bhavana foods final report

7/30/2019 Bhavana Foods Final Report

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Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed

in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily

reflect the views of the University of Louisville.

FINAL CONSULTING REPORT

Bhavana Foods, LLC.

Summer 2013

Jordan Gilland, James Hunsaker, Pina Patel

College of Business MBA Full Time 2012 Cohort

University of Louisville


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary.............................................................................................................. 3

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

Project Objectives................................................................................................................. 4

Marketing Research.............................................................................................................. 5

Adult day care centrs............................................................................................................5

Child day care centrs............................................................................................................6

Private Schools..................................................................................................................... 6

COMPETITION........................................................................................................................7

PRICING ............................................................................................................................... 8

MAIN CATERING MENU.......................................................................................................... 8

PRICING OVERVIEW.............................................................................................................. 9

MARKET AWARENESS......................................................................................................... 10

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE................................................................................... 10

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION..........................................................................................10

WEBSITE RESTRUCTURING................................................................................................. 10

EVENT PARTICIPATION........................................................................................................ 10

HUMAN RESOURCEs............................................................................................................10

OPERATIONS....................................................................................................................... 11

INVENTORY RECOMMENDATIONS....................................................................................... 11

FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS..................................................................................................11

EMPLOYEE ALLOCATIONS....................................................................................................11

Dont Quit Recommendations.......................................................................................... 12

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 12

References..........................................................................................................................12

Appendix 1 SURVEY USED TO CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH.........................................12

Appendix 2 MARKET RESEARCH RESULTS........................................................................12

Appendix 3 MENU EXAMPLE AND EXPLAINATION.............................................................12


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Integrating both traditional marketing and green marketing

concepts this report provides analysis on prAnas current green

marketing strategy and offers suggestions moving forward.As a values-based organization, prAna has integrated

sustainability as a core business model, not just a marketing

strategy. prAna has demonstrated excellence in sustainable

supply chain management and fair labour practices.

When implementing a green marketing strategy there are five

important steps to follow which are:

1. Understand your target customers and stakeholders.

2. Choose the right green marketing strategy.

3. Strive for a sustainable supply chain.

4. Establish credibility.

5. Dont Quit [Recommendations]

Based on the analysis of the first four steps, the following

recommendations are proposed which will help prAna maintain

market share and a sustainable brand reputation:

Go above and beyond prAnas stakeholdersenvironmental and social expectations.

Adopt a comprehensive green marketing strategy that

leverages prAnas sustainable supply chain

management.

Address the customer use and disposal stage of prAnas

supply chain.

Increase prAnas Fair Trade Certified product line.

Increase transparency in prAnas sustainability

communications by publishing prAnas Sustainable

Development Report, sharing specific goals and sharing

supply chain information for each product.

Bhavana foods,

LLCFounded in 2011 byBhavana Barde,Bhavana Foods is theonly Indian licensedcatering company

based in Louisville, KY.Bhavana Foods focuseson fresh, healthy,delicious, and hotfoods.

Bhavana Foodscurrently has threecustomers and severalspecial eventsexperience for whichshe has catered. Thecompany would like togrow its cliental andexpand to markets,which include adult daycare and child day careto make her businessmore sustainable.Bhavana Foods feelscomfortable withcatering large groupsand events.

Bhavana requested

market research as wellas help with marketing,pricing, and operations.

Fresh

Healthy

Delicious

Hot


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INTRODUCTION

Bhavana Foods LLC., based out of Louisville, KY, started in 2011 with a focus on fresh,

healthy, and delicious foods. Currently Bhavana Foods is the first and only licensed

Indian caterer in the Louisville area, although Indian restaurants also cater. The

owner, Bhavana Barde, is an entrepreneur at heart. As an accountant, she owned a

book keeping business in India. After moving to the United States of America,

Bhavana started the catering company as a result of passion for healthy, natural foods

with limited chemicals and pesticides. She enjoys tailoring meals to the customers

needs and is excited about her offering of fresh, healthy meals that she feels everyone

deserves for a healthy lifestyle.

