The company Biokub Sweden AB (within Per Schürer AB) specialises in hot composters made of recycled plastic – a physical and earth-friendly product to the highest degree. Thanks to an Innovation Sprint at Tech Borås, the company has now gained new insights and seen how digital technology can be integrated into the traditional product. It opens up new markets and business models.

The Innovation Sprint was conducted by Tech Borås during five intensive workshops that followed the Google Ventures model. Participants included key people from Biokub, researchers and system developers from Tech Borås and the University of Borås, and facilitator Marlene Kanto from Techarena Varberg.

“The Innovation Sprint has really been an eye-opener,” said Tor-Björn Danielsson, Business Developer at Biokub. “Not only did we get a tangible product in the form of an app, but we also learned a new methodology for product development. Without the Innovation Sprint, we could never have moved forward this quickly and effectively.”

Objective: improved customer experience and new business opportunities

Biokub, which is well established in the market for compost solutions, was faced with the challenge of digitising its operations and developing a more service-oriented business model. The aim was to move from offering only physical products to also including digital services that can improve the customer experience and create new business opportunities.

Prototype developed and tested in a matter of days

Early on in the Innovation Sprint, Biokub’s customers were involved through both digital surveys and in-depth interviews. The response rate and engagement with customers was high, providing valuable input to the work. During the ideation phase, the plan to develop an app that can help users monitor and optimise their compost was developed. The app includes features such as temperature monitoring, notifications when it’s time to turn or empty the compost, and an AI-powered chat function that gives users tips and advice.

“Thanks to the fact that we had system developers involved in the process, we were able to quickly develop a prototype,” said Leif Andersson, who was responsible for the Innovation Sprint at Tech Borås.

“The prototype was incredibly important because it turned ideas into concrete solutions in no time. This allowed us to immediately test it on our customers and collect user feedback that contributed to further improvements,” said Tor-Björn from Biokub.

Potential to bring great benefit

Technology has played a central role in the Innovation Sprint. AI models have enabled a fast and efficient development process. In addition, the collection of user data through surveys and interviews has provided a deeper understanding of customers’ needs and preferences.

“The next step for us now is to figure out how we can best implement the solution in our business,” said Tor-Björn. “We need to calculate volumes, costs and revenues to hopefully launch this service soon. This would be of great benefit to our customers but also enable us to develop as a company.”

The process itself is an important lesson

The work of the Innovation Sprint followed a clear structure with a strict framework.

“A key part of the process is that participants are constantly challenged to continue working on improvements. Normally it’s easy to settle and move on without thinking all the way through, but here we were constantly forced to think one step further and to dare to try out ideas in practice early on,” said Leif Andersson.

In addition to a concrete result of the work of the Innovation Sprint in the form of an app, Biokub also brings other important lessons.

“The Innovation Sprint approach is incredibly powerful for companies looking to transform their business and take advantage of new technologies. We have gotten a good start on the AI journey, but above all, we have learned more about innovation and product development,” said Tor-Björn at Biokub.