Essay Example. Indian Grocery Store

Bantina Foodplus is an upcoming grocery store business with a vision of becoming a market giant and leader in the realm of the food supply. The Indian grocery store aims at being at the inner core in the provision of high-quality, reliable, safe and competitively priced grocery products in New Brunswick. Bantina Foodplus's mission is to effectively provide competitive quality groceries through bridging the Indian and Canadian market and putting in place technology that brings fit and affordable foodstuffs to the Brunswick residents. The business intends to cooperate with skilled and motivated employees to ensure customers get excellent products and services. Bantina Foodplus will achieve market segmentation and management, embracing the least costs and pocket-friendly growth capacity. Bantina Foodplus's core values will govern all the operations in its services to ensure consistency with the general consumer culture. As a result, Bantina Foodplus holds teamwork, safety-first culture, client satisfaction, professionalism and integrity to be its core values.

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Bantina Foodplus will offer a wide range of products such as fresh produce, preserved foods to non-food products. Some of these products include rosewater, Kewra, Indian snacks, and dairies, orange flower water, vegetarian jelly, Kewra, and pulses and lentils, among other products (Bladholm, 2016). Factors that determine the success of the sale of these products include the financial, implementation and operation plans. Recommended sources of financing include loans, leverage of properties, donations, among others.

The popularity of the Indian grocery stores in Canada is rapidly increasing due to the growing number of Indians and Indian culture, especially New Brunswick. Entrepreneurial statistical analysis shows an upsurge in the business over the past two decades. The rapid increase in the number of grocery stores indicates stiff market competition. However, the introduction of the Indian flavors in grocery stores leads to a variety that can serve several customer needs. The aspect makes the business unique to compete effectively in the market. Bantina Foodplus grocery aims at meeting customers' needs for a fair price and an increased variety of products. Bantina can provide competitive prices through the application of numerous economies of scale technique. Excellent services and friendly relationship between the customers and team of employees is one of the customers' needs that is currently lacking in the grocery stores in New Brunswick. Thus, Bantina Foodplus, as anchored in its core value, focuses on providing excellent products and services by working with highly-effective and experienced employees. Nonetheless, Bantina Foodplus has intentions to offer world-class products to the market adhering to both nutritional and health standards. The report aims at analyzing the viability of the business based on the business strategy, marketing and sales plan, its operations, financial model and action plan.

Business Strategy

The proposed establishment for the Bantina Indian grocery store is at the junction where Brunswick Road intersects with the Sydney Road. The location is a central point in the town and serves as the best location to serve both the residents and the travels. According to the 2016 population and housing census, New Brunswick has a population of approximately 780,021 (Peters, 2017). The agglomeration population of the town selected for the location of the business is about 30,083 (Peters, 2017). An initial survey on the area revealed that around 18 notable grocery stores and supermarkets serve this population.

Nonetheless, there are less than three notable Indian stores. Therefore, a grocery store tends to serve approximately 1500 clients, ignoring the travelers who reside out of the town (Peters, 2017). Cases of overcrowding, reduced customer - seller interactions, and poor services are the most significant customer concerns. Bantina Foodplus sees this as an opportunity to venture into the business, alleviate congestions, offer a variety and provide door-to-door deliveries. It is essential to establish an Indian grocery store to benefit from the high demand for the products and services and ease the current congestion in the stores.

The population of New Brunswick is evenly distributed around the Melbourne area. Most of the grocery stores concentrate along the road except for the junction of Sydney and Brunswick Road (Peters, 2017). A large number of people living around the area travel considerable distance access to grocery services. There exists a market gap in the provision of a variety of products meeting different customer needs and close to the customers. Consequently, most people in the area prefer door-to-door services as opposed to visiting the stores. Thus, offering online and delivery services will be essential for the success of the grocery store.

Marketing and Sales Plan

The current trend in grocery stores is the integration of technology into the sales and marketing plan. Businesses are moving away from the mainstream media and the use of salespersons in their sales and marketing plan, and are now implementing technological advertising. Technology plays a significant role in the success of grocery stores. A substantial number of stores around New Brunswick have installed the online store (Schultz & Litchfield, 2016). These stores create an opportunity for clients to check, inspect and order products. However, a critical examination of the technological use in marketing and sales plan is not at its optimal use. Most businesses limit the purpose of creating awareness of the products via their website. Bantina Foodplus will ensure the optimal use of technology in sales and marketing plans.

