Mr.
Matt
Spangler

Innovation 101 by Baggu

I stumbled upon an ad yesterday for a new shopping bag.   The company is called Baggu Bag.   The difference between it and all other “reusable” shopping bags defines the type of innovation that we should all be striving for.

For the last year or so, we’ve seen a big push towards reusable bags at the grocery to replace plastic.  Its been bolstered by celebrity endorsement, PR campaigns, and the grocery brands themselves, such as Whole Foods, manufacturing and offering them for sale right by the checkout.

But is the current bag design actual working?  Is it something shoppers are using consistently, and beyond that, do they buy just one…and continue to use the same one over and over?  The challenge, and why I always scoffed at these bags, is that this innovation is following a “build it and they will come” model rather then looking deeply at how consumers already act.

Women carry purses (most of them at least).  In major urban areas like New York, Boston, Chicago etc most of your purchasing is not “appointment” shopping like it might be in the suburbs, where you get into your car and head to the grocery store making sure to bring your cloth bags to fill up with groceries.  Instead, in most cities its more the “drop in to the store on the way home” to pick up something for that night or a snack etc.   And in this moment, its extremely rare that anyone would be carrying their extra “reusable bag” just in case they wanted to purchase something.

Knowing this, Baggu bag has created a satchel that folds up into a size that could fit in your purse.  Its always there.  So no matter when the mood strikes you.  You can have the bag ready for use.

This innovation in reusable shopping bags solves that issue and is the first product in this niche market (that I know of) that has taken this into consideration.   Add to that a visually appealing design and you have a product that is a game changer.

Sure the “this is not a plastic bag” satchels had good branding and PR, but the Baggu product is one that actually lives up the mantra that all product design should follow: usability and utility at the forefront, with design and style being key components that amplify the products core innovation.  In addition, this is an attitude that any smart strategic planner should consider when looking at new campaigns, products and the like.  How does what we are creating fit within the construct of how people live their lives and how can it work to improve their everyday.

This is part of my frustration with the iPhone market as well, as everyone and their brother comes up with a new iPhone app to release, but few think about how those apps fit into the existing structure of the a person’s daily routine…but thats an article for another day.

Update 7/22/09…My friends at Cool Hunting were ahead of me on this one (no surprise there) so you can check out the great video they did about Baggu here.