Wisconsin University Coffee Cart, Inc Product and Services - Case Study Example

Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc Insert Name Course, Class, Semester Institution Instructor Date Executive summary Description of the business Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. provides coffee services to university students and residents of the Great Lake region. The service industry, in particular the food industry is a fast growing sector of the economy and the Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. seek to capitalize on the successful nature of the industry. This will be enhanced by taking advantage of the food processing opportunity in the Great Lake region. The president of the Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has vast knowledge in coffee processing. The president of the Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has been an employee and previously a senior manager in a leading coffee shop in the country. In addition, the Vice chairperson is the sales and marketing manager. The responsibility to create awareness and harness the viable clientele is bestowed on the sales and marketing manager. Previously, the Vice chairperson has held the same position in various reputable businesses in the country exhibiting reputable performance. The core or fundamental nature of the Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. will be to sell coffee products to Wisconsin University fraternity and the residents of the Great lake area. The future of the business certainly seems promising evidenced from the skills of the management team and the lucrative nature of the food processing industry currently in the country today. Mission statement The mission of the Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. is to acquire premier status in the coffee industry and provide professional services to clients. Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. Is committed to acquiring and maintaining a cordial and long term relationship between the business and the clients. This will be enhanced through engaging the staff to undergo training to enhance their capabilities in offering quality services and appropriate customer support. This is due to the fact that,Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. wants to be recognized as the leading coffee cart in the Great Lake region. The company’s key objective is to steadily break-even and grow, becoming lucrative and profitable in the second year of operation. Customer satisfaction and loyalty will greatly help to attain the above objective. Product and services Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. offers a comprehensive range of coffee products that will suit both the students and the residents in the surrounding environs. In addition Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has chosen to move away from the classical approach of acquiring an already made coffee cart. Instead, Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. will develop a coffee cart of its own preferred design that will be of desired size that will accommodate all the equipments necessary Rogers, S. C. (2001).The clients will be accorded a shield to protect from sunshine or the rainfall. The coffee cart will have adequate lighting, track lighting both of low voltage thus low consumption. The espresso equipment will be of world class status to facilitate the adequate blending of coffee to a standard that is recommended. Marketing plan Market research After intensive marketing research, Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has identified that the University of Wisconsin is a lucrative and feasible spot to indulge in the food and processing industry. It is apparent that due to the nature of the food and processing industry in the country, Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. is on track by opening a Coffee cart business. The market research has adopted two forms; both the primary and secondary research antics. By means of the secondary research, Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has embarked on demographic profiles of Wisconsin as a whole. The published information availed through journal newspaper articles, census data and library publications; it is evident that Wisconsin is a lucrative spot to venture in business. In addition, the chamber of commerce has availed information that asserts and confirms the earlier sentiments on the lucrative nature of Wisconsin and the environs therein. Project (Ind.). (1966).From the primary date, there is a bit of contrast. This is because; the coffee market has experienced stagnation for a while. However, growth is notable in the coffee industry given the sophistication adopted by the American palette. Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. faces competition from several competitors who seem to emphasize on price opposed to high quality maintenance and clientele satisfaction thus Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. acquires competitive advantage. According to the United States of America demographic patterns the coffee drinking survey indicate the following; men and women consume the same number of coffee cups in a day. In addition, women are more excited about the relaxation derived from varieties of coffee. Women are notably more price concerned than men while the coffee help men in sorting out their chores (Shankar, V., & Carpenter, G. S. 2012).On the other hand, the student’s age bracket of between 18-30 years depicts a higher affinity for hot, iced or the high octane blends. The 30-60 years prefer the premium and espresso blends that contain half caffeine content. It is also apparent that the highest coffee consumption rate is observed during the morning hours with the other meals, taking an almost equal percentage. The sweetened coffee with additives for instance cream is preferred to the plain or black coffee. Market segmentation and target market The market of the Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. is segmented into three separate client groups. The first is the student segments who take coffee for the passage of time. The second segment contains all the members of the University of Wisconsin who take coffee as a substantial meal and hence occupies a large portion of their diet. Finally, the residents of the Great lake area who take coffee as a culture hence do it occasionally. Both the residents of the Wisconsin area and the University fraternity excluding students are more likely to appreciate quality. Both are overwhelmingly potential considering their constant urge or desire for coffee. This is because, for the university fraternity, coffee is a meal, while the residents take coffee when they eat out. Also, Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. takes coffee during free time or when seeking relaxation (Blech, Z. Y. 2008). Industry analysis The food processing industry has generally been observed to grow. Particularly the coffee industry observed over 8 percent growth over the year 2000 to 2001. The growth has particular has been observed in the coffee mainstream consumption through the massive effort of Starbucks. However, over the years the coffee industry has allowed the integration of an array of other proprietors. In addition, coffee consumption is now a social beverage