At this point in the course, you have completed all the necessary sections of your business plan. Your task in this assignment is to create the final version o

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Company Description and SWOT Analysis

Abby Davis

Strayer University

Professor: Andrea Banto

Strategic Management

April 22, 2022

Company Description

The name of the selected company is Balance Body Snacks. The company provides fast food products and services following the healthcare regulations and laws provided by state and federal governments. The aim is to consider the health status after consuming the company’s products. The company’s products are distinctive from other companies’ items in that they are based on specific nutrients components. In other words, the company’s food products do not contain too much of one nutrient like fats that might accumulate in an individual’s body to cause cholesterol-related diseases. The fundamental food items that drive the company’s sales are fruit snacks packed with substances that support body balance to achieve an alkaline state. The food products include watermelon, papaya, mango and other ingredients such as tofu, egg whites, soy and yogurt to spice the package. The company also offer online services where customers can order door-step delivery services. Apart from being food snacks, the products are body enhancers as they boost a better health status of the consumers.   

Mission Statement

               The entity’s mission is “helping to keep the body in an alkaline state and reducing the risk of getting a chronic illness.” It operates under its primary core values, including honesty, accountability, customer commitment, and integrity. It has incorporated the values into its culture that employees use as the guidelines in their workplace. The organization also operates by prioritizing the general health implications that its food products can cause to its consumers. The management understands that fast food is a vital product that can directly influence or cause health hazards to its consumers. It ensures all precautions, including general hygiene, are observed when preparing the food for its consumers.

The Industry Analysis

               The food industry is a rapidly growing market with significant changes over time. Based on the recent reports, the industry’s revenue will reach $3.2 trillion globally in 2021. It is anticipated to grow to $7 trillion by the end of 2022. The industry is not predictable as it follows the taste of consumers’ needs. Like many sectors, the food industry experienced a substantial hit by the recent covid-19 pandemic due to the implications of the lockdown that followed after it was first reported (Occhiogrosso, 3). As many sectors try to recover from losses incurred in 2020, the fast-food industry is among the sectors with the potential for quick recovery. Given the need for healthier food products during the pandemic, the entity’s food items have increased the demand rate in the market, forcing the company to increase its production rate.

               Following the pandemic, the industry has significantly embraced technologies in its operations to increase the efficiency and quality of products and services the companies offer to the consumers. Innovative apps, third-party ordering and online ordering services are examples of technologies that many fast food entities have embraced in the contemporary world. The major concerns for home delivery services have remained the industry’s trust to handle food items, delivery approaches adopted by different fast food stores and the contactless demands of transactions. The high market demands have also forced the companies in the industry to adopt new technologies to increase the production rate to curb the gap in the market.  

Strategic Positioning Approach

               The best strategic position approach for the company is positioning based on product characteristics or benefits. The method is the most considerable as it will help associate the business brand with the healthcare benefits it offers to its consumers (Hopper, 1). The entity’s products are characterized by healthy supplements the customers consume to boost their health status and prevent them from illnesses related to food consumption. The management will implement the strategy by identifying and evaluating its suppliers’ quality before inquiring about the products. Selecting suppliers with quality products will enable the entity to achieve its positioning strategy.

Distribution Channels

               The primary distribution channel for the company in direct selling. It involves selling the food products to the customer directly without engaging other intermediaries. The company will produce and sell its products directly to its consumers to retain the brand’s quality and purpose (Singh et al., 2). In essence, different approaches involving intermediaries along the distribution channel stand the risk of quality distortion in their products. However, dealing with the distribution process will enable the company to retain the quality and purpose of its food products to the consumers. The questions will revolve around the alteration of food quality in the distribution process. The entity will also sell its products in the grocery store as it involves fast-food services. The majority of its target customers are the middle audience who work in the urban centers and have no time to prepare for morning breakfast and lunch.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths 1. Fruity taste attraction 2. The store location is at the center of grocery store and a fitness center 3. Shelf life or promoting a good health to individuals 4. Has over 2 million social media followers	Weaknesses 1. Lack of its presence across many parts of the country and globally 2. Higher production cost that results into high prices 3. Lack distinctive choice of flavors due to inexperienced workforce 4. Not on the shelves of national health food stores
Opportunities 1. The high demand rate in the fruity products for healthcare purposes 2. The rapid growing market that provide ready market for the company’s expansion 3. increased rate of online potential customers who will increase its customer’s base across the country and the global market 4. Provision of alternative fast-food products that is different from fatty-related products like fryers.	Threats 1.Competitors selling at lower price 2. a decline in customers 3. slow to pivot to other products 4. Patent on product pending

