During one week of my internship, among my typical duties of writing launch emails and preparing marketing collateral, I was asked by my internship supervisor if I could help her with a project that she’s been currently working on; recurations. At first, I didn’t really understand what she meant by it but after a minute it became abundantly clear. It is what they refer to at TULU as changing the products that they offer if a certain item is not being rented very much or a shop product not being bought. Most of the buildings in Amsterdam had the same product offering from the time when they launched, with most of them that being more than a year ago. We looked at the data and saw that while some products were complete hits such as vacuum cleaners or air mattresses, others were not such as foldable chairs or a picnic blanket. It was the same case for the Shop. Chips and gummy bears were selling really well while instant soup was not. It was a time to change things up. As TULU is growing one of their current key goals is to target a specific demographic as opposed to their having a general approach. This was the case with this initiative, where they were trying to especially change the curation to target students. That is where my input came very handy, since I am both a student and I happen to live in one of the buildings that has a TULU unit, so I am a frequent user as well! To say that I was excited would be an understatement, because this assignment is exactly the reason why I wanted to do an internship at a smaller, but growing company – much bigger impact than just making photocopies and bringing people coffees. I was especially tasked with finding shop products that would sell very well among students. I took this unique opportunity with seriousness. I did research online, asked my friends from the building and other random residents and even the duty managers from the reception about which products they themselves would like to buy or think would be popular among students. If I ignore the top two suggestions – cigarettes and beer, a clear pattern started to appear. People mostly wanted snacks that were either healthier and more filling. Especially the second option hit home for me, because I could recount many times me and my friends studying late into the night and ending very hungry with an empty fridge. The conversation usually goes something along the lines of “I’m starving, let’s get something to eat! What about the vending machine? There’s nothing there.” And then we end up ordering food. I thought this is where TULU could be very useful. If they only offered a something more filling and at a lower price point that food delivery. My recommendations ended up being smoothies, cookies with a filling but also pasta, tomato sauce and canned tuna. I even thought we could do a promotion where users could get a discount if they buy these three last items together since they make for a really nice meal. My supervisor loved the idea and decided to start a pilot with them in a few buildings. Ultimately, most of the recommendations turned out to be hits!