OUTLINE OF BUSINESS PLAN
My business idea is opening a café. I will be opening my café in Greenwich. It will be situated in the town centre near the Cutty Sark to attract as many potential customers as possible. My café will provide a view to the river and the city. The town centre is a popular area, has a wide number of attractions that attract tourists from different parts of the country. It also has good transport links which makes it easier for people living in the area, and tourists to travel in and out of Greenwich easily.
I have a capital of £35,000 which I will use to open my café. I will invest this money in the business rather than leaving it in the bank. The financial sources I got my capital were from, friends, family, and personal savings.
My legal status will be a sole trader, where I will be responsible for the business, take all the profits, and I will be personally liable for all the debts in my business. I need to inform the Inland Revenue that I am a sole trader, within 3 months of opening my business.
The products I will be providing in my café are organic products and non-organic products. I will have freshly made organic sandwiches, with hot and cold beverages. As non-organic products I will offer pastries, cakes, muffins, cookies, soups and salads. This is a wide range of products to meet consumer tastes and preferences.
I will be renting the premises, as I will not be able to afford the property. However, if my business is successful, I will consider purchasing the property as I will have enough finance to buy the property.
My target market is aged 21-30 and within this age group it is targeted at students, men for sandwiches, women for coffee, and the ACORN profile of SE10 9BJ. I chose to target my products at this target market mainly because, this age group tend to buy more sandwiches to eat healthy, drink coffee whilst studying, at teatime, work or even when socialising. To meet the needs of people that are health conscious about their diet, I will be providing organic sandwiches, salads, soups and many more in my cafe.
My Unique Selling Point is providing both organic and non-organic products in my café. From my research it can be said that there are not many organic cafes in Greenwich, which means there is likely to be less competition in the area. Therefore, by providing organic food I hope to attract as many potential customers as possible. However, there is a risk that since there are not many organic cafes in Greenwich, there may not be much demand for organic food. Taking into account this risk, I will judge the trend of eating lifestyle in Greenwich that is; if there is more demand of organic products I will diversify my non-organic products into organic products.
My café will be open the whole week that is the 7 days in the week. On weekdays it will be open from 7am-6.30 pm and during the weekend it will be open 8am - 4pm. The main reason for having my café open at these times, is so that I can attract as many customers as possible and make it flexible for customers to visit at any time during the day.
I will be employing 2 full time staff and 1 part time staff. They have a choice of the hours of work they wish to work.
I will be promoting my business in three different ways, through local newspapers, local radio and leaflets. The total cost I will be spending will be on advertising is £4200. the main reason why I chose these promotions to advertise is so that I can create awareness of my café locally in Greenwich and this way I will be able to reach my target market.
The pricing strategy I will be using is the cost-plus pricing that is I want a price made up of the cost of manufacture (overheads) plus a percentage mark-up for your profit. This pricing strategy will help mark up profit before coming up with a price for my products. Again with this pricing strategy it will help me cover production costs, to obtain a suitable profit for my business. If revenue obtained does not exceed cost, this is likely to result in a loss. I may be able to sustain a loss for a while, but in order to continue operating my café, I must generate enough revenue to cover wage bills and other expenses.
Justification of approach taken to complete business plan
The first thing I did was to lay out a structure for my business idea. The main reason why I did this was, to find out if my business idea existed in the market and if it was a good enough idea before I opened my café. To do this I had to collect information, thus I used a variety of resources. This included using internet, websites to collect information about transport links in Greenwich, the location, attractions which made the area popular, how competitive the area is. To get more detailed information I visited the libraries and the location where I was to open my café. This helped me find out what the strengths, weaknesses of the area are, as well as opportunities and threats the location has. By analysing how competitive the area is, I will be able to decide what my café will have as a USP. I visited cafes and analysed what their strengths and weaknesses are to get an idea of how I would target customers through my USP.
