The Weight and the Health Conscious - Term Paper Example

CALORIE CALCULATOR 1. Business Concept Emerging technologies have enabled the weight and the health conscious achieve their objectives as far as their food intake and physique is concerned. Over the years, gym equipments have been created to meet the needs of those who want to build their bodies and of course, those who wish to manage their weight. It is probably now more than ever that gym operators and manufacturers of gym equipments are raking it in terms of subscription and sales. Various weight-management programs have also been introduced, and this includes the south beach diet, the Glycemic Impact Diet, among others. There are also alternative ways to manage weight, which include yoga, pilates, street jazz, and many other techniques that appeal to this type of market. Dance and Yoga DVDs are definitely in demand. The emergence of these products and services does not only stem from the fact that a lot of people are more health conscious these days. It is also because people have become more concerned on their health, being exposed to challenges of the times such as stress brought about by the dynamic society we currently live in. While the various methods mentioned actually address the target market’s need to control their weight gain and command their bodies to stay fit, it is primarily essential for them to be able to watch and control their food intake before they proceed with all the exercising techniques they deem fit for their bodies. Because food is an ultimate necessity, it is impossible to live without it. In fact, innovative weight management programs encourage their subjects to eat healthy foods that complement their body types. Eating the right kind of food at the right amount is pivotal to ones success in controlling their weight gain. It is with this premise that the author thought of an innovative product to cater to the needs of the target market – a calorie calculator. The Calorie Plate is a digital device being attached to plates that computes for the number of calories present in the amount of food loaded to it. It tells the user how much calories he is already loading into his body. The user must load the necessary information to the device prior to use – his body type, his current weight program and other pertinent details, to be able to allow the device to calculate the maximum tolerable amount of calories that he could take in one sitting. The device then beeps as soon as the maximum allowed has been consumed. The product is highly recommended and definitely effective as it addresses the most basic of weight management issues – the food that one eats. Ever since Science devised a way to actually measure calories and actually relates it to weight gain, people have become conscious of dietary labels listed in every food product in supermarkets. Right now, people could only estimate the number of calories per meal. To provide almost exact calculations, and even more, link this to a person’s weight is definitely beneficial to every person who relies on Science to meet their weigh expectations. 2. Market, customer, and industry In 2007, 67.4% of the Australian Population was of working age. This includes people aged 15 to 64 years – that age group who would be most conscious of their appearance and weight (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009). Although relatively diverse in their buying habits, this would be our target market since they are the ones who are health and beauty-conscious, and would, at one point in their lives, consider a weight management program to help them control their weight gain and improve their physical appearances. Furthermore, this market has the means to spend on weight management programs and related paraphernalia. At present, there is also a need to address the country’s concern on the increasing number of people who may be considered obese. In the report “Australia’s Future ‘Fat Bomb’, Australia is now considered the country with the highest number of over weight persons in the world “overtaking the Americans in the obesity explosion” (ABC). The nation now has more than 9 million adults that are overweight. This is due to the decrease in exercise and increase in eating fast food (Australia’s Future Fat Bomb. 2009). Considering this factor, health-related campaigns now stresses utmost importance in managing ones diet. Government entities such as the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare are now committed to conducting information dissemination on this issue, and this marks a perfect opportunity for Calorie Plate to succeed in the market. There is no known direct competitor of Calorie Plate at the moment. This is the first and the only digital calorie calculator that gives outright computation of ones calorie intake. As such, the management is confident that it would be able to successfully penetrate the target market within three months of commercial launch, and would even have the potential of being exported worldwide within six months from the date of market introduction. 