Download What my business will be is a take-away food - School

2.6 Product
What my business will be is a take-away food stall, which offers homemade, healthy organic soup
and bread as well as hot and cold drinks. From the results from my primary research, it showed that
74% would potentially visit my stall therefore this shows that I have a large customer base. My
secondary research also showed that the healthy eating sector, which is the sector in which my
products will fall into, is to have a 47% increase by 2020 which shows that it is a growing market.
This therefore means that it is a good market to get involved within due to there already being
interested customers and growth.
A brand name is what identifies my stall from another and makes my stall unique and recognisable. I
need a brand name to inspire customer loyalty and it allows the customers to give word-of mouth
recommendations. In my primary research, I asked what peoples favourite brand of soup was, with
Heinz coming out with over three-quarters of the votes. This shows a high brand recognition and
following.
‘The Soup Pot’ is the name of my business especially since over 50% agreed that it was the best
name for my stall in my primary research. The name of my business conjures up an image of a
steaming bowl/pot of soup with a spoon resting inside, which is why I will make that the logo of my
business. Logos, identically to brand names, allow people to recognise the business and the product,
which is why it is important to have one. This logo will be pictured on my sign as well as on my
products packaging and on uniforms.
The main product that I intend to sell is soup. After my primary researchI have decided to offer 4
different flavours per day however I will sell Tomato and Basil daily. This is because the results of my
questionnaire concluded that most popular flavour soup was Tomato and Basil which means that if I
offer that flavour often it will be popular and will draw consumers to the stall. I will then change the
other 3 flavours daily. This will be more beneficial for my business as it means there will be less
waste, it will be more time efficient.
Along with the soup, I will sell bread and hot and cold drinks. The bread will not be homemade when
I first start trading as I will not be able to offer as many different varieties, or make large quantities
of each type, and it would take up more time. Therefore, I will buy in the breads I will be offering. I
have decided to offer 3-5 different breads daily as bread keeps therefore I do not need to sell it all in
one day but I will make sure to offer bread rolls daily as that was the most popular type of bread
from my primary research. Other popular choices from my market research are Tiger, Baguettes and
Sliced white bread.
I will also buy in the cold drinks that I will be selling. I will make sure to purchase a range of different
drinks, such as water, fruit juice and fizzy drinks. However, I will need to examine the sugar content
on the drinks as my stall is for healthy eating.
Hot drinks will be dispensed from a coffee machine, which will be installed into the van. This will be
more up-market and will then enable me to sell my hot drinks at a higher price as they will be
competing with large brands.
Selling these items makes my stall most appropriate for lunchtimes, especially as my prices are
cheaper than the average prices shown in my secondary research, which were £7.60 for lunchtimes.
This means I can attract more customer with my prices which will be cheaper than my other
lunchtime competition.Therefore, I am going to open my stall around 10 o’clock in the morning until
4 o’clock in the afternoon. This timeframe covers the whole of the lunchtime trade, which means
that I will not lose many customers. This also will allow me time in the morning and evening to
prepare and make the new flavours for the next day of selling, therefore making all the products
fresh and of a high quality.
The packaging which was chosen in my questionnaire for my soup was a cardboard cup with a
handle, which meant that customers could avoid burning their hands and the packaging would be
biodegradable, which is beneficial for the environment, which could be promoted alongside the
organic ingredients.
My secondary research also showed that healthy eating was a popular market and that most people
buy organic because it is healthier. This therefore shows that I have a large target market.
In my market research the top two qualities which people look for when choosing what food to buy
was whether it was fair-trade and if the ingredients have been locally sourced. I can achieve this buy
regulating what I buy and where I buy it from. I will also be able to advertise that from buying from
my stall people are supporting the fair-trade system and also local producers.
The first aim which will help me to achieve these aspects would be the aim: “To use superior, quality
produce in my recipes.” This will be supported through buying organic, local and fair trade.
AO2/3 MB4 Low Clear decisions about product all supported by your primary research.
