YUMMY VEG BUSINESS PLAN
Yummy Veg is a vegetarian takeaway food outlet that will initially be opened in Guildford in Surrey , England during 2010, with the plan to expand rapidly, opening additional stores during 2011 in other areas of the UK and Australia
Yummy Veg intends to transform the traditional stereotype of vegetarian food from boring and bland dishes to one that is full of flavour and visually exciting. The menu offers meals such as curry, pasta, burgers, salads, soup, cakes, muffins and beverages, which are based on variations of meals from around the world, with an influence from French, Malaysian, Indian and Greek cuisine. This makes Yummy Veg’s menu multinational and a little bit different from other competitors.
Yummy Veg’s products will be prepared to the highest quality; using organic fresh produce obtained from wholesale suppliers and will be offered at an affordable low price, so that meals are accessible to the entire community. This will assist Yummy Veg to build up its brand name and trust among the community.
This business plan will examine the each aspect of the Yummy Veg business, looking at its products, competitors, the industry and country it operates within and its strategic direction. We will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business and risks involved in addition to also examining the marketing strategy, operational planning of the Yummy Veg infrastructure and the financial projections for the first two years of operations in the Guildford market.
This business plan is for Yummy Veg, a vegetarian takeaway food outlet that will initially be opened in Guildford in Surrey , England during 2010, with the plan to expand rapidly, opening additional stores during 2011; in regional developing areas of the UK and the east coast of Australia
Yummy Veg’s menu is a healthy, vegetarian alternative to fast food and will cater to the wider community in Guildford , including vegetarians, vegans, some ethnic groups and anyone who is conscious of their health and well-being or trying to lose weight. More specifically, the target market will be focused towards busy businesspeople on the go, employed in the inner city area that may not necessarily have the time in their day to make sure they eat right.
Yummy Veg intends to transform the traditional stereotype of vegetarian food from a boring and bland lentil overloaded meal to one that is full of delicious flavours and visually exciting. The menu offers meals such as curry, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, salads, soup, cakes, muffins and an assortment of fresh, hot and cold beverages. Each dish was carefully considered for the menu and is based on variations of meals from around the world, with a particular influence from French, Malaysian, Indian and Greek cuisine. This makes Yummy Veg’s menu multinational and a little bit different from competitors, providing something for everybody within the target market.
Furthermore, the dishes on the menu will be prepared to the highest quality, using organic fresh produce free from artificial colours, preservatives or additives. Also, items will be a low affordable price, so that all meals are accessible to the entire community. This will assist Yummy Veg to build up its brand name and trust among the community, as will showing customers that Yummy Veg supplies healthy vegetarian food that is palatable to anybody, whether or not they are accustomed to eating meat.
Customers can expect good value for money at Yummy Veg, as well as the calorie and fat value per serving for each dish, assisting individuals with calorie counting and healthy eating. In addition, with each sale the customers will be provided with a receipt that contains a list of the ingredients, nutritional value and health benefits associated with the meals purchased. This will ensure the customer is well informed of what they are eating and how it is healthy for them, information which may be important for those who are conscious of increasingly common illnesses such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and heart disease (Food Standards Agency, 2010).
Guildford is an English town 43 kilometres (27 miles) to the south west of London with a population of 67,000 residents as at 2007 and an expected increase of 9,200 (13.8%) people by 2026 (O’Flynn, 2007). Guildford is known for being a market town with the market being held on Fridays and Saturdays and also holds a farmers market on the first Tuesday of each month (Guildford , 2010).
Reference: (Office of National Statistics, n.d.).
Guildford was rated as the 9th best place to live in Britain UK outside of London UK
Guildford has also been named the most competitive ‘city’ in the UK , in the most competitive region in the UK (excluding London Guildford has excellent transport links making it well placed to operate at national and international levels as well as locally (Guildford Eye, 2010).
