Introducing Paper Towels: A Feasibility Studyianandrewkarcher.weebly.com/uploads/.../feasibility... · Introducing Paper Towels: A Feasibility Study Feasibility Study 13 Conclusion

Introducing Paper Towels: A Feasibility Study

Shelbie Henry, Angela Beebe, Dylan Bellows, Ian Karcher


Feasibility Study 3

Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Criteria and Testing Methods ....................................................................................................................... 5

Test 1: Area per Sheet ................................................................................................................................... 7

Test 2: Cost per Sheet ................................................................................................................................... 9

Test 3: Absorbency ...................................................................................................................................... 11

Test 4: Strength ........................................................................................................................................... 12

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Test 2 Area per Sheet .............................................................................................................................. 13

Test 1 Cost per Sheet .............................................................................................................................. 13

Test 3 Absorbency ................................................................................................................................... 13

Test 4 Strength ........................................................................................................................................ 13

Recommendation ........................................................................................................................................ 15


Feasibility Study 5

Introduction College students with a budget must make many purchases. They often make purchases

based on what is the cheapest or they buy what they always have. The “usual” option might

not be the best option and the cheapest option may be low in quality. The best value

encompasses not only price, but also product performance and volume.

We thought that since individuals purchase paper towels more frequently than reusable

paper towels, we would evaluate four prominent paper towel brands based on four criteria

to find the brand that would provide the highest quality for the lowest price. We chose four

brands of paper towels to test.

Viva

This brand is newer to the market and is one of the top name brands out today. Has

been on the market for less than a decade

Bounty

Probably the most frequently advertised paper towel brand. Has been on the market

for over a decade

Great Value (Wal-Mart Generic)

This is Wal-Mart’s store brand. Has been on the market for over a decade and is the

only store brand in the sample

Brawny

Probably the next most frequently advertised paper towel brand after Bounty. Has

been on the market for over a decade

Criteria and Testing Methods We evaluated the paper towels based on four criteria:

Cost per sheet: Divide the total price of the roll by the number of sheets in

the roll. Highest cost per sheet receives a score of 1 and lowest cost per sheet

receives a score of 4.

Strength: Place wet marbles on a suspended paper towel until it tears. The

roll that can hold the least marbles receives a score of 1 and the roll that can

hold the most marbles receives a 4.


Feasibility Study 6

Absorbency: Pour ¼ cup of water on to paper towel. The brand that drips the

most water receives a score of 1 and the sheet that drips the least amount of

water receives a 4.

Area per sheet: Measure the dimensions of one sheet. The sheet that has the

smallest area receives a 1 and the sheet with the largest area receives a 4.

Each test is based on a scale of 1- 4 points with 4 being the highest. Each brand can receive

a total 16 points. We hypothesized that the best brand of paper towels would have the

highest amount of points.


Feasibility Study 7

Test 1: Area per Sheet The purpose of measuring the sheets is to discover which sheet has the greatest area.

Paper Towel Brand Length/Width

Bounty 11 in ×10.4 in

Brawny 11 In × 10.4

Great Value 11 in ×12 in

Viva 11 in ×10.4 in

Bounty, Brawny, and Viva received an equal score of 3.Great Value received a score of 4 because it had

the greatest area.


Feasibility Study 9

Test 2: Cost per Sheet We agreed that measuring cost per sheet would analyze price better than cost per roll of

paper towel. To find the cost per sheet, we divided the total price of the roll by the number

of sheets in the roll

Based on the Results we found Great Value paper towels to be least expensive.

Paper Towel

Brand Price # of Sheets

Cost per

Sheet

Bounty(2) $1.99 ÷ 64 = $0.03

Brawny(1) $1.50 ÷ 46 = $0.03

Great

Value(4) $1.49 ÷ 61 = $0.02

Viva(3) $1.97 ÷ 68 = $0.03

When measured based on the information on the Bounty package, we divided the price of

the Bounty Roll ($1.92) by 64 sheets. After this calculation, our cost per sheet equals $0.03.

When measured based on the information on the Brawny package, we divided the price of

the Brawny Roll ($1.38) by 46 sheets. After this calculation, our cost per sheet equals $0.03.

When measured based on the information on the Great Value package, we divided the price

of The Great Value Roll ($1.22) by 61 sheets. After this calculation, our cost per sheet

equals $0.02.

When Measured based on the information on the Viva package, we divided the price of the

Viva Roll (2.04) by 68 sheets. After this calculation, our cost per sheet equals $0.03.

Based on these results, Great Value is the best option for the cost per sheet criteria.


Feasibility Study 11

Test 3: Absorbency We decided to test absorbency because it is an important factor on how many paper towels you will

have to use when cleaning up spills. Paper Towel results were measured 1-4, 4 being the best.

