37 Laurel

MeBot【Background information】
The omnipresence of vending
machines has allowed anincrease in the production and consumptionof plastic. Vending machines are especiallyvery prevalent in Japan. This means that aninsurmountable amount of plastic is being
disposed of. However, plastic is one of thegreatest wastes, and they are detrimental tothe environment. Research done by Nikkei
Keizai Tsushin Co. has shown thatapproximately 23.2 billion pet bottles aresent to consumption every year (numbers
are back from 2016).1, 2 Removing plastics
from vending machines that the majority
have access to, will drastically change themanufacturing process of vending machines.
In order to accomplish this goal, our product,
MeBot will replace the existing vending
machines by directly pouring drinks to thecustomers’ water bottle and our original
bottle called the “MeBottle” that utilizes
sustainable material.3 No longer willproducers of vending machines use plastic
nor the customers who access the vendingmachines. We ensure sustainability to last
until the end for both producers andconsumers. In addition, we will aim to keep
the convenience of former vending machinesas quick-pay and smartphone apps would beincorporated into MeBot. This product canaccomplish five of the Sustainable
Development Goals proposed by the UN, forinstance goal 9 “Industry, Innovation, andInfrastructure”, 12 “Responsibleconsumption”, 13 “Climate Action”, 14 “LifeBelow Water”, and 15 “Life on Land”. 4
1:https://www.nikkankeizai.co.jp/publication/daily-news/backnumber/detail.php?id=317
2:https://lessplasticlife.com/plastics/trash-rec
ycle/pet-bottles-consumption-in-japan/
3: https://tb-m.com/en/limex/about/
4: https://sdgs.un.org/goals【Target】From the data given by Ryutsu news, thepeople who use vending machines on a daily
basis are most common in students andworkers, and the location where the mostsales from vending machines arise, is nearstations and office buildings.5 By placing ourproduct at these locations, many people
would have access to MeBot. MeBot canassist those who do not have much time, by
making it available for the customers tobecome a member of MeBot, and being able
to pre-select their drink from the app, which
can reduce the time and process to get thedrink. In fact, MeBot only uses electronicmoney, so by scanning it against MeBot, any
drink can be bought in an instant without
having to go through the trouble of getting
their wallet out and taking out change.
Moreover, by having the MeBottle, all of thedrinks offered will be discounted to being ⅔
of the original price. Therefore, MeBot is
especially effective for busy workers andstudents, who mostly drink outside and areable to buy instantaneously during their busy
schedules and at a lower price.
5:https://www.ryutsuu.biz/strategy/l012923.ht
ml【Product explanation】<Function> MeBot is a vending machinethat can dispense the drink by reducing theuse of plastic bottles, by pouring the drink
into any water bottle that customers have.
MeBot offers an official application whereanyone who has signed up can freely utilize
it as part of their daily life.
<MeBot original bottle> MeBot will sell an
original eco-friendly bottle called the“MeBottle”, for customers who do not havetheir own. MeBottle can be used by anyone,
but it is especially effective for people whohave concerns about carrying heavy bottles.
Since MeBottle is created by sustainable
plastic materials made out of limestone, it islightweight and eco-friendly. Limestone is aself-sufficient material that is abundant all
around the world and eco-friendly in the
manufacturing process, since it would not
produce much toxic chemicals during theprocess of pressuring and heating(CaCO3,
the main component of limestone, is not very
toxic).
<How to use>a. Selecting a drink：Customers can selectthe drink from 20 types and 5 different sizes
ranging from 100mL to 500mL, through asmartphone application that all customers
have to pre-register.
b. Payment：To use MeBot, the users will berequired to register for our membership, afree subscription or monthly subscription.
c. Setting “my bottle”：After customers
have selected the drink, they will set theirown bottle in the required section of thevending machine and wait for 10 seconds
until the process is completed. If customers
do not have their own bottle, they candirectly buy the MeBottle from the MeBot.
d. Washing / Sterilizing the bottle: If acustomer wants an additional drink, they canwash and sterilize their bottle by pressing the“wash” button, where the vending machinecleanses the bottle with a powerful mist thatcomes from microbubble. Microbubble has
the ability to conserve 60% of water that will
indeed minimize the amount of water that will
be used.6 Moreover, embedded UV light thatcan effectively sterilize the bottles
instantaneously.
6:http://www.haraken-k.com/microbubble/pro
duct.html【Marketing】
If a customer signs
up to themembership as afree member, they
will have to pay theprice of the drink
every time they use
it, throughelectronic money. If
a customer signs
up to themembership through the monthly
subscription, they can use MeBot without
any limitation to how much they drink.
Moreover, app users will receive 1 point eachtime they use MeBot, and they can receive afree ticket by earning a total of 15 points.
Advertisements that we will use to promote
our product and services will be throughcommercials in television, trains, and in
websites, along with the use of social media
platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, andTwitter. As our target audiences are
specifically students and workers who

frequently use vending machines, it iseffective to use platforms that are easier forour target audience to access, to find out
more about our product through theseadvertisements.
【Financial plan】
Initial funds will be raised throughinvestments from private companies andbanks. The money will be spent on
production, marketing, etc. Buyers can join a
MeBot monthly membership plan whichcosts $17 per month with unlimited access todrinks, and buyers with no membership willpay each time they purchase a drink which
will cost an average of $0.20 per 100ml.7
Buyers can use their own water bottle orpurchase our original brand product, theMeBottle which costs $20.8 We expect
200,000 people to join the membership in thefirst year and the numbers to graduallyincrease. We will manufacture 8000 MeBots
in the first year and will not increase thenumbers drastically for the first severalyears. We will hire 8 office workers and 15
part time workers for management of theMeBots. The initial fund will be $2,000,000.
In the first year, we are expecting our profit to
be deficit but in the second year, we willreach the break-even point.

7:https://recipe-book.ubiregi.com/articles/drin
k-bar/
8:https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=%E6%B0%
B4%E7%AD%92&ref=nb_sb_noss