Yummy Veg is to become the leading provider of vegetarian takeaway food for busy people on the go, in and around the urban area of Guildford , England Guildford and will develop a strong relationship with customers built from trust in our product and level of service.
4.2 MISSION STATEMENT
Yummy Veg is committed to providing healthy vegetarian food made from quality organic fresh produce, ensuring good value for money for the customer. The menu with cater to vegetarians, ethnic groups and the majority of the community residing in Guildford, as dishes are multinational and based on variations from French, Malaysian, Indian and Greek cuisine. Customers can expect a stable low price, warm and friendly atmosphere and exceptional customer service. Staff will always be on hand to answer any customer enquiries related to the source or use of our fresh produce ingredients and the nutritional value and health benefits of each dish. We believe this will be important information for individuals who are conscious of increasingly common illnesses such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and heart disease (Food Standards Agency, 2010). Yummy Veg will also uphold a high level of ethical and sustainability standards, by maintaining the following environmentally sustainable criteria of food restaurants (Sustainable Restaurant Association, 2010):
1. Ingredients will be sourced locally from Riverford Organic Foods or from a wholesale supplier within 50 miles of the store;
2. Monitor energy efficiency;
3. Recycle packaging and back-office waste and compost food waste;
4. Use 100% recyclable takeaway containers and cups, as well as offer different portion sizes to minimise food waste;
5. Employ staff only from the local community of Guildford ;
6. Maintain a vegetarian menu and reduce impact on environment caused by greenhouse gas emissions released during production of meat supply.
· Source 95% of ingredients from Riverford Organic Foods or a high quality fresh produce wholesaler located at farmers markets within two months;
· Within the first twelve months provide 200-250 meals per day (Mon-Fri 7am-7pm) to customers, increasing to 300-350 meals per day within two years;
· The average value per sale should be at least £5.00 (pricing will be Small £4.50, Medium £5.50, Large £7.00);
· Attract repeat customers through a customer loyalty program (purchase eight items and receive one item free);
· Achieve an annual profit up to £10,000 in the first year, increasing to £30,000 in second year;
· Customers and staff should develop trust with Yummy Veg (measure by staff turnover, repeat sales, customer loyalty, and customer survey at end of year two)
The environmental analysis essentially looks at the external factors that affect a business’s operations, for example, government economic policy, change in consumer preferences and developments in technology. The analysis also examines the speed of changes occurring in the environment and describes these changes at three levels, (1) stable; where there is no or small change in the environment and the changes are slow and easy to identify, (2) dynamic; where there are moderate change characteristics evident in the environment that may be predictable, and (3) turbulent; an environment that experiences fast and unpredictable changes (Friend & Zehle, 2009, p.31).
Based on the above definition of environmental change levels it is apparent that the UK
5.1 PEST ANALYSIS
The PEST analysis examines four external key areas of the environment which affect business operations; these are political, economical, social and technological.
· Government health regulations can have a significant effect and impose high expectations on the takeaway food industry to protect the well being of consumers, such as staff must have adequate training in food hygiene and food safety principles (Food Standards Agency, 2006);
· The Yummy Veg business and premises need to be registered with Surrey Local authorities under EU regulations (Food Standards Agency, 2006);
· The UK
· Further reinforced by Giles (2010) who suggests that UK
· The price of vegetables can vary due to availability in different seasons and extreme weather conditions. During 2008, vegetables prices increased by 14.7% and the consumer price inflation rate was 4.4%; 2.4% higher than the government target and was expected to continue rising. Therefore, this could impact significantly on UK household budgets and consumer disposable incomes, reducing customers available funds to purchase Yummy Veg’s product (BBC News, 2008);
· Each director of Yummy Veg will contribute cash to the business, totaling £150,000 to cover start-up costs and will be personally responsible if Yummy Veg were to go bankrupt.