The company consists of four employees: the owner, the chef, and two helpers. The

company currently has three customers. The Access Adult Health Day Center includes

the refugee adult care and the Russian care center for which she serves three days

per week. Bhavana Foods also serves students at a Montessori school two days per

week. Currently the company is operating at a break-even point on a part time bases.

Bhavana Foods would like to grow their clientele and operations to a five day per

week operation. To grow the company, Bhavana Foods is interested in the adult day

care centers and the child day care centers. Bhavan Foods requested marketing

research on the two market segments. After initial market research and discussion,the original agreed upon objectives were altered to include marketing, pricing

strategy, and operations.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The project objectives were discussed and agreed upon as follows: market research

on adult day care centers and child day care centers. The research showed the two


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market segments not to be viable for Bhavana Foods offering. Mastersons catering

monopolizes the adult day care centers because it is a subsidized government plan

that allows Mastersons to be the lowest price offering. The child-care centers

researched prepare the meals in-house or have the children bring their own lunches.

Due to the limited market growth potential, the project objectives were altered to

include marketing, pricing strategy, and operations. Marketing includes suggestions

on menu, pricing, web presentation, event participation, website reconstruction, and

social media presentation. The pricing strategy includes competitors pricing, pricing

for group ranges, and recommendations. Operations include human resources,

inventory, and future considerations.

MARKETING RESEARCH

Bhavana foods showed a sincere interest in acquiring additional clients associated with the

adult day care and child care industries in Louisville. To these ends, Bhavana foods

requested additional information about these general markets. In particular, Bhavana

foods wanted to know more about general pricing, the amount of business available, and

a average number of clients in these types of organizations.

ADULTDAYCARECENTRS

To research the adult day care centers, we found 30 different care centers in the Louisville

metro area. Because of the relatively small market pool, we decided that calling each

institution directly and asking various questions would be the most informative and simple

method of gathering this data. To assist in our data collection efforts, we set up a

questionnaire using an online survey site called Surveymonkey.com. The questionnaire

detailed each of our market inquiries into specific components in order to facilitate future

analysis. We were successful in contacting and questioning nine different organizations.

The research revealed that most of these organizations had their lunches catered and that

most served between 20-30 patrons. However most daycares were either reluctant or

unable to provide the cost of the catered meals.

Further conversations with daycare directors and administrators revealed that Mastersons

was the catering company used by nearly all of the adult day care centers in the area.

Eventually, it was revealed that Mastersons has a catering contract with Louisville metro

to provide subsidized lunches to all adult daycares in the area that have applied for the

subsidy. This allows them to provide an artificially low price for their lunch at about $4.00


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per plate, providing them with a huge advantage in the market.

Recommendations: We cannot recommend pursuing this market because of the on-going

contract that Mastersons has established with the Louisville metro area, and the limited

number of potential clients. We recommend that Bhavana foods focus its energies into

other markets that have more potential customers and less barriers of entry.

CHILDDAYCARECENTRS

In our research of the catering tendencies of childrens day care centers we focused on the

Louisville market, specifically the eastern part of Jefferson County as this is a more

affluent area and would be more inclined to have high quality, fresh food served to their

clients. We surveyed 30 local child daycares with a standardized questionnaire. From this

market research of Child Daycares in the Louisville area we found that a high number of

these service providers supplied meals in-house or the clients brought their own

meals/snack to the facility and they were stored until it was time to eat.

A large majority of the Child Day Care centers served between 30-60 children per day

offering lunch and an afternoon snack. From our market research of 30 child daycares we

found that there were only two daycares that catered their meals. Notable about these

two daycares is that they used the same caterer, The Childrens Pantry. We will discuss

this competitor later in the report.