hence people have made it a tradition to take coffee at any time of the day. This has enhanced massive growth that has even resulted in a revolution in the vending machines produced in the market to date. The vending machines for instance have now been merged to blend coffee. Competition and the coffee buying patterns in Wisconsin Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. faces stern competition from various stakeholders in the industry. The first competition is derived from the Allan bothers. The company is in the mainstream coffee industry hence avails decent quality at competitive prices. The second competitor is Caffetto. However, the marketing edge acquired by Caffetto is due to low quality and low price point. The company seeks to attract price sensitive consumer that are not particular to the quality. The other various competitors offer mid price point levels in both quality and price. This implies that the competition derived mainly emanates from the mid producing coffee parlours. In Wisconsin, the coffee buying pattern is mainly dictated by price, quality and convenience. Some clients particularly students are willing to pay more for attaining convenience and are hence willing to pay more to attain individual sized servings. In contrast, the other clients though having a purse for quality view coffee as any other product in the menu list (Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. 2011) Market niche and promotion strategy It is evident that there exists stiff competition in the coffee industry. However, for Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. there exist a niche that is yet to be exploited. With the stern urge to pursue quality enhancement in the region, the student’s clientele will be nabbed. As for the residence, the service delivery offered by staff will ensure customer loyalty thus enhancing the company with a competitive edge. It is apparent that an efficient promotional strategy is required for the success of any business. Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. is no exception. Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. will be located opposite the University gate. This will provide publicity for the company to the entire University fraternity. In addition, the company has a strategy to prepare adverts in the local media publications. Also in the local media houses, an advert will be cast thus creating awareness to the locals about the products of the Wisconsin University Coffee cart; Inc. the promotional budget is hence not expected to be exorbitant and as such will not consume much of the capital investment. Operation plan Production In regards to Shankar, V., & Carpenter, G. S. (2012). Many food products are prepared based on customer order. Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. is no different and as such deems it convenient to prepare coffee by order. The system might be slow due to frequent backlogs on queue system. However, the company policy is to ensure quality is not compromised and waste levels are greatly maintained at minimum hence fostering low production costs. In addition, there will be a supervisor who will be facilitating appropriate quality control measures. Location Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. is conveniently located opposite the main entrance to the university. The cart is to be accessed from the front and there is an expansive roof that covers clients from sunshine and rainfall. The location is convenient to both the students and the residents of the Great Lake region. Upon business inception, survey will be conducted seeking to inquire where many of the frequent clients reside. The future expansion programme will involve developing other carts in the lucrative regions either inside the University or in the surrounding environs. Legal environment Shankar, V., & Carpenter, G. S. (2012).The licensing and bonding requirements are quite stringent. This is due to the fact that, when dealing with food products, cleanliness has to be upheld and maintained. Various permits are required before commencement of the business and the process of acquisition is ongoing. There are special regulations that govern the food industry that should be observed by the company. In addition, there are environmental regulations that seek to ensure that waste is conveniently disposed. The building requirements have been upheld and the insurance cover for both the employees and the premises has been met. Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has emphasized on originality and hence there are expenses accruing from patents, trademarks or copyright payments. Personnel Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. seeks to acquire three skilled and qualified personnel to start with. A vigorous recruitment process will be done as the job vacancy adverts have already been made. The company wishes to acquire qualified and experienced personnel. The pay structure is once a month and contains a lucrative package for all employees. There will be periodical training requirement that will boost the employee’s level of commitment to the company hence attainment of better results. The job responsibilities and description will be well documented for all employees. It is also mandatory that the employee follows the code of conduct as per the company requirements (Ellis, C. W. 2005). Suppliers and the credit policy The main inventory item will be coffee beans. Beansimo coffee has been identified as the main supplier as their quality is excellent and offer competitive prices. The company’s history and reliability are evident. However, the vendors have stringent credit terms as the company policy insists on cash based purchases. On the other hand, Wisconsin University Coffee cart, Inc. has a zero tolerance for credit hence emphasizes on cash sales only. Startup expenses and capitalization It is evident that any new business has to have start up expenses. There is a slight difference as some expenses will be written off in the profit and loss statement while others will be capitalized. For instance, the expense incurred to acquire the coffee vending machine will be capitalized as an asset. Financial plan The financial plan will entail a 12 month projection of a profit and loss as well as a balance sheet projection. A break even calculation depicts that the company will be able to meet the expenses from the generated revenue Ellis, C. W. (2005).A projected cash flow also will indicate the company’s ability to meet the pending obligations as they fall due. Refining the plan The business plan is subject to fine tuning as more input is acquired. Bibliography Rogers, S. C. (2001). Marketing strategies, tactics, and techniques: A handbook for practitioners. Westport, Conn: Quorum Books. Ellis, C. W. (2005). Management skills for new managers. New York: AMACOM. Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2011). Marketing strategy. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Shankar, V., & Carpenter, G. S. (2012). Handbook of marketing strategy. Cheltenham [etc.: Elgar. Blech, Z. Y. (2008). Kosher food production. Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell. Project (Ind.). (1966). Application of statistical quality control procedures to production of highway pavement concrete. Lafayette: Purdue University. Read More