· The overall community in Guildford is expected to have an awareness of the increasingly number of health issues evident in the UK
· 60% of the population in Britain are expected to be overweight by 2050, compared with 28% observed in 2008, which expresses the need for more businesses such as Yummy Veg to increase social awareness of healthy eating and assist customers with calorie counting to maintain a healthy weight (Telegraph, 2008);
· Businesspeople may be more knowledgeable about health issues due to levels of education attained as 40% of the Guildford population have degrees and as a result they will be more concerned about their own personal health (O’Flynn, 2007);
· We associate businesspeople in Guildford with higher than average incomes, as gross disposable income in Surrey in 2008 was £20,000 pa (Office of National Statistics, n.d.) and the median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees on adult rates was £523, which is higher than the UK median of £479 (Office of National Statistics, n.d.). This allows our target market to have extra financial resources to spend on their food, so that they are able to choose a healthier option, if desired.
· Yummy Veg plans to use a cash register, EFTpos terminal, and a computer in store. The computer will only require QuickBooks accounting software for bookkeeping purposes and inventory tracking only, and this software will need to be upgraded every 12 months (Intuit, n.d.);
· The Guildford store will have a 24 hour surveillance security camera placed inside and outside the entrance, to prevent and monitor theft. This is due to evidence of crime observed in Guildford during evenings in the inner city area. Although, acts of crime in Guildford have fallen from 735 in the last quarter of 2009 to 694 in the first quarter of 2010, with the current crime rate at 5.5%, the level of crime in this area is still around average levels for the UK (Surrey Police Local Crime Mapping, 2010).
The VIRO analysis will look at Yummy Veg’s available resources that are valuable, imitable and rare as well as evaluate the resources that would allow our organisation to maintain a competitive advantage and to operate efficiently.
· Store space in inner city location of Guildford is highly sought after, and our business will only require a small space, as we do not need a big kitchen or dining area, compared with other competitors in the market, such as Rumwong Thai Restaurant, that are medium sized and need more space to cater to large volumes of customers (Restaurant Guide, 2010);
· We will be providing fresh and healthy ingredients, that contain no artificial colours, preservatives or additives and will be the first business in Guildford to ethically produce our dishes keeping in line with environmental sustainability standards (Vegetarian restaurants, Guildford, 2010);
· Yummy Veg will be located in the CBD of Guildford, where the majority of consumers are willing to spend more money for healthy and fresh food, because they have higher than average incomes with £44 gross weekly earnings above the average for UK overall (Office of National Statistics, n.d.).
· The “Yummy Veg” business name and logo will be registered in England and Australia
· Yummy Veg will employ a Cook who will produce multinational dishes that are full of flavour, using 95% fresh ingredients and will have extensive qualifications in cooking to be able to consistently produce a high standard of dishes.
· Yummy Veg will be the only vegetarian takeaway outlet within a 1-2 kilometre radius of our target market in Guildford (Vegetarian restaurants, Guildford , 2010);
· We will be offering freshly squeezed juice, while competitors currently only provide soft drinks or juice concentrates (Restaurant Guide, 2010; Trusted Places, 2009; Eat Easy, 2010; Gype, n.d.).
· With regards to human resources – Yummy Veg will hire bubbly and friendly staff that have an awareness of their health and are forward thinking in nutrition. We will make ongoing training in their role compulsory, so they can be up to date and knowledgeable about each meals ingredients and health benefits, to provide a high quality customer service. Current competitors in Guildford offer excellent friendly customer service, but are lacking in knowledge of all areas of their products offered (Restaurant Guide, 2010);
· Yummy Veg will provide dishes containing a variety of flavours, available in a takeaway option, while the majority of our direct competitors currently require customers to dine in, such as the Rumwong Thai Restaurant that seats 180 customers for dinner (Restaurant Guide, 2010; Google Maps, 2010).
