“Oh rubbish.”
Simplehuman Trashcan Case Study
The best trash can in the world.
Opportunity:
A trashcan is a trashcan. It’s ugly, fills up too quickly, smells like crap, blah blah blah. Simplehuman took a courageous step for mankind and created the trashcan you always dreamed about!
Aha Experience:
My IKEA trashcan was a rectangular bin that held trash. But it stank - both literally and metaphorically.
It was ugly and permanently gross. It smelled progressively worse over time, and cleaning it was a fruitless endeavor. Disassembling the lid to swap out trash bags was a pain.
In short, it was just like every other trashcan in the world.
The Simplehuman trashcan solves all of the above, and it does so elegantly.
First off, it solves the notorious “change out the trash bag” dilemma.
The Simplehuman trashcan has an outer lid that lifts to easily replace the trash bag, and then it closes tightly so the bag doesn’t sink as it fills up. You don’t have to disassemble anything, and the bag doesn’t sink into the depths of the can, so it’s a no-fuss bag-changing process.
Simplehuman geniusly sells trash bags that are fitted perfectly for each of their cans. Simply order the appropriate trash bag (their website makes this stupidproof with a S, M, L system) so you never have to mess with bags that are too big or small or weak again!
But the best part is the bag refill system. That’s because there is a trash bag dispenser inside the trashcan! When you buy Simplehuman’s fitted trash bags, they come in refill packs that you just drop into the built-in dispenser. Voila!
From now on, a single bag dispenses one at a time from the slot like a kleenex. And when you’re down to your last few bags, a tag sticks out from the dispenser with a friendly reminder to reload so that you’re not stuck bagless!
The cans are diverse and modular, too. Simplehuman sells a variety of sizes and configurations for every kitchen situation. For example, the “compost caddy” clips onto any of their trashcans and turns it into an all-in-one eco solution. They also sell nice-looking, magnetic stickers to label your multiple bins with recycling, trash, and compost.
Aesthetically, the can is sleek yet doesn’t steal your attention; it fits in neatly with the other kitchen decorations my wife implemented. Plus it doesn’t smudge, thanks to the brushed stainless steel surface which is apparently germ- and smudge-resistant.
And of course the cans are built to last. Simplehuman offers a 10-year warranty, as well as a 45-day risk-free return policy as a testament to the can’s quality and the company’s service.
Simplehuman developed the Brad Pitt of trashcans. It’s ranked #1 by New York Times, HGTV, and tens of thousands of Amazon customers. It’s even the trashcan that NYT uses in their test kitchen! Now they’ve steadily expanded their product line to build niche leadership and become the de facto leader in several home product categories.
Garrett’s Takeaways:
Begin with the question “What sucks?” This is the advice Marc Randolph (co-founder of Netflix) told me to find opportunities to innovate. Simplehuman beat out their undifferentiated competition by acting on this question enough times.
Attack one problem at a time. Simplehuman began improving one trashcan with one core feature - the fitted trashbag system. Then they added the next most important feature to that trashcan. Soon they added new trashcans. Now they’re the market leader across many different products! Build with focus.