Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Who else has a reusable water bottle that they use daily? If you don't, then you need one; it is 2020 after all and it's better for the environment. The most popular reusable water bottles I see are the 32-oz. Nalgene bottles. But anyone that owns one of these knows how hard it is to wash them. You have to TRY to jam your hand into the small mouth of the bottle, and I think it's an overwhelming consensus that it's nearly impossible to do that. I would like to pursue making a recycled, BPA-free reusable water bottle that has a larger mouth (one that your hand can fit through).

The who: Anyone that owns a reusable water bottle (or is interested in owning).
The what: Reusable water bottles (specifically 32-oz. bottles) are difficult and inconvenient to wash.
The why: Traditional 32-oz. water bottles' mouths are too small for an average-sized hand to fit through.\

Testing

Testing the who: Perhaps "everyone that owns a reusable water bottle" is too broad of a scope for the customers I would be selling to. People that own Yetis or Hydroflasks may not even use a non-insolated bottle. So I would refine my who to anyone that owns a non-insolated, reusable water bottle (or is interested in buying one). I believe my who is very large because no matter who you are, you need to drink water, so why not make it easier on yourself and buy the one that's easier to wash.

Testing the what: There are only specific types of water bottles I will be able to implement the larger mouth on. Any insolated bottle is out of the picture because my bottles will be non-insolated. I state "specifically 32-oz. bottles" but it's possible that I could also make a 24-oz. and a 48-oz. to slightly expand my market to anyone that needs a slightly smaller or larger bottle.

Testing the why: I love everything about my 32-oz. bottle beside the fact that I can't stick my hand inside of the mouth to clean it. Other than that, I haven't experienced any downsides. I can see how some people would say that there's no need for a new style of water bottle. Maybe they would say that instead of redesigning the typical 32-oz. bottle, create a product that effectively and efficiently cleans the inside of these bottles. The only problem with that is that it's not very sustainable and that's an image I would be trying to create. Keeping sustainability in mind, I'd rather buy one water bottle that's easy to wash than a hundred of these cleaning devices over the life of my hard-to-wash bottle.

Interviews

Interview 1: The first person I interviewed said that they do not use reusable water bottles because they're too lazy to buy one. However, she says that she would be more compelled to buy one if it was easier to wash. The thing that really bothers her is that water bottles are already expensive, and with some brands (Hydroflask) they encourage you to additionally buy cleaning tools. She agrees that 32-oz. bottles are difficult to wash because she can't fit her hand in it to scrub and clean.

Interview 2: The second person I interviewed uses a 32-oz. bottle somewhat regularly but also uses a Yeti too. They said that they have large hands so cleaning the inside with their hands is impossible. Instead, they pour soap and water in the bottle, close the lid, and shake until they're satisfied. They said that they would be interested in my style of water bottle if it was less expensive than the one they already own.

Interview 3: The third person I interviewed uses a 32-oz. bottle exclusively. They literally bring the water bottle everywhere they go and they couldn't imagine using anything else at this point. This person immediately connected with my idea because their hand won't fit in the bottle to clean it either. They did point out something that I hadn't thought of before; they said that a smaller mouth could make the bottle more difficult to drink out of because the mouth might be too big for our mouth.

Interview 4: The fourth person I interviewed was kinda nasty. They said that they use a reusable water bottle daily, but they rarely wash it. When I asked why they don't wash it to try to get to the bottom of it, they said they are usually just too lazy. I asked why they felt like they were being lazy (to see if it was because of the inside being difficult to wash) and they said that they recognize that issue but they don't wash their bottle enough to care.

Interview 5: The fifth person I interviewed uses a 48-oz. reusable water bottle when she goes to the gym. She says that she doesn't have a problem cleaning her bottle at all because she has small hands and her 48-oz. bottle is large enough that she can fit her small hands into the mouth. When I asked her if she would ever use a 32-oz. bottle she said no because that's not enough water for her when she goes to the gym.

Summary: Most of the people I talked use a 32-oz. bottle (if they used on at all). The people that did use a 32-oz. bottle could identify the need for a larger mouth so the inside can easily be washed. One of the most important things I learned from these interviews is that there might be an issue with creating a larger mouth when it comes to drinking out of the bottle. If the opening is too large it will be inconvenient to drink out of and that defeats the purpose of the bottle in the first place. I will have to overcome that if it is an issue.