Absorbency Test

1. Lay a folded a single sheet of paper towel on a table

2. Measure out ¼ cup of water

3. Pour ¼ cup of water onto paper towel

4. If possible lift paper towel to see if any water drips out

Brawny: (1) Brawny received a score of 1on the absorbency test. The water rolled right of the

paper towel soaking very little water.

Bounty: (2) Bounty received a score of 2 on the absorbency test because the water didn’t soak in as

well as Viva or Great Value. The water did not roll right off like Brawny but when we picked up the

paper towel a lot of water dripped out. The paper towel also left a puddle on the table showing the

paper towel did not absorb much water and instead the water fell through.

Great Value: (3) Great Value scored higher than Bounty and Brawny because it did a better job at

absorbing the water. The sheet absorbed most of the water and did not leave as much residual

water on the surface.

Viva: (4) Viva was amazing in the absorbency test, Viva left barley in water on the table and did not

drip any drops when it was lifted to check the test.



Test 4: Strength

For test 4 we used wet marbles to determine strength. Strength is an important factor in terms of how

well the paper towels are because the more strength it has the less the chance it will tear apart while

using it.

Strength Test

1. Fill a cup half way with marbles and then fill past the top of the marbles to moisten them

2. Have a partner hold the paper towel with a hand on each side completely opening it

3. Place the marbles one by one on top of the towel

4. When the towel rips, count all the marbles that you used

Bounty: (4) In terms of ranking Bounty made a 4, the highest score, withstanding 165 marbles.

Viva: (3) Viva scored a 3, withstanding 130 marbles before finally tearing.

Brawny: (2) Brawny received a score of 2, only withstanding 115 marbles before ripping.

Great Value: (1) Great Value achieved a score of just 1, only withstanding 56 marbles before ripping.



Conclusion Our test were based on four criteria’s cost per sheet, length per sheet, absorbency, and

strength, for each criteria a brand of paper towels could score a 1-4, with 4 as the highest

score and 1 as the lowest in each criteria. The paper towel brand could score an overall

grade of 16.

Test 2 Area per Sheet

In this test every paper towel brand except Great Value had the exact same area of sheet, so

we gave all other brand other than Great Value a score of 3 and Great Value received a

score of 4.

Bounty, Brawny, Viva: (3) 11 In × 10.4 In each sheet.

Great Value: (4) 11 In × 12 In each sheet.

Test 1 Cost per Sheet

Brawny: (1) Brawny scored a 1 in the cost per sheet test, each sheet averaged .03 cents but

Brawny only came with 46 sheets, 36.5 Sq. ft. per roll.

Bounty: (2) Bounty scored a 2 in the cost per sheet test, each sheet averaged .03 cents but

Bounty came with 64 sheets, 50.8 Sq. ft. per roll.

Viva: (3) Viva scored a 3 in the cost per sheet test, each sheet averaged .03 cents but Viva

came with 68 sheets, 54.1 Sq. ft. per roll.

Great Value: (4) Great Value scored the highest score in the cost per sheet test, each sheet

averaged .02 cents but Great Value came with 61 sheets, 55.45 Sq ft per roll.

Test 3 Absorbency

Brawny: (1) Brawny scored a 1 on the absorbency test.

Bounty: (2) Bounty scored a 2 on the absorbency test.

Great Value: (3) Great Value scored a 3 on the absorbency test

Viva: (4) Viva scored a 4 on the absorbency test.

Test 4 Strength

Great Value: (1) Great Value scored a 1 on the strength test; the paper towel was able to

hold 56 wet marbles before ripping. Great Value did horrible on the strength test compared

to the other brands it lost by greater than 50 marbles.



Brawny: (2) Brawny scored a 2 on the strength test; the paper towel was able to hold 115

wet marbles before ripping.

Viva: (3) Viva scored a 3 on the strength test; the paper towel was able to hold 130 wet

marbles before ripping.

Bounty: (4) Bounty scored a 4 on the strength test; the paper towel was able to hold 165

marbles before ripping.

Overall Test Scores

Brawny: 7/16

Bounty: 11/16

Great Value: 12/16

Viva: 13/16

Viva scored the highest overall score, scoring 13 points out of a possible 16.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Bounty Brawny Great Value Viva

Number of Points for Each Brand

Number of Points for Each Brand



Recommendation Based on our results the best brand of paper towels is Viva. Viva received 13 out of the 16

possible points. We recommend college students use Viva paper towels because it is the

strongest and most useful for its price.

Documents

Introducing Paper Towels: A Feasibility Studyianandrewkarcher.weebly.com/uploads/.../feasibility... · Introducing Paper Towels: A Feasibility Study Feasibility Study 13 Conclusion