References

1.Hopper D. (2020). Positioning: 5 Strategies to Stand Out From Your Competitors. Retrieved from;

https://www.business2community.com/strategy/positioning-5-strategies-to-stand-out-from-your-competitors-02333056

2.Singh, G., Slack, N., Sharma, S., Mudaliar, K., Narayan, S., Kaur, R., & Sharma, K. U. (2021). Antecedents involved in developing fast-food restaurant customer loyalty. The TQM Journal.

3.Occhiogrosso G. (2022). Trends Affecting The Restaurant Industry In 2022. Retrieved from;

https://www.forbes.com/sites/garyocchiogrosso/2022/03/16/trends-affecting-the-restaurant-industry-in-2022/?sh=580fd22b51e2

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Hi Abby – Nice work! You earned a grade of B (82%). You worked through the questions in this assignment in a meaningful way, with detailed support and thoughtful analysis. Please review my feedback below. OK . . . let's dig into your paper.

Good effort responding to the first question !!! You explained the company name, but you are missing why is it a good name for your company and what you sell or why the name was chosen. The company name is your brand and should be unique and easy to remember. It is very important to describe all sources of your revenue (what you sell and any variations) and what makes you unique. Clarity is key here. You must be convincing! If investors are not clear about your business, they will be less likely to invest.

Nice work with creating a mission statement for your business. What really impressed me the most, was your thorough support and rationale in explaining the components. The mission statement represents what your company stands for in the present. It also shows that you understand the focus of your company and you can articulate your objectives concisely. It is your opportunity to tell the world what your company stands and it determines the company's direction. This is also a reminder to all employees about what makes the company successful. It is a point of reference for keeping everyone clear on the direction of the organization.

You provided some good information about the industry in which you operate, but I like to see you dig deeper and focus on your specific area of operation as well and discuss the trends in more detail. Support all your statements with good research and data. Evaluating the industry increases your knowledge about the factors that contribute to your company's success and also shows potential investors that you understand the external business conditions in which your company operates. You will describe the industry, the trends, and identify any opportunities that exist within the industry. Identifying these trends is critical for the growth and survival of your business.

You must identify a strategic position from the textbook and provide a justification on why is this the best approach for your company and you also how you will implement it. Check out pages 146-147 in the textbook for more information on this topic. The strategic position allows you to establish a position in the market and clarify how you will compete or what sets you apart from other companies. To determine the best strategic position, you will evaluate your strengths and your interests and also what differentiates you from the competition. A clear strategic position influences every aspect of your business, such as the development of new products, marketing approaches, operations, and location. Your strategic position can evolve over time. When you find opportunities in the market, you will always have to identify a strategic position to distinguish your company from others.

Great work discussing the distribution approach. I just need a little more detail and explanation as to how the distribution approach you identified is the most appropriate for your company and what you sell. Provide more details on how you will reach the end users. Consider all distribution methods available and evaluate for the best fit. To increase the sales, you want to distribute the what you sell in the most effective way to reach the end-user, your target market. You want to be where your target market is.

You made some good observations in the SWOT matrix. Keep in mind that you want to provide enough details for anyone to understand what you mean. The SWOT items must be very specific to your business. You are missing a summary of the key learnings under the matrix, the key information that managers should consider as they make decisions. The SWOT is a way for the company to analyze what it can and cannot do and also to identify the opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis determines what assists the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles it must overcome or minimize to achieve desired results.

Great job with the format, organization, and grammar.

