could be developed further with Halen Môn!
Business and Marketing student Georgiana Malpass, from Team Tulip, said of developing their idea: “We analysed Halen Môn as a company looking at their business values, ethics and product line packaging, pricing and flavourings”. The team went the extra mile by carrying out market research through SurveyMonkey to see what their potential customers’ preferences are. They also “experimented with different packaging prototypes, materials, fonts and names for our products”, Georgiana said. Most importantly, the team listened to the advice and guidance of their academic experts week after week, as the team winner said her group “never took our eyes off the prize by putting 100% effort into every week and every task”.
Thanks for the dedication, Team Tulip, it certainly paid off!
Second Place — Team Linked
In second place, team Linked had a great idea for packaging DMM’s popular Impact Block. Their concept was packaging made from recyclable cardboard, designed to hold the hefty product firmly in place, and had appealing aesthetics and design that were in line with DMM’s current branding. The team came up with their idea by adapting it from DMM’s current packaging; made out of polypropylene. The group suggested that their sleek cardboard packaging would be a sustainable and more sturdy way of transporting the impact block. Complete with an informative website, Team Linked did a great job of researching the pricing of their packaging, ways of appealing to their target market and looking up ways DMM could manufacture the packaging from the UK. Way to go Team Linked!
Third Place — Team Salty Minds
Team Salty Minds (with their comical team name!) came in third place with their idea of a zero waste egg snack for those who have an active and healthy lifestyle. Appealing to a demographic of health influencers, the elderly, and children’s lunchboxes, the team proposed their Halen Môn salted egg product be a convenient snack that people can grab off the shelf of their local supermarket when they’re on the go. Their packaging idea, which is made from mushroom and grass composites, can be easily composted at home, as it can break down into non-toxic organic matter. After researching material options, the team was conscious about having packaging that was biodegradable, compostable, had low energy consumption and low CO2 emissions. Though packaging eggs in unique, eye-catching, and environmentally friendly ways can be tricky, Team Salty Minds managed to come up with a product that did all three, thus highlighting Halen Môn’s continued desire to make their products safe for the environment!
Congrats to all of our EBD Teams!
At the end of the night, our winning teams won a collective prize of £5,000! Team Tulip won £2,500, while Team Linked and Team Salty Minds both won £1,000. After an exciting discussion with the judges, Team Tulip is getting the chance to meet with Halen Môn about developing their idea further. Here’s to hoping that we shall see NestEgg sold in shops soon!
Congratulations to all of our winners! This has been a fantastic year for Enterprise by Design, and all of our teams should be proud of their hard work, especially under such trying circumstances! Thanks to our judges, partnering businesses and academic experts, it’s been an amazing year.
Check out our final video for 2020, all about the benefits of Enterprise by Design to local businesses and the invaluable experience our students get out of the 10 week process!