CMF Exploration

redesigning a cereal dispenser, and catering to various market trends and consumer preferences.

Product Design
CMF

Offering appropriate CMF variations of a cereal dispenser based on popular modern kitchen and kitchenware aesthetics.

01 · Case study

How OXO prices its products

OXO offers a 3-piece bundle of kitchen spoons, ladles and spatulas in four materials: nylon, wood, stainless steel (4 pieces) and silicone. Its utensil sets are priced more on the material they’re made from than on the quantity, and the difference in material cost rises in step with the difference in price.

Its cereal dispensers work the other way. Price rises with volume, while every dispenser uses the same materials, plastic and silicone, and comes in one colour: white.

So a company like Honey-can-do could target people willing to pay a price competitive with OXO’s, for a product with aesthetics tailored to their own preferences and liking.

Product: Cereal dispenser
Brand: Honey-can-do
Disciplines: CMF, Market Research

OXO 3-piece utensil sets

$20

Nylon

$17

Wooden

$53

Stainless steel

$30

Silicone

Price ($)
Material cost ($/kg)
Quantity (pcs)

OXO cereal dispensers

$20

Small

$23

Medium

$26

Large

$51

Countertop

Price ($)
Material cost ($/kg)
Volume (qts)

Material costs are approximate. All information retrieved from OXO.com

02 · Existing product

The Zevro dry food dispenser

Honey-can-do’s Zevro dispenser, recreated in SolidWorks and broken down into its five parts. Hover a part to find it.

Exploded render of a black dry food dispenser: lid, clear container, rotating stopper, knob and base

PartColourMaterialFinish

1Container lidBlackHigh-density polyethylene (HDPE)Shiny, injection moulded, colour fed

2Storage containerTransparentBPA-free plasticShiny, clear

3Rotating stopperMatte whiteSilicone rubberHeat and stain resistant

4Knob for dispenserSilver metallicPolypropyleneShiny, metallic pigment dyed

5Container baseBlackHigh-density polyethylene (HDPE)Shiny, injection moulded, colour fed

03 · Industry findings

Good, better, best

Dry food dispensers across the market, grouped by price. The materials and finishes in each bracket say a lot about what customers are paying for.

Good
$1–$20
Made almost exclusively from polypropylene, with little to no variety in colour: most come in glossy black or plain white. The lack of accents and the monochrome look, paired with the material choice, suggest these CMF decisions are made to allow a lower price.
- Polypropylene
- Black or white
- No accents
Better
$20–$50
Mostly in this bracket for offering larger serving and storage sizes. Many manufacturers also add wood, an aesthetic step up from the good bracket, but there is still little movement away from black, white and monochrome.
- Polypropylene parts
- Wood as an upgrade
- Price driven by size
Best
$50+
A completely different aesthetic experience: stainless steel, wood, chrome and silver, and more eye-catching accents. The jump from household to industrial products is driven by size, but manufacturers clearly put weight on aesthetics at this price.
- Stainless steel
- HDPE
- Bamboo wood
- Metallic accents

04 · CMF renders

Three tiers, six finishes

A colour, material and finish proposal for each bracket, from everyday plastics to anodised aluminium and copper. Switch tiers and hover the numbers to find each part.

Dispenser in stone black with a grey knob

Dispenser in matte white with a grey knob

1Lid and base
- Stone Black#151515
- Matte White#F5F0F0
Material
HDPE
Finish
Matte, sandblasted coating
2Storage container
- Clear, transparent
Material
BPA-free plastic
Finish
Shiny, transparent
3Knob for dispensing
- Spanish Gray#B0AFAF
Material
Polypropylene
Finish
Matte, sandblasted coating