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I Want To Start Up A Meal Replacement Bar
Posted By: shanshaker* on 7/4/2004 5:20 PM (CST) 250 Points
Hello,
I want to start up my own business selling calorie counted meals/snacks- catering to the health conscious cash rich time poor consumer in central London . I believe there is a market for the propsition and have some PR experience but am unsure how to go about starting the venture up from scratch. I have no funds and would appreciate any advice available on how to draft a business plan and strategies for raising funds. I am also not very sure how to cost up the proposition.

Posted by: michelletrex Accepted Answer
7/4/2004 8:41 PM (CST)
Take a look at www.boostjuice.com.au. They have juice bars and a new salad bar called "Tossers". This is hugely popular and if you haven't got experience perhaps you should look at taking out a franchise like this.

Also the life story of the person who opened this concept should interest you as well as her tips to success.
Otherwise you should get work experience in the food industry which is the hardest there is before going any further.
 
Posted by: myabigail* Accepted Answer
7/5/2004 10:03 AM (CST)
I recently graduated from the MBA program at Oxford (Said Business School). One of our required projects was to write a business plan. I'm sure most business schools require this.

Some students came with their own ideas, but many others looked to outside sources for ideas. They found it more rewarding to work with someone who had some interest/expertise in a particular field.

I would highly recommend taking your idea to Oxford (or any other local university with an MBA program) to see if any students in the current class would be interested in taking this on as a project. It sounds like just the sort of thing they could get their heads around.

Best of luck!
 
Posted by: Jett* Accepted Answer
7/5/2004 11:19 AM (CST)
First of all, DO NOT start a business on a hunch unless you have lots of disposable income. You need to perform research to determine if ther really is a need. Those who think they are smarted than the consumers loose 95% of the time...hence the high failure rate for new businesses. People acquire what THEY think is a great idea, but unless your target market agrees, all you have is an opinion.

Check out www.bplans.com and www.mplans.com for some business plan guidance. Run google searches on venture capital and angel investors to see who may be in they area, call them up and see what they require.

I can tell you this, NOBoDY (expect maybe family and friends) is going to give you a dime without a proven need for your idea. Start with research - it will tell you if you should move forward.

Good Luck!
 
Posted by: mjklanac* Accepted Answer
7/6/2004 10:05 AM (CST)
Motion seconded! Marketing is about LISTENING and not so much TELLING the consumer. Double check you idea. Triple check it, and get quantifiable and qualitative data. Then use your findings to shape a value added offering to specific target.

On another note- having someone else write your business plan? I don't know about you guys but if I have a personal stake in something, or my name is involved, I want to be involved every step of the way, and I want to pour over ever detail till I cant think straight.
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
7/6/2004 5:29 PM (CST)
Use a biz plan outline or sample to help you understand the type of information that you need to gather for it... but do NOT waste time writing a plan for investors right now. You need to do some simple "street research" to find out if people will buy your product, if you can afford to produce it, and if you'll make any money in the end.

The trick for you will be doing all of this with zero budget.

Find a licensed kitchen you can work from (here in the U.S. it's often illegal to manufacture and sell cooked goods from your own home), and create some of the menu items you're considering for sale. Perhaps the kitchen owner will do this in exchange for your low-cal meals or for lots of dishwashing!

Invite 42 people to be your tasters at one or two hosted evening events. (Friends and family might be too polite to provide honest feedback.) Ask them what they'd pay to receive these meals, and let ZERO be an option. Ask other questions related to your potential business -- like delivery options, meal preferences, etc.

Get 12 of those people to be your "beta customers" for a month. For a month, let them user your service at an extreme discount in exchange for in depth feedback. At the end of the month, see how many of them are willing to continue getting your meals at full price.

You'll discover whether your business instincts (and chef skills) are on or off track. Maybe more importantly, you'll learn whether you've got the energy and backbone to keep going. If so, THEN you're ready to start writing that business plan. Take some market research, revenue forecasts, and your "street data" to take to the bank or an investor. It wouldn't hurt to bring them samples of your most popular dishes, too!

The best of luck to you...

Shelley
 
Posted by: jose04 Accepted Answer
7/17/2004 2:04 PM (CST)
What gives you the idea that the health conscious rich Londoner would come to you? What's so special in your calorie counted foods? How many of the others in the locale you plan to start the business, makes and offers deals close to your proposition. Research is all about getting answers to all the questions you would ask as a potential customer, entrpreneur, food inspector, legal man and most of all your funder. What guarantees will you give them as to your committment, training, systems which will work again and again along with your cost-benefit analysis plan? You would have your own innovative plans, workings, to show the venture capitalist. You could always engage the services of experts. Back your dreams by facts and mecilessly go through your check list for the success of your business. Develop this checklist by consulting experts in the field or through a google search.
Hope these ideas help. May your decision be good.
God speed
 
Posted by: phild Accepted Answer
7/24/2004 4:41 PM (CST)
You might want to think about "contract sales" that is finding a company that already produces what you want to sell and contract to them to sell their product for a commission. This will help your low budget needs and there are companies looking for people to sell their product. Once you have established your clientelle you can add other related products. One company I can suggest is Quixtar, they have meal replacement bars available in North America but I am not sure if the bars are available in England. www.quixtar.com.
 
Posted by: hteicher* Accepted Answer
7/26/2004 6:01 PM (CST)
Make sure you differentiate your meal replacement bar in the market. There are tons of bars that taste similar and have about the same nutritional content. Make sure yours stands out on something other than how its marketed. Also be sure to investigate the ingredient companies well. New regulations and product shelf life may impact your product development.
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator)* Moderator Response
7/27/2004 2:28 AM (CST)
Hello all. I am closing this question since it's more than 2 weeks old. We do this to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner + to give increased visibility to the newer questions.

Thanks, so much, for participating!

Val (Moderator)
 


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