Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity- 

My opportunity for my entrepreneurial idea, Bubble Best, lies within a customer base from college aged students mostly, but can also span across those with busy family schedules and even empty nesters who need a quick and easy premade nutritious meal delivered to their door. I found unmet needs in the delivery service industry, especially for those who feel as if they don’t have time to prepare a healthy meal, cook it, and clean it up all within a busy schedule. I found myself in this situation, so I surveyed others and received similar feedback, especially needing a market for quick, premade self portion meals. 

I am offering this online delivery service specifically to those who feel stressed and don’t have the time to think of meal options. I myself fell into this category as a college student, worried about studying for exams and completing assignments on time, while also sticking to my New Years resolution of eating healthier. When I pitched this idea to my mom, she helped me realize it wasn’t only my demographic that is having this issue. As a young professional years ago, my mom struggled with the same issue- working late hours and not having the time or energy to cook something when she got home. I am confident that there is a market and a demand for this type of service, I just have to research on how to best penetrate and deliver to this market effectively. This solution could cater to those customers in remote areas as well with innovative delivery option. You can pick your premade, self portion, out of a menu online, and it will be delivered to you in seconds. You can order up to a week’s worth of food, freeze it, and have a variety of options to pop in the microwave or oven at your convenience. I am also thinking of asking online retailers like Amazon to invest in my service. This way, if Amazon were to become a provider, these premade, healthy options wouldn’t be confined to just the local areas. There wouldn’t be too much variety in the meals since they would come from Publix or Fresh Market, but allowing an online retailer to ship these meals around the country would supplement the local delivery service as well. This will cut down the time it takes people to think about food options, cook them, and clean them up.

For my pricing strategy, I would offer individual meals for $7 each on a per need basis. If the customer bought a lunch and dinner combo on a per need basis, I would offer the package for $6 dollars, and ultimately if the customer wants lunch and dinner for the week (Monday-Friday), the price drops to $4 dollars each due to the bulk quantity.  

Venture Concept-

 Bubble Best will solve the unmet need of lost time to prepare and eat meals by delivering a healthy, premade, self-portion meal to the customer’s door to cut down on stress of eating for those with busy schedules. I believe my customer base will switch to this product because through my interviews, I learned that people want another delivery option that is healthy, inexpensive, and ready to serve instantly. My competitors are places like FitLife Foods in Tampa, who already serve the healthy meals in premade ready to serve options. However, I think I can beat out the competition because they aren’t a mobile food option. I also will differentiate myself by advertising "local" grown foods that are healthier and more organic to be delivered to your door. You could have lasagna made from local cheese.. etc. This is how my company would not get pushed out my competition. College students especially don’t have always have a mode of transportation to go pick up these meal options, nor the time to cut out of their busy schedules. The delivery service I am offering is vital to making Bubble Best a competitive company over the alternatives. 

I added a feature to my company similar to Amazon Prime to boost customer loyalty and satisfaction, which also relate to increased sales. This feature will be on a subscription basis, instead of the one time ordering, and will ensure your food is delivered in under 10 minutes, hot or cold, and ready to serve right on the spot with utensils and plates provided. I would eliminate the delivery fee/charge, just like Amazon eliminates the shipping charges for Prime members. This way, it will compete with pizza delivery and Jimmy Johns times with a healthy, ready to serve, personal portion meal quickly.

Feedback from Venture Concept No.1

The feedback I got was critical but definitely necessary to help refine my business idea. Students discussed how they think my pricing is a bit too high for the college demographic, which I will go back and reconsider. One student also questioned how I was going to stand out from my competitors, how would I differentiate myself. With that, I think I could emphasize the "local" foods to make it more location specific delivery instead of just mass-produced delivery. The last comment I received was that services like these are already in place. Though that may be true, I did not discover this when thinking of my idea. I came up with my idea because services like this have not been offered to be in the Gainesville area, and I saw a need for it here, especially in the college demographic where students don't have the time to prepare, cook, and clean up their own meals.

Based upon this feedback, I decided to change the pricing strategy to make this service more affordable for my demographic. My original prices were $10, $9, and $7, so I took into account the budget of my demographic and changed those prices. I also am going to advertise "local" foods as my venture takes off, as I changed this aspect and added it to my venture concept. I don't want to be shoved out of the market by competition, so adding a local flare will hopefully put my business in a niche market for health conscious college students who lack the time to prepare their meals.

Minor Elements:

My most important resource would be my compassion towards others. I always believe in going to the extra mile to make a difference in the lives of others, and I think that will to help others will set me apart from my competitors and boost customer satisfaction in the long run. I think this resource can be cultivated in my competition, however, I don’t think compassion can be imitated to the fullest, and I am excited to use this resource as my unfair advantage. 

I believe this venture has a chance to be such a success. I see small pockets for growth from the get go, such as expanding to campuses big and small across the nation, allowing big retailers like Amazon get involved in delivery, and encompassing a larger demographic of individuals- not just focusing the majority of our efforts on college students but to those who identify with the mission of the company. As an entrepreneur, I see myself using the venture and the connections I make during this venture to boost my confidence in starting other ideas I have down the road. I believe confidence is the key to success as an entrepreneur, so when this venture succeeds even for a little bit, I think I will have found confidence to follow my dreams and thoughts with other ideas.