Chef Services and Food Delivery Company: Business Proposal

Food Delivery and Chef Services Company

The food delivery and chef services company will major in supplying ingredients, teaching cooking lessons, and providing chef-for-hire services. It will achieve this by strategically placing offices and warehouses close to the market, where the monthly rent and refrigeration warehouse rent are approximately $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. The company will be committed to corporate responsibility by promoting environmental conservation and healthy eating. The uniqueness of the company’s plan is in encouraging people to cook at home rather than eat out. This will reduce the expenses affiliated with traditional eateries, which are mostly expensive, and the health risks associated with eating fast food. The target market consists of the upper-lower, medium, and high-class, which is reflected by the pricing. Chef services will range from $15 to $25 per hour, while cooking lessons will cost $50 per hour. This will enable the target market to experience better health and eating practices associated with eating at home. Although the food delivery and chef services company target a field that contains strong competitors, the company’s innovative appeal to the community through corporate responsibility and its marketing strategies will ensure competitiveness in the industry.

Research Plan & Potential Competitors

Sources for Ideas formulation

The idea of starting a delivery company that also incorporates chefs-for-hire services resulted from observing the potential that lies within the industry. For example, the success of Ubereats within a short time shows that it is a prospective market (Wiggers, 2019). Therefore, venturing into the industry will ensure growth as the market is still experiencing growth and yet to reach saturation.

Similar Products

One of the competitors who offer similar products includes Plated. Plated delivery company enables customers to choose the ingredients they need, which are delivered to their residents. However, the business does not have an active chef-for-hire plan in which the customers can interact and learn from their expertise, but they incorporate a culinary team into their program to craft recipes that clients can use to make their dishes (Plated, n.d.). The services are available through their website and app. Another business that provides culinary-related services includes the Hire-a-Chef program. Another company that offers culinary-related services is the Hire-a-Chef program, which is available on its website. Contrary to the services provided by Plated, they don’t offer customized menus or ingredient delivery but a personal chef to help in food preparation and serving. Therefore, Plated and Hire-a-Chef online services offer almost similar products, setting a precedent for the upcoming company.

Other Service Providers

Competitors who pose challenges to the company’s growth include small businesses such as Plated and Hire-a-Chef and established corporations such as Ubereats and Grubhub. Similarly, there are even more significant threats from traditional eateries. According to Edwards (2013), more people are choosing to eat away from home in recent years. Similarly, fast food companies have been on the rise, with 200,000 restaurants spawning across America, resulting in a $120-billion industry (Assadourian, 2012). This trend has resulted in a decline in home-cooked meals in the U.S. (Virudachalam, Long, Harhay, Polsky, & Feudtner, 2014). Therefore, most of the threat results from other delivery services, traditional eateries, and fast-food restaurants’ influence on home cooking.

Success, Challenges, and Threats

The most prevalent company in the food delivery system is Ubereats, the fastest-growing meal delivery system in the U.S. The company experienced $6 billion in orders within the first four years of its operation (Wiggers, 2019). Therefore, venturing into the business poses grave challenges since it would have to compete with giant corporations with vast resources. Arguably, although the industry shows significant promise, the immense resources available to the relevant corporations will potentially threaten to gain market share.

Key Issues & Solutions

Corporate Responsibility

The interests of the venture will be aligned with corporate social responsibility. One way to promote healthy living is by using fresh vegetables to prepare meals. According to Liu (2013), there is a negative correlation between vegetable intake and chronic diseases. The company’s dedication to providing fast delivery of fresh produce that conforms to safety standards will significantly enhance the nutritional content, thus promoting social and economic sustainability (Rekhy & McConchie, 2014). Therefore, the company’s practices help corporate responsibilities by positively impacting the customer’s health outcomes.

Appeal to the Community

The company will customize the customers’ culinary needs, which will appeal mostly to the international community. According to Virudachalam et al. (2014), foreign-born persons cooked their dinners more often than U.S.-born individuals. The services will thus greatly benefit the international community by providing native-cooked dishes and tailored solutions that promote healthy eating while customizing home food preparation practices. Similarly, the business will engage the local community due to the appeal of being less expensive than dining in restaurants and healthier than fast-food restaurants. Therefore, the company will appeal to international and local communities due to its unique personality.

