Business Plan for Specialty Tea and Confectionaries Food Shop - Term Paper Example

BUSINESS PLAN FOR SPECIALTY TEA AND CONFECTIONARIES FOOD SHOP I. TABLE WITH CRITERIA CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT OF THESE POINTS FEEDBACK Product Final product should be sellable and in demand. It should be trendy, updated and must have a distinct branding to be able to catch the attention of the target market. It should also have particular characteristics that would fit the needs and demands of the target market. I am considering food items as the products to be sold, particularly specialty tea and confectionaries that would be offered in a concept tea shop. Positioning/ Identification of Target Market Target market must be identified to be able to create the right marketing strategies. The target markets being looked at are students and adults between 18 to 60 years of age. These people are those who appreciate a good healthy snack, and would have the purchasing power to patronize my products. Ownership The total amount of startup capital needed is one of the considerations in determining the ownership type of the business. Marketing Strategies A specialty tea shop needs as much above the line advertisements as below the line efforts. I will select proper media exposure in local newspapers and radio stations, and would go heavy on leaflets and billboards, and in store promotions. II. IDENTIFYING THE TARGET MARKET Target Market will be identified by first enumerating the qualities of each product to be offered. What are the products and variations to be served? What are the key benefits of these products? Do we put premium on its commercial appeal by engaging competitors in a price war and creating advertising plans that challenge the benefits of other similar products? Or do we want to maintain a certain brand image, and preserve the quality of the products notwithstanding other factors such as pricing? Having done all these, I came to the conclusion that I would like my business to appeal to a certain niche market, but not alienating the popular crowd. I would be serving health products – specialty tea, coffee and confectionaries. I would like my target market to find appeal in the thought that they would be enjoying cost efficient but highly healthy snacks in my tea shop. My target market covers a wide age range. These may be college students who would want to spend quiet time catching up on notes and lessons while having good snacks. I also consider young professionals and adults who now have the capacity to pay for a type of snack that would greatly be beneficial to their health. Since the young professionals and adults are more health conscious nowadays due to the rise in the number of health drinks in supermarkets, they are the kind of market that would enjoy the products that I would offer. Lastly, those belonging to the 40s to 60s age bracket are those who are particularly conscious about the food they eat, and would find joy in this new alternative being offered to them. Market-wise, it is believed that there is so much room to grow for distributors and manufacturers of the tea beverage. In 2003, total sales for both conventional and specialty types of teas reached a total of $5.1 (Tea Drinking in the United States 2009). During this decade, consumption for healthy beverage rose, with supermarkets retailing new ready-to-drink tea brands and shoppers actually becoming attracted to these products that come in unique flavors and forms. Benefits of such beverages have been highlighted commercially resulting to higher demand for the product (The State of the US Tea Industry 2009). Now more than ever, the market welcomes more variety for this healthy drink. III. SKILLS AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDED TO RUN A BUSINESS As a student, I have been able to develop my strategic business planning skills that are essential in starting a business. This is the most important skill that I have to develop and improve so that I would be able to make the right choices when it comes to running my business (Business Skills to Run Your Own Business 2010). Part of this skill is being able to create an accurate business plan that would help me implement step by step the needed actions to make this entrepreneurial venture a guaranteed success. I also have to hone my accounting and quantitative skills so I would be able to plan and monitor the finances needed and the resulting profits from my business venture. Marketing skill is also the next most important skill that I need to continuously develop. Marketing is part of any business, and it is the only way for one to be able to announce to its target market the facts and benefits of the product. Part of marketing is product development and management, market research and ads and promo. All these I have to improve so that I would be able to convey to my target market the needed message to successfully gain their patronage. The third most important skill is my people management skills. As a business owner, I would soon be employing people to help me run my business. I would be entailing the help of people focused to do particular kinds of jobs so my business will run smoothly. I will need to perfect my human resource management skills so I would be able to inspire and maximize each manpower towards the achievement of my business objectives (Skills Needed for Business 2010)s. At this point, I am perhaps 60% to 70% close to saying that I am fully equipped with the skills mentioned above. Being a marketing student, I have learned so much that contribute to the development of these skills. The various course outlines help me in each aspect, and as a whole, contributes to the development of my personality as a whole. For without the personality, the passion and the will to succeed, these skills would fail the business in the end. A few more months into this course and I will be ready embark in a career in business management. These months represent the other things that I need to learn and go through to become a successful entrepreneur. Perhaps the most vital of all is for me to able to gain firsthand knowledge in business administration by being involved in on-the-job trainings. This would definitely give me the needed exposure to business management. My business would definitely benefit from these skills. Having sound business decisions would ensure that the objectives are met and that few unnecessary consequences would be committed. A good leader possesses all the skills mentioned above, and a good leader is