Business Model
Discuss about the Diet and Lifestyle and Diseases of Civilization.
According to Anand et al. (2008), developed countries including Australia have high incidences of lifestyle diseases such as stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes among others. Lifestyle diseases have become the number one killer in developing countries and to a greater extent to developed countries (Carrera-Bastos et al., 2011). This has been attributed to the busy work-lifestyle of the citizens in developed nations. Such a situation predisposes the employees to opt for fast foods which are less costly and do not need a lot of time to prepare. The fast food restaurants have also taken advantage of the situation to produce more of unhealthful foods. The food industry claims that the manufacture of fast foods compared to organic foods. On the other hand, consumers also go for the affordable, fast foods (Schlosser, 2012). Additionally, consumers claim that less time is spent to acquire fast foods based on the manner the fast food restaurants are located; at storehouses, bus stops, gas stations, etc., where they can just pick as they pass by due to limited time (Pan, Malik, & Hu, 2012).
It is essential that this problem is solved by the cause instead of just offering treatment because prevention is better than cure. Treatment of lifestyle diseases is short-term and only deals with the symptoms. Multiple medical experts have recommended a vegetarian diet and moderate flesh eating as the fundamental solution to dealing with lifestyle diseases (McEvoy, Temple, & Woodside, 2012). However, with the existent of such knowledge still, the death rates due to lifestyle diseases is ever on the rise. This is because the busy work-schedule which is believed to prompt most of the population to prefer fast foods is still there, and as a result people are forced to consume the fast foods because the organic foods are perceived to be boring, costly, the few organic restaurants are not conveniently accessible, and people do not have time to prepare organic food.
Therefore, there needs to be an established vegetarian fast food restaurant that is accessible; near the Hobart Transit Centre, Australia, with economical food prices. It should offer a combination of health and taste to also change the wrong attitude towards a vegetarian diet. This is to be done by naming the restaurant a name that is closely associated with fast foods such as Burger Root Café.
The business idea of Bugger Root Café is to offer a long-lasting solution to the problem of unhealthy fast foods and lifestyle diseases in several ways. The idea is going to reduce the rate of lifestyle diseases and deaths in Australia. With the presence of promotional campaigns for people to shift most of their diets to vegetarian and with the informed consequences, most of the people will opt for Bugger Root products because they will be offered in the same way that other fast foods are provided, and it will also be much tastier. The idea also comes at a time when there is agitation for improved lifestyle through proper nutrition. It also addresses a market gap that has not been fully explored. Thus, there are high chances of gaining a significant market share within a short period due to the high demands for the healthy fast foods and low product supply.
The target customer will be the working class and the teenagers because they are passionate about new foods. It will also target all members of the family through take away food. The primary competitors are the already developed global food stores like KFC, Burger King and McDonalds’s (Fleischhacker et al., 2011). However, the low prices of Burger Root create much recognition than our competitors. Additionally, the name “Burger Root” is a brand name that is designed to illustrate to the customers the unique idea of copying the most bought “hamburger” with “organic” which appeals to the lovers of unhealthy hamburgers (Irmak, Vallen, & Robinson, 2011). The corporate color and logo also communicate openly to the consumers of the organic constituents of our offer (Foroudi, Melewar, and Gupta, 2014).
All equipment like dispenser and food warmers will be purchased before the start of the business and after thorough inquiries have been made with the manufacturers on terms and conditions. The best but economical items will be acquired with more inclination towards local producers so as to lower the costs of transportation and delivery.
The management team will consist of six employees with me as the CEO. These officials will include the technical official, financial officer, operations officer, marketing officer, human resource officer and the store administrator. The key personnel will consist of seven waiters/waitresses and three cashiers to work in shifts. The business is likely to make a profit in the second and third year, while expenses are expected to increase due to the rise in overhead costs. The business is expected to break-even in the third year of business operations.
Burger Root Café is a vegetarian fast food outlet that is conveniently located at Hobart Transit Centre. We sell vegetarian Burgers and other organic fast foods and drinks served at the shop or as takeaway, at the bus stations, as street snacks or delivered at the specified customer locations. The orders are also taken online, by phone, or at the shop.
