Why even create a game about reducing sugar intake?
The intake of sugar products has increased massively over the years and it seems like it is everywhere!
You can find sugar in obvious foods like chocolate but it's also readily found in the "healthy granola bar" that everyone loves. Foods like yogurt, beans, ketchup, and breakfast cereals also contain surprisingly high levels of sugar and are not as healthy for us as we may think. We tend to consume 3 times of the amount of sugar that is recommended by nutritionists. This leads, as shown in the graphic below, to an increase in people with obesity or even worse that suffer from a disease such as diabetes.
The root cause of the problem lies in our food industry and in our eating behavior. In its natural state sugar is a relatively harmless carbohydrate that our bodies need to function. Sugar is found in fruit, vegetables, and dairy, however, the problem comes when sugar is added to foods during processing for added flavor or texture. This is more common than most people may realize, people, seem to think that avoiding the confectionery aisle means they are reducing their sugar intake but that's not always the case. Young people especially aren't aware of this.
But what if we can change the way we look at food? What if we can teach the youngest people in our lives how to make smart and healthy choices? If we can change their behavior in a fun way so that they are incentivized to make a healthy decision, we can make the first steps towards becoming a healthier society.
Due to a rapid increase in Sugar Intake!
Who did we create the game for?
As sugar intake effects people of all ages, we decided as a group that an effective way of resolving this problem is to target a younger audience and teach them healthy and beneficial habits from an early age.
To truly tackle the problem of sugar intake and to make a sustainable impact, we have to start with the youngest of us. We want to reach out to kids in the age of 4-14.
It doesn't matter what gender they are or where they are from. We just want them to have fun and while doing so learn something.
We believe that by changing the behavior of young people we can also have an impact on parents and family choice on what goes into the shopping trolley on the next shopping trip.
Our group believes reducing sugar intake will not only have a beneficial effect on our bodies but also our mental well-being. Teaching children about the importance of healthy eating will encourage them to enjoy eating healthier foods, thereby reducing the likelihood of diabetes and obesity among children.
Kangoo is designed for children, yet we want to take it a step further.
We want to approach supermarkets and grocery shops, such as Tesco, Lidl, and Aldi.
If supermarkets hosted Kangoo on their website, they can increase their number of customers. Children grow up using their mobile phones and are familiar with the usage of the internet. That's why having a strong digital marketing presence has become a key factor of business today.
Including Kangoo on their websites can be a strategic marketing method to be outstanding from the other stores. Partnering up with a supermarket will benefit both stakeholders. After achieving the final certification following the completion of each level in the game, the grocery stores can also offer a discounts on healthy food products or even an in-store voucher to spend on healthy food items. Kangoo can include foods that are offered exclusively at the various supermarkets, allowing the player to feel more connected to the brand.
This will get customers into the store and educate children on a healthy and sugar reduced diet.
What is the game going to look like?
Simple and fun.
These are the guideline and benchmark we set for our game.
The main character, Kangoo, is on a mission to hop home to Australia. To get there he will have to do five hops. To complete a hop the player has to help Kangoo to make the right decision what food to eat or what beverage to consume.
The simple and self-explaining control makes sure that the player doesn’t get frustrated and enjoys playing the game. By clicking the buttons the player is able to navigate through the different hops.
A hop consists of several questions about healthy lifestyle choices and reducing sugar intake in their everyday diet.
The first hops are easier. With each hop, the questions will progressively become more advanced and provide a deeper insight into the topic. We want to keep it challenging but not too complex.
The choices are explained in a very simple and child-friendly way.
For every question, the game provides help. By clicking the “Help me” button the player will get a description of the composition of the different foods that are shown.
The information presented to the player focuses on giving simple and easily understandable knowledge about different foods or beverages. The positive and negative facts are marked with the correlating color.
Completing every hop, the player will get to print out his own healthy eating certificate to call himself a “Sugar Reducer”. The Certificate will have the paw of Kangoo as a signature. Depending on the partners collaborating with us, the rewards can also include discounts and even vouchers and stated earlier.