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Marketing Plan Budget

Abby Davis

Strayer University

Professor: Andrea Banto

BUS 599

May 7, 2022

Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy

Company's Target Market

               The selected company for the previous paper was Balance Body Snacks. The company serves fast, healthy fruit snack products under strict healthcare regulations provided by state and federal government agencies. The primary target market for the company is the middle-class audience who operates or works in the center of the most significant cities or towns in the United States. Despite the shrinking size of the market over the past decades, the middle-class audience remains relevant, especially in the fruit snacks industry (Ojo, 3). The company relies on the middle-class audience working in the middle of bigger cities and towns and has no time to prepare breakfast and lunchtime food for break-time. Such a class of individuals tends to have less break time, thereby making fast food services appropriate for such time frame allowed to them. In particular, the company focuses on the bachelors who depend on no one to prepare food and drinks for them. They count on fast food products and services to get food and beverage items delivered to their location. Following a recent report released by Pew Research Center in 2020, most of the United States population is within the middle class, with 52 percent of the whole adult population (Imarc, 1). These are individuals with the potential of earning an average of $30000 to roughly $90000 annually. The class is the foundation of the food and beverage market, and it is the aspect that drives the domestic demand in the nation. The middle class is more homogeneous, making it an easy target for the company to reach with its products and services.

Company's Market Competition 

               The global fruit snack market has continued to grow over the past years, and it is expected to surge as many consumers focus on healthy food and beverages items. The market grew at a CAGR of about 6 percent from 2016 to 2020 (Imarc,1). With the recent covid-19 pandemic increasing the industry's products, the market's size is anticipated to surge due to its attraction to the new entries. In other words, there has been an increasing number of new organizations entering the market, thereby making it highly dense. The market is highly competitive, with major players such as Bare Foods Co. (PepsiCo Inc), Kellogg Co., Welch Foods, and General Mills Inc. taking the lead in the market share (Imarc, 1). The top players have adopted numerous strategies, including new packaging of products, product innovation, mergers, acquisitions, and product promotion, to boost their sales and revenues and improve their profit margin. For instance, in 2015, SunOpt Inc. acquired Sunrise Holdings, which resulted in substantial revenue growth and improvement in its profit margin. The primary food product that Balance Body Snacks competes against the major players in the market includes fruit snack-packed items such as papaya, mango, and watermelon. Balance Body Snacks differentiates its products by inclusively adding other ingredients like yogurt, egg whites, and soy to spice the package. The approach is practical as it develops uniqueness in its company's packaging outlook. 

Value Proposition 

               The value proposition for Balance Body Snack Company is "The Testiest Way to Get Healthier." Typically, fast food products are considered tasty with a variety of flavors that spice them to the consumers. Also, consumers are often attracted to more delectable fast food products such as humbuggers, French fries, and more related. The company's approach is not to lose the concept of fast food items to its consumers. It, therefore, ensures it spices its fruity snacks by adding healthy flavors to attract and entice more consumers with its proposition value. Also, the company's slogan is "Healthy yet delicious snacks." The company's slogan is linked up with its propositional value to sink its products' message to the mind of consumers. 

Marketing Vehicles for Branding Marketing

               One of the most effective marketing vehicles would be social media platforms. The marketing vehicle is among the most cost-efficient digital approaches for marketing. It will increase the visibility of Balance Body Snacks' business across a wide range of potential consumers across and beyond the country. The engagement with a broad consumer audience will boost the recognition of the company's brand across the global market. This is even more significant for the company's brand, given that contemporary consumers are focusing on online services for efficiency. Another effective marketing vehicle for the company's brand would be event sponsorship. Setting aside some capital to sponsor specific events will promote the company's positive brand to the audience participants of the events (Manns, 2). This way, the audience will generate awareness of its brand, thereby leading the company to increase its customer base, which is essential to its sales and revenues. Sponsoring events will also enable the company to reach wider demography of potential consumers, increasing its sales and revenues. Besides, the event participants will generate royalty by recognizing the brand while enjoying the event's experience. The company would also use sampling by spreading its products' message and offering free samples to consumers. 

References

1.Imarc. (2022). Fruit Snacks Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026. Retrieved from;

https://www.imarcgroup.com/fruit-snacks-market

2.Manns L. (2017). The Top Four Benefits Of Corporate Sponsorship. Retrieved from;

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/08/30/the-top-four-benefits-of-corporate-sponsorship/?sh=3ca64bf33504

3.Ojo, S. (2018). The Fruit and Vegetable Snacks Venture. SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals.

