I will start my primary research by writing a questionnaire (Shown in Appendix 1) and then showing my results for each question on pie charts as this will show a visual representation of the data.
Presentation and Analysis of Questionnaire
Q.1) I have chosen to interview twenty-five women and twenty-five men so that I can see how both genders perceive the issue of healthy eating and whether or not a healthy fast food restaurant will be successful in the local area.
Q2) As can be seen from my results most people who participated in the questionnaire were in the age group of 35-44 and the people who participated least in the questionnaire were of the age group 16-24, from the different age groups I am able get a wider view on how all aged people perceive healthy foods.
Q6) What do you usually order in a restaurant?
Q7a) IF NOT, WHY?
8B. IF NOT WHY?
9B IF NOT WHY
Overall analysis of questionnaire
The first question was to do with gender, I chose twenty five males and twenty five females to do the questionnaire, this was done to give me equal perceptions of both males and females on the concept of a healthy fast food restaurant.
Question two was on the category of age group. I decided to use this question in my questionnaire so I could see the differences between the younger and older generations eating habits. From my results most people who participated in the questionnaire were in the age group of 35-44 and the people who participated least in the questionnaire were of the age group 16-24, from this I was able to see how different age groups perceive healthy foods. The younger generation were not very interested in the concept which showed they did not agree with healthy eating, whereas although the older generation did not eat healthily, they thought the idea was good.
Question three was on employment and unemployment. I chose this question because I wanted to have a rough idea of how many people were unemployed in the local area. From the graph you can see that twenty seven people were unemployed and that twenty three people were employed. The majority of residents, from the local area that participated in the questionnaire were unemployed showing that Aston has a high unemployment rate. By opening a new healthy food restaurant I will by making more jobs available and will therefore be reducing unemployment even slightly in the local area. It will also be easy to employ workers as the majority of people are unemployed.
Question 4 was on how often a person would visit a restaurant. I chose this question as it showed me how regularly people usually visit a restaurant. The majority of people who participated in the questionnaire had said that they would normally visit a restaurant monthly, very few chose daily. However, because it is a fast food restaurant and people will not have to wait long for their food, they might realise that the business is selling a good product and they may visit more regularly. Although people from the local area do not visit restaurants on a daily basis, if the word went around about our high quality food maybe other people from different areas may want to visit the restaurant which may lead the business to expand, into different areas. Word of mouth advertising is a very good way of gaining potential customers, however it can also be a bad thing for a business, as if one wrong words has been said about the company, it will pass around to others a lot quicker than good news.
Question 5 was on the types of food people most like. I chose this question as it would give me an insight into the foods that people liked and would allow me to use those types of foods in my restaurant. From the bar chart the majority of people who participated in the questionnaire said that they most liked Indian food, Chinese came a close second. I can use this information by using the food that people most like in my restaurant. This would be a good way of getting the local residents to like the restaurant and its food.
Question 6 was an open question on what people usually order in a restaurant. I chose this question because once I knew what people usually ordered I could use some of those foods and create a new version of the dish, this way people would be familiar with the food at my restaurant and perhaps would start ordering that dish knowing it is similar to what they prefer only a lot healthier and hopefully this will result in the residents making frequent visits to my restaurant instead of a different restaurant.
Question 7 was asked if you were a healthy eater or not. I chose this question because my business proposition was a healthy fast food restaurant and this would help me find out how many people actually eat healthy food. The graph shows that the majority of people who participated in the questionnaire were not healthy eaters; this is useful to me as it gives me the opportunity to show people healthy food can be as tasteful as any other food, they just have to try it, by gaining their interest I will hopefully encourage them to visit my restaurant. I will use the method testing and observing for this, I will give random residents from the local area a sample of the foods the restaurant will be selling and if they like it they will hopefully come to the restaurant more often and slowly become healthy eaters
Question 7a asks why some of the people are not healthy eaters. I chose this question to see why people were not healthy eaters. The majority of people said that they did not like the taste of healthy food. Because healthy food is seen as not being tasty or appealing, people do not want to try it. This with many people starts at a young age. Hopefully, with the older generation starting to eat and enjoy healthy food by visiting the restaurant regularly, the younger generation will also want to see what the fascination is all about and will want to try the food at the restaurant.
