Butter Bots and the Trap of Shallow Innovation
- Peter Thomas
- May 23
- 3 min read
What Rick & Morty teaches us about Jobs To Be Done
Product innovators worldwide are versed in using the JTBD (Jobs To Be Done) framework to understand the motivations and goals of customers when they use a product or service. The framework helps shift the focus of product innovation from a feature-led conversation to one centered around the specific problems and outcomes customers are trying to address when they “hire” a product.
It’s not about what a product is.
It’s about what the product does.
More importantly...why.
The JTBD framework transforms the innovation conversation from tangible specs to emotional needs. It forces us to ask:
What job is this product really being hired to do—and is it worth doing?
We were deep into a JTBD workshop with a client when one of my favorite Rick & Morty moments came flooding back, an uncomfortable, brilliant parody of shallow product design.
Let me introduce you to the Butter Robot.
“What is my purpose?”
The Butter Robot Scene : Season 1, Episode 9
Rick sits at the table, eating breakfast. He casually builds a tiny robot. The robot springs to life and asks:
“What is my purpose?”
“You pass butter,” Rick replies.
The robot looks down at its metallic hands.
“...Oh my God.”
Rick shrugs. “Yeah. Welcome to the club, pal.”
That’s it.
That’s the entire arc of the Butter Robot.
A hyper-efficient, ultra-focused machine engineered to complete a single task: pass the butter.
Perfect execution.
Zero meaning.
Existential despair.
The Innovation Trap: Functional Clarity vs. Human Relevance
The Butter Robot is the perfect metaphor for a product that nails the functional job...but fails the emotional and social ones.
It works flawlessly.
It solves the problem.
It’s also utterly useless to the person using it, and soul-crushing to the one building it.
This is what happens when you stop at the surface job.
When you build a feature to solve a task, but ignore the human dimension behind the hire.
Real-World Butter Bot: Juicero
“What is my purpose?”
“You squeeze juice from a pouch.”
“...Oh my God.”
Juicero wasn’t a juicer.
It was a $400 Wi-Fi-connected machine designed to squeeze juice out of proprietary pre-filled packets.
That’s it.
No blending. No pressing. No actual juicing.
The packs? Already filled with cold-pressed juice.
The device? Just an overengineered hand substitute.
When Bloomberg reporters exposed that you could get the exact same result by simply squeezing the pouch with your hands, Juicero didn’t just become irrelevant, it became iconic.
It passed the butter.
But no one asked for butter.
And everyone had hands.
Juicero is the ultimate Butter Robot.
Flawless at a task no one needed done.
Technically impressive.
Emotionally pointless.
It worked.
It just shouldn’t have existed.
The Real JTBD Test:
“Is your product a Butter Robot?”
Ask yourself:
Are we solving a narrow task or enabling a transformation?
Are we helping the customer become a better version of themselves—or just handing them butter?
Are we just automating the “what”... or unlocking a deeper “why”?
True innovation isn’t about performing a function. It’s about making someone’s life meaningfully better.
JTBD Masterclass: Dyson Airwrap
Where Juicero floundered by solving a non-job, Dyson succeeded by identifying a real one, and elevating it.
The Dyson Airwrap doesn’t just style hair.
It transforms routines, identity, and self-confidence.
It was built for:
The functional job: Style your hair with salon-level results
The emotional job: Look polished and feel in control without damage or stress
The social job: Show up looking your best, anywhere
People don’t just say it works.
They say it changed their morning.
They say it made them feel like themselves again.
That’s the difference.
Juicero asked, “How can we make squeezing juice high-tech?”
Dyson asked, “How can we help people feel beautiful, safe, and powerful in their own skin?”
Co-Create With Purpose
At Haruna Co-Create, we don’t build Butter Robots.
We help partners dig deeper, beyond the surface task, into the hidden emotional and social jobs driving real behavior. Whether it’s a new beverage platform, a better in-store experience, or a breakthrough product format, we begin by asking the question that matters most:
“What is this really for?”
Because the most powerful products aren’t the ones that perform a task.
They’re the ones that transform the user.
Don’t ship a Butter Robot.
Solve a job worth doing.
Peter Thomas
Chief Innovation Officer
Haruna Group
Haruna Co-Create
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