  

                  

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Your response includes a partial description of the target market. You must discuss the specific demographic information, as well as the geographic, lifestyle, psychographic, purchasing patterns, and buying sensitivities of your target market. You must specifically address each of the demographics. For example, you are missing the required age and income ranges. The more you know about your potential customers, the better you can serve them. Keep in mind we are focusing on the people who are more likely to purchase our product.

Good work with identifying the key competitors. You have addressed most of the items listed in the textbook in the graphic on page 125. To make your response more robust, you must address each of those items (who, what, how, future, barriers). You are missing the future and barriers. Understanding your competition will allow you to determine where you fit in on the map. Here is a great article you can read on this topic.  https://hbr.org/2007/11/mapping-your-competitive-position.  You have also outlined a strategy to compete and differentiate yourself. More details here would also improve your response. Justifying our strategy allows us to consider all our strengths and weaknesses and identify the best way to use our strengths to pursue the opportunities. You could also provide some information about the market share of your competitors. Market share represents the percentage of an industry's total sales that are earned by a particular company over a specified time period. This information is key to understanding how competitive a company is. The increases and decreases in market share are monitored carefully to determine how a company is doing. A company that is growing its market share will be growing its revenues faster than its competitors.

Great work outlining the value proposition. The value proposition clarifies why people should buy what you have and how you stand out from the competition. Good slogan! You will use this in your marketing efforts as a short message about what you have to offer. You want this message to be powerful and easy to remember. Just think of Nike's "Just do It" slogan.

Great work! You outlined the marketing vehicles needed to promote your business and explained why you think they work best. You can also check to see what the competition is doing. You can learn from them and take it to the next level or be inspired to do something different. As we grow our business and implement our marketing strategy, we will have data showing the success of each vehicle used. Based on this information, we will adjust our strategy. We must also carefully monitor our target market and ensure that we are where they work, play, and live. 🙂

Nice work with completing the Setup worksheet in the Business Plan Financials Excel Template.

The Marketing Budget worksheet in the Business Plan Financials Excel Template was mostly completed as required. You are missing the required website information. You should have a one-time cost in April 2022 and monthly maintenance costs each month after. All the costs associated with the marketing vehicles outlined in question 4 of Assignment 2 should be reflected in this section. You may need to adjust these numbers as you complete the entire business financials document and as you develop your business plan. It is critical that you attach a number to all the marketing activities you plan to determine how much you need to spend. You can revise this section as you develop your plan just make sure it is a reflection of the information you have in the current version of the plan.

Great job with the format, organization, and grammar.

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Operations, Technology, and Management, and Social Responsibility Plan (with Financials)

Abby Davis

Strayer University

BUS 599: Strategic Management

Professor Dr. Andrea Banto

May 29, 2022

Operations, Technology, Management, and Social Responsibility Plan (with Financials)

Operations Plan

Facilities

The company will rent the facility where all its operations will be conducted. Buying the facility will be significantly costly for the company as it is located in the city center. The facility space in which the company's operations will conduct will cost approximately $950. Since the company embraces technology, it will develop a friendly and easy-to-use website at $550 plus frequent service maintenance. The significant inventories, including refrigerators, cooler, ventilation, and packaging machine, will cost the company $4327.05 with packaging taking $700.

Production Process/ Description of Operations (if service company)

The production process for the company will begin with the suppliers. Most importantly, the company management will develop strong and effective relationships with its suppliers. These include individuals like farmers who will be selling raw materials to the company for further processing to achieve the end-consumer's needs. The quality of the raw materials will matter a lot to the company's production sector for the customer's attraction (Lake, 2018). After the company's processing activities, it will pack the fresh fruit snacks in quality and attractive containers to deliver to the respective customers as they order. Balance Body Snack's essential equipment includes refrigerators, coolers, ventilations, fruit vending machines, trucks, or motorcycles for delivering services and packaging containers. The company will purchase refrigerators, fruit vending machines, coolers, and ventilation equipment. It will rent other trucks and motorcycles on specific occasions of customer orders.