Question 7b was if you ticked yes to question 7, how many times a week do you eat healthily. I chose this question because it will tell me how often healthy eaters actually eat healthy food. This was a question for those who ticked yes on question 7. Only fourteen out of fifty people ticked yes to question 7. It was found that the majority of people who eat healthy, only eat healthy food once or twice a week which is acceptable as many people do not visit a restaurant daily anyhow (question 4) so it is likely that most people who eat healthy will still visit the restaurant either weekly or monthly.
Question 8 was if people were in favour of a healthy fast food restaurant opening in the local area. This question was chosen so I could get a more definite number of people who were in favour a healthy restaurant opening in their local area. Most people who participated in the questionnaire were in favour of a healthy fast food restaurant opening in the local area which was good news for my business proposition.
Question 8b, was If not, why?. Thankfully most people were in favour of a healthy fast food restaurant opening in the local area but the minority of people that answered ‘no’ said this because they did not like healthy food and did not think many of the other residents were healthy eaters either.
Question 9 was, do you think a healthy fast food restaurant would be successful in the local area? I chose this question because unlike question 8 it tells me what the residents really think and not what they want. Although most people were in favour of a new healthy fast food restaurant opening in the local area, not many people thought it would be successful, in fact thirty two out of fifty people thought that a healthy fast food restaurant would not be successful in the local area.
Question 9b was if not why? This was an open question, and the majority of people did not think that a healthy fast food restaurant would be successful in the local area because many of the residents were not healthy eaters and did not really bother with the idea of eating healthy.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Secondary research sometimes called desk research is research that another organisation has already completed. Secondary research information can be found in a number of places, such as books, newspapers, magazines and government publications through the Central Statistical Office.
Advantages of secondary research:
- As the research has already been completed by another organisation, secondary research is usually much cheaper to collect than primary research.
- A wide range of data is ready available, especially with the growth of the Internet.
Disadvantages of using secondary research:
- The research information might not be exactly what a business wants. Remember that someone else has completed the research.
- The data may not be up to date. There are possible problems for a business, which makes decisions based on outdated market research.
- The data might not be in a form that the business can analyse easily. Only by designing your own research (primary) can you be sure that it is in the form you require.
Although healthy eating has not been a great issue in the U.K. in the past, a great deal of emphasis has been focused on healthy eating since Jamie Oliver started his campaign.
“MPs call for food quality improvement
Tuesday, 06 Mar 2007 08:36
Efforts to improve the quality of food provided in the nation's schools, hospitals, prisons and armed services could be boosted by efficiency drives, MPs have claimed.
A report published today by the public accounts committee (PAC) argues that £220 million could be cut out of the £2 billion spent on public sector food provision by 2011.
Efficiency savings would lead to the freeing-up of resources which could be used to reinvest in better quality provision.
The report notes that higher-quality food boosts the long-term health of children, improves NHS patient recovery rates and helps maintain the "operational effectiveness of the armed services".
PAC chairman Sir Edward Leigh said the savings represented "a whole lot of cash and resources which could be applied to raising the standard of public sector food and catering services".
"So everyone wins - except perhaps the major contractors whose profits might be a little slimmer," he added.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has already acted to improve school dinners, partly influenced by popular support for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's healthy food campaign.” (Source: http://www.inthenews.co.uk/News/news/food/mps-call-food-quality-improvement-$1059430.htm)
The above information shows that due to Jamie Oliver’s healthy food campaign there has been a vast change in the issue of healthy eating. Schools and universities are now serving healthy meals, this is an advantage for my restaurant as if youngsters are eating healthy and parents are encouraging healthy eating, they will want to eat at healthy places like my healthy fast food restaurant. Because of Jamie Oliver’s healthy food campaign there is more recognition of healthy food which will mean there will be more recognition for the healthy fast food restaurant.
Ward Unemployment total
Economic Forecasts
Source: Birmingham Local Economic Forecasting Model (LEFM) August 2004
Source: Birmingham Local Economic Forecasting Model (LEFM) August 2004
Source: Birmingham Local Economic Forecasting Model (LEFM) August 2004
Map/Location
SWOT ANALYSIS
A swot analysis is the process of a business looking at its performance against others, examining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
A business will carry out a SWOT analysis when it is looking at how it is performing compared to other businesses.
