Vitalins
An innovative way to fight hidden
hunger with preschool-aged children
in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries
Kirsten Arns (6778682)
Yara Langeveld (6733506)
Kim van Leussen (6745555)
Group 8
November 5 2021
Innovation Strategies of Firms & Entrepreneurs (GEO3-2221)
Word count 5485
1
,Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
Company and Product Description 5
Problem 5
Vitalins 5
Pilot 6
Team and Organisation 7
Inputs 7
Mediators 7
Outcomes 9
Competition Analysis 10
Amazon 10
FedEx 11
Market Analysis and Strategy 12
Market overview 12
Industry trends 12
Primary target market 13
Market capture strategy 14
Innovation Strategy 18
Key resource 18
Late-mover strategy 18
Partners 18
Intellectual property protection 20
Financial Projections 22
Reference List 24
Appendices 31
Appendix 1: Business Model Canvas 31
Appendix 2: Belbin team roles results 32
Appendix 3: Customer interviews 33
Appendix 4: Financial Projections 66
2
,Executive Summary
Worldwide micronutrient deficiency, also known as hidden hunger, forms a major problem. More
than two billion people suffer from it globally, which creates the need for action (Ritchie, 2017). This
has led to the emergence of the Dutch start-up Vitalins. With an estimation of 45% of children under
five dealing with malnutrition, Vitalins considers preschool-aged children as its target group (WHO,
2019). This start-up aims to make a difference by combining two existing components into one:
drone delivery and vitamin supplements. With this combination, Vitalins wants to reduce the
alarmingly high hidden hunger indexes among preschool-aged children in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries (LMICs), with Mali as a starting point.
This start-up will operate by providing vitamin packages to aid organisations, whereby
vitamins will be delivered to the target group from local storage facilities. This will be done through
children’s villages that are trusted by the end-customer in a convenient, environmentally friendly and
time-efficient manner (SOS children’s villages, n.d.). By using a fixed down payment and a success fee
Vitalins focuses on maximising revenues rather than profit. Based on the financial projections, this
start-up will be profitable and has opportunities to dominate the market. After successfully serving
the initial beachhead market, Vitalins can expand to other LMICs and target groups for a broad,
humanitarian impact.
3
, Company and Product Description
Problem
It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that more than two billion people suffer
from micronutrient deficiency worldwide (Ritchie, 2017). Specifically, preschool-aged children in Low-
and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), like Mali, are dealing with alarmingly high hidden hunger
indexes, whereby “hidden hunger” is a synonym for micronutrient deficiency (Ritchie, 2017).
Among the targeted group, vitamin A-deficiency is one of the most common forms (Emerald
publishing, 2006). Schémann et al. (2002) discovered that 4.3% of the 1.510 preschool-aged children
investigated in Mali did not eat any vitamin A-rich food. This affects childhood survival, educational
achievement and overall resistance to illness (Emerald publishing, 2006). For vitamin A-deficiency
alone, over 127 million preschool-aged children suffer from an affected growth, development, vision
and immune system (Emerald publishing, 2006). It is acknowledged that vitamin A-supplementation
for children could save 145.000 lives per year (Kraemer, 2014).
To break the cycle of micronutrient deficiency, action can best be undertaken during the
pregnancy and within the first 1.000 days after a child is born (Bailey et al., 2015). Unfortunately,
LMICs often lack access to critical medicines, because public health facilities are far away and have a
limited stock (Pheage, 2016). This raises the problem of health inequity, as not everyone has the
opportunity to attain their full health potential (CDC, 2020). This suggests the need to focus health
equity development programmes on improving fairness in the allocation of healthcare resources
(Orach & Garimoi, 2009).
Vitalins
The Dutch start-up Vitalins aims to provide all preschool-aged children in Mali with equal access to
vital vitamins, thereby decreasing the hidden hunger index. The focus lies on Mali, because this
country is in the top twenty countries most affected by hidden hunger and has many
difficult-to-reach regions (Muthayya et al., 2013; Francis, 2013).
Central health facilities within Mali are dealing with a lot of pressure, since there is scarcity
of medicines (Streefland, 2005). As the demand for care is much larger than the supply-capacity of
facilities, they deal with an extremely high workload, which affects the quality of care. Vitalins aims
to lower the workload of these facilities, so they can offer better care.
The vitamins will be delivered via drones, so patients have to visit central health facilities less
often and pressure within these facilities is reduced. As a result, more preschool-aged children
suffering from vitamin A-deficiency are treated. The importance of medical drones is already
acknowledged in Uganda, where drones are used by Johnson & Johnson to deliver HIV-drugs. As a
result, over 3.700 people are reached every day (Goad, 2021). Vitalins will receive funding from aid
organisations that experience difficulties with reaching many people at once.
The business idea of Vitalins is not based on new or changed core concepts and components,
because Vitalins will not make changes to the vitamin supplements and the drones that deliver them.
It will only change the way it is used to reach the people in need, creating a new architecture: using
drone delivery to bring vital vitamins to preschool-aged children in Mali and other LMICs. According
to Meeus & Edquist (2006), this can be defined as an architectural innovation.
