The brief

Reinventing Yoghurt Consumption

In October 2018, Danone’s Manifesto Innovation Accelerator (MIA) team approached Possible Future with a brief. The mission? Develop a way to sell yoghurt in bulk and test it in real life.

We jumped at the opportunity to work on another project with Danone, this time to create an inspiring new offering that would allow people to buy yoghurt in the quantities that are convenient for them.  We were also excited about the potential environmental impact of the project: reducing food waste, and reducing the amount of plastic packaging used. Self-serve yoghurt already exists for on-the-go, immediate consumption, but a bulk, self-serve replacement for yoghurt you’d buy at the grocery store was a novel and interesting challenge. We were eager to tackle the unique and complex aspects of distributing a fresh, dairy product in bulk : yoghurt storage and handling, consumer perceptions, and retailer considerations were just a few of the challenges we were faced with as we developed this project with Danone.

From our research, we could see that retailers were looking to compete with online retailers by improving customers’ in-store experiences through offers involving customization, bulk distribution, and environmental/social good. In particular, with the success of the bulk-only grocery chain Day by Day in France and the explosion of bulk offerings in general grocery stores like Auchan, we could see that bulk purchasing had become more than just a curiosity. Narrowing our focus to yoghurt in particular, we found that people wanted to buy in bulk because it allowed them to :

The solution

Crafting a New Experience

These 4 aspirations were at the forefront of our decision-making process as we thought through the design of the solution – we designed and built 2 different iterations of the prototype, with each cycle taking about 3-4 months.

1. Reduce food waste and environmental impact

The carton cups we provide are recyclable, but in order to go even further, our machine is also compatible with a large range of reusable containers! Our system also reduces the amount of yoghurt wasted by allowing people to choose the exact amount of yoghurt they need and by presenting the use-by-date clearly and prominently on the sticker.

2. Experience something fun and new

One of the most important aspects of any product is the user experience, and we wanted to present shoppers with an approachable, fun, and easy-to-use machine. The white, curved panels are inviting and friendly, as opposed to cold and utilitarian. The cups are positioned at a comfortable height. Using the machine is simple and intuitive – simply open the transparent door, place your cup inside, and push the button to start dispensing yoghurt! We added a screen to give people a live estimate of the quantity, and we also added lights that illuminate the inside of the cup to allow the customer to visually see how much yoghurt they’ve dispensed. After dispensing exactly the amount of yoghurt they want, they simply take their cup out and a label is automatically printed and presented to them to stick onto their cup – right now, this label provides key information such as the recommended use-by date and storage temperature, but we imagine that other information such as barcode, price, and weight could also be added to this label in the future. The user takes a lid from our custom lid dispenser, and voila! They are now ready to pay at the counter and enjoy their yoghurt!

3. Choose the perfect quantity

We knew that there would be a wide range of users and use cases, from parents wanting to bring home and store a large quantity for their kids to teenagers wanting to grab a healthy bite to eat on the go. Our machine allows customers to buy the perfect amount of yoghurt for their particular use case by providing different cup options (2 different sizes plus option to bring their own), direct control over the amount of yoghurt, and clear feedback on the quantity by illuminating the inside of the cup and by displaying a live quantitative estimate.

4. Enjoy a fresh and natural product

A fresh and natural product required a refrigeration and storage solution for the bulk yoghurt, so we worked with Danone to repurpose and upcycle one of their existing machines that already had this functionality. Our engineers and industrial designers were excited by the challenge of reusing a machine that already did part of the job and integrating it with the rest of the machine to deliver the experience that they had imagined for the user.

The result

Pilot Test at day by day in Paris 17eme

Testing a product with real people in a real environment is the best way to validate that it meets their needs and to collect feedback for further improvements. We designed and created this second version of the prototype specifically with in-store testing in mind, and while our team was working hard on bringing the physical prototype to life, the MIA team was able to find a perfect partner and product for our 2-week pilot test:

• day by day,  a special grocery store with over 50 stores across France that sell products only in bulk.
• Faire Bien, an organic brand of yoghurt with a strong social dimension.

Wednesday, June 19th, 2019, was the first day of the test, and so far, the feedback has been extremely positive! We’ve already surpassed many of our initial sales estimates, and we’ve received a lot of feedback through discussions both in store and online that will help us improve the product going forward (see Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber’s post on LinkedIn). In particular, many people felt strongly about being able to use reusable containers as opposed to the single use carton cups we provided during our test. We would also like to make some design changes to make the user experience more intuitive and to improve the usability of the machine for the store employees.

Overall though, many customers have been happy to see a fresh product offering at day by day, and it’s clear that there is strong demand for a product like this that offers the opportunity to do good for the environment while enjoying a delicious dairy product that gives back to farmers.

What’s next? After reviewing the results of this first test, we hope to test the concept in more stores for a longer period of time!

Find out more

• An article in LSA Conso
• Emmanuel Faber's test

The brief

Enhance the presence of evian® natural mineral in the home/h4>
When evian® approached Possible Future in October 2017, they are in the midst of an ambitious environmental revamp. Their objective is to become 100% circular in 2020, and use 100% recycled plastic for their bottle production by 2025.