The next thing I did was going to banks such as, Natwest, Barclays and Lloyds and got their start up pack to research on what needs to be considered when opening a business. Things such as rules and regulations, in what way the bank offers help, which ownership will be suitable and what financial records I needed.
Thirdly I wanted to investigate if Greenwich was a suitable location for my business idea. The purpose of doing this was, to investigate whether I should open my café in Greenwich, is there enough demand in the area that will help me attract potential customers, which in result will make my business idea successful. Again, I visited Greenwich to analyse how suitable the location was, how popular the area is, what attractions it has, and find out who my potential customers would be. At the same time I surveyed how close the Greenwich University was to the area, and if this would be a benefit to my business.
I then had to work out the most suitable way of promoting my business in Greenwich in order to create awareness. The main reason I wanted to promote my business was to reach out to my target market. I had a wide range of promotion to use, choose the most suitable and at the same time choose which would be appropriate to meet my budget demands and make sure it is not very costly. To do this I used the internet to calculate the most suitable advertising costs.
I also prepared financial documents such as cash flow, a trading profit and loss account, a balance sheet, financial ratios and a break - even chart to see if it would break even. With the help of the financial records I will be able to analyse how effective my business is.
Finally, I compared my ratios with one of my competitor's ratios to find out how well my business would do, and if my business would stand a fair chance in the market.
QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN
This is when quality systems are implemented to ensure that quality standards are met and customers are satisfied.
Customers perception towards the quality of a product or service is the most important as this judges the products success in the market.
The main objective of my café will be satisfying my customers, meeting their expectations and in doing so pleasing my customers. To meet my objective I will have to consider the following points in my café.
* Monitoring - I will regularly check that all products are made in the right way and that staff make quality products. I will also sell hot and fresh food, which meets customers taste. I will ensure that the raw materials being used are of good quality and are used before they go out of date.
* Relationship with suppliers - I will make sure I build a strong relationship with my suppliers so they deliver good, reliable and high quality products and services. I will also try to find out more about the stock being delivered that is, how they check the quality of goods. I will also have to ask them if they could negotiate under some circumstances e.g. deliver more stock if it runs out in the café.
* Sampling - I will make sure that when making certain products I look at them to see if they are of good quality. I will do this to make sure that by selling these products consumers will be satisfied with them.
* Hygiene - I will make certain that my café is clean and tidy. I will also make sure that staff working in my café are dressed properly and are neat. Hygiene is important in places where food is being made or served, therefore I will make sure that these places are hygienic to prevent anything that can cause illness to customers, which can be a threat to my cafe reputation and sales.
I will be taking into consideration "Demings theory of Quality" to make sure that the quality of all my products lives up to my customers expectations.
DEMING AND HIS CYCLE OF QUALITY (PDCA)
According to Deming, to improve quality you should,
* Find problems and constantly improve
* Find out if quality exists
* Create a constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service
The 4 keywords that Deming came up with to improve the quality of products and services are,
* Plan - plan what needs to be improved and how to improve it
* Do - do it, put new plan into action
* Check - monitor the results
* Act - take action to bring results under control, when results are under control, plan the next stage of improvement.
I will also be focusing on "Crosbys Absolutes" to ensure that my customers are happy and satisfied with quality and service of products provided in my café.
CROSBYS ABSOLUTES
* Definition of quality is "Conformance to requirements" - meeting the needs of customers. This is very important as customers may not come to my café and buy my products and services if they are not satisfied.
* The system of quality is "Prevention" - to provide the best to my customers I will have to stop making mistakes.
* The performance standard is "Zero Defects" - I should aim not to make any errors.
* The measurement of quality is the "Price of non conformance" - I should always consider the cost (not just financially) if things so wrong. Therefore, I should keep my customers pleased with the quality of the products and services.
To keep all my employees aware of the main aim "Quality is essential" in the café, I will be having meetings where the aim will be discussed. Discussions on how to improve quality assurance of products and services will be discussed, ideas will be put forward and considered, opinions from employees will be listened to and problems will be discussed and solved.