what it takes for a business to succeed. I will know that the “gap” will be filled when I am able to create a comprehensive and achievable business plan prior to my business launch. IV. LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS As a sole proprietor, I have only me to declare the financial capabilities of my business. It is my sole responsibility to ensure that the funds are sufficient and I have all the support needed to ensure the success of my business. All startup costs would be shouldered by me. I have raised my own savings, and will use startup capital by engaging in a bank loan, which I plan to pay within the next two years of my business operations. In this regard, my sales targets should be definite and achievable, and I must exhaust all means to I could achieve my sales targets and not go negative on my operational costs versus my gross profits. There is but a small room for error. In any case that there would be some financial challenges ahead, there is a possibility for me to a partnership with local supermarkets so I could supply ready to drink products and even raw materials for gourmet and specialty teas and coffees. Partnering with other retailers or distributors would give me additional exposure without the added costs. I will also create a human resource plan to enable me to maximize the contribution of my employees. I will endeavor to hire well trained people who will oversee the operations of my store. A highly trained chef will supervise the backend, and a good operations manager could alternate as a marketing manager as well. There is a dedicated person to oversee the cash flow, prepare accounting documents and deal with the corresponding tax requirements, business permits and other related costs to ensure that the business is adhering to the laws of the city. V. PRODUCING AN OUTLINE START-UP BUSINESS BACKGROUND Tea Leaf is a specialty tea house located at the heart of London. It is tea shop with a dine in area, that offers specialty tea and coffee blends, and special confectionaries and cakes for the health conscious market. Its tea blends come from various parts of the country, and the recipes are guaranteed to have carefully been created to cater to your health needs. MISSION/ PURPOSE OF THE BUSINESS Tea Leaf aims to be the tea shop of choice among the target market, and the preferred brand in London. GENERAL MARKET AREA Tea Leaf’s target market include university students, professionals young and old alike, and retirees who all have the buying capacity and are health conscious to the point of being selective in their food choices. BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN Tea Leaf will basically have a flat organization, being a start up business. The owner will play the part of the General Manager who will oversee the store operations and manage support and administrative groups as well. There will be an operations manager who will have full responsibility over the chef and the crew. There will also be a support group consisting of the accounting and purchasing personnel. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Tea Leaf’s main competitor would be the Bettys and Taylors group of Coffee and Tea Shops (Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate 2010). But although competitor has been in the market for over a century now, Tea Leaf will endeavor to captivate with the tastes that represent the present times. There will be house blends that are both exotic and experimental – something that would suit the tastes of the target market. PROMOTIONAL POSITIONING AND MARKETING CHANNELS ABOVE THE LINE ADVERTISING A successful launch is always accompanied by a tri-media campaign to ensure that the target market is reached. Repeat exposure via radio advertisements would spark interest among listeners. Among the three mainstream media, radio is considered to be the most cost efficient as it requires the advertiser a fixed advertising cost, yet it allows the product to be continuously stimulating the consciousness of its listeners. MERCHANDISING Strategic merchandising is the key to promote the new business. Billboards and signage, announcements in key points within the city play a vital role in the company’s promotions plan. It will also display mini billboards and signage in public places such as shopping centers, supermarkets, subways, train stations and bus stations. PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES Tea Leaf will partner with student organizations to support various school events and activities with the interest to plug and advertise the products and services. The management will allot appropriate funds for sponsorships of student projects that would enable them to advertise Tea Leaf among the target market. There will be discount and privilege offerings for frequent patrons, and a loyalty card to ensure repeat purchase among the market. RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND BUDGETS Flyer Inserts are at £ 700 per 10,000 pieces of flyers. Inserts will be done in three of the most popular broadsheets and/or local publication every Sunday starting two weeks prior to launch date until the sixth month of operations. After which, the management will gauge the effectiveness of this effort to determine whether to push through with the strategy or not. Flyers cost approximately £ 110 per 10,000 pieces, or a total of £ 8,580 production costs for flyer inserts alone and another £ 8,580 production cost for flyers to be used for other purposes. Design will be in house so it would not entail any extra cost. Billboard rentals are pegged at £ 5,000 per month or a total of £ 30,000 for the first three months, and additional £ 2,500 for the production costs. Website design and hosting is anywhere from £ 5,000 to £ 8,500 per month. REFERENCE LIST Tea Drinking in the United States. Ezine Articles. Retrieved January 21, 2010 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Tea-Drinking-in-The-United-States&id=439958 The State of the US Tea Industry. Retrieved January 21, 2010 from http://www.teausa.org/general/002ga.cfm Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate. Retrieved January 21, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettys_and_Taylors_of_Harrogate Business Skills to Run Your Own Business. Retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www.smallbusinesspro.co.uk/start-business/business-skills.html Skills Needed for Business. Retrieved January 23, 2010 from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5218082_skills-needed-business.html Read More