Assignment 11A- Idea Napkin No. 1

1.      You

My name is Bichgiang (bit-young) Nguyen, I have a strong passion for volunteerism and giving back on an international and community level. My skills are organization, leadership, fundraising and customer service as seen in my previous experience as a StateFarm intern and in my current president position in Shoes for Smiles, an organization that works to raise funds and collect shoes for the homeless/children in under-served communities. My aspirations are to work in Corporate Social Responsibility, likely in a large grocery store (e.g Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Target) to reduce food waste or to maximize their community/environmental efforts.

If I were to start this business, I think it would fit perfectly into my aspirations because the framework of my business is to reduce food waste and make consumers more aware. By increasing awareness of what people buy, there is less food waste, therefore less food will be sitting in landfills, emitting greenhouse gasses (which are harmful to our environment).

2.      What are you offering to customers?

We are offering customization of the grocery shopping experience, for consumers to have a better understanding of their diet, their food needs and how to enjoy cooking and grocery shopping again. Food is more than something you eat to satiate hunger, it can be an experience, an opportunity to try new things and we can offer that to consumers while allowing them to control the portions they want for the lifestyle they have.

3.     Who are you offering it to?

 We are offering our service/products to males and females of any race, 18+ years of age, $20,000+ income, who care about environmental efforts and are open to trying new things. They can live up to 10 miles outside of our urban store location.

4.      Why do they care?

The frustration people feel when they buy a loaf of bread, just to only eat a couple of slices and throw out the rest of the loaf- that is the frustration we want to minimize for customers. Gone are the days you go to grocery stores and see something that catches your eye, but you cannot bring yourself to purchase the entire package (in fear you will not like it). Customers also care because they can feel good, knowing the more they custom fit their food needs to the food they buy, the less food will be rotting in a landfill and the less harm they are doing on the planet.

5.     What are your core competencies?

 We offer customization as if you were going to a candy store, combining unique products like Trader Joes, Whole Foods quality, ready meals like Publix and grocery delivery.

I believe these 5 elements fit together well, however it is easy for a competing grocery store to come in and offer the same things we do. It is difficult to offer a new grocery shopping experience when considering the larger, more “well known” grocery stores and all they have to offer. They can simply add on any of what we have to offer, to their existing selection. I would definitely have to consider more of what makes my service/product special and how to maximize that.