This objective translates to profound realizations regarding their production methods of bottles, in particular to reduce the quantity of plastic per liter of water, of consumer hydration habits, and consumption of natural mineral water.

It is on these challenges that the water brand asks Possible Future teams to dive deeply, to reinvent the way of consuming mineral water at home, in a more eco-responsible fashion.

Our approach

Working hand-in-hand, from the study of use cases to the manufactured pilot

Passionate about the proposed problem statement, the team starts their work with an in-depth immersion phase : interviews with US and France consumers, meeting with experts in the drinks and nutrition sector, detailed benchmark of technologies and innovations in the relevant sectors (water, bottle production, as well as packaging technologies, distributions methods, delivery services for direct-to-consumer…).

This month-long phase allows us to the precisely define the consumer journeys, their expectations and demands, perceptions, and pain points that they encounter while consuming bottled mineral water. Two specific key points guided the following phases:

• <Drinking mineral water is a choice against drinking tap water. It is an assurance of quality water that is beneficial for health, compared to public water in which the composition is sometimes unknown (in particular in certain geographies).
• However, mineral water can become a guilty purchase, with heavy and bulky water packs, and the accumulation of empty bottles in the trash is a reminder of the environmental cost of quality water.

These findings guided the team to create solid concepts during the ideation phase : beginning very broadly (urban distribution points, connected bottles, store recycling solutions, reusable formats, self-owned stores…), the direction gradually turns towards a fountain designed for the home, along with direct distribution services and coaching services. For validation, the team prototypes and tests the concept with several consumers in Paris and New York. This phase of in-vivo testing is to validate many elements of the concept (physical form of the fountain, delivery service, packaging material, personalized programs, automatic commands..), in order to determine, thanks to the feedback from consumers, the best value proposition and design. This leads to 3D-printed fountains prototypes, connected via Arduino and a mobile application developed alongside cardboard packs in a few days, that are then installed at consumers’ homes for the first test.

As a result of the test, the project keeps going forward on the side of evian®, and enters a new phase of development for preparation of a pilot.

This phase is both an occasion to integrate, at the heart of the concept the fountain worked on by Possible Future, and innovative technology developed by evian® R&D : a recyclable-PET bubble that uses 66% less plastic per liter of water than the classic 1.5 evian® bottle. The Possible Future teams have used their skills in product design and manufacturing to continue to support marketing and R&D at evian® on various aspects of the product : industrial design,  materials and colors, electronics, software…

The result

A smart mineral water fountain, for simpler, more sustainable consumption

This fountain combines:

• A new type of exclusive container to present evian® natural mineral water. Developed by the R&D team of the brand, this 5L blow-molded bubble is made of 100% recyclable plastic (r-PET), using 66% less plastic per liter than the iconic 1.5 liter bottles. This is the first commercial application of this blow-molding technology, after many years of development. The surface of the bubble; extremely thin, shrinks as water is consumed, offering a smooth spectacle for the user, in addition to its functional benefits.
• A connected base that allows for the maintenance of the bubble and dispensing of water. The present electronics in the pedestal allows users to follow their water consumption and easily initiate a delivery of water to their home, relying on the mobile app developed by Possible Future.

The device is currently in the pilot test phase. In September, 200 consumers in Paris and London will be able to preview the fountain and service.

Patricia Oliva Elorza, Global Brand Director evian® explains: “The collaboration with Possible Future allowed the teams to test new innovation methodologies; by looking for an outsider’s perspective that allowed us to challenge certain convictions we had internally. With this agile team with the same drive as our brand, we were able to accelerate our capacity for innovation.”

For Thomas Papadopoulos, President and co-founder of Possible Future, “This project is representative of the realized work by Possible Future for clients in the consumer goods industry facing a pressing need to (re)invent in order to address the environmental and societal challenges of this century.”

Find out more

• evian (re)new's website
• Fast Company article
• Bloomberg article
• Packaging Europe article

Our role

Accompany the development of the start-up from its first POC all the way to commercial success.

Our support

• Weekly coaching : Business model development, constant adjustments, advise on technological decisions.
• Expansion of the first commercial value proposition : Shipping, travel, events, employees.
• Business development : A business developer from our team assists the core team full time.
• Ecosystem integration : Access to a large pool of profiles and skills at Possible Future (communication, branding, site and app development, …). Recommendation of Inuk to the Innovation Bureau’s clients and support throughout negotiations.

Find out more

• Le site d'Inuk

The brief

Create an innovative service for building craftsmen

With a rapidly evolving building renovation sector, the role of the craftsmen is changing: end-users who are becoming prescribers on their building sites, a need for more and more advice, regulatory changes to be aware of, digital devices settling in … For La Plateforme du Bâtiment, this led to having to rethink the support they offered to craftsmen. This is reason why La Plateforme du Bâtiment asked us to imagine a new innovative service, aimed at their craftsmen clientele.

Our solution

Allow craftsmen to save time on waste management

During our exploration phase, we identified a key pain point in the daily journey of craftsmen: managing waste on construction sites.