Recommendations: As an overall understanding of the market we do not think this market

is a strong pursuit. There may be a small number of opportunities but marketing dollars

should not be directly allocated into searching for such opportunities. We do not foresee

much potential as the market appears saturated and somewhat stagnant. Bhavana foods

will have to differentiate itself from other food services like the Childrens pantry in order

to penetrate this market and obtain future clients.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

We began researching private schools at the request of Bhavana foods. After researching

the private school market we found a very similar trend to that of the Adult and Child Day

care markets. The vast majority of private schools cook their own meals in-house or the

children bring their meals from home. In some cases, the private schools contract their

dining and cafeteria area to a specialized dining service that prepares and serves meals

within the private school for an annual fee. Unlike Child care centers, private schools make


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up a very limited segment of the market.

Recommendation: We feel that the very limited number of private schools that are

seeking catering services is a very real obstacle to the pursuit of this market. However,

one of Bhavana foods current clients (Montessori schools) is a private school. This current

client is a key contact that could potentially introduce Bhavana foods to other Montessorischools in the area or other private schools that are seeking dining services

COMPETITION

Another area of market research we allocated time was the direct competition of

Bhavana Foods, LLC. After calling local caterers and researching their online presence

we were able to better understand the breakdown of the competitive landscape. One

of the biggest trends we saw was the majority of the caterers have downloadable

menus on their websites. They have their websites set up in a way that will facilitate

the use of time in a very efficient manner. Their offerings, flexibility, price, and

general ability of service is demonstrated in a clear and concise manner. This allows

the caterers to focus their time on very serious prospects instead of chasing the

slightly less interested which costs time, money, and resources for which there is no

ROI. Juleps Catering, Mastersons Catering, and The Catering Company of Louisville are

examples of competition in the Louisville market that have their websites set up in

such a manner. When we called Mastersons they immediately referred us to their

website and to call back once we had a much clearer focus of the type of meal we

wanted catered.

A very positive note that came from our market research of competitors was that

Bhavana Foods, LLC would have very competitive prices as the average lunch was

priced anywhere from $8-$12 per meal. This encourages that Bhavana Foods, LLC has

an accurate and competitive price point. It was very apparent that the local catering

companies are trending towards serving boxed lunches for events. These boxed

lunches are pre-packaged meals with an entree, side, and usually a dessert served in

a disposable plastic or paper container. They are convenient, efficient, inexpensive,

and most of all easy.

In the Child and Adult daycare we did not see a lot of competition in the market.

Mastersons serviced most of the Adult daycares that cater. One advantage that

Mastersons has over other caterers is that they are subsidized through a contract with


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the Louisville Metro Government. This allows them to more easily gain market share

with the Adult day cares in the Louisville area. It is cheaper for them to use

Mastersons because of this subsidy. In the Child day care sector the The Childrens

Pantry has a majority share of the market. They have a very focused marketing

strategy that is aimed directly at Child day care centers. This makes it hard to enter

into either market as these competitors are very ingrained into the market landscape.

PRICING

Currently the menu consists of a simple list of various food offerings. The menu is broken

down into buffets and combos with a few different subcategories and individualized

offerings. On the side of the menu are a few unidentified pictures of food as well as a small

What is that? section defining and describing some of the more ethnic food terms.

Unseen on the menu is a section that describes portion sizes and prices. Also the menu isdivided into buffets and combos with little indication of what the offerings include or how

they are differentiated. The menu also lacks a clear ordering system despite the

subcategories of combos and buffets.

Bhavana foods must communicate value to potential customers through the catering

menu. Currently, the menu is devoid of any prices or serving suggestions. Customers will

be reluctant to pursue the offerings without a clear price and will be unable to ascertain

overall value without offering portion sizes. The menu does not suggest or describe any

uses for the buffets or combos. Customers cannot read minds, the menu lacks a brief

description of the product offering and is likely to leave customers confused. The products

offered are also ethnically titled and additional descriptions would help non-cultured

customers to order.