PRODUCTION PLAN
05.30
Open the shutters, switch off the alarm, switch on the lights and all required equipment
05.50
Put money in the till and check if other necessary equipment are available
05.55
Suppliers start to arrive
06.05
Only one out of the 4 Staff arrives
06.15
Start setting up the café. Put down the chairs, wipe the tables
06.20
Stock up food in the refrigerator merchandiser, staff starts putting out all accessories such as cutlery, serviettes and other table services
06.30
The other 3 staff arrive, and start making sandwiches
06.50
Making and heating food
06.55
Start to open the café
07.00
Café opens, customers arrive, serve until 6.30pm
09.00
Clean tables, make sure everything is in order, work surfaces are clean and kitchen is tidy
09.30
Put used dishes and cutlery in dishwasher
0.00
Staff members have a 15 minute break one after the other
1.15
Stock checked to make sure there is enough available before the rush hour
2.00
Staff continue making sandwiches, serving customers and clean up
3.30
Staff take in turns to have their 30 minute break
6.00
All staff are now back working together in the café
6.30
I have a break, check paper work and order more stock if needed
7.30
Back in the café, start helping, staff member that arrives early now leaves
8.00
Staff stop cooking, wash dishes, clean kitchen, put clothes in the washing machine and clean the kitchen
8.15
Serve the last customers
8.30
Front door will be closed for customers
8.40
Clean tables and chairs, mop the floor and wash the remaining dishes
9.00
Make sure all the equipment is switched off
9.15
Collect and take out all rubbish, cash up
9.30
Other 3 staff leave the café
9.45
Take paperwork home if needed to sort it out, switch the alarm on, put shutters down, lock up and go home
The aim of the production plan is to organise premises, machinery, labour and raw materials efficiently, so that the firm can produce the goods required by customers in the right quantities and at the right time
PRIMARY RESEARCH 1a - CASE FOR BUSINESS IDEA
My business idea is opening a café in Greenwich. Cafes are becoming popular day-by-day and are becoming a part of everyday lifestyles. In my café I will be selling freshly made organic sandwiches, a variety of hot and cold beverages, salads, soups, bread, pastries, cakes, muffins and lots more.
Two key products of my café will be sandwiches and coffee. To strengthen the case for my business idea I will identify the demand in these two areas.
DEMAND FOR SANDWICHES
Sandwiches in the 21st century have become a need for customers as a snack or as a meal. The sandwich market owes much of its growth to its perception as being the perfect snack food. They are seen as a healthier form of convenience food available. The trend is moving towards a healthier lifestyle, as more healthy food is available, like the veggie or organic sandwich options. This means that it is most likely that there is going to be continuous growth in sandwich sales.
It is seen as a healthy snack because,
* It offers complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre.
* There is the opportunity to control fat and calorie intake through choice of filling.
I have chosen to make fresh sandwiches as the sandwich market is one of the growing area within the fresh prepared food market and also because demand is strong from made-to-order outlets. Consumers have a choice to eat in/Take Away these freshly made sandwiches.
Some useful sandwich facts for my café,
* In 2001 value of sales in the sandwich shop market was £730 million, an increase of 836% since 1996. As sales are increasing this means there is an increase in potential customers, which will increase revenue for the business and result into increasing profits. Therefore, there is a likely chance of my business idea being a successful venture if customer needs and wants are met.
* Annual growth of sandwich market is 7-8%. Out of this, approximately 18% of sandwich sales come from coffee shops/sandwich shops.
* Sandwiches fit the British consumers' preferences for convenient lighter meals. Therefore, I need to make sure that the variety of sandwiches offered in my café appeal to the British market. If I am successful in doing so, I will be successful in increasing the number of sandwich sales in my café, which will support the success of my business idea.
* ABC1 make up 55% of sandwich purchasers. People with high income are spending more on sandwiches compared to people with lower income, hence I should not keep my prices too low as this may create uncertainty of the quality of the product.