Evacuating rubbish, cleaning construction sites, and bringing bags of rubble to rubbish dumps are painful, expensive, and time-consuming tasks for craftsmen, which prevent them from focusing on their core business. Some services exist for the evacuation of rubble, but they are not always adapted: not flexible enough, and not adapted to the constraints of urban renovation sites (waste in rubbish bags, often high up on building floors).

Existing solutions are so unsatisfactory that craftsmen are turning to illegal disposal solutions: it is estimated that 40% of waste produced by construction sites ends up in wild dumps.

The result

Les Ripeurs du Bâtiment !

Based on this insight, we imagined, prototyped and tested the service Les Ripeurs. A rubbish bag disposal service for building professionals, ultra-flexible and ultra-responsive: intervention on demand, in less than 3 hours.

After 4 months of project, we had:

• a service that we had prototyped and tested on the field;
• solid returns (operational constraints, user feedbacks);
• a 3-year business plan;
• a launch strategy and acquisition plan.

At the end of our mission, together with La Plateforme du Bâtiment, we decided to launch this service as a startup. 2 months later, the startup “Les Ripeurs” was born, offering its service in the distribution network of La Plateforme du Bâtiment, in Paris and in the suburbs.

For its first year of operation, the startup accumulated a turnover of 350k€,which represents 1700 tons of waste collected. 40% of this waste has been revalued. As proof of its potential, the incubator Paris&Co selected the startup in its 2018 Social and Solidarity Economy cohort.

Our ambition doesn’t stop here! In 2019, we want to:

• Expand our offer even further (big bags, skips)
• Develop a service with local communities to evacuate wild dumps
• Reach 60% of revalued waste
• Open the service in other major French cities

Find out more

• Les Ripeurs's website
• Les Ripeurs : what I learned lauching a start-up with a big corporation

The brief and what's at stake

Creating new outlets for canned organic produce, and motivating the cooperative’s members to transition from conventional to organic farming

In June 2018, d’aucy briefed Possible Future on a mission addressing challenges at the brand’s the cooperative’s level. What was it about? The future of organic.

Building upon the need to create canned organic produce that meets consumer expectations, d’aucy asked us to imagine and create new outlets for organic vegetables in order to motivate farmers to transition from conventional to organic farming. In fact, we are witnessing an increasing demand for organic produce in France, and the number of transitioning farmers isn’t growing at a fast enough rate to support it.

With this brief, we embarked with d’aucy on a multifaceted journey, with potential impacts on both consumers and farmers.

The idea

Raising consumer awareness while creating value for the cooperative’s farmers with a range of vegetables from in-transition organic farms.

Our exploration phase allowed us to explore the upcoming challenges of the organic sector, for the people who will be eating the produce … but also for the farmers growing it !

Our discussions with farmers and experts from d’aucy allowed us to understand the underlying issues with transitioning to organic farming and the challenges holding farmers back :

• Financial and technical investments with a high uncertainty about future harvests
• A 3-year period, mandatory in order to get the « organic » certification (Agriculture Biologique, AB certification) in France, during which farmers grow their crops in compliance to organic requirements without being able to sell and price their produce as such.

In order to build the future of organic farming and meet the increasing demand, the key is to minimize the risks taken by the farmer when transitioning from conventional to organic farming systems.

That’s why after two months of exploration and conceptualization, we presented to d’aucy the concept of a new product line of in-transition organic vegetables, sold online :

• For consumers, it’s an opportunity not only to learn more about the issues of transitioning farms, but also to buy quality products at accessible prices, since these products are already being grown as organic products.
• For farmers, it’s a way to benefit from higher prices, allowing them to be more fairly compensated during the difficult transition period.

The result

The transition to organic vegetables, co-created by d’aucy and consumers

The brief

Build a community

To support the 2018 launch of their product line “Les Danone du Monde” (“Danone of the world”), Danone wanted to create a community of people passionate about the discovery of cultures and travel. Their goal was to go beyond a punctual marketing campaign and create an authentic, long-term experience driven by the the values inherent to their new brand: openness to the other culture, exchange, and social gathering.

Our insight

Create a service with high added value, in a third place

During our exploration phase at the beginning of the project we focused on understanding how communities evolve. This was a vital step as it helped us identify the crucial elements needed in order to reach a maximum of people in a meaningful way: we understood that we needed to stay true to the brand and its values, and we needed to do this in a fully transparent way.

In addition, staying true to our own DNA as Possible Future meant that our goal was to create a service that was economically viable. This is why, all along this project, we identified the most relevant business models that would actually allow to make the project sustainable for Danone.

The result

Atlas, la Cantine du Monde !

After 2 months of exploration and ideation, we pitched the “canteen of the world” (La Cantine du Monde in French) to Danone. We imagined a “canteen”, a physical space, in the heart of Paris – to gather people who share a passion for the discovery of new cultures, for travel, but also for events, theme-based dinners and cooking classes. In this space visitors would also find the “Danone du Monde” yoghurts. However, these products were not not the center of attention, but rather a vector to carry our message.