The management will ensure quality control is achieved by reinforcing and emphasizing suppliers' high-quality standards to produce end-user products. It will prioritize the health status of its customers when consuming fruit snacks (Ciurzyńska et al., 2019). In addition, it will consistently improve its sectors following the feedback offered by its consumers on the website. By the end of the second year, the company plans to open other stores across the city of its operations to increase its sales to over one million.

Research and Development

Balance Body Snack intends to embrace technology to the core of its operations. It heavily invests in the research and development sector to evaluate some of the most advanced technologies and innovative approaches. Some of the new products the company is having in its development are offering dried fruits, improving its door-to-door delivery services, and increasing its store presence across the state and later across the country for efficiency. The organization's R&D manager will be in charge of the research and development activities within the organization. Currently, the company operates with a maximum number of 24 employees whose salaries range from $500 per month. Moreover, there will be eleven part-time employees who will cost the organization $300 of salary per employee. There will be four key management employees including operations manager responsible of all operations and activities in the organization, accounts manager for accounting activities, marketing for products promotion, and quality control manager for quality checker.

Technology Plan

Software needs

One of the powerful software to use includes online food ordering software. Especially after the recent pandemic, many customers prefer shopping online which has attracted many businesses to shift their operations to the internet (Landon Post, 2021). The tool will enable the company to present its products to the potential online consumers and allow them to make an order and pay for their fruit snacks through the internet. Another powerful software to apply would be the Waiting Software, a tool that will respond to the customer's orders and feedback. The entity will also utilize Menu Building Software, which helps create a diverse menu list for the fruit snacks available on sale. Besides, it will use Inventory Management Software to eliminate any potential harmful factors that may lead to food poisoning. The tool will also help the company make the right decisions regarding its purchasing choices. The use of tracking software will also benefit both the company and the customers, as it will be used to acknowledge an order status. The overall cost of the software implementation will be an estimation at $350 per month.

Hardware Needs

The company will also anticipate spending an estimated $5100 to purchase new hardware for the snack store. The company's hardware will need to include desktop computers to access its website activities, mobile ordering, and payment tablets for ordering and payment efficiency (Landon Post, 2021). It will also need workstation peripheral devices to increase the efficiency in printing and accepting customers' receipts and cards.

Telecommunication Needs

The telecommunication needs will cost the entity approximately $300. The company will require a landline to receive calls from consumers and avail of its customer services. Besides, it will also need cell phones for remote access to customers' calls at any given time and place. Moreover, it will set up a Wi-Fi connection within its premises to allow its workforce members to access the internet for research and information regarding the properties of the fruit.

Personnel Needs

The IT management department will handle the entity's technology needs. The entity will have all of its activities and operations done by in-house team.

Management and Organization Plan

Key Management Employees

One of the key management employees in the organization is the operations manager. The individual is responsible for all operations taking place and the financial success of the organization's business (Hofstrand, 2020). He has experience in the production and marketing sectors of the business. Another significant management employee is the quality control manager. He is responsible for handling OSHA compliance, monitoring the quality of fruits from the suppliers, EPA compliance, and employee training. Also, another critical management employee is the accountant or bookkeeper manager. She is responsible for all financial income statements and balance sheets in the organization. The manager also has experience in receivables collection, payroll, and cash management every month. Also, the marketing manager is another significant management employee whose responsibility is to ensure the company's products, including the brand, are known in the market (Hofstrand, 2020). She also has experience in product promotion and sales.

Advisors

The first significant advisor for the company would be an accountant. The advisor is an expert in business accounts and will contribute to the organization by advising the management on taxes and tax planning following the entity's bookkeeping (Roberge, 2015). Another key piece of advice would be a lawyer whose expertise is based on business law. The advisor will also contribute to the company by advising the management on the essential procedures that the entity should consider following the stated law and regulations by both federal and state government agencies. An insurance agent is also a significant advisor whose contribution will be offering advice to the management on how effectively they can protect the business against significant changing events that might impact the business operations.  

Management Hierarchy

Social Responsibility Plan

Impact on Stakeholders

The company management will focus on satisfying its employees to improve their services to the entity’s customers. It will compensate employees according to the laws and regulations that protect employees at the workplace. The company will offer employees opportunities of growing their careers within the company by promoting those with high performance. Based on

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