* Consumers feel a good sandwich is always fresh, looks good and has a subtle aroma. Overall the quality of the sandwich should be high.
SANDWICH FINDINGS
* The most popular sandwich fillings are,
Chicken
21%
Cheese
6%
Ham
3%
* Typical consumers who mainly buy sandwiches are young male who are full time employed, 57% sandwiches are bought by male.
* 50% sandwiches are bought by people under the age of 35
* The most popular type of sandwich is the "wedge" which accounts 50% sales
* Average price of sandwiches which are bought from coffee shops is approximately £2.00
* 50% of sandwich buyers prefer take-away sandwiches.
* The male consumer in the UK consumes more cheese and meat sandwiches
DEMAND FOR COFFEE
In the past there were only two types of coffee available, regular and de-caffeinated.
Coffee similarly like the sandwiches is now becoming a part of lifestyle. Coffee is offered in different sizes, flavours and toppings. However, now there is a wide range of coffee sold in cafes. The most common types of coffee offered in cafes are Espresso, Mocha, Latte, Cappuccino and Macchiato. These broadening of coffee variations over time show that demand for coffee is increasing to meet consumer tastes.
Coffee Findings;
* More female buy coffee and go for the different types of coffee offered in cafes
* Male buy regular coffee rather than buying the other variations
* Regular coffee is sold increasingly in the morning with breakfast
* Coffee drinkers are more likely to stay and drink in.
OVERVIEW
Sandwiches are preferred freshly made, are in demand at lunchtimes as a quick snack and is seen as a healthier and a balanced diet!
Sandwich has become one of the most multi-talented, multi-cultural, multi-purpose food products in the UK, eaten regularly by consumers at lunch and seen as a quick way of satisfying the midday hunger. 13% of the sandwiches eating working population opt for a purchased lunchtime sandwich.
Coffee and sandwiches can be consumed any time of the year whether it is in summer or winter, depending on individual tastes, which makes it a permanent fixture in the average adult's diet. The need for coffee and sandwiches being available to consumers, allow them the flexibility of consuming any type of coffee or sandwich during any time of the year.
The current value of the sandwich market is about £3 billion annually, with 3 in every 10 adults purchasing sandwiches each week. Out of which 18% sales are dominated by sandwiches bought from cafes/sandwich shops. This shows that sandwiches are established in the market.
Apart from sandwiches, there are other factors that have recently boosted the industry. The variety on offer gives the consumer a large range of tastes and textures. For instance bread has gone through a new beginning in recent years. Sandwiches are now offered in different types of breads to meet consumer tastes.
In my café, consumers have a choice on the type of bread they want the sandwich to be prepared.
From the graph above I can see that pre-packed sandwiches are usually prepared in the traditional "wedge" bread. At the same time freshly made sandwiches are preferred in rolls/baps. Therefore, I will have sandwiches on offer both in the "wedge" and "rolls" depending on how the consumer wants to purchase it. This way I will be able to meet consumer tastes.
I will not be offering sandwiches in the "other" option, because there are a number of breads that come in the other option such as, wrap, packed flat rectangular, and the wedge 3 pack and to offer these sandwiches I will have to research more on consumer likes and dislikes. This may increase costs as they may not be a regular intake which will result into stock not being sold. Therefore, I will offer sandwiches in 4 types, which are Sub, Baguette, Roll/Bap and the Wedge.
In the UK, research has shown that women are increasingly knowledgeable of health issues, such as increasing obesity levels of the population, resulting in people following a healthier lifestyle. This strengthens the sales of sandwiches as they are seen as convenient, lighter, healthy and tasty alternative to the "fast" food alternative. Over time there have been more vegetarian and organic sandwich options available in the market, which contribute to the steady growth of sandwich sales.
With the fast-paced lifestyles that many of us have adopted, many people prefer to buy coffee from cafes as it is seen as a handy place to get a product fast and will satisfy customer needs through different variations offered to customers. I need to ensure that I have good customer service during peak hours, to satisfy my customers and not lose them to competitors.
