Assignment 19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

            My name is Bichgiang Nguyen. My talents include baking, cooking and drawing. My skills are organization, leadership, fundraising and customer service as seen in my previous experience as a StateFarm intern where I answered over 150 customer questions 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. In the past semester alone, I worked with the people in my organization to donate 200 pairs of shoes to foster homes and homeless shelters. We also raised funds and donated $1000 (each) to the Boys and Girls Club of Alachua county and St. Francis House who “provides emergency, and permanent supportive housing.” My philanthropic work can be seen as early as middle school when I volunteered at food banks and extended through out high school where I became the president of my NHS. During that time, my NHS built a house in Haiti, donated hundreds of shoes to a village in Honduras and collects thousands of canned goods to donate to local families during the holiday season. 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. My main goal is to work with a large company that has the resources to give back to the community or environment.

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). Essentially, the goal of my solution (the grocery store) is to reduce food waste and I would love to work with a large grocer in the future to reduce the amounts of foods they throw away (through donations or composting programs).

2) What are you offering to customers?  

We are offering customization of the grocery shopping experience. Consumers will 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, learn about their new favorite food 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? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

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 foods or learning new tips/tricks in the kitchen. They can live up to 10 miles outside of our urban store location. All of my customers are conscious of the amounts they buy and enjoy food (more than just a means of survival).

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 or when they buy a pack of strawberries and find it rotting before they can finish the second half of their strawberries- 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. Foods fit for human consumption/ re-purposing (but no longer fit for sale) will either be composted or donated to food banks. Consumers can shop better knowing our store contributes to good.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

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/cooking lessons that allow you to explore.

Feedback Memo- There were no comments on my original idea napkin, however I did adjust it. Though I kept the same framework as my original idea napkin, I added more details in order to paint a better picture for the reader. The extra details about my core competencies reinforce why I feel so strongly about this solution because it shows my history with giving back. In addition, I added more details about my solution to clarify any ambiguity.