Business Plan for a Start-up Food Truck Venture - Case Study Example

Business Plan for a Start-up Food truck Venture Executive Summary The main idea for this venture is to provide ready healthy food to the working population in the city of New York. The idea was first encountered after observing that this portion of the population does not get enough time for a nutritious meal as they have limited lunch break periods. The need for good food has become real, with most people taking fast foods as lunch. The New York Food Truck Company seeks to offer healthy solutions to this unmet need. In the course of providing these services, the New York Food Truck Company will seek to establish itself as the premier healthy food truck company. In this regard, this business plan shall bring out the structure and design of the operation of this venture, complete with the financials. This plan has borrowed the operational structure and operating procedure from the business plan of Gordon Food Service, a healthcare food service provider. Gordon Food Service inspection for compliance with state and federal law on hygiene, controls the cost of food service, undertakes training on food services and food safety. The vision of the New York Food Truck company is to be the biggest food truck company in the city. The spread of this venture to other states will be considered upon its success in the state of New York. The mission is to be a reliable partner in providing healthy food services to the busy working population. In so doing, the company will be able to successfully provide healthy solutions and contribute to building a healthy society, while at the same time providing jobs to many unemployed persons. The New York Food Truck Company shall have one control point from where all orders and assignments shall be taken. It would take an approximate 10 trucks to be able to serve the entire city. Each truck shall have a driver and a sales person driving to places around the city with high traffic of people. Upon identifying a safe parking spot, the trucks will then be opened to sell food to the members of the public. Each truck will be fitted with food heating devices, and the food will be made from the kitchen at the premises. In order to ensure hygiene, the food shall be packed in treated containers that will only be unpacked at the point of sale. The company shall hire a chef to make the food with utmost professionalism. The food is meant to be highly nutritious, and so a nutritionist shall be consulted to work out the proportions of the food. The truck staff shall be trained on hygienic practices to ensure the food is not contaminated. In addition to that, there shall be inspections done by the health authorities to make sure that the food is well made. The New York Food Truck Company seeks to provide a healthy meal to its customers as opposed to giving customers fast foods that have been known to be unhealthy and non-nutritious with diverse health effects. Aside from being timely due to a well-coordinated duty roster, this company shall provide a healthy meal for the working population. This will contribute to time being saved by employees, and reduce exposure to diseases that come with consuming bad food. Gordon Food Service has trained personnel in inspection of food, thus ensuring the food services it offers is of high quality and cleanliness levels. Description of the Venture The Food Truck venture shall offer healthy food services to its customers in the city of New York. These services shall be coordinated from a central point in order to ensure the services have been spread across the city evenly. In order to satisfy the demand for healthy food, the trucks shall operate on a strict time schedule so as to meet the time needs of the target market, which is the working population in New York City. The trucks shall be branded with the company logo and name to be identifiable as they move around. Aside from delivering the food to strategic locations around the city, the trucks shall serve as selling points where the buyers shall approach and make an order. The sales people shall then sell food to the customers from the truck. The company shall coordinate the activities of the drivers and the salesmen through a specific mobile phone application. In case of shortages, the salesmen shall be required to communicate such information to the office and a backup van shall deliver the same to the place where the truck is situated. That will ensure customers are served the food of their choice in a timely manner with less complications. The management shall be responsible for the day to day running of affairs. The management team shall be composed of the Managing Director and departmental managers in charge of Finance, Customer Relations, Production, Coordination of Activities and Marketing. The Managing Director shall be in charge of the overall running of the establishment. The human resource function shall be taken up by the manager in charge of Customer Relations. This docket shall be responsible for hiring competent staff who will work towards helping the company realize its goals and operate with its mission and vision in sight. This borrows heavily from the strategy employed by Gordon Food Service of hiring competent workers to deliver essential food services to customers. Overview of the Market The market that this venture seeks to capture is wide and diverse. The bulk of it is made up of the working population in New York. These are individuals who get an hour for their lunch break. Instead of having snacks and other unhealthy foods, the food truck company shall offer healthy meals on the go. The food shall be made with the tastes and preferences of the consumers in mind. Specific orders can be made through the office and deliveries made on time. Just like the Gordon Food Service, the customer is at the top of the priority ladder. The customer’s needs shall be the driving force of the New York Food Truck Company. In so doing, the company shall train its staff on Customer Relations in order to forge a good working relationship with its clients. Any queries shall be addressed in a timely manner to avoid customers feeling unattended to. In that regard, the company shall seek to have loyal customers who shall be frequent clients of the company. This shall ensure