We first launched a prototype of the canteen during december 2017, to confirm our hypotheses and to clarify of positioning of our brand as well as the types of events we were going to host. After this first test Danone decided to take the project forward – and gave us the green light for a 6 months adventure during which we operated La Cantine du Monde, in rue Notre Dame de Nazareth in Paris.

The experience we created has been focused both on our offline and online presence, driven through our facebook page and our instagram. Thanks to these social networks, the canteen was able to maximise its resonance and reach an audience of more than 250K users.

During these 6 months we collaborated with the startup Meet My Mama who turned out to be an ideal partner – both in their business activity (catering service for our weekly dinners, highlighting a different country every time) and how they are in perfect value alignment with Danone.

Thanks to Meet My Mama the “Canteen of the World” was able to enter the next phase: We handed over management of the space to them so that they can continue their adventure with Danone – and maybe replicate the model in other places in France!

The brief

Reinvent support for “caregivers”

It is in January 2019 that the department dedicated to social action at Malakoff Médéric Humanis approaches Possible Future. The mission? Challenge the reality of the support provided to individuals who assist their non-autonomous relatives in their daily lives: the precious “caregivers”.

This challenge immediately echoes the DNA of Possible Future since it is very oriented towards the development of a project with positive social impact.

Concretely, the organization wishes to give visibility to its many psychosocial support services, which are often little known. A second major challenge quickly expands on the initial brief: reach a large audience that does not always recognize the “caregiving” role. The benefactors, including children, adults and elderly with disabilities or loss of autonomy, often consider the role as fulfilling a duty resulting naturally from a filial or marital link.

Our solution

The co-creation of a new, unstigmatized space

Starting from January 22, 2019, brief in hand, Possible Future opens the first phase involving 2 months of exploration and conceptualization. Bringing together a few representatives from Malakoff Médéric Humanis and a panel of 15 volunteer helpers quickly enables our teams to direct prototype the project and to precisely define the value proposition in co-creating with the target users, caregivers and non-caregivers.

Workshops are dedicated to the definition of the services to be implemented and the positioning of the final project, which are followed by more workshops centered around the modeling of the future spaces that will give body and substance to the concept.

Our teams have also looked into the question of the economic model that can guarantee the viability of innovative social support such as this one. The track favored by Possible Future quickly becomes that of co-financing: a place of support, which brings together several actors and also different sources of income.

At the client’s request, our teams also propose a method to evaluate the relevance and impact of the different components offered. A matrix of 40 quantitative criteria and interviews with the social action officers will make it possible to measure the real impact of the project at any time and to justify its raison d’être.

Le result

The Resourcerie, a third place for taking time for yourself

This warm, inviting space, accessible to all, opens its doors on the 1st of April 2019 at the heart of Bordeaux, 2 months after the launch of the project at Possible Future.

Here, no scary desks, stigmatizing hospitality, or out-dated decorations…the place is not solely reserved for caregivers! The Resourcerie is a soothing place, punctuated by a calendar of activities offering walks, workshops, relaxation, artistic activities … and also a place to come for a coffee, read, discuss, rest and to take your mind off things.

If needed, the hosts of the Resourcerie can also count on the help of a specialist in social aid, aware of the particular psychological burden they face.

The first 3 months since opening has allowed for the testing of the functionality, service offerings and economical model of the location. The different hypotheses are successively put to test on the field, during “sprints” of a week. The opportunity to quickly check the effectiveness of a communication channel, a subscription to activities, the availability of the venue in the evening, etc.

And what’s next?/strong>

The opportunity

Doing what we do best to serve threatened corals

It all started with passion from a member of Possible Future. For two years, this diving aficionado worked with the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and coral reefs’ deterioration worried him. In some areas of the globe, corals may become extinct by 2050.

Degraded corals are bad omens for the entire ocean ecosystem as well as for humans who directly depend on them. This is why Possible Future had a strong urge to put its experience on challenges and innovation for the benefit of coral reef restoration. And we did!

The project

Increase global awareness and raise funds to restore damaged reefs

CryptoCorals is Possible Future born and bred. No client for this project, but the initiative of two of our members, encouraged by the opportunity given by Possible Future to launch projects that we are passionate about. Our startup studio was crucial as an investor and incubator of this grand idea.

From September 2018, two distinct objectives were clear. First, we wanted to provide this crucial, yet often ignored, cause more visibility. The second leitmotiv on this project was more pragmatic: the goal was to generate a system capable of raising funds to restore damaged reefs and compensate the lack of funding for these actions. Our vision : replanting 1 million corals by 2021.

The project is elaborated exactly as it would have been if briefed by a client: after an in-depth immersion and exploration of the opportunities (how the gaming market and the donation ecosystem work, coral reefs problematics …), the team started a designing and conception phase before moving on to beta testing with real users.

They quickly identified the channel to give life to their ambitions. Saving coral reefs will be:

• fun and original
• gamified, resulting in daily engagement from the users
• based on blockchain technology guaranteeing full transparency.