We use health and quality organic ingredients to prepare Burger Root. Modern, simple, efficient equipment and technology are used by our staff to make the food, as we plan to invest in large-scale and state-of-the-art machines.
Burger Root can be delivered hot or cold. They will be packaged with wrappers bearing organizations log and corporate color with conservation qualities during transportation. Also, the packaging materials will also have instructions on re-heating.
The whole process of physical service at the shop will take five main steps from customer arrival to service and exit. While the online request up to delivery will take three main stages and with our recommendations in the Local Bay area for choosing the preferred suppliers. This approach enables us to save on costs of delivery and logistics, and at the same time take advantage of the high exposure of internet of our partners. Additionally, the organization will have saved the costs of hiring or buying delivery cars because they will use theirs.
Lack of competition and high demand for substitutes for unhealthy fast foods due to the increase in incidences of lifestyle diseases. The business location of a transit center will ensure high company visibility and constant flow of customers both travelers and workers. The size of customer target is high due to the increased number of shopping malls which has attracted some organizations thus creating a large workforce who are most likely to pass by the shop. Furthermore, Hobart is home to many institutions thus providing us with a ready market. The outlet will operate daily from 6 am to 9 pm to target the morning travelers who don’t have time to pass shops and can purchase the healthy fast foods on their way to work and home. Additionally, we will give offers every month to further promote our products.
Our prices are comparatively low compared to the products of our competitors. This first attracts those who would like organic foods which are costly and secondly, it will provide a significant opportunity for many to try Burger Root and promote it through word-of-mouth (Silverman, 2011). Our management structure is filled with officials with proven managerial skills to run a similar entity successful ( Abrate, Fraquelli, & Viglia, 2012). We are also devoted to continuous growth and development and quality delivery of service and products. The brand name “Burger Root” is unique because it resembles the common unhealthy “hamburger” which will make it easy for those struggling to avoid flesh foods to develop interest and love it easily.
Conclusion
The business idea of “Burger Root café” is a timely idea which comes in the wake of increasing lifestyle diseases in Australia, and at a time when the competition for vegetarian fast foods is low. Thus, the business will offer value to the customers and also change the negative mind-set of tasteless vegetarian meals, and at the same time reduce the increasing incidences of lifestyle diseases. The starting capital of the business will be economical seeing that it will start with essential equipment for a café. Its strategic location, name, and product quality are of benefit since it’s a new venture in a new market.
References
Abrate, G., Fraquelli, G., & Viglia, G. (2012). Dynamic pricing strategies: Evidence from European hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(1), 160-168.
Anand, P., Kunnumakara, A. B., Sundaram, C., Harikumar, K. B., Tharakan, S. T., Lai, O. S., … & Aggarwal, B. B. (2008). Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Pharmaceutical research, 25(9), 2097-2116.
Carrera-Bastos, P., Fontes-Villalba, M., O’Keefe, J. H., Lindeberg, S., & Cordain, L. (2011). The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization. Research Reports in Clinical Cardiology, 2, 15-35.
Fleischhacker, S. E., Evenson, K. R., Rodriguez, D. A., & Ammerman, A. S. (2011). A systematic review of fast food access studies. Obesity reviews, 12(5), e460-e471.
Foroudi, P., Melewar, T. C., & Gupta, S. (2014). Linking corporate logo, corporate image, and reputation: An examination of consumer perceptions in the financial setting. Journal of Business Research, 67(11), 2269-2281.
Irmak, C., Vallen, B., & Robinson, S. R. (2011). The impact of product name on dieters’ and nondieters’ food evaluations and consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 390-405.
McEvoy, C. T., Temple, N., & Woodside, J. V. (2012). Vegetarian diets, low-meat diets and health: a review. Public health nutrition, 15(12), 2287-2294.
Pan, A., Malik, V. S., & Hu, F. B. (2012). Exporting diabetes mellitus to Asia: the impact of Western-style fast food.
Schlosser, E. (2012). Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-American meal. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Silverman, G. (2011). Secrets of word-of-mouth marketing: how to trigger exponential sales through runaway word of mouth. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.