3. Organization and Key Leaders The technology behind Calorie Plate is originally from a group of university students in Brisbane, Australia. The technology has been patented for commercial release and would be distributed through local partners in the medical field. The people behind this research shall create the company that would responsible in the manufacture and distribution of this device, and targets to locate the office and factory in Brisbane, Australia as well. C-Med, Inc., the company behind Calorie Plate, is a start up company that aims to propel this product to market success. Pioneered and managed by the very same university students that created Calorie Plate, it would employ key human resources to the team. There will be several departments taking part in the operations of the company. The Product Development team is tasked to manage and develop the product even more to be able to create more products of this type. They are in charge of research and experiments to achieve these objectives. The team is composed of Medical Technology and Engineering graduates, whose expertise are aligned with the product. The Business Development Team is in charge of identifying the distribution points of the product. The company targets at least one Retail Store to sell the product. It also wishes to penetrate local drugstores and leading supermarkets as distribution points of the product. The Business Development Team will take care of identifying the market segments and the right places to sell the product. The Advertising, Promotions and Merchandising Team is in charge of conceptualizing advertisements and creating partnerships with other companies with products that complement Calorie Plate. It will take care of promotions in TV, Radio and Print, and will be in charge of creating below-the-line advertising materials such as information pamphlets and brochures, posters and billboards. The team would also forge partnerships with medical groups to gain their support and endorsement of the product. This way, word of mouth promotions would also be utilized. This team would also need to organize events that would highlight Calorie Plate and promote weight management as a whole. The Business Support Team will be consisting of the Administrative and Human Resource Department, the Purchasing Department, Training and Quality Control Department and Calorie Plate Production Team. The Administrative and Human Resource will provide all logistical needs of the company, including the administrative requirements in the head office, production office and operations –distribution channels. The Human Resource Section should ensure that only the best people are considered for the various positions. The Logistics Team is in charge of the acquisition of raw materials for the production of the product. It should establish international connections to ensure that the raw materials are sourced from the best distributors at the best price. Meanwhile, the Production Team’s job is to create quality products of the market. They provide the actual product for selling, and should employ only the best engineers and production crew to ensure maximum product quality. 4. Business model/strategy Management has conceptualized the business directions basing from the premise that there is indeed a demand for such product in the market today. Given the Australians’ current health concerns, and the population’s growing clamor for more effective and preventive type of weight management programs, Calorie Plate will capture the interest and consequently, the patronage of the target market. The company uses the market-led perspective, given the statistical data to prove the demands for such a product. To seize this opportunity, Calorie Plate will employ highly-qualified Marketing Managers to strategically launch the product and make Calorie Plate available in key distribution points within the country. Calorie Plate’s customer includes the Australian, aged 15 to 64, who are very conscious of their weight, and their health. With reference to the study on the high incidence of obesity in the country, target market is particularly those who are overweight, and those who are bordering this definition. The product is highly relevant to the demands of the market as it proposes preventive weight management and it gives the user the upper hand in deciding how to control his weight gain. Calorie Plate’s value proposition is mainly preventive maintenance of ones’ weight. It also offers a very transparent way of controlling and managing ones’ health concerns. The company will capitalize on the freshness of the business idea, and would exercise control over its finances by means of goal setting, meaning specific sales targets shall be prepared for the crucial first six months of distribution. Sales channels shall also be properly identified and controlled, and relationships with distributors shall be managed to ensure successful return of investment within the six months period. There is no direct competitor, and it caters specifically to end users, giving it a sustainable advantage over other weight management programs. Calorie Plate’s value proposition and the novelty of the product would certainly capture the interest of potential key personnel for the company. Future innovations are one of the long-term objectives of the company, and having the right people would definitely contribute to the success of the brand. REFERENCES: Australian Bureau of Statistics. March 21, 2009. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3235.0~2007~Main+Features~Main+Features?OpenDocument Australian’s Future Fat Bomb. March 22, 2009. http://www.bakeridi.edu.au/Assets/Files/fatBomb_report.pdf Healthcare Intelligence Network. March 21, 2009. http://www.pitchengine.com/healthcareintelligencenetwork/benchmarks-for-obesity--weight-management-programs/5308/ Weight Management Code of Practice. March 21, 2009. http://www.weightcouncil.org/ Read More