According to Friend & Zehle (2009, p.55) an industry analysis develops on existing strategic plans for established and new businesses to evaluate and better understand the industry and its threats, potential and overall influence in which the business will operate and contend with competitors. The following industry analysis of Yummy Veg is constructed using Michael Porter’s competitive forces framework (Friend & Zehle, 2009, p.58).
Competitors in Guildford , England England (Vegetarian restaurants, Guildford , 2010).
In addition, there may be very few potential new entrants into the industry, as property in Guildford is limited and costly with an average price of well above £300,000 making it one of the priciest places in the country (O’Flynn, 2007). Also, property prices increased by 7.09% in the previous year which indicates buildings in this area are highly sought after, therefore, the difficulty in finding property to open an outlet and the high risk involved in funding expensive land and buildings may discourage potential competitors from entering the takeaway food industry within the 1 – 2 kilometre radius we have set for our target market (Barrow, 2010). In the position of Yummy Veg, we believe that the benefits of being the first of our kind will outweigh the potential risk involved in entering the market in Guildford, in the belief that customers will be curious to try the new style of healthier food, resulting in an increase in sales.
Our customers are health conscious businesspeople, particularly females, who are employed and/or reside in the city area Guildford , England
We are targeting people between the ages of 21 and 50, who are in search for a healthier food option in their local area. In our target market 40% of the population has degrees suggesting there are approximately 27,000 businesspeople employed in professional occupations (O’Flynn, 2007; Guildford , 2010). The median gross weekly earnings of these businesspeople are £523, higher than the UK Guildford community earns higher than average incomes, therefore, our customers should have a higher disposable income to spend on takeaway food each business day, whether it be for a snack or a meal.
Suppliers of Yummy Veg will be wholesale retailers, such as Riverford Organic Foods that receive produce directly from the farmers or growers or direct farmers markets, therefore, their prices will be much lower than in retail supermarkets as they provide produce at cost price with little or no mark-up (Riverford, 2010). In addition, due to the short life span of fresh produce, wholesale suppliers need to keep the pricing of products as low as possible in a market environment, so that (1) they can sell a high volume of fresh products each day and (2) to remain as a stable competitor in their own sector. As Yummy Veg’s suppliers are wholesale retailers they will have little bargaining power and the pricing of fresh produce should consistency remain low, unless exceptional circumstances such as a natural disaster occurs. In such an instance, disasters like flooding could temporarily drive prices up, because of damage caused to fresh produce reducing availability of supply, in which case, Yummy Veg will accept the losses in order to provide our customers a consistently stable low price (BBC News, 2008).
In our target market in Guildford we cannot locate any vegetarian food outlets within a 1-2 kilometre radius of the target areas; therefore, we appear to be providing a new product to the market, suggesting there should be little threat of substitutes in the immediate future (Vegetarian restaurants, Guildford , 2010). Although, the product and services of Yummy Veg would be easy to imitate, we believe the limited property available and high cost of entry may discourage potential new entrants (Barrow, 2010).
Competition is high in Guildford, as there are many restaurants, however, Yummy Veg does not have too many direct competitors within the takeaway food industry (Guildford Eye, 2010) Therefore, marketing will be important to persuade consumers to try Yummy Veg’s food, but it will be building of the brand name and trust in our product that will be most crucial. Furthermore, Yummy Veg would be the first competitor in Guildford to produce food in a ethical and environmentally friendly way, which may greatly influence customers to purchase our products compared to other competitors (Vegetarian restaurants, Guildford, 2010) Also, it is believed that consumers in the UK are becoming more conscious of what they eat and how it is prepared, seeking more ethically produced meals, which Yummy Veg can offer them (Ethical eating is one the rise, 2010).
The industry life cycle as shown below in Figure 8, illustrates how the vegetarian food industry has evolved over time in the UK
In 2003, the growth effect of the new vegetarian trend started to level and during this year the UK
Competitor analysis requires evaluating the central forces that determine each existing business’s competitive position within the target market in relation to one another, in order to prepare new entrants for the intensity and effects on their business when they open and begin competing against these other businesses (Friend & Zehle, 2009, p.61).