Transparency is indeed the major concern of potential users, so it will have to be profoundly rooted into the design of the system. Anything involving donations involves information… That’s precisely where blockchain, as an open book that anyone can verify and that no one can modify, appears to be the obvious technology.

The result

The online game CryptoCorals

In December 2018, four months after the beginning of the project, 200 sea-friendly gamers started playing and testing the first beta version.

The idea is simple, the user adopts one or several cute corals for about 10 dollars each. He or she can then play with their CryptoCorals, breed them with other corals to create super corals with incredible genetics (and real good looks!). Specialized marine researchers work in the same way on real-world reefs. Online, the virtual corals are created thanks to generative design logics, capable of generating an infinity of unique corals. That’s why each time a coral hatches, it’s unique and specific to its user.

And of course, the money paid to adopt virtual corals is used to plant a live one. Behind the fun interface, blockchain operates to transfer the funds to qualified NGOs, working relentlessly to restore coral reefs. CryptoCorals’ first partner is Secore International who has divers working on rescuing endangered reefs in the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

Beyond corals, CryptoCorals is the first step of rethinking donating – making the most of blockchain technology – and promoting biodiversity in our economy, thanks to playful interface. We believe at Possible Future, that leveraging technologies, such as blockchain, can help us tackle today’s environmental challenges and we want to steer our investments in projects going the same way.

Le brief

Transform Cédéo by creating innovative services associated with the brand

In the first trimester of 2017, CEDEO – Saint-Gobain group – approached Possible Future to conduct an in-depth reflection on its model. Indeed, in an extremely competitive market, shaken by the arrival of new entrants – for example purely digital players – it is urgent to differentiate oneself for a highly sought-after target : the professional heating businesses (300-400 SMEs in France).

An evolution of legislation particularly challenges Cédéo: The Law of Energy Transition, which imposes individualized heating costs, in the buildings heated collectively.

In the end, Possible Future was asked this question: how to transform this constraint into opportunity, to create an innovative and relevant service for Cédéo?

The approach

Lean on the network of heating engineers to push a new type of offer

For this project, the team begins by thoroughly exploring the market, consumers, technical and legal issues.  It is during this first phase that they construct a highly detailed consumer journey of the clients (the artisans) and users (trustees, landlords), that enables them to identify all the innovation opportunities around the problem.

In the case of repartitioning the heating costs, the complexity is two-fold :

• First is to identify the correct channels of distribution, to move faster that the competitors and effectively reach the many stakeholders (owners, occupiers, trustees, condominiums, landlords, municipalities);
• Then, to achieve a consistent financial package for this service requiring significant investment.

Everything must be differentiating enough to allow Cédéo to stand out in a consolidated market among 4 major actors.

Our conviction? We must promote the national heating professionals, and put them at the heart of the service, so that they become prescribers to their own customers.

The design phase therefore brings out a service based on Cédéo’s extensive network of customers, SMEs and heating professionals, to widely distribute a heating cost allocation service, in a manner that is completely transparent to the end user. The concept allows each household with a collective heating system to keep track of their consumption and their heating expenses, hitherto indexed to the area of the home.

Once the outlines of the service have been drawn, the prototyping phase aims to concretely achieve:

• Precisely define the consumer journey, their use of different platforms (app, website, etc) ;
• Identify and consult potential partners, like the French Building Federation ;
• Develop a Minimum Valuable Product, from the point of view of a service, but also the identity of the brand and communication strategy ;
• Create commercial equipment designed for professionals;
• Recruit beta-testers, whose feedback allows the team to adjust particular elements of the concept, such as how to install and use heat cost allocators

The result

Temperly, an interoperable and eco-responsible service

The solution we imagine takes the form of a turnkey installation and operation of dispatcher devices, provided by the heating engineers to the trustees and managers. The pros are responsible for the installation and maintenance of the box containing the dispatcher, soldered on each heating device. The data is then collected and processed, and allows billing of heating costs based on the actual energy consumption per household.

Thanks to this new service, the trustees and individuals do not change the interlocutor, and the pros add a string to their bow, without additional administrative management.

The business plan, the creation of brand identity, commercial materials, documents and contracts are quickly assembled – then, taken over by the teams Cédéo, Temperly is born! And with it a service that is:

• interoperable, as it is compatible with the operation of many trustees and property managers in terms of data centralization;
• transparent, which gives all stakeholders visibility on indexes and the distribution of costs through a dedicated platform;
• eco-responsible,because individualizing heating costs is empowering the large population and inviting them to optimize its energy consumption.

Find out more

• Temperly's website

The brief

Imagine, design, and develop the first in-store luxury cosmetic refill device.

At the end of 2019, after being connected through Surfrider Foundation Europe, Possible Future and Biotherm laid the foundation for a collaboration focused on their shared commitment to reducing packaging and environmental impact. Building on their environmental approach (embodied in innovations such as the Waterlover range of sunscreens, which are biodegradable and respectful of marine biodiversity), Biotherm wanted to focus on circular economy as a model and reduce the impact of their product packaging. The choice of product with which to test the refill device was not insignificant as it was the brand’s flagship product, Life Plankton Elixir. This serum is a special product, with patented technology, which has a very high concentration of natural active ingredients, including a natural plankton from the Pyrenees. The product is packaged in a glass bottle, in three formats, which had to be integrated into the design of the device.

