Noho
Defining a contemporary, direct-to-consumer brand and market entry strategy for an innovative furniture business to succeed in North America.
Project Information
Client Formway
Industry Consumer Products, Furniture & Spatial Form
Services Design Research & Customer Insight, User Experience Service Design
Key Outcomes
Created a market entry strategy for the Noho Move Chair in North America.
Carried out in-depth customer insight research.
Tested a series of brand concepts.
Validated Product-Market Fit.
Overview
Formway, a design-led furniture company, recognized that there was an unmet need for a dining chair that would move and fit to the sitter's body, similar to how many people use ergonomic office chairs. Today's dining rooms are more than just a place to eat. In many homes, they have become the heart or social hub where everything happens.
After Formway identified this white space and developed an innovative new chair, they realized that their insights potentially represented a new business model for the company. Formway approached us to help them validate the market and create a new direct-to-consumer brand, which would win big in North America.
Frame
This project set out to understand active, savvy, online customers in North America with respect to building a direct-to-consumer brand (signalling Formway's first steps to build a channel outside of commercial seating).
The team wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the potential customer demographics, ethnicity, life stage, lifestyle, and purchasing journey of their customers. They also wanted to understand the specific influences on user context and behaviors associated with home seating. This learning would be used to inform the development, positioning, and value proposition for a brand created around Formway’s new chair.
Our Approach
This process involved using consumer ethnography in a real-time study, designed to test rapidly-forming propositions and research hypotheses. 859 potential customers were involved in the project, with 54 taking us inside their homes for a more in-depth analysis.
This project focused on the context of how people use furniture to define their home style. Specifically, we explored the choices people make when selecting tables, chairs, and other furniture items, including the reasons behind their decisions. We considered factors such as what influenced them at the time of purchase, what they like or dislike about their current furniture, and what might prompt them to buy new items.
In Part 2 of the project, we asked participants to go shopping for furniture so that we could observe their decision-making process firsthand. We aimed to understand where they choose to shop, what motivates them to make a purchase, and what factors may influence their buying decisions.
Part 3 focused on testing. Several ideas and rapid prototype propositions were shared, and feedback was given. We learned first-hand about initial impressions, feelings towards different ideas, and brand concepts - all with the goal of understanding if the core selling proposition of Formway's new chair design was translating (we call this product-market fit).
We learned that people's propensity to purchase new furniture was heavily associated with upgrading, restyling, renovating, or moving homes. We also learned that the most important attributes sought are how well the furniture fits within their home style, including comfort, price, and function.
As new brand names and concepts were being created, these were shared openly with customers to test them, just like how product prototypes get tested. These studies showed that 51% of people were comfortable buying online without first sitting in it (confirming a relatively high propensity to purchase online) and identified key value points in the market.
Market testing showed that 66% of people suggested the Formway chair ‘would fit with their home style’. Vital customer feedback helped inform positioning, ultimate naming, and brand strategy - as well as how best to introduce and communicate. The notion of “kind fit with your body and the planet” was a strong theme that ultimately inspired the genesis of the Noho name. Uniquely, "Noho" in Maori means "to sit." In North America, this four-letter word configuration captures many peoples' associations towards the art and culture embodied in American words like SoHo, MoMa, and NoHo - trendy neighborhoods where creativity meets chic in New York City, with famous 19th-century architectural features.
In Part 4 of the project, customers were asked to share how they would describe the chair to a friend. The chair itself generated a range of interesting comments such as “modern, dynamic, thoughtful" and "the chair almost has its own movement, like a Frank Gehry building.” Another strong trigger for value association.
From a brand development point of view, everyone liked focusing on the idea of movement, suggesting that this was what was super unique and innovative about the new Formway chair. Everyone wanted to see more storytelling around these points. This was important because many customers raised the role chairs play in their home, saying they become very emotional pieces. From birthday parties and celebrations, to hilarious conversations around the dining room table - profound memories are created around the table and the chair is part of those memories.
Brand Territory 2Brand Territory 1Brand Territory 3Outcome
The research validated the original hypothesis to be largely true. The underlying product features and benefits of the new Formway chair proved to be engaging and compelling to the design literate, house-proud professionals.
This design journey provided sufficient insight and confidence for Formway to push ahead and launch in North America, building value in a direct-to-consumer business. The work helped lay the foundation for the brand, market entry, and key points for positioning. The Noho Move chair was launched in 2021 and went on to win the prestigious Best of NeoCon Gold and Sustainability Awards.
A chair for the most dynamic place in the home.
80% of what we do at the dining table isn’t dining.
Noho Move is the world's first dining chair that responds to your movements as you lean forward to engage in conversation or recline to relax and think. It is the most comfortable chair you can bring to the table.
“Virtuo is extremely capable and brought a great mix of design and consumer insight, commercialism and client focus to the project. They delivered beyond our expectations and we would definitely engage again on similar projects.”