9.1 COMPETITORS IN GUILDFORD , ENGLAND
There are five leading competitors in Guildford , England that are of concern to Yummy Veg and they are; Rumwong Thai Restaurant, Bamboo Garden , Nibbles Baguette & Sandwich Bar, Guildford Kebab House, and Southway Fishbar (Vegetarian restaurants, Guildford , 2010).
Nibbles Baguette & Sandwich Bar is Yummy Veg’s most directly related competitor as they provide a wide variety of fresh food at an affordable price to the community working within urban area of Guildford . Nibbles Baguette & Sandwich Bar is a takeaway restaurant that produces gourmet sandwiches and baguettes fresh to order, when a customer makes a request either in person or by telephone (Eat Easy, 2010). This competitor also offers a delivery service within the local area, making the healthy food they offer more accessible to busy businesspeople with limited time to consider lunch. However, this sandwich bar is only open for lunch service between 12:00pm and 2:00pm, which will be Yummy Veg’s main advantage as with our extended opening hours we are able to cater to a wider market and ensure maximum profit possible each business day (Eat Easy, 2010)
Rumwong Thai Restaurant opened in 1976 when Thai food was still a rarity in Britain Guildford market, it is Yummy Veg’s second competitor of high concern (Restaurant Guide, 2010). The Rumwong Thai Restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday for lunchtime and dinner service and its menu offers 3 courses at an average price of £16.00 for lunch and £33.00 for dinner, which appears reasonably low even though this price is much higher than other Thai restaurants in regional areas of Guildford (Restaurant Guide, 2010). The food at this restaurant is highly praised as authentic Thai cuisine that is consistently high quality, with a large variety of dishes for selection (Restaurant Guide, 2010). Due to the higher demand experienced as a result, Rumwong Thai Restaurant recently went through expansions to be able to cater to a larger volume of customers, and the new premises will seat up to 180 persons at a time (Google Maps, 2010).
The Guildford Kebab House has been operating since 1993 and its owner has over 40 years experience in the catering industry. This competitor offers a takeaway menu that includes mezze, salads, wraps and kebabs made from fresh wholesome ingredients (Trusted Places, 2009). From these details, it is apparent that Guildford Kebab House could significantly affect the success of Yummy Veg encouraging customers to purchase our fresh food. However, this competitor is open between 11:30am and 1:00am Tuesday and Wednesday and until 3:00am Thursday to Sunday. They focus on a different target market to Yummy Veg and it includes young adults socializing in town late at night seeking a snack after their night out (Trusted Places, 2009).
It appears that although these three competitors are well established and have a strong sense of trust and reliability built already with the community of Guildford , they cater to a different target market than Yummy Veg intends to. This may be our competitive advantage, as Yummy Veg plans to offer a vegetarian menu very specific to individuals requiring a healthy meal, with no hidden calorie, fat or sugar content. Furthermore, Yummy Veg will be providing alternative tasty options to boring healthy salads and sandwiches already available in the market, whilst offering the dishes at an affordable price, which may encourage customers who may have been loyal to these other competitors, to at least give Yummy Veg a try, which is all our business needs to show the community the high product quality and level of service we provide.
The following competitor KSF ranking was based on seven key success factors, they are: market share, brand image, product quality, product variety, sustainability, customer loyalty and price.
The above graph shows that Yummy Veg’s most important key factors for success are brand image and product quality, because Yummy Veg will promote the quality of its dishes to build customer trust and thus our brand image, to establish our business successfully in the vegetarian food market for the long-term.
Also indicated
Product analysis examines the different aspects of a company’s products, such as product characteristics including purpose, design colour and taste, as well as the strategic position of the product, proposed direction in which they will develop, any cash flow implications and indicators of advantageous strategic directions that should be pursued by the business (Friend & Zehle, 2009, p.65). Overall, it generally shows what characteristics the products have which can differentiate them from other available products already in the market (Product analysis and design, n.d.).
