Assignment 29A- Venture Concept

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.