Industrial Design Portfolio

Duration: 3 weeks

Coconut Done Effortlessly

Cocora rethinks coconut grating for modern Indian kitchens by correcting the ergonomic failures of traditional tools without compromising taste.

Through an adaptive blade system that responds to coconut thickness and hand pressure, Cocora reduces physical strain, prevents shell damage, and stabilizes the scraping process at the source. By eliminating unsafe grips, wrist-heavy motions, and cleanup friction, it enables consistent, fresh coconut preparation for ageing users and time-constrained households alike

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Research

High physical strain on upper body

Discomfort in wrists, forearms, shoulders, upper back and lower back due to repetitive scraping motion and sustained force application.

High physical strain on upper body

Discomfort in wrists, forearms, shoulders, upper back and lower back due to repetitive scraping motion and sustained force application.

Poor posture during use

Floor-mounted and low-height scrapers force users to bend forward for long durations, increasing spinal load and fatigue.

Poor posture during use

Floor-mounted and low-height scrapers force users to bend forward for long durations, increasing spinal load and fatigue.

Loss of grip strength with age

Increased risk of cuts and injury

Unsafe perception of electric graters
Users fear sudden jams, motor jerks, and uncontrolled rotation, leading to anxiety during use.

Time-consuming workflow
Traditional scraping is slow and labor-intensive, making it impractical for busy households.

Cleaning hazards
Users clean blades using cloth-wrapped fingers to avoid cuts, showing unsafe maintenance practices.

High fatigue during daily use
Scraping 1–2 coconuts daily leads to wrist cramps and shoulder soreness, forcing users to take breaks mid-task.

Problem Statement

In South and coastal Indian cuisine, freshly scraped coconut is central. But traditional scrapers (manual blades, floor-mounted units) demand significant upper-body effort, risk slips and cuts, produce mess, and don’t align with compact modern kitchens. For busy homemakers, daily use becomes a chore with posture strain, inefficient workflow, and safety hazards.

While newer manual models attempt improvements (vacuum bases, stainless steel. the problem persists: high physical effort, cleaning overhead, storage issues, and insufficient ergonomic design for ageing or multi-tasking users.

User Persona

M Leela Amma

Name: Leela Amma

Age: 67
Location: Thrissur, Kerala
Role: Homemaker (40+ years managing a joint family kitchen)

“My hands don’t have the same strength, but taste shouldn’t suffer.”

“The old scraper is slippery. One mistake and I’ll cut my fingers.”

“Electric ones feel unsafe. If it jams, I panic.”

“Coconut adds so much flavor but packet coconut never tastes the same.”

Rinesh k

“I want real flavor, but I don’t want to wrestle with heavy tools.”
“If a tool takes too long to clean, I’m not using it.”
“Sustainable is great. if it’s also practical.”
“I miss the taste my mother gets, but I can’t spend an hour grinding anything.”

Cooks weekday meals quickly, blends chutneys in a mixer, skips coconut scraping unless it’s a weekend.
Uses store bought grated coconut when rushed.
Avoids tools that take too much effort or clutter the counter.

Name: Rinesh K

Age: 32
Location: Kollam, Kerala
Role: IT Employee

Ideation

Adjustable blades

This mismatch forces users to bend their wrists unnaturally, tilt the coconut awkwardly, and apply inconsistent pressure across the arc of the shell.

When the coconut surface is too curved for the blade’s geometry, scraping becomes inefficient, slow, and physically demanding. Users compensate by rotating the shell aggressively which increases risk of slipping and injury.

“The blade doesn’t match the coconut’s shape, so scraping is hard and I end up grating the shell.”