In the case of Yummy Veg, our products are the food dishes we offer prepared from fresh fruit and vegetables by a highly qualified cook in a way, using colour, design and taste to stimulate customers’ appetite. A large variety of delicious meals will be appearing in Yummy Veg’s menu to give a wide range of options to the customers, please refer to Yummy Veg’s menu on pages 33-35 for products that will be offered to the Guildford market.
Yummy Veg is a take away vegetarian shop and therefore the packaging of our products is a very important part of distribution to the consumers. Shape, color and also convenience will be highly regarded in determining form of packaging. Also, because Yummy Veg is concerned about our customers’ health and providing them with healthier food options, our business will also care about the environment and the impact of non-recyclable materials. As a result, Yummy Veg will use 100% environmental friendly and recyclable material to develop our packaging containers and takeaway bags, even though the cost of these materials may be higher than other forms of packaging.
The product life cycle examines the growth pattern a product goes through, regarding the number of sales and the amount of revenue that the product generates in different stages of its life cycle. The four stages of the life cycle are introduction, growth, maturity and decline and each have their own characteristics to consider for the product life cycle (The product life cycle, n.d.).
The following Table 10 will explain the position of Yummy Veg products in each of the different stages of the product life cycle, with reference to the Guildford target market.
The food industry is different overall in terms of product life cycle compared to other industries, as food is a necessity that must be purchased regularly. It is not an industry within which technology, innovation and new products discourage people from buying previous products. Quality, taste and customer service will always determine the number of customers purchasing from a specific restaurant, café or takeaway food shop (Fast food industry, 2010).
Yummy Veg is new takeaway shop in the town of Guildford
Cost is a major issue and can be divided in two categories; fixed and variable cost. Fixed costs are items such as staff wages and rent, whereas, variable costs includes ingredients and utilities such as electricity and gas. Many factors can affect variable cost, such as the number of items for production or variability among seasons. A higher volume of items for production will require more ingredients, more labour and will also increase utility consumption. The different seasons affect the price of fruit and vegetables, such as in winter vegetables are more expensive due to reduction in availability of supply and in order to meet demands suppliers have to bring fresh produce in from other areas of the UK, otherwise it must import from other countries which involves the addition of transportation and other costs to the already increased price, making fresh ingredients much more expensive to purchase during this season (Wash farm, n.d.).
Yummy Veg has no direct competitors within the Guildford market; there are four restaurants in the area, one is Rumwong Thai Restaurant that requires customers to dine in for dinner at night and the other three provide a different type of food to Yummy Veg (Restaurant Guide, 2010). However, because Yummy Veg will operate within a perfect competition industry, entry for direct competitors is not difficult and in a short time they could easily imitate our products within the market (Perfect competition, n.d.).
Due to the nature of Yummy Veg’s business, competitors can follow in Yummy Veg’s direction and enter the market with ease and to overcome this potential problem Yummy Veg will expand its operation during 2011 by opening new branches either by direct investment or franchise in other regional developing areas of England
The market for Yummy Veg’s product will rapidly expand, because our product is new, affordable and unique in this target market, which will influence most customers to give the Yummy Veg menu a try. Some products will be more successful than others, however it does not mean the market for these other products will diminish. Guilford is one of the most popular shopping spots within the UK and attracts many people to visit this town, especially the CBD area for this reason which will in effect always bring new customers to the Guildford market (Shopping guide, n.d.).
As Yummy Veg will operate within the food industry as mentioned earlier, innovation will not have a high impact on product demand. In the case of direct competitors’ appearance in the market, quality, customer service and variety would differentiate Yummy Veg’s products from other products already available within the market.