My business idea is opening a café. I will be opening my café in Greenwich. It will be situated in the town centre near the Cutty Sark to attract as many potential customers as possible. My café will provide a view to the river and the city. The town centre is a popular area, has a wide number of attractions that attract tourists from different parts of the country. It also has good transport links which makes it easier for people living in the area, and tourists to travel in and out of Greenwich easily.
I have a capital of £35,000 which I will use to open my café. I will invest this money in the business rather than leaving it in the bank. The financial sources I got my capital were from, friends, family, and personal savings.
My legal status will be a sole trader, where I will be responsible for the business, take all the profits, and I will be personally liable for all the debts in my business. I need to inform the Inland Revenue that I am a sole trader, within 3 months of opening my business.
The products I will be providing in my café are organic products and non-organic products. I will have freshly made organic sandwiches, with hot and cold beverages. As non-organic products I will offer pastries, cakes, muffins, cookies, soups and salads. This is a wide range of products to meet consumer tastes and preferences.
I will be renting the premises, as I will not be able to afford the property. However, if my business is successful, I will consider purchasing the property as I will have enough finance to buy the property.
My target market is aged 21-30 and within this age group it is targeted at students, men for sandwiches, women for coffee, and the ACORN profile of SE10 9BJ. I chose to target my products at this target market mainly because, this age group tend to buy more sandwiches to eat healthy, drink coffee whilst studying, at teatime, work or even when socialising. To meet the needs of people that are health conscious about their diet, I will be providing organic sandwiches, salads, soups and many more in my cafe.
My Unique Selling Point is providing both organic and non-organic products in my café. From my research it can be said that there are not many organic cafes in Greenwich, which means there is likely to be less competition in the area. Therefore, by providing organic food I hope to attract as many potential customers as possible. However, there is a risk that since there are not many organic cafes in Greenwich, there may not be much demand for organic food. Taking into account this risk, I will judge the trend of eating lifestyle in Greenwich that is; if there is more demand of organic products I will diversify my non-organic products into organic products.
My café will be open the whole week that is the 7 days in the week. On weekdays it will be open from 7am-6.30 pm and during the weekend it will be open 8am - 4pm. The main reason for having my café open at these times, is so that I can attract as many customers as possible and make it flexible for customers to visit at any time during the day.
I will be employing 2 full time staff and 1 part time staff. They have a choice of the hours of work they wish to work.
I will be promoting my business in three different ways, through local newspapers, local radio and leaflets. The total cost I will be spending will be on advertising is £4200. the main reason why I chose these promotions to advertise is so that I can create awareness of my café locally in Greenwich and this way I will be able to reach my target market.
The pricing strategy I will be using is the cost-plus pricing that is I want a price made up of the cost of manufacture (overheads) plus a percentage mark-up for your profit. This pricing strategy will help mark up profit before coming up with a price for my products. Again with this pricing strategy it will help me cover production costs, to obtain a suitable profit for my business. If revenue obtained does not exceed cost, this is likely to result in a loss. I may be able to sustain a loss for a while, but in order to continue operating my café, I must generate enough revenue to cover wage bills and other expenses.
Justification of approach taken to complete business plan
The first thing I did was to lay out a structure for my business idea. The main reason why I did this was, to find out if my business idea existed in the market and if it was a good enough idea before I opened my café. To do this I had to collect information, thus I used a variety of resources. This included using internet, websites to collect information about transport links in Greenwich, the location, attractions which made the area popular, how competitive the area is. To get more detailed information I visited the libraries and the location where I was to open my café. This helped me find out what the strengths, weaknesses of the area are, as well as opportunities and threats the location has. By analysing how competitive the area is, I will be able to decide what my café will have as a USP. I visited cafes and analysed what their strengths and weaknesses are to get an idea of how I would target customers through my USP.
The next thing I did was going to banks such as, Natwest, Barclays and Lloyds and got their start up pack to research on what needs to be considered when opening a business. Things such as rules and regulations, in what way the bank offers help, which ownership will be suitable and what financial records I needed.