constant sales are made, making the company able to raise the much needed revenue for its operations. This is similar to the Gordon Food Service Nutrition Resource Center. This is a customer resource that is managed by a number of dietitians. The company shall periodically have special offers for its clients, and undertake social responsibility activities in the quest to become a responsible member of the society. These activities will also draw the company closer to the people it serves and at the same time contribute to a more cohesive society. The company shall gain a better understanding of the market by frequent interactions with the clients. This will enable the company to better address the needs of the clients and offer services of value to the consumer. The centralization of the leadership of the business shall provide consumers with the ability to contact the customer service team at any point during the day in case of any need to. In order to serve this market adequately, trained personnel will be required to handle enquiries professionally so that consumers feel comfortable with the services being rendered to them. The diversity of the market shall mean that the company will have to adjust its products according to the needs of the market. In view of this, the company shall have specialized trucks that will handle a variety of foods. These trucks will also be fitted with waste disposal materials to ensure management of waste is properly done. The food that will be sold on these trucks will be nutritious food. Therefore the packaging will have to be neat and presentable to give the rightful impression that the food is well made and healthy. Regulatory compliance and management of food safety as indicated in the Gordon Food Service plan would help in validating the quality and cleanliness of the food to be sold to the public. Financial Review This financial review shall be done in segments, to better break down how the money shall be allocated. To begin with, the company shall need to purchase at least five trucks and fit them with tracking devices and specialized food handling containers. These shall be purchased from a recognized truck dealer within the state. The company shall also need to acquire equipment, furniture and fittings for the business premises. The premises shall have an office for each of the managers, a kitchen space and an open office from where the coordination of activities and customer services shall be undertaken. The office shall also have a boardroom where strategy and staff meetings can be held. Kitchen equipment shall be maintained regularly to reduce chances of food being contaminated. The premises shall also be leased. The company shall need to hire competent staff. The human resource shall be the strongest asset of the company and so the staff shall be carefully selected and further trained on healthy company practices. This will be with the aim of ensuring efficiency and professionalism in the dispensing of duties in all departments in the company. The hiring of staff shall be undertaken by the management. The staff shall then be oriented into the business and trained on the standard operating procedures at the establishment. Training of the employees will ensure the delivery of services is done to the satisfaction of the clients. Members of staff serving at different levels shall have different salaries. The Gordon Food Service company has adequately trained staff who have ensured services are of top quality over the years. The company seeks to make profitable returns on investment. The following table shall show the projected cash flows of the New York Food Truck Company. Projected Monthly Cash Flow Statement for the New York Food Truck Company Particulars Amount ($’000) Amount ($‘000) Sales 100 Cost of sales (10) Net sales 90 Expenses Salaries and Wages 25 Maintenance 5 Operational costs 10 Total expenses (40) Gross Profit 50 The above projected cash flow statement shows that this is a highly profitable venture. There is limited exposure to risk as everything is handled professionally and security of the assets and staff is considered. The chances of the company recovering the amount of money invested are high. In this regard, this venture needs to be supported due to the opportunities it presents to itself and to the entire society. The company will also collaborate with the authorities in the payment of dues and contribution to the building of a healthy society. The legitimacy of the company and its activities shall be renewed with the licensing, and the company shall allow for inspection by health authorities for hygiene and other kinds of inspection as deemed relevant. This venture, however, faces the challenge of acquiring specialized facilities and high cost of premises. This is in addition to the hiring of skilled personnel, which will take time. Another challenge is the fact that the working hours of prospective clients is not definite, thus it is not easy to estimate the traffic of people within the city and make plans in advance. The venture also faces stiff competition from established restaurants and fast food joints across the city, and will have to undertake a vigorous advertising campaign in order to establish itself in the market. The strengths of this venture outweigh its weaknesses. Aside from offering healthy food solutions to workers in New York, this venture is a source of livelihood for many people, from the management to the lower level job groups, therefore helping the society to reduce unemployment. As indicated in the projected cash flow statement, this venture promises profit margins from the startup stage. The business has prospects of growth, making it a viable source of revenue for investors and for the government in form of taxes. Due to the increase in the work force within the city, this venture is touted to satisfy a growing demand for good food with relative effectiveness. The fact that the product offered is unique reduces competition from fast food joints. The food is also affordable, making subscription to the New York Food Truck Company a pocket- friendly encounter. Works Cited "A USER-FRIENDLY MODEL FOR BUSINESS GROWTH.(CAPITAL REGION BUSINESS JOURNAL)." The Wisconsin State Journal 1 June 2005: 8. Print. 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