Yummy Veg’s products within the vegetarian food industry are price sensitive because of perfect competition, which causes price variability to have a big impact on customer demand and also on the amount of substitutes available in the market. Price cannot be determined by demand, therefore, in all of the product life stages price will remain the same, with slight changes due to increases in cost of production (Henry, 2001).
Promotion can play an important role to assist with gaining market share and Yummy Veg should promote its product through high advertising at the beginning of its operations. It should keep advertising through out the different stages of the product life cycle to refresh existing customers’ minds and also to promote products to new customers entering the market.
Location is dependent upon the goods and services a business provides to the customer. As Yummy Veg is providing a healthy food option to businesspeople that are aware of their food diets, healthy eating and exercise, as well as having more than sufficient disposable income to spend on healthy food, our business will be located in the inner city area of Guildford close by to the town’s business district and to the local gym. Women in particular will be a big portion of Yummy Veg’s customers and these days, many women work in service industries such as the insurance and financial sectors, which are located in CBD of Guildford (Hupkens, Knibbe, & Drop, 2000).
Cash flow plays a vital role in business sustainability and is the only way a business can continue to pay its expenses. Due to the nature of Yummy Veg’s business, sales will be paid only by cash methods and as revenue has a direct effect on the amount of cash funds within a business; it means the higher the amount of sales the larger the value of Yummy Veg’s cash at bank account will be.
Yummy Veg can increase its profit margin by decreasing costs where possible and aiming to increase sales as high as possible. Yummy Veg plans to increase its sale in the long-term through expansion of the business. It will also increase some of its production costs such as the hiring of staff and utility consumption, but it aims to decrease some other costs by purchasing ingredients in bulk direct from suppliers which should reduce the overall price, therefore, it is expected that Yummy Veg’s profit margin will increase over the time.
Businesses that operate on a small scale are usually involved in less risk than larger firms. However, as Yummy Veg intends to expand during the second year of operation, its risk factors will also increase, due to the increase in the scale of its operations overall, therefore, Yummy Veg will face more risk in its future operations than during the initial introduction stage.
Market analysis and strategy is concerned with understanding the market in which a business operates and understanding the needs of the consumers within the market, so that the business can develop and implement a series of strategies to achieve success in the market. Businesses should always be aware of what they are producing, for whom they produce the product for and the quantity they should produce based on demand for the product (Marketing strategy, n.d).
The market within which Yummy Veg will operate includes people who are health conscious and are aware of the benefits of a healthy diet. The majorities of customers within the Guildford market, approximately 74% have sufficient disposable incomes and are willing to spend more money on healthy food. Guildford is a town with a population of over 67,000 and is increasing by 10% each year. In addition, many of the people that migrate to Guildford from other parts of the UK
Figure 14: Market Segmentation of Guildford Market
Yummy Veg’s products are already differentiated in the market, as there are no other vegetarian restaurants in the market that provide similar food to Yummy Veg. Yummy Veg will introduce its products to the market by advertising in local newspapers, business magazines and signs posted inside local gyms. Yummy Veg may need to spend more money to place its newspaper advertisements on the front and first few pages to catch the customers’ eye, however we believe the benefit of attracting repeat business because consumers love the high quality and low price Yummy Veg can provide will outweigh this cost of advertising. For future operations television advertising will be required to build up the Yummy Veg name, to assist with the success of future expansions into other regions.
A mentioned in other parts of this business plan, due to the nature of its business and being the first of its kind, Yummy Veg does not in practice need to differentiate its products, as there are no other products in the market that are similar to what Yummy Veg will offer the community. However, Yummy Veg will seasonally modify ingredients according to the tastes and preferences of the customers which may position its products as great value for money and what the customer wants in their eyes.
An operational plan is used to explain how a business intends to actually carry out its business operations, and is central to the allocation of its resources (Friend & Zehle, 2009, p.137).
Yummy Veg will be run by three owners and a cook in the first year. However, every owner will be in charge with specific management decisions and responsibilities towards his or her task, that will be allocated based on the background and qualifications of each owner.