Glass, plastic, metal, bakelite, composites: the materials used to manufacture luxury cosmetic bottles are often beautiful, heavy, and unique, but they reflect the brand’s positioning more than their environmental commitment. These bottles are resource and energy intensive, yet they are made from materials that are sustainable over time and often reusable. However, they usually end up being thrown away due to a lack of systems and services that might allow for their refill and reuse.

In addition to the technical solutions that need to be put in place―which are already complex in and of themselves in terms of microbiology and the durability of the formulas, the evolution of consumer behavior and economic viability are also at stake for an innovation such as this to find its relevance and place in the beauty sector. Biotherm commissioned Possible Future to work on all of these issues in order to create a functional, unique, and attractive prototype that met safety requirements.

The approach

Imagine, test, test… and test again. A close collaboration among scientific, technical, economic, and product design experts.

The team started out by conducting an international investigation. From Shanghai to Berlin, via Madrid and Paris, the objective was to find, explore, and understand uses and initiatives in the realm of responsible cosmetics, bulk processes, refilling, and zero waste. We wanted to get inspired, but also to think outside the box and analyze the best practices as well as the bad ones. Turning to another sector to put a use into perspective, collecting products and materials, visiting stores and immersing ourselves in various retail concepts were all part of the research phase. The second part of this month-long phase involved long interviews with Biotherm consumers in every geographical region, as well as with people with extreme profiles in terms of eco-responsible behavior. Finally, meetings with various experts as well as factory visits to our client’s premises completed the approach, helping the team understand the formula itself, its delicacy and design, and to better define the product’s positioning, all geared toward inspiring future designs.

This exploration led the team to identify challenges and collective assumptions that would be crucial to address in the design of the device :

• In the collective mind, bulk and refill are mainly associated with the food industry, and as a result, with its ordinary, banal aspect.
• Bulk and refill immediately entail a perception of large quantities, which is the antithesis of the rarity of ingredients and the sophistication of small luxury formats.
• Bulk conveys the impression of a lack of hygiene, which is an oxymoron in the cosmetics sector.
• Cosmetic-filling experiences are like technical black boxes, not very comprehensible as objects and devices.
• With a zero-waste offer still in its infancy, consumers need to feel valued and rewarded for their eco-responsible efforts.
• The action of filling is perceived as an industrial, dehumanized, mechanical, cold process.

From this, the team drew principles and lessons that were decisive in the conceptualization phase that followed:

• The importance of people and service in relation to the future device.
• The user-experience and sophistication angle, to make the device stand out from what is often considered industrial or technical.
• The need to integrate bottle-cleaning actions into the device for this first in-store test, so as not to over-complicate the all-in-one refill process for the consumer.

It was at this point that the business teams began to imagine, challenge, and define the user journey and the plan of action to scale while ensuring the positive impact of the refill solutions, which are still in their infancy. Beyond the simple presence of an in-store prototype, the service dimension and the definition of a profitability model remained a priority and a challenge throughout this phase.

Once the process―including each step required and its specifications―was validated by Biotherm’s team, we began the mock-up and prototyping stage, working closely with Biotherm’s technical, quality, and regulatory teams for several weeks.

Once designed, the majority of the parts were produced in artisanal workshops in the Paris region: metalworkers, carpenters, glassmakers, and sheet metal workers all worked in tandem on the various parts and pieces necessary for the device to function properly. Following the production phase, the teams worked on the final assembly of two functional prototypes in our workshop in the 10th arrondissement. The last steps involved a series of electrical safety tests, a risk analysis, and a series of microbiological tests in order to obtain the final validation required to deploy the devices in stores.

The result

The Blue Fountain, a complete in-store refill system, including bottle washing, filling, personalization, and labelling.

The refill station is presented as an island with three steps that consumers and users can see from all sides. The first space, dedicated to bottle washing, stages a three-step journey so that each bottle can be washed, dried, and sterilized. The team chose to design each step so that it would be visible and understandable from the user’s point of view, but also representative of the mechanical actions that make it effective. The hand has a central place in these actions, which are purposely non-automated.

• A visible water jet framed by a round bowl for rinsing
• A mobile platform that slides up and down, and a blowing nozzle, for drying
• A reflective puddle, for sterilization by UV light

These steps were designed to accommodate all three bottle formats, which makes refilling possible for the entire Life Plankton Elixir range.

Once the bottle has been cleaned, it is placed on the bottle tray to be refilled, in accordance with the legislation and metrological constraints (quantity compliance) in force.

The delivery system has been designed and tested to avoid contact with air and possible contaminants, as well as to ensure the durability of the serum’s delicate formula and its compatibility with the materials used.

Post-refill, the bottle is engraved with a line to confirm the refilling, serving as a testament to the consumer’s commitment via this eco-responsible act. The line makes it possible to count the number of refillings of a single bottle, simply and visually.

