THE CHALLENGE
Supporting market traders in taking flight with their business ideas that go beyond the open-air context.
THE SOLUTION
A mentorship programme that involves local communities in the steps towards business growth.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Urban Partners demonstrated interest for our idea, exactly because was inclusive of the real local people. We validated the process with one of the UP's reppresentant and been invited to present it at the monthly meeting.
DETAILS
Project partner: KERB
When: 2019 - 3 months
Team: 5 people
Main tasks: design research (various), stakeholder management,
design, prototyping and validation of proposition, visual design.
Context
KERB'S INCUBATOR PROGRAMME
KERB is the major street food institution in London. Their business is based on two main activities: an incubator to train street food traders as well as markets and events to feed hungry Londoners! Ollie, from KERB Development, came to RCA with the following input: "Create new service propositions for KERB that help them to optimise the value of food marketplaces as a public resource by better meeting the needs of the public, of traders and of policymakers, strengthening their platform approach."
Locations of KERB's permanent markets.
After researching the context, the major insight we found was about traders’ final aim: street food is seen as a launch pad for something bigger or as a passage for something different. We created KERB LIFT! Kerb lift is an accelerator for food-related businesses: by tapping into already existing local networks of companies and people, we enable the traders to find the expertise and the workforce they need to finally take flight!
The current KERB experience for the traders. If the incubation process is clear and works prety well, the "taking flight" part is unclear and needs to be better defined.
Research
KERB'S REFLECTS THE FLUIDITY OF THE CITY
Methods:
- Literature review
- Guerilla interviews
- On-site interviews
- Idea prioritasation
- Journey mapping
- Insight definition and clustering
- Role Playing
- Senior stakeholder workshop
To better understand the insights we found, we clustered them in three conflicting themes which we used to communicate our interpretation of the overall context.
INCLUSIVE VS HIGH-END
Street food is generally served in a public or open space, the prices and the location make fine dining accessible to a wider public who can become critics through social media. But, above all, everyone can become a trader: not only people with a small budget but street food can be a way to reintegrate into society and into working life for ex-offenders or long-time unemployed. This is demonstrated by businesses such as Kitchenette and Liberty Kitchen. Although, KERB opens its permanent markets at lunch-time only in locations with an high-density of offices with prices that aren’t affordable for everybody.
OPPORTUNITY: Expand the inclusive value to the surrounding community.
NEW VS OLD COMMUNITIES
London is the emblem of fluid-cities. People and businesses are in continuous flux and it’s very difficult to create communities based on proximity. Also, old-fashion markets relations are no longer common: people start trading because of interest in food not to continue a family business, which cuts many social dynamics that used to make markets a place for the community more than simply being a place to make business. KERB creates a community that is parachuted in the middle of others (the office workers one) who aren’t very interested in much else than grabbing a tasty meal.
OPPORTUNITY: Building a stronger relation between internal and external community.
EASY TO START-UP VS HARD TO SUSTAIN
The barriers to start a street food business are low (“A steak in the economy” suggests a minimum of 5000£ to start a stall), but the failure in the businesses is high too. Which is often caused by problems surrounding production, staffing, and finance. Traders need some kind of shared resources that could help them in running their small business and keep a customer base. KERB is actually quite good in helping traders to not fail. But the take flight moment is still quite tough and not defined, so traders get stuck in a stall-as-usual situation. Ollie himself said us: “It's something that we're focusing on this year, providing a framework for traders to use, because it's quite opaque at the moment.”
OPPORTUNITY: Assist traders in growing their business further.
I and Cristina during an insight sharing session after a morning of field research.
“How might create a framework to help traders to reach their final goal by including the surrounding community into the journey?"
Solution
KERB LIFT - LOCAL COLLABORATION FOR BUSINESS GROWTH
Methods:
- Experience design
- UI design
- Client Validation
- Storytelling
- Video editing
‘KERB Lift’ is an accelerator for food businesses in an early stage that connects the opportunities of the surrounding community with the traders’ needs.
The process is divided into customised steps which are defined and scheduled with the personal tutor. Every journey in KERB Lift (whose details are different trader by trader) is divided in 3 milestones:
1. Business plan draft.
2. Funds and investors gathering.
3. Final touches before being ready to launch!
The brand-new look of the traders' profile on the Vault.
As the video showed, the “KERB Vault” (an already existing platform for traders to apply for trading at private events) would be a very important channel for the acceleration. In there, the traders can create a business profile to share with investors. Elements of relevance in the profile would be the history of the brand, the economic projection and history; also, it could contain a crowdfunding link for the bottom-up investment!
The business plan created with the tutor would find a shared place in the Vault. Useful for traders to not forget anything and for their tutors to keep an eye on them!
The visualisation of the journey for one of the most common objectives: the opening of a restaurant.
Validation
BRINGING KERB LIFT TO LIFE IN THE CAMDEN AREA
Methods:
- Idea pitching
- Expert interviews
- Services integration
- Collaboration scoping
- Stakeholder management
A very important element in the acceleration programme is the interaction with the local community. To make this bit as real as possible we focused on the King’s Cross market. Based in the area, we found a very interesting partner to collaborate with: Urban Partners!
UP is a non-profit that gathers big and small business operating in the area (Google, Argent, The Guardian to list some of them). The stated aims of the company are: engagement of the next generation, representation of their businesses and benefit for their employees. Companies such as The Guardian and Google could provide volunteers to tutor the traders, Argent property development could give space and funds to most interesting business ideas.
Furthermore, some public institutions are associated to UP: realities such as Camden Giving and Somerset Community Center could be the vessel for the local people looking for employment. All these institutions could join The Vault and interact with the traders they like!
UrbanPartners would be the mediator for the institutions interested which would be mediator for the people.
We have met twice Natalie, UP representative for The Guardian, and she expressed a lot of enthusiasm for the idea declaring:
”Urban Partners seeks to work with businesses like KERB to understand local issues and develop programmes to support them. KERBlift is a great example of how members can channel expertise and resources in order to build and sustain a thriving urban neighbourhood and a cohesive community - creating opportunities for traders, residents and visitors alike.”
Introducing Natalie to Kerb Lift through a storyboard crafted for the occasion.
By involving the community and an institution such as UrbanPartners, we aim to enrich stakeholder interactions. We envision to get businesses surrounding the markets to share their experience with the traders. But our particular interest is match the need for expertise and workforce that is necessary for a business to grown and the offer that is present in the local area. The mediation of institution such as community centers, charities and job centers is fundamental to manage it in the best way possible!
The differences among stakeholder interactions Before and After Kerb LIft.