Thirdly I wanted to investigate if Greenwich was a suitable location for my business idea. The purpose of doing this was, to investigate whether I should open my café in Greenwich, is there enough demand in the area that will help me attract potential customers, which in result will make my business idea successful. Again, I visited Greenwich to analyse how suitable the location was, how popular the area is, what attractions it has, and find out who my potential customers would be. At the same time I surveyed how close the Greenwich University was to the area, and if this would be a benefit to my business.
I then had to work out the most suitable way of promoting my business in Greenwich in order to create awareness. The main reason I wanted to promote my business was to reach out to my target market. I had a wide range of promotion to use, choose the most suitable and at the same time choose which would be appropriate to meet my budget demands and make sure it is not very costly. To do this I used the internet to calculate the most suitable advertising costs.
I also prepared financial documents such as cash flow, a trading profit and loss account, a balance sheet, financial ratios and a break - even chart to see if it would break even. With the help of the financial records I will be able to analyse how effective my business is.
Finally, I compared my ratios with one of my competitor's ratios to find out how well my business would do, and if my business would stand a fair chance in the market.
QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN
This is when quality systems are implemented to ensure that quality standards are met and customers are satisfied.
Customers perception towards the quality of a product or service is the most important as this judges the products success in the market.
The main objective of my café will be satisfying my customers, meeting their expectations and in doing so pleasing my customers. To meet my objective I will have to consider the following points in my café.
* Monitoring - I will regularly check that all products are made in the right way and that staff make quality products. I will also sell hot and fresh food, which meets customers taste. I will ensure that the raw materials being used are of good quality and are used before they go out of date.
* Relationship with suppliers - I will make sure I build a strong relationship with my suppliers so they deliver good, reliable and high quality products and services. I will also try to find out more about the stock being delivered that is, how they check the quality of goods. I will also have to ask them if they could negotiate under some circumstances e.g. deliver more stock if it runs out in the café.
* Sampling - I will make sure that when making certain products I look at them to see if they are of good quality. I will do this to make sure that by selling these products consumers will be satisfied with them.
* Hygiene - I will make certain that my café is clean and tidy. I will also make sure that staff working in my café are dressed properly and are neat. Hygiene is important in places where food is being made or served, therefore I will make sure that these places are hygienic to prevent anything that can cause illness to customers, which can be a threat to my cafe reputation and sales.
I will be taking into consideration "Demings theory of Quality" to make sure that the quality of all my products lives up to my customers expectations.
DEMING AND HIS CYCLE OF QUALITY (PDCA)
According to Deming, to improve quality you should,
* Find problems and constantly improve
* Find out if quality exists
* Create a constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service
The 4 keywords that Deming came up with to improve the quality of products and services are,
* Plan - plan what needs to be improved and how to improve it
* Do - do it, put new plan into action
* Check - monitor the results
* Act - take action to bring results under control, when results are under control, plan the next stage of improvement.
I will also be focusing on "Crosbys Absolutes" to ensure that my customers are happy and satisfied with quality and service of products provided in my café.
CROSBYS ABSOLUTES
* Definition of quality is "Conformance to requirements" - meeting the needs of customers. This is very important as customers may not come to my café and buy my products and services if they are not satisfied.
* The system of quality is "Prevention" - to provide the best to my customers I will have to stop making mistakes.
* The performance standard is "Zero Defects" - I should aim not to make any errors.
* The measurement of quality is the "Price of non conformance" - I should always consider the cost (not just financially) if things so wrong. Therefore, I should keep my customers pleased with the quality of the products and services.
To keep all my employees aware of the main aim "Quality is essential" in the café, I will be having meetings where the aim will be discussed. Discussions on how to improve quality assurance of products and services will be discussed, ideas will be put forward and considered, opinions from employees will be listened to and problems will be discussed and solved.
