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From insight to impact: How Market Research shaped the development of EuthaSafe

 

Healthtech innovation is often viewed as a technology challenge. However, the most critical question isn’t just whether a product can be built; it’s whether it will address a real-world problem.

 

I led a market research project in collaboration with Engineering the Blue Limited and the Royal Veterinary College to explore how veterinary professionals manage controlled drugs while working off-site.

 

The results of this market research directly informed the development of EuthaSafe—a healthtech solution designed to improve the safe storage, transport, and handling of controlled drugs in the field. This project exemplifies how evidence-led insights can shape product design, accelerate iteration, and strengthen investment readiness to address real human problems.

 

The Challenge: A complex, under-explored, and under-funded systemic problem in the veterinary profession

 

Veterinary professionals often work in unpredictable, high-pressure environments, ranging from home visits to emergency call-outs.

 

Managing controlled drugs in these settings presents a unique set of challenges:

 

- Regulatory compliance

- Personal safety

- Secure storage and transport

- Emotional and psychological strain

 

Despite these challenges, the problem remains relatively under-researched, leading to a significant risk: tech solutions being developed based on assumptions rather than real-world needs.

 

The Approach: Small, specific sample size for deeper Insights

 

This project prioritised depth, context, and consistency of insights through a mixed-method approach that included:

 

- Structured surveys sent to UK veterinary practices

- In-depth, in-person qualitative interviews

- Engagements at tradeshows and focus groups

 

We intentionally focused our sample on experienced veterinary professionals who regularly handle controlled drugs in off-site environments. This allowed us to delve beyond surface-level feedback and uncover behaviours, workarounds, and emotional drivers often missed in larger datasets.

 

Key Findings

 

1. Most respondents reported using improvised or inconsistent storage solutions. This was driven not by negligence, but by time constraints, practicalities, and a lack of suitable alternatives.

   

2. Existing approaches often introduce friction, making it difficult to transport materials, disrupting workflows, and increasing cognitive load during already demanding situations.

 

3. While regulatory requirements are important, veterinarians consistently expressed concerns about personal risk, theft or misuse of drugs, and accountability when working alone. In this context, safety encompasses both physical and psychological aspects.

 

4. Wellbeing is closely linked to system design. Handling controlled drugs—particularly in emotionally charged situations—can lead to stress and anxiety. Poor systems exacerbate these issues. A better-designed project can actively reduce this human risk.

 

5. The most important product characteristics identified were:

 

   - Ease of use

   - Seamless integration into existing workflows

   - Visible and reliable safeguarding

 

From insight to product development: how research shaped EuthaSafe

 

Product Iteration

Insight-led decisions helped streamline unnecessary complexity, focusing on:

 

- Secure, tamper-resistant storage

- Practicality in real-world environments

- Reducing cognitive load for the user

 

Product development was influenced by testing in real-life situations rather than in isolation, incorporating real handling scenarios and usability feedback from practitioners while considering environmental and situational constraints. This ensured the solution was effective in practice, not just in theory.

 

The commercial impact: Supporting investment readiness

 

One of the often-overlooked benefits of thorough market research is its role in securing investment. This project contributed to:

 

- A clearer articulation of the problem and its scale

- Evidence of real user needs and behavioural validation

- Reduced product-market fit risk

- A stronger, insight-backed narrative for stakeholders and funders

 

For early-stage healthtech startups, this distinction can be the difference between having an interesting idea and presenting an investable proposition.

 

Why this matters for healthtech founders

 

Research is frequently seen as a “nice to have,” merely a means to validate an idea after it has been developed. However, the most effective teams utilise research to:

 

- Identify blind spots early

- Determine what not to build

- Iterate more rapidly and with greater confidence

- Align product design with real-world behaviour

 

In complex, regulated environments, this isn’t just good practice—it’s essential.

 

Final Thought

 

The success of a healthtech product doesn’t begin with technology; it starts with understanding the people using it and the context in which they operate, including their environments, pressures, and daily decision-making processes. 

 

If you’re building a healthtech product and want to ensure your decisions are grounded in real-world insights, I would be happy to start a conversation.