I will undergo a SWOT analysis by stating what my businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are; this will allow me to see the good and bad points of my business, which I can hopefully put right once I have completed the SWOT analysis, the opportunities I have to improve my business and it will allow me to view my competitors and how they are performing compared to my business
Strengths –
- The strengths of opening a healthy fast food restaurant in the local area are that there are not any competitors in the local area, who are offering healthy fast food.
- There is more recognition of healthy food on TV because of Jamie Oliver. Parents will want their children to eat more healthily and opening a healthy fast food restaurant in the local area will allow both parents and children to eat healthily.
- Consumers are typically reluctant to buy “Healthy” or “Green” products if the quality or taste is not up to the quality or taste of mainstream brands. For the Healthy food market, it is the taste which is important.
- The health food market has grown rapidly over the last two years.
Weaknesses-
- In my questionnaire I found out that not many people in the local area are healthy eaters,
- Not many people in the local area think that the healthy fast food restaurant would be a success.
- Many people in the local area are used to unhealthy foods, and were introduced to unhealthy food from a young age, which is why they find it hard to change to eating healthy foods.
Opportunities-
There is a niche in the market as there are no healthy fast food restaurants open in the local area at the moment.
- Due to Jamie Oliver and he’s healthy eating programme more people are aware of eating healthy and more people now want to eat healthily. This will be a good time to open my business because of how awareness of healthy food has grown rapidly.
Threats-
- Although there are no competitors for healthy fast food in the local area, there are much bigger competitors elsewhere such as ‘Subways’ which is a healthy fast food takeaway. And also there are many unhealthy competitors in the local area, such as fish and chip shops, which are almost everywhere in the local area, these are my main threats as many people go to these unhealthy restaurants.
PEST ANALYSIS
A pest analysis will show me the political factors, the economical factors, the social factors and the technological influences. These will show me environmental factors that will affect the company, that the company has no control over,
Political factors-
Political factors can have a direct impact on the way business operates. Decisions made by government affect our every day lives and can come in the form of policy or legislation. The governments introduction of a statutory minimum wage affects all businesses, as do consumer and health and safety laws and so on. Recent events with Jamie Oliver visiting schools and enforcing healthy eating have encouraged the government to raise and implement these issues.
Economical factors-
All businesses are affected by economical factors nationally and globally. Interest rate policy and fiscal policy will have to be set accordingly. Within the UK the climate of the economy dictates how consumers may behave within society. Whether an economy is in a boom, recession or recovery will also affect consumer confidence and behaviour.
An economy which is booming is characterised by certain variables. Unemployment is low, job confidence is high, and because of this confidence spending by consumers is also high. This has an impact on most businesses. Organisations have to be able to keep up with the increased demand if they are to increase turnover. An economy which is in a recession is characterised by high unemployment, and low confidence. Because of high unemployment spending is low; confidence about job security is also low. Businesses face a tough time, consumers will not spend because of low disposable income. Many businesses start cutting back on costs i.e. Labour, introduce shorter weeks and cut back on advertising to save money. This will have an affect on my business in the sense that I will have fewer customers which will resolve in me making more of a loss than profit. Whereas if it was high I will gain more customers as people will be spending more and will be going out to eat more.
A truly global player has to be aware of economic conditions across all borders and ensure they employ strategies and tactics that protects their business.
Social factors-
Within society forces such as family, friends, and media affect our attitude, interest and opinions. These forces shape who we are as people and the way we behave and what we ultimately purchase. For example within the UK peoples attitudes are changing towards their diet and health. As a result, the UK is seeing an increase in the number of people joining fitness clubs and a massive growth for the demand of healthy food. On the other end of the spectrum the UK is worried about the lack of exercise its youngster are obtaining. These ‘fast food games console’ children are more likely to experience health problems in their future because of the lifestyle they are living now. Opening the healthy fast food restaurant will be a step forward to stopping health problems from occurring.
Population changes also have a direct impact on all organisations. Changes in the structure of a population will affect the supply and demand of goods and services within an economy.