PRODUCTION PLAN
05.30
Open the shutters, switch off the alarm, switch on the lights and all required equipment
05.50
Put money in the till and check if other necessary equipment are available
05.55
Suppliers start to arrive
06.05
Only one out of the 4 Staff arrives
06.15
Start setting up the café. Put down the chairs, wipe the tables
06.20
Stock up food in the refrigerator merchandiser, staff starts putting out all accessories such as cutlery, serviettes and other table services
06.30
The other 3 staff arrive, and start making sandwiches
06.50
Making and heating food
06.55
Start to open the café
07.00
Café opens, customers arrive, serve until 6.30pm
09.00
Clean tables, make sure everything is in order, work surfaces are clean and kitchen is tidy
09.30
Put used dishes and cutlery in dishwasher
0.00
Staff members have a 15 minute break one after the other
1.15
Stock checked to make sure there is enough available before the rush hour
2.00
Staff continue making sandwiches, serving customers and clean up
3.30
Staff take in turns to have their 30 minute break
6.00
All staff are now back working together in the café
6.30
I have a break, check paper work and order more stock if needed
7.30
Back in the café, start helping, staff member that arrives early now leaves
8.00
Staff stop cooking, wash dishes, clean kitchen, put clothes in the washing machine and clean the kitchen
8.15
Serve the last customers
8.30
Front door will be closed for customers
8.40
Clean tables and chairs, mop the floor and wash the remaining dishes
9.00
Make sure all the equipment is switched off
9.15
Collect and take out all rubbish, cash up
9.30
Other 3 staff leave the café
9.45
Take paperwork home if needed to sort it out, switch the alarm on, put shutters down, lock up and go home
The aim of the production plan is to organise premises, machinery, labour and raw materials efficiently, so that the firm can produce the goods required by customers in the right quantities and at the right time
PRIMARY RESEARCH 1a - CASE FOR BUSINESS IDEA
My business idea is opening a café in Greenwich. Cafes are becoming popular day-by-day and are becoming a part of everyday lifestyles. In my café I will be selling freshly made organic sandwiches, a variety of hot and cold beverages, salads, soups, bread, pastries, cakes, muffins and lots more.
Two key products of my café will be sandwiches and coffee. To strengthen the case for my business idea I will identify the demand in these two areas.
DEMAND FOR SANDWICHES
Sandwiches in the 21st century have become a need for customers as a snack or as a meal. The sandwich market owes much of its growth to its perception as being the perfect snack food. They are seen as a healthier form of convenience food available. The trend is moving towards a healthier lifestyle, as more healthy food is available, like the veggie or organic sandwich options. This means that it is most likely that there is going to be continuous growth in sandwich sales.
It is seen as a healthy snack because,
* It offers complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre.
* There is the opportunity to control fat and calorie intake through choice of filling.
I have chosen to make fresh sandwiches as the sandwich market is one of the growing area within the fresh prepared food market and also because demand is strong from made-to-order outlets. Consumers have a choice to eat in/Take Away these freshly made sandwiches.
Some useful sandwich facts for my café,
* In 2001 value of sales in the sandwich shop market was £730 million, an increase of 836% since 1996. As sales are increasing this means there is an increase in potential customers, which will increase revenue for the business and result into increasing profits. Therefore, there is a likely chance of my business idea being a successful venture if customer needs and wants are met.
* Annual growth of sandwich market is 7-8%. Out of this, approximately 18% of sandwich sales come from coffee shops/sandwich shops.
* Sandwiches fit the British consumers' preferences for convenient lighter meals. Therefore, I need to make sure that the variety of sandwiches offered in my café appeal to the British market. If I am successful in doing so, I will be successful in increasing the number of sandwich sales in my café, which will support the success of my business idea.
* ABC1 make up 55% of sandwich purchasers. People with high income are spending more on sandwiches compared to people with lower income, hence I should not keep my prices too low as this may create uncertainty of the quality of the product.
* Consumers feel a good sandwich is always fresh, looks good and has a subtle aroma. Overall the quality of the sandwich should be high.
