Business Name-For Foodkind Market
4. (seen below)
1. Opportunity-
Who has the need-
·
people who live in a small family
·
people who live by themselves
·
people who constantly travel/rarely at home
·
people who like to cook/try new recipes
·
environmentally conscious consumers
·
people who are aware of their dietary
needs/how much they eat
Nature of the need- To be able to
purchase foods at the exact quantities you need to reduce food waste and tailor
how much you eat/can buy for your lifestyle, which leaves room for trying new
foods or learning more about your food needs.
·
What
are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?
o
People
are settling for the large packaged foods in normal grocery stores and end up
throwing away the food they do not finish which significantly increases food
waste over time.
·
How
is this market defined?
o
Geographically-
people in suburban or even city areas in more wealthy areas.
o
Demographically-
any race; likely people in their 20’s and up to their 50’s (really anyone who
wants to grocery shop), in the upper middle, environmentally
conscious.
·
How
are customers currently satisfying this need?
And how loyal are they to whatever they use now?
o
They
are currently satisfying their need by going to many other grocery stores such
as Publix, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, etc.
o
Many
people are very loyal to certain stores because they know they can depend on it
for their certain foods/expectations. People have often developed a routine for
the places they buy groceries from.
·
How
big is this opportunity?
o
The
opportunity is very niche and not very big because I am targeting people who
already have grocery shopping routines.
·
How
long will the “window of opportunity” be open?
o
I
would have to begin the venture soon or when the concern for environmental impact
is at its peak. If I go for the opportunity when people start not to care
because it is too late or when the “craze” of eating healthy is gone, my
venture will likely not be as successful.
Innovation-
I am selling the customizable grocery shopping experience. Each
product will be priced by weight and people can purchase specific quantities of
the food they desire. It will be very similar to when you pick apples at the
store/in the produce section. You can choose how much of it you want and will
be charged by weight or by the number you buy. However, I will take this
concept and apply it to the entire store, which means rice, grains, sauces,
seasonings, spices, meats, produce, anything that is at a normal grocery store.
For example, rice will be $1.00/pound (and people can scoop now much they want
into a paper bag), bread will be $1.00/loaf or $0.10/slice (which will be
sliced fresh and wrapped for the customer). Obviously grocery stores sell a
wide variety of products but you get the general idea of how pricing will work
for my concept. I would likely take on the same approach as Publix or Trader
Joe’s where there are products specific to the store, but it will focus more on
breadth than depth.
Venture concept-
·
What
are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? How hard will it be to get them to
switch?
o To control more of what they buy,
how much of it and give them the ability to tailor it. There may be an
adjustment period to break their habits of buying foods prepackaged in large quantities
and having them think more about how much they need of each individual food.
·
Who
are the competitors? What are their
possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?
o
Any
other large grocery store; they do not give offer great customer service and
wide variety and quality foods or they don’t give customers room for
customization.
· What role does
packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer
experience or the business location play in defining your business concept?
o
Prices
will have to be high since we are targeting a the upper middle class and that
in itself communicates value of the products we sell but it must also not be ridiculously
expensive. We will not have packaging so the store layout and visual aspects
must be very appealing to make up for the lack of packaged products. We will have
to pay extra attention to customer experience because we are capitalizing on building
great relationships while also communicating that you are not only getting great
quality foods but also great service to match.
***NEW- Based on feedback, a classmate told me to include products that target middle to lower class customers to make everyone included. That will only increase the breadth of products we have and increase our customer base.
· How would you
organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product,
service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?
o
First
a small store in a prime location with a core team of 15 employees help our
customers, stock shelves, and handle the behind the scenes work and 8 people
working the cash registers, but everyone will eventually rotate. There will be
many other roles listed below but about 50-60 people in all.
o
Roles:
customer service, people who stock shelves, people to bake bread/pastries, butchers,
managers, people to work cash registers
***NEW- eventually the store will grow and expand to new locations, but we would have to shift to fit the look of mainstream grocers such as Whole Foods or Fresh Market because I plan on selling my venture to larger grocers as my exit strategy.
Minor elements-
1.
Most
important resource- Great customer service with customizable shopping
experience.
2.
What’s
next for the venture- offering customized grocery delivery service based on each
customer’s grocery habits (we track how much they tend to buy of everything, recommend
things to them, deliver it to their door)
3.
What’s
next for you-first one store front, then within 5 years possibly open more
store fronts throughout Florida. In 10 years, I would want to use my venture
as a means to end hunger by donating the store’s leftover food, not fit for
sale but fit for human consumption, to homeless shelters and cafeterias that
feed children in disadvantaged communities.
2. From the comments I read, my classmates thought my venture concept was detailed and a great idea. For the most part, everyone did think it was best for me to keep it targeted towards upper middle class. One classmate noted how I should expand my venture by not only targeting upper middle class, but also middle class to capture a wider market. I was hesitant about it at first and did not know whether or not it should be niche, however once a classmate pointed out her thoughts, it reaffirmed my feelings of how my venture can include middle class. That being said, when you buy in bulk, it's actually easier to save money because you have more control. Therefore, you can be from middle or upper class and still buy the products.
3. After reflecting on my What's Next post, I included how my venture will, in a sense, have to conform to other grocers over time because of my intention to sell my venture when I exit. The transition will be easier if we make slow progress over time rather than waiting until I want to exit. I also included how there will be a wider selection due to the products included for lower middle class as discussed above.