As society changes, as behaviours change organisations must be able to offer products and services that aim to complement and benefit people’s lifestyle and behaviour
Technical Influences-
Changes in technology are changing the way business operates. The Internet is having a profound impact on the marketing mix strategy of organisations. Consumers can now shop 24 hours a day comfortably from their homes. The challenge these organisation faces is to ensure that they can deliver on their promise. Those businesses, which are slow to react, will fall at the first few hurdles. This technological revolution means a faster exchange of information beneficial for businesses as they can react quickly to changes within their operating environment.
The healthy fast food restaurant will offer an internet ordering facility which will enable the consumers to order food at the comfort of there home.
There is renewed interest by many governments to encourage investment in research and development and develop technology that will give their country the competitive edge. The pace of technological change is so fast that in the computer industry the average life of a computer chip is approximately 6 months. In the name of progression technology will continue to evolve organisations that continue to ignore this will face extinction.
MARKETING MIX (4P’S)
This is perhaps the most fundamental task of the marketing executive in the management of marketing mix. The marketing mix is the name denoted to the main demand-influencing variables that are available to an organisation. The marketing mix is often simplified as the four p’s’ listed below:
Product- What decisions relate to the product range?
Price- What price should be set for the product?
Promotion- How does one communicate with the target market?
Place- What channels of distribution are appropriate?
Product-
My product is healthy food and my service is the restaurant. My product is healthy food and the reason I have made my product healthy food is because there is a niche in the market and I want to take a small step into improving the local community’s health.
Place-
My healthy fast food restaurant will be situated on the corner of Wellhead Lane and Aston Lane as there is already an empty building there. This location is convenient because there is a university and there are many schools and work places close by so it will be easy for many university students and school students to come to the restaurant as it’s easily accessible.
Promotion-
For promotion I will be starting off by making leaflets and posters and posting them on the local schools and university, this will raise awareness of my service and hopefully make people visit my healthy fast food restaurant. And this will then hopefully follow by positive word of mouth advertising.
Also on the first day of opening I will have free tasters so local residents can taste our food first for free. This will hopefully interest them and please their taste buds as well as raising awareness of the healthy fast food restaurant even more.
Price-
The price of the healthy food at my restaurant will be at an affordable price, taking into considerations that many people in the local area are unemployed.
For the first two weeks I will also have special offers on the healthy food,such as ‘BOGOF’ offers on certain foods as this will entice more people to come to the restaurant and if they like the food they will come even more and the word will go around of our quality food which will hopefully bring in more potential customers. After the two weeks my prices will go up slightly but they will still be affordable, again taking into considerations that many people in the local area are unemployed.
CASH FLOW FORECAST
A forecast is an attempt to predict what might happen in the future. Most businesses will try to forecast future events using previous experience or data which they have collected. This process will help the business plan for the future.
The following is a cash flow forecast for the first four months.
As you can see in the cash flow forecast in the first month we expect things to go well but I have predicted the restaurant to have a slight loss as people are not used to eating healthy food, the reason why I have not predicted a big loss is because the restaurant is new and people always like to try new things.
In the second month the business is predicted to suffer from another loss even as sales of goods will have increased rapidly. Sales of goods are predicted to increase even more by the third month resulting in the business making a profit for the first time.
By the fourth month the business will have extra money to increase spending on materials and transport and still make a profit by the end of the year. So for the first four months since the restaurants opening the business in predicted to be a success.
CONCLUSION
In my primary research I found that the people of the local area were for the idea of opening a healthy fast food restaurant in the local area but they did not think that a healthy fast food restaurant would be successful in the local area. However, in my secondary research I found that more and more emphasis is being focused on the issue of healthy eating, one of the main reasons being because of Jamie Oliver’s healthy eating campaign and because of this more parents are encouraging their children to eat healthily; so if a healthy fast food restaurant opens in the local area more people will want to visit and eat at the restaurant now, than if it opened a few years ago. My cash flow forecast shows that in four years time the business will be making a profit; because of all these things I think that my business will be a success.
EVALUATION
If I had more time to do this coursework I would have given the questionnaire sheets to more than fifty people as this would have given me a more accurate view of peoples perceptions of the healthy fast food restaurant. I would have also asked more people to take part in the testing and observing method, as this would have given me a clearer idea of what people thought of the restaurants food.