SANDWICH FINDINGS
* The most popular sandwich fillings are,
Chicken
21%
Cheese
6%
Ham
3%
* Typical consumers who mainly buy sandwiches are young male who are full time employed, 57% sandwiches are bought by male.
* 50% sandwiches are bought by people under the age of 35
* The most popular type of sandwich is the "wedge" which accounts 50% sales
* Average price of sandwiches which are bought from coffee shops is approximately £2.00
* 50% of sandwich buyers prefer take-away sandwiches.
* The male consumer in the UK consumes more cheese and meat sandwiches
DEMAND FOR COFFEE
In the past there were only two types of coffee available, regular and de-caffeinated.
Coffee similarly like the sandwiches is now becoming a part of lifestyle. Coffee is offered in different sizes, flavours and toppings. However, now there is a wide range of coffee sold in cafes. The most common types of coffee offered in cafes are Espresso, Mocha, Latte, Cappuccino and Macchiato. These broadening of coffee variations over time show that demand for coffee is increasing to meet consumer tastes.
Coffee Findings;
* More female buy coffee and go for the different types of coffee offered in cafes
* Male buy regular coffee rather than buying the other variations
* Regular coffee is sold increasingly in the morning with breakfast
* Coffee drinkers are more likely to stay and drink in.
OVERVIEW
Sandwiches are preferred freshly made, are in demand at lunchtimes as a quick snack and is seen as a healthier and a balanced diet!
Sandwich has become one of the most multi-talented, multi-cultural, multi-purpose food products in the UK, eaten regularly by consumers at lunch and seen as a quick way of satisfying the midday hunger. 13% of the sandwiches eating working population opt for a purchased lunchtime sandwich.
Coffee and sandwiches can be consumed any time of the year whether it is in summer or winter, depending on individual tastes, which makes it a permanent fixture in the average adult's diet. The need for coffee and sandwiches being available to consumers, allow them the flexibility of consuming any type of coffee or sandwich during any time of the year.
The current value of the sandwich market is about £3 billion annually, with 3 in every 10 adults purchasing sandwiches each week. Out of which 18% sales are dominated by sandwiches bought from cafes/sandwich shops. This shows that sandwiches are established in the market.
Apart from sandwiches, there are other factors that have recently boosted the industry. The variety on offer gives the consumer a large range of tastes and textures. For instance bread has gone through a new beginning in recent years. Sandwiches are now offered in different types of breads to meet consumer tastes.
In my café, consumers have a choice on the type of bread they want the sandwich to be prepared.
From the graph above I can see that pre-packed sandwiches are usually prepared in the traditional "wedge" bread. At the same time freshly made sandwiches are preferred in rolls/baps. Therefore, I will have sandwiches on offer both in the "wedge" and "rolls" depending on how the consumer wants to purchase it. This way I will be able to meet consumer tastes.
I will not be offering sandwiches in the "other" option, because there are a number of breads that come in the other option such as, wrap, packed flat rectangular, and the wedge 3 pack and to offer these sandwiches I will have to research more on consumer likes and dislikes. This may increase costs as they may not be a regular intake which will result into stock not being sold. Therefore, I will offer sandwiches in 4 types, which are Sub, Baguette, Roll/Bap and the Wedge.
In the UK, research has shown that women are increasingly knowledgeable of health issues, such as increasing obesity levels of the population, resulting in people following a healthier lifestyle. This strengthens the sales of sandwiches as they are seen as convenient, lighter, healthy and tasty alternative to the "fast" food alternative. Over time there have been more vegetarian and organic sandwich options available in the market, which contribute to the steady growth of sandwich sales.
With the fast-paced lifestyles that many of us have adopted, many people prefer to buy coffee from cafes as it is seen as a handy place to get a product fast and will satisfy customer needs through different variations offered to customers. I need to ensure that I have good customer service during peak hours, to satisfy my customers and not lose them to competitors.