First, the store has website installation plans where it will display all the goods and services available in the store. The platform will also be user-friendly and employ aspects such as client interaction through text, voice and video messaging. Secondly, the store will advertise for its product in various social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, among others (Schultz & Litchfield, 2016). The platforms serve as a vital tool for connecting with clients. WhatsApp and mobile applications are useful communication tools as they will help in door-to-door deliveries. Clients will have the liberty to place an order, drop an address and communicate with motorbike agents who will deliver the shipments. Finally, the store will still use the traditional forms of advertising such as salespersons, mainstream media, billboards, among others. However, these modes of marketing and sales plans will be available occasionally.

Operations Plan

Various grocery stores exist in Brunswick. Some of the notable ones include Winn-Dixie, Adams Meat Market, Downtown Grocery, Tropical Island Meat and Grocery, among others. All these stores compete with Bantina Foodplus on the grounds of general grocery stores. Therefore, incorporating the Indian grocery aspect into Bantina Foodplus's operations gives the business a leg up in the market competition. Nonetheless, the company will have to compete with the Indian Grocery, Good Morning Daily Needs and Ajay Kumar Shaw, which currently serve as Indian grocery stores in the region.

The initially proposed operation plans involve offering Indian flavor of grocery to the target population of Brunswick. The target market is the population around the Melbourne area as well as travelers since the business will be located along the highway at the junction point. The city is conducive to the operation of the grocery store. As part of the operational plan, the business will look for ways through which it will offer alternatives to numerous products that available stores do not provide. The variety of options will be vital in meeting diverse market choices and preferences. It will offer products that are new in the market since most of the products will be exported from India. The store is concerned about the health and safety of the clients. Therefore, it will provide valuable information on healthy foods, products and lifestyles, which most of the stores do not offer. Online services and inquiries will be available on the store's sites for free. Deliveries will be made to clients before they make payment to enhance customer loyalty and trust. In a nutshell, the business will operate both deliveries and on-shelf products.

Financial Model

The initial financial analysis on the profitability of the business indicates the possibilities of consistent growth in the business. The financial obligations for the start-up include initial startup costs, licensing and legal fees, marketing and promotion costs, insurance charges, renting and leasing costs, startup inventory, among other expenses. Cumulative totals for these costs depend on the level and nature of the business, and therefore the charges will range from $50,000 to $100,000. Several sources are available for funding startups and offer the finances required for the store. Some of the sources essential for the start of the business includes the government financing programs, loans from banks and other lending institutions, donations from friends and relatives, personal savings, and leveraging various personal items. All these are essential for the realization of the vision and mission of the business. The vision of the organization is to be the market giant and the leader in the grocery stores. Its mission is to provide high-quality products at competitive prices and bridge the Indian and Canadian grocery market gap.

The cash flow projections are essential in the success and viability of the business. The monthly estimate inflow into the market is estimated at a value of $40,000, which will primarily include the sale of products and services in the store. The monthly outflows in the business are estimated at $ 25,000. In their initial stages of operation, the business will ensure minimal outflows by starting with a small manageable staff, as well as other operational costs.

Recommendations

Communication is one of the significant pillars of any business. There is a need for the business to strive and create a personal relationship with the clients, staff, suppliers, and the community in general. The best way to enhance communication in the business is to put in place measures that ensure customer - seller engagements. The methods could be the use of the business's site to communicate with clients. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and LinkedIn direct messaging and advertisement will help create customer engagement (Schultz & Litchfield, 2016). In addition to that, there is a need to offer high-quality products that meet consumer needs. Service delivery should also be in such a way that it attracts and retain customers. Additionally, it will be an excellent move for the store to have various aftersales services such as lifestyle and educational magazines, gift hampers, trial-run products and coupons. All these make the business unique, outstanding and have a competitive advantage.