The final step involves labelling the bottom of the bottle to ensure traceability of the batch number and the mention of regulatory information.

The brief

Transform Cédéo by creating innovative services associated with the brand.

In the first quarter of 2017, the CEDEO–Saint-Gobain group asked Possible Future to conduct an in-depth assessment of its model. In an ultra-competitive market that’s been shaken up by the arrival of new players (specifically, ‘pure players’), it was urgent for us to set ourselves apart in the eyes of a highly sought-after target: heating professionals (300 to 400 SMEs in France).

A change in legislation was of particular concern to Cédéo: the Energy Transition Law, which requires individualization of heating costs in collectively heated homes.

Thus the question for Possible Future was: How can we turn this constraint into an opportunity to create an innovative and relevant service for Cédéo?

The approach

To rely on a network of heating specialists to come up with a new kind of offer.

For this project, the team began by thoroughly studying the market and consumers as well as the technical and legal issues. It was during this first phase that the team set up an extremely detailed customer (craftspeople) and user (property managers, trustees) path, which allowed them to identify all of the innovation opportunities related to the problem.

In the case of the splitting of heating costs, the complexity was twofold:

• First, we had to identify the right distribution channels in order to move faster than the competition and effectively reach the many stakeholders involved (owners, occupants, co-owners, landlords and municipalities).
• Secondly, we needed to put together a coherent financial package for a service that requires a significant financial investment.

All of it had to be sufficiently differentiating to help Cédéo stand out in a market that is consolidated around four main players.

We believed that we had to enhance the value of national heating professionals and place them at the heart of the service, so that they become advisers to their clients.

The design phase, therefore, led to the development of a service that relied on Cédéo’s large network of customers, SMEs and heating professionals to widely distribute a heating-cost allocation service in a way that was totally transparent for the end user. The concept allowed for each household with a collective heating system to maintain control of its consumption and heating expenses, which until that point had been indexed according to the home’s surface area.

Once the basics of the service had been determined, the prototyping phase was concretely carried out. This included:

• Defining the user path and the functionalities of the different platforms (app, website, back office, etc.)
• Identifying and consulting with potential partners, such as the French Building Federation
• Developing an MVP, both from a service point of view as well as a brand identity and communication strategy
• Creating commercial material for professionals
• Recruiting beta testers, whose feedback allowed the team to adjust specific elements of the concept, such as how to install and use heat-cost allocators

The result

Temperly―an interoperable and eco-responsible service

The solution we envisioned took the form of a turnkey service for the installation and operation of splitters, promoted by heating engineers to property owners and managers. Professionals take care of the installation and maintenance of the box containing the splitter, which is welded to each heating device. The data is then collected and processed, allowing for the billing of heating costs based on actual energy consumption per household.

Thanks to this new service, individuals and property managers do not have to change their contact person, and professionals earn a new client, without additional administrative management.

The business plan, the creation of the brand identity, the promotional materials, and the documents and contracts were all quickly put together. Next, the Cédéo teams took it over, and Temperly was born ! And with it, a service that is:

• Interoperable, as it is compatible with the operation of many property managers and trustees in terms of data centralization.
• Transparent, because it gives all parties access to indexes and cost allocation through a dedicated platform.
• Eco-responsible, because more than anything, individualizing heating costs is a way of making as many people as possible aware of their individual responsibility, encouraging them to optimize their energy consumption.

Find out more

• Temperly's site

The project

The methodology and the Possible Future teams that support the internal startups

At the end of 2017, Société Général launches an Internal Startup Call : an operation designed to foster entrepreneurial momentum within its teams. The call mobilizes a total of 15,000 people. 114 starts are pre-seletcted during the Pitch Day, on February 16 2018. More than 60 projects are finalists, then grouped into 3 classes.

Among these 60 projects, Société Générale entrusted Possible Future with 4 start-ups, to provide them support during 6 months. The objective? At the end of the program, launch a new product in the form of a startup, or re-integrate the projects into existing business units. In parallel, train and embark the teams in the Possible Future methodology, which will boost the projects and take them to the top.

“The Internal Startup call is for us a great opportunity to question our management methods, even as we work to develop new ways of working in the Group, to stay more agile, more collaborative, more horizontal” Frédéric Oudéa, CEO of the Group.

Our support

A successful coaching process

Operations are conducted in two stages. Two projects are carried by our teams from June to December 2018. The next two start in September 2018 and extend until the end of March 2019.

The support provided to Société Générale’s internal start-ups consisted in two main aspects:

• A dedicated coach to the project, who ensures a weekly, close follow-up, working hand-in-hand with the intrapreneurs and the strategic advisor from each startup
• In parallel, with training and workshops, organized and animated by our internal experts, on the basis of a specific program defined at the start of the support.

In total, to support those 4 beautiful projects we mobilized a group of 15 people with a wide range of expertise: user research, strategic planning, engineer, software, branding, product and service design, UX/UI…

At the heart of the method, the personalized support. This depends on the stakes of each project and each team, in order to give them all of the necessary tools and information for a successful launch.