2.7 Price
When asked in my primary research about whether the price was an important factor when deciding
their lunch, the majority, which was over three-quarters, stated that it was.
The price of my products is a main factor which will draw people to my stall therefore I have to set
the right price. On the one hand, if it is too expensive then people would go to lower priced
competitors. On the other hand, if I put the price too cheap then people may think that the products
are low quality. Another problem would be that I may not be able to generate enough revenue to
break even if I do not get the price right.
For soup the prices are £3.50, £4.50 and £5.00 for a small, medium and large respectively. I have
decided on these prices after completing my primary research. The largest score when answering
the question “What do you/would you spend on your lunch?”was the £3-5 bracket therefore I have
decided to keep my prices within this price bracket. Secondary research showed that on average
that consumers spend up to £7.16-£7.65 at lunchtime. This means that my stall could be considered
cheap which means that I could attract a larger amount of customers as more people would be able
to afford my products. Another reason for having my starting prices reasonably low is that in the
future, should I need to increase my prices, I will be able to without making them extortionate.As my
prices are cheaper than my competitors are my pricing strategy is penetration pricing. The aim of
penetration pricing is to increase the market of a product and once this objective has been achieved
there is then the opportunity to increase the prices. Penetration pricing is usually set lower than the
intended established price, to attract new customers. The strategy aims to encourage customers to
switch to the new product because of the lower price.
Hot drinks will be cheaper than branded coffee shops e.g.
Costa and Starbucks. I will be using their prices as
guidelines for my own, shaving off around 40p to make
sure my stall draws in customers. A normal coffee from
Starbuck costs £2.50 (as shown to the right), using this as
a pricing guide I will sell my regular coffee at £2.10.
AO2/3 MB3 Broad policy explained
and specific price decided on with
some supporting evidence and
justification
2.8 Place
Place, which can also be known as distribution, is about how a business gets its products to its
customers. I have to make sure that I have my products available at the right place, at the right time
with the right quantities.
I am selling my products from a stall rather than a shop so I can move with the trade, such as if there
was a festival on I would be able to move to meet the demand.
The other benefits from selling from a stall rather than in a premise is that customers get to see the
goods in person. Interaction with a product is very important for a sale to happen which means that I
could potentially sell more from my food van rather than in a restaurant/cafe. It is also very cost
effective. This type of selling can be very affordable, especially for start-up businesses, like my own.
This is because the extortionate price of rent for high street shops is not included as well as the
larger heating and electricity bills.
Within my secondary research, I found out that street food and mobile catering is second out of the
top 10 for forecasted growth in eating out sectors. This shows that the industry which I intend to
enter has a lot of growth potential, especially compared to sandwich bars, another lunchtime
competitor, which came joint 9th.
I will be placing my Soup stall in the centre of the town of Harrogate. After my secondary research I
found that the district has a population 159,000, 75,000 living in Harrogate meaning that with locals
alone I could potentially have a large client base. Also working in the middle of town allows me to
catch a variety of workers, such as workers in retail, offices, and tourists.
Harrogate was also shown to be a very affluent area, as shown in my research which means that
higher prices would be able to still draw in customers.
The town also brings in a lot of tourism, such as the Yorkshire Show which attracts 130,000 tourists
each year. This means that there could be potentially large influxes of customers to my stall.
The primary research also showed that the placing of the stall was an important factor for people
when decided where to have their lunch. This is because if it is too far away people do not want to
make the journey to it. Therefore, I need to make sure that my stall is in the centre, close to shops,
offices and schools to make sure that I can get the widest range and amount of customers possible.
The distribution of my stall would help me to complete my aim of creating a unique business. This is
because if I start up within Harrogate which currently does not have any stalls alike my own then it is
unique to that area. Being a one of a kind stall in Harrogate will mean that I will not have any direct
competition.