4
An innovative way to fight hidden
hunger with preschool-aged children
in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries
Kirsten Arns (6778682)
Yara Langeveld (6733506)
Kim van Leussen (6745555)
Group 8
November 5 2021
Innovation Strategies of Firms & Entrepreneurs (GEO3-2221)
Word count 5485
1
,Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
Company and Product Description 5
Problem 5
Vitalins 5
Pilot 6
Team and Organisation 7
Inputs 7
Mediators 7
Outcomes 9
Competition Analysis 10
Amazon 10
FedEx 11
Market Analysis and Strategy 12
Market overview 12
Industry trends 12
Primary target market 13
Market capture strategy 14
Innovation Strategy 18
Key resource 18
Late-mover strategy 18
Partners 18
Intellectual property protection 20
Financial Projections 22
Reference List 24
Appendices 31
Appendix 1: Business Model Canvas 31
Appendix 2: Belbin team roles results 32
Appendix 3: Customer interviews 33
Appendix 4: Financial Projections 66
2
,Executive Summary
Worldwide micronutrient deficiency, also known as hidden hunger, forms a major problem. More
than two billion people suffer from it globally, which creates the need for action (Ritchie, 2017). This
has led to the emergence of the Dutch start-up Vitalins. With an estimation of 45% of children under
five dealing with malnutrition, Vitalins considers preschool-aged children as its target group (WHO,
2019). This start-up aims to make a difference by combining two existing components into one:
drone delivery and vitamin supplements. With this combination, Vitalins wants to reduce the
alarmingly high hidden hunger indexes among preschool-aged children in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries (LMICs), with Mali as a starting point.
This start-up will operate by providing vitamin packages to aid organisations, whereby
vitamins will be delivered to the target group from local storage facilities. This will be done through
children’s villages that are trusted by the end-customer in a convenient, environmentally friendly and
time-efficient manner (SOS children’s villages, n.d.). By using a fixed down payment and a success fee
Vitalins focuses on maximising revenues rather than profit. Based on the financial projections, this
start-up will be profitable and has opportunities to dominate the market. After successfully serving
the initial beachhead market, Vitalins can expand to other LMICs and target groups for a broad,
humanitarian impact.
3
, Company and Product Description
Problem
It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that more than two billion people suffer
from micronutrient deficiency worldwide (Ritchie, 2017). Specifically, preschool-aged children in Low-
and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), like Mali, are dealing with alarmingly high hidden hunger
indexes, whereby “hidden hunger” is a synonym for micronutrient deficiency (Ritchie, 2017).
Among the targeted group, vitamin A-deficiency is one of the most common forms (Emerald
publishing, 2006). Schémann et al. (2002) discovered that 4.3% of the 1.510 preschool-aged children
investigated in Mali did not eat any vitamin A-rich food. This affects childhood survival, educational
achievement and overall resistance to illness (Emerald publishing, 2006). For vitamin A-deficiency
alone, over 127 million preschool-aged children suffer from an affected growth, development, vision
and immune system (Emerald publishing, 2006). It is acknowledged that vitamin A-supplementation
for children could save 145.000 lives per year (Kraemer, 2014).
To break the cycle of micronutrient deficiency, action can best be undertaken during the
pregnancy and within the first 1.000 days after a child is born (Bailey et al., 2015). Unfortunately,
LMICs often lack access to critical medicines, because public health facilities are far away and have a
limited stock (Pheage, 2016). This raises the problem of health inequity, as not everyone has the
opportunity to attain their full health potential (CDC, 2020). This suggests the need to focus health
equity development programmes on improving fairness in the allocation of healthcare resources
(Orach & Garimoi, 2009).
Vitalins
The Dutch start-up Vitalins aims to provide all preschool-aged children in Mali with equal access to
vital vitamins, thereby decreasing the hidden hunger index. The focus lies on Mali, because this
country is in the top twenty countries most affected by hidden hunger and has many
difficult-to-reach regions (Muthayya et al., 2013; Francis, 2013).
Central health facilities within Mali are dealing with a lot of pressure, since there is scarcity
of medicines (Streefland, 2005). As the demand for care is much larger than the supply-capacity of
facilities, they deal with an extremely high workload, which affects the quality of care. Vitalins aims
to lower the workload of these facilities, so they can offer better care.
The vitamins will be delivered via drones, so patients have to visit central health facilities less
often and pressure within these facilities is reduced. As a result, more preschool-aged children
suffering from vitamin A-deficiency are treated. The importance of medical drones is already
acknowledged in Uganda, where drones are used by Johnson & Johnson to deliver HIV-drugs. As a
result, over 3.700 people are reached every day (Goad, 2021). Vitalins will receive funding from aid
organisations that experience difficulties with reaching many people at once.
The business idea of Vitalins is not based on new or changed core concepts and components,
because Vitalins will not make changes to the vitamin supplements and the drones that deliver them.
It will only change the way it is used to reach the people in need, creating a new architecture: using
drone delivery to bring vital vitamins to preschool-aged children in Mali and other LMICs. According
to Meeus & Edquist (2006), this can be defined as an architectural innovation.
4