The first manager Husain Alkarrani will be responsible for the recruitment of employees and the advertising of Yummy Veg’s products, vision and overall business in all of it aspects for the first two years of operation in 2010 and 2011. In addition, this manager will provide further assistance in the kitchen when the cook requires it, as well as maintaining security and safety throughout the business premises, which includes ensuring all staff members are fully aware on safe use of the cash register to prevent theft and minimise human error losses. Also, this owner is responsible for the ongoing training and support of staff to increase their knowledge base in nutritional value and content of certain food, including calorie and fat value for each meal offered on the menu. Husain Alkarrani has been chosen for this position due to his qualifications in Human Resource Management and his friendly approachable manner that suits this position.
The second manager Farshid Namdar will be responsible for maintaining inventory levels and ordering ingredients on a weekly basis from preferred suppliers. Also, this manager will be responsible for rostering staff across shifts, assisting in food preparation in the Kitchen should the cook request help and the common customer service duties that are required of all managers in the front end of the shop. Farshid Namdar has been chosen for this position because of his excellent business negotiations skills, his positive Public Relations approach and his degree in International business, making him ideal for such a position that requires knowledge and practice in business etiquette.
The third manager Christine Boyle will be responsible for Yummy Veg’s financial cash flow and all the expenses that will lead to a sustainable budget and running the business in a good manner. She will also be responsible for training and maintaining staff members’ high level of customer service, as well as perform the common customer service responsibilities that every manager has to contribute towards the business. Christine Boyle has been chosen for this position because of her Accounting degree and background and her extensive knowledge in Psychology and its practices.
The cook will begin cooking dishes two hours prior to opening of the shop, to ensure that the dishes are ready for sale when the front door opens, so customers can purchase already prepared food, waiting in food warmers, for a quick and easy snack or meal. Having many of the meals pre-prepared before opening also makes the packaging process much faster for staff members when a customer is making a purchase.
The shop will be open five days a week, on business working days Monday to Friday opening from 7am until 7pm. Shifts will be a maximum of eight hours. The cook will always work from 5am to 1pm, so they have the time in the morning to prepare dishes before the store opens. Managers and other staff shifts will run from 6am to 2pm and from 11:30am to 7:30pm respectively each day, to maintain at least one manager on every shift and to include an overlap of staff during lunchtime service when there may be a rush of customers.
All employees including the owners will be paid their wages on a weekly basis via account transfer at Yummy Veg’s local bank. Every manager will receive weekly amount of £500 as fixed wage during the first year, while the cook will also receive a fixed wage but of £415 per week.
The cook will have the opportunity to take training courses once a year in order to keep him updated with the latest version of dishes and methods of preparation for various ingredients, to increase the potential and creativity from the cook’s perspective. In addition, all Managers will have training sessions initially in how to use the cash register and EFTpos terminal in the right manner. All customer service staff will be required to partake in monthly ongoing training programmes that look at the nutritional value of certain foods, the health benefits associated with particular vegetables and basically keep them up to date with potential consequences of a poor diet and lack of exercise so that they are well prepared for any customer enquiries.
During the second year of operation Yummy Veg’s business will begin to develop at a slower rate, and this means that staff will be under pressure to keep up customer demand so that growth for the business keeps on rising, therefore, the cost of recruitment will be maximized each year. All final recruitment decision for new employees will be based on the individual’s qualifications, experience, and personality and will be put to a vote between the three owners for a person to be employed by Yummy Veg. All new employees will be required to undertake two weeks of compulsory training inside the shop, in all function areas such as customer service, food preparation and office duties and each new staff member will be provided with a clear guideline and description of their position at Yummy Veg and what is expected in their performance. All staff at Yummy Veg is entitled to full-time employment benefits such as accumulated sick days (on a pro rata basis) and annual leave, in addition to their weekly wage.
According to the recent changes in employment legislation in the UK