AO2/3 MB4 A lot of good different reasons given to justify your
method of distribution. Some original research
2.9 Promotion
I am aiming to promote my product through advertising. I will advertise my stall firstly on the
internet as this was the most popular option on my questionnaire. I could firstly use social media on
the internet as it is free, which is useful when I am starting up and doesn’t have unlimited funds for
advertising. Websites such as Facebook and Instagram will enable to show what I am offering and
allow people to leave recommendations and link and encourage other people to try out the stall.
Other benefits of using social media is that social content can indirectly boost links to website
content by appearing in universal search results, improving search traffic, which means that more
people will see my brand. In addition, you can deliver improved customer service and respond
effectively to feedback, which will lead to better communication between the customers and I,
which will lead to higher customer satisfaction.
A competitor of mine that uses Facebook to
promote their business and deals is Soup De Jour.
This London based restaurant uses social media to
inform people which flavours and topping they are
selling that day, and also encouraging people to join
in on their discounts and promotions. Facebook has
also allowed people to comment and rate the
business, giving them 4.9 out of 5 stars, and they
have gained 1,421 “likes”, which means that people
enjoyed their experiences.
The page also shows all the information you need to
know about the place such as telephone number,
address and opening times. This keeps customers
well informed.
TripAdvisor is another website online that I could use. It is also free and allows customers to rate my
stall, and has become increasing popular over the years. This will then enable me to gain customers
and start making money, which I can then use on other advertising tools in the future. Again, Soup
De Jour has a profile on TripAdvisor
that shows that they have had 22
reviews. The overall rating they have
received from their 22 reviews is 4.5
out of 5, which similarly to their
Facebook profile, is a good score. Also
alike the Facebook profile is
information about the location of the
restaurant and opening times. Both
contain a map that is very useful for
customers trying to find where it is.
TripAdvisor also allows customers to post pictures from their experience, which is a great way of
creating customer interaction and satisfaction.
The next popular answer from my primary research was recommendations. I will get good
recommendations if I serve high quality, good tasting soup with great customer service, speed and a
great location. I could also suggest that customers complete this via TripAdvisor therefore any
positive feedback can be seen by the public.This is why I need to make sure that all other aspects of
my business are perfect. This type of advertising is also free which is beneficial to my business.
Leaflets were also an answer in my primary research question about advertising. Leaflets are a great
way of spreading the word about my business, especially since they can be distributed all around the
area. They are also quite cheap to produce which would be beneficial when starting up. However,
the main negative about using leaflets as a marketing tool is that the public easily dismisses them,
which is why I do not think it scored highest in my questionnaire.
In my secondary research I look more at what I should be advertising rather than how to advertise
my stall. It firstly showed that healthy eating is a large and increasing market. Also when looking at
what encourages people to eat organic, organic food being healthier due to it being natural and
having fewer pesticides where the most occurring reasons. Therefore, words such as healthy and
organic need to be used when decorating and advertising my van. Also back in my primary research,
being locally sourced cropped up as an important factor, therefore I should probably advertise the
local producer in which I will be getting my ingredients from.
Finally, I looked at different promotions I could use to entice people to my stall. In my primary
research I asked “Which promotion would you prefer to receive,” followed by a list of options. The
most popular option by far was to have 20% off, secondly followed by a loyalty card. Even though
20% off was the most popular option I do not think that my businesses finances could withstand this
offer. However, I could entwine this discount with the advantage card to allow people offers after
buying/spending certain amounts. It could include other offers such as having a free drink or bread
or even higher discounts if it’s a regular. This would encourage people to come back regularly.
Promotion will help me meet my aim of being able to survive the first year of selling on the street, as
my signs and deals will encourage people to my stall. Another aim of mine which is to use superior
quality ingredients will be promoted around my stall which will also be appealing to customers and
draw them in, this will lead to sales which will help my prior aim.
AO2/3 MB4 Bottom of band. You have made appropriate decisions about all aspects of your
business. They are simple and straightforward and reflect the simple nature of your
business. In each case there is supporting evidence, which justifies the decision and you
explain points logically.