Business Purpose

A company needs to develop a brand that is purposed to provide tailored solutions for its customers as it builds stronger brands and turns them into brand evangelists. Therefore, the company will ensure quality results and that interactive collaboration with the business team results in better working environments. This will be achieved by building rapport with the customers with emphasis on delivering fresh produce and helping in customizing the perfect dishes. Therefore, the business will major in providing a positive working environment that capitalizes on purpose rather than profit.

Promotion/Marketing Plan

Social Media Marketing

The social media platform is a crucial marketing tool that will deliver the competitiveness of the business amongst the WELC community. First, the company plans to utilize influencers within the community, thus helping reach a greater audience. Second, the company plans to buy Facebook and other social media advertising space. Social media marketing will draw finances from the promotional budget, which is projected to be $22,000. Therefore, social media will be one of the marketing tools used in promoting the business.

Marketing Strategies

The company will utilize several strategies to create brand awareness locally and internationally. First, the business seeks to use cooperative promotion as it is a useful coordinating marketing tool to cut down on media costs, ad production, and creative expenses (“Co-Op Advertising,” n.d.). The budget for cooperative promotion is $2000. Similarly, the enterprise will use Ubereats promotion as a marketing strategy, with the budget being $10,000 for each campaign. The marketing strategies will ensure a stronger international and local presence, which will help engage the target audience and drive sales.

Incentives

The business will reward loyal customers with a reduction in car rental fees, which will significantly enhance the customer’s experience.

Brand Image and Loyalty

Brand image is essential in establishing loyalty amongst customers. According to Gul, Jan, Qadar, and Baloch (2010), adopting a green marketing strategy significantly enhances brand loyalty. The service company aims to promote environmental protection strategies to improve brand image, identity, and reliability.

Advertising Strategies

The company will promote itself through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. According to Hensel and Deis (2010), social media advertising is a useful marketing tool if used correctly. Therefore, its usage will enhance brand recognition, thus gaining an advantage over competitors.

Conclusion

The food and chef services will embark on a market that offers similar products, which will present challenges, although the sector is experiencing immense growth. To achieve relevance in the community, it will major on corporate responsibility by being involved in environmental conservation efforts while using digital marketing strategies to remain relevant to the market. Therefore, the company’s relevance stems from the fact that it embarks on a promising service sector that is experiencing significant growth and will benefit local and international needs by providing authentic, cheap, and healthy food.

References

Assadourian, E. (2012). The rise and fall of consumer cultures. 21st Century, 2 (12)).

Co-Op advertising. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/co-op-advertising

Edwards, J. S. (2013). The food service industry: Eating out is more than just a meal. Food Quality and Preference, 27(2), 223-229.

Gul, M. S., Jan, F. A., Baloch, Q. B., Jan, M. F., & Jan, M. F. (2012). Brand image and brand loyalty. Abasyn Journal of Social Sciences, 3(1), 55-74.

Hensel, K., & Deis, M. H. (2010). Using social media to increase advertising and improve marketing. The Entrepreneurial Executive, 15, 87.

Liu, R. H. (2013). Health-promoting components of fruits and vegetables in the diet. Advances in Nutrition, 4(3), 384S-392S.

Rekhy, R., & McConchie, R. (2014). Promoting consumption of fruit and vegetables for better health. Have campaigns delivered on the goals? Appetite, 79, 113-123.

Virudachalam, S., Long, J. A., Harhay, M. O., Polsky, D. E., & Feudtner, C. (2014). Prevalence and patterns of cooking dinner at home in the USA: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2008. Public health nutrition, 17(5), 1022-1030.

Wiggers, K. (2019). OpenTable expands into food deliveries with Caviar, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. Retrieved from https://venturebeat.com/2019/07/24/opentable-food-delivery-caviar-grubhub-uber-eats/.