Focus

4 projects, 4 facets of Société Générale’s offerings for tomorrow, shaped with Possible Future/h4>
In a few words, the Société Générale projects that our teams were involved with concern …

• A research vehicle dedicated to stock market products, designed to strengthen theSociété Générale’s commercial position in this sector
• The process of automating risk analysis for the investment bank
• A moving assistance service, addressed to individuals
• A real estate project for the branch dedicated to the client

The result

A high success rate for the teams we supported!

At the end of 6 months of coaching, there is real future for the 4 projects : all of which are still under development today at Société Générale, in the form of side projects or within business units. For our coaches, the adventure continues as many of them are still integrated today in the strategic decision-making committees of these promising startups.

This project demonstrates the relevance of the Possible Future methodology to hatch entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial projects, whether from a corporate program, or directly from the teams themselves within large groups.

For Thomas Chappuis; director of the Internal Startup Call, “Possible Future has offered a high quality support unanimously recognized by the supported startups.
2 specifications : tailor-made – 1 coach appointed per startup – and à la carte – thematic workshops chosen directly by the intrapreneurs according to their needs. This adaptation, as close as possible to the need, is a key factor in the success of the approach and has made it possible – a rarity among the 17 partner acceleration programs – for the 4 projects to be continued”

Find out more

• The Société Générale article
• L'article de Stratégies
• The article in Les Echos

The brief

To tackle the shortage of food professionals in the retail sector through an initial training program.

The food industry is under pressure: Companies are looking to hire employees but are experiencing significant recruitment difficulties, most often stemming from a lack of candidates and well-trained individuals. Meanwhile, the French government introduced the Professional Future law allowing companies to open their own training centers and push back the maximum age of apprenticeship to 30 years. It was in this context that Système U reached out to Possible Future: to respond to the shortage of candidates by creating a modern training program that meets the aspirations of its candidates.

Our solution

An innovative training program to develop tomorrow’s butchers, supporting them on their journey from orientation to apprenticeship all the way to their professional life.

We created the École de la Nouvelle Alimentation, a network of four Apprenticeship Training Centers (or CFAs, in France), to train future food-industry professionals. The school was launched in September 2020 with four CAP Butcher pilot programs. In September 2021, the school opened up to all food-industry professions. There are several aims at the heart of our mission:

Respond to the new expectations of apprentices and consumers

During our exploration phase, we dug deep into the image problem that food-industry professions, and their associated training programs, have. While these businesses have been reinventing themselves for years in order to adapt to changes in consumption, training programs have struggled to keep up with the same level of transformation. Both in terms of content and form, they don’t quite meet the expectations of candidates and their communities to overcome prejudices and make these professions truly attractive career paths. This tension is perfectly illustrated by the butcher’s trade. The profession suffers from a negative image, even though it can potentially bring meaning to the professional lives of a number of candidates, and it is positioned at the heart of today’s food issues. Despite its potential, the CAP Butcher program has been slow to follow trends and has not been updated since 2010.

We wanted to take the opportunity to modernize and rehabilitate the image people have of the profession via the École de la Nouvelle Alimentation, by bringing both the content and the form up to date:

• A training program that encompasses a variety of subjects in line with the renewal of the profession and current consumer trends: a trade module to acquire the fundamentals of CAP Butcher knowledge, as well as additional modules to advance the skills required in butchery, including agro-ecology, culinary and nutritional advice, and financial management.
• An agile training program via a one-year apprenticeship, which meets the needs of new students and people changing careers; this offers them the possibility to enter the job market quickly, or to continue the courses in BP.

Make training accessible

In order to offer training that is geographically close to trainees, we built the École de la Nouvelle Alimentation as a network of institutes throughout the different regions of France. The courses are thus split between the institutes and a network of local experts:

• To acquire the basics of the trade, each institution teaches the CAP Butcher courses.
• Additional modules are taught by local experts: farmers, U trainers, technicians, etc.
• The search for an employer is also facilitated by a platform that connects apprentices and retailers, in order for candidates to find the recruiters closest to them.

Guarantee professional development in one’s trade and beyond

Vocational training is often perceived as a “dead end,” offering few prospects for development and fulfillment, yet these issues are essential in the orientation of young people. To guarantee their development, the initial training program has been designed according to the existing continuing education program at U, in order to guarantee the continuity of one’s education. The training also focuses on the discovery of other food-industry professions, as well as those of management. This diversity allows each apprentice to progress to positions of responsibility, or to alternative paths, should they wish to do so.

The result

• One strategic vision of training opportunities around food-industry professions ;
• Three positionings pitched mid-project in line with our opportunity territories ;
• Direction chosen: a school in partnership with local tradespeople to teach the technique and strengthen the key skills of the trades ;
• Testing the value proposition in the field at student fairs, and online via targeted advertising on Facebook and Instagram ;
• Support throughout the project, and up to the launch of the school, in coordination with other partners for the construction of the curriculum and legal elements ;
• Launch of 4 pilot programs for the CAP Butcher in September 2020