Context: Neuston Biosystems Inc is a Toronto-based B2B hardware startup (est. 2023) operating at the intersection of clean-tech and ag-tech to enable circular agro-food bioeconomies. To this end, Neuston is developing a cost-effective wastewater remediation technology that also generates high value agricultural byproducts.

The overall goal of this project is to determine a preliminary market and application of this technology. Project outcomes will significantly direct the company’s marketing and technology development efforts, possibly for years to come. Currently, a preliminary market has been identified: Ontario cheese producers; the product fit is the economic remediation of cheese whey wastewaters, by simultaneously reducing producers’ waste management costs while generating animal feed and biofertilizers as a source of income. The main deliverable of this project will be a report that either validates and refines this current product-market fit, or rejects the current fit and identifies new potential customer segments/applications of this technology (backed by robust data from surveys and other sources, and provided with sound reasoning for Neuston to pivot). 

This project is suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate level students in marketing. To ensure that the project is manageable and kept within a realistic timeframe of 60 hours per student spread over 2-8 weeks, the tasks to be completed (listed below) may be reduced or edited, in consultation with Neuston. Note: Participation in the project will require a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

Neuston is committed to providing a minimum of 5 hours of mentorship meetings per team via video calls and email. Video meetings will be available at least once per week for a minimum of 45 mins. This mentorship will be tailored to address progress, specific project challenges, offer career advice, and foster a supportive learning environment. The mentorship sessions aim to complement the technical guidance and ensure that students not only complete the project successfully but also gain valuable insights into real-world applications of their skills. This combination of technical support, collaborative tools, and dedicated mentorship hours aims to empower students, fostering an environment conducive to their growth and success in completing the project. These communication strategies aim to establish clear and consistent channels for interaction throughout the project. They provide students with the necessary information, support, and opportunities for engagement, ensuring a positive and collaborative experience.

Benefits for Students:

• Develop marketing skills in matching a new technology with existing and potentially new markets in Ontario. Develop clear communication, relationship-forming, and collaboration skills in outreaching to potential customers (early tech adopters). Develop organizational skills in keeping track of outreach responses. Develop detail-oriented skills by quantitatively evaluating potential product-market fits on multiple bases (technological metrics, customer’s limitations, regulatory laws, bylaws, etc.)
• Exposure to food waste remediation challenges, including regulatory, technical, economic, and industry factors. Exposure to circular bioeconomy challenges in the agro-food sector.
• Potential networking opportunities with Neuston Biosystems and Ontario cheese and dairy producers.

Breakdown of Key Objectives:  

• **Quantify current whey management practices and requirements of Ontario cheese producers, including but not limited to volumes of whey produced per day/week, frequency of removal/treatment, transportation costs and distances (if any), full descriptions of any current treatment systems used, process bottlenecks, producers’ and B2B service providers’ costs, any B2B issues encountered, and how they meet any regulatory requirements.
• **Contextualize the above practices in institutional histories (i.e. Why are they managing waste this way? What brought about the method(s) they’re using now? Have they ever tried other methods, and what happened then?)
• Identify Ontario competition for cheese whey resources, namely businesses that treat or consume cheese whey (e.g. municipal wastewater treatment, waste transportation services, pig farmers, etc.) and quantify the competition as in the examples above (i.e. competitor pricing, value proposition, whey intake capacities, volumes, and frequency of whey use, technical limitations in whey utilization, etc.)
• Identify current and future sustainability practices and waste management goals of cheese producers.
• Identify decision-makers at cheese producers with signing authority to trial new technologies.
• Gauge the interest of such decision-makers to support this technology development, and quantify forms of support (e.g. industrial/community advocates, word-of-mouth advertising, adoption of the technology for a pilot trial, Letters of Intent).
• **Develop/identify attractive value propositions of this technology for producers based on their feedback, with guidance from Neuston. Whenever possible, quantify attractive pricing ranges, ROIs, payback periods, requirements of floorspace, labor, and maintenance, etc. 
• **Gain written support from such decision-makers, whenever possible as Letters Of Intent (this will greatly help Neuston’s fundraising efforts).
• Recommend a marketing course of action for Neuston.

** Most important data to gain.

Tasks & Expectations:

• Conduct primary and secondary research to identify cheese producers’ current remediation practices, issues, needs, and wants (refer to examples in the Breakdown of Key Objectives).
• Conduct primary research to gauge the interest of decision-makers and businesses to support the development of this technology.
• Develop a short online or phone survey/questionnaire/interview and distribute to the identified decision-maker audience. 
• Analyze survey response data and compile findings.
• Conduct primary and secondary research to identify competitors in cheese waste remediation and utilization in Ontario. 
• Synthesize data, insights, and actionable marketing recommendations into a comprehensive, ~ 10-15 page report including: executive summary; industry trends, attitudes, and insights; current practices; supportive contacts; analyzed survey results with graphs/charts/tables; competitive analysis; pricing and market communication strategies; recommendations to improve product-market fit.
• A slide deck of the above report’s findings.

Note: Starting lists of survey questions, cheese producers, and producers’ employee contacts are available to help kick-off this project, though students are expected to revise and come up with their own survey questions and contacts.

To validate the completion of student work, please submit deliverables as uploaded files with a reflection note at the end of your project. These files can take various formats, including Word documents, PDFs, JPEG images, presentations, and more. We request tangible proof or an example showcasing your completed work. Note: Participation in the project will require a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), so redactions in classroom deliverables may be necessary.