MAIN CATERING MENU

Bhavana Foods needs to rethink and remake its menu. The revisions should focus

exclusively on making the menu as simple and easy to understand and order as possible.

Below is a menu from another catering service that includes all of the elements that we

would recommend be applied to Bhavana foods menu. Each of these elements will be

discussed in turn:

Bhavana Foods should incorporate the following recommendations for the main cateringmenu

Inclusion of the company name and logo - By including the name and logo the brand


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can be further developed.

Serving size designation - Dividing the servings into half trays and full trays gives

customers a clear choice for their order. Also note that a recommended number of

served adults is also included.

Individualized pricing - Each menu item is given an individual price for full and half

trays. Note that full trays are 10% cheaper than half trays.

Recognizable labels - The menu uses common restaurant labels such as salads &

sides, entrees, and appetizers to help customers decide what items to order to

serve a full meal.

Specialty offerings - some items like desserts or appetizers do not come in trays.

Instead these items have a specific serving suggestion and a fixed price for the

given serving size.

Menu descriptions - Cultural or otherwise unfamiliar items are given a brief

description of the dish including main ingredients.

Clear and flexible delivery schedule with costs- Longer distances incur a larger fee.

Also note the $100 minimum for deliveries.

Sub offerings - Some menu items come in different syles or with different

ingredients. A sub offering with separate pricing can simplify meals with multiple

options. Notice that prices vary greatly depending on the type of meat that is

served.

Order information - Include a number, Website, and email. Also be sure to indicateof advanced ordering requirements. Cancellation penalties may also be included

here

PRICING OVERVIEW

In the overall price of the product, to ensure necessary margins are obtained, labor

will need to be factored into the price.

Another important area to focus on is the cost of materials. Bhavanas supply chain

should facilitate the most cost efficient materials cost so that she can obtain the

necessary margins for sustainable growth.

One important thing to think about is changing the price based on the number of

people served i.e. add a small percentage increase in the price for smaller (30) orders. The small ordes

often take just as much time to prepare but do not have as much return so it makes

sense to have a small upcharge on smaller orders.


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Another area where Bhavana Foods, LLC might be able to gain some extra margin is

having a separate cost for delivery. It would also be a good idea to offer self pick-

up at the convenience of the customer.

Another varying point would be offering lunch and dinner bundles such as an

Entree, side(s), and dessert for a flat fee.

Menu must be equipped with attractive pictures to give preview of food quality with

emphasis on freshness, natural, and healthy.

In the menu there needs to be food descriptions for each product. This will be a

great way to give a preview of the product with very detailed description. This will

make the food selection more appealing while increasing interest and sales.

MARKET AWARENESS

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

WEBSITE RESTRUCTURING

EVENT PARTICIPATION

HUMAN RESOURCES

It is critical for Bhavana to hire workers that fit the culture and who are experienced

enough that she can trust them while she is away from the kitchen to complete the work

in an efficient manner and with quality results. Since the currently chef has recently given

a two week quiting notice, we have some interview suggestions for the replacement.

Conduct a working Interview in which the interviewee is asked to work the shift. Observe

how they approach challenges. Do they ask what needs to be done? Do they act part of a

team? Ask the prospective chef to write a menu and cook it. This will give you a chance to

observe their cooking skills and style as well as sample their own unique flavor. Make a

list of questions that will address issues that have been encountered with the current chef.


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OPERATIONS

INVENTORY RECOMMENDATIONS

We are suggesting that Bhavana starts to track her inventory in a very detailed manner.

This will allow her, after sufficient data collection, to project which foods she runs out of

the most and the time frame. This will also allow her to keep these foods in stock and

save time and money by not running to the store last minute. Tracking her inventory will

also provide the benefit to her of giving an idea on how long, how much, and what she

should order for her menus. It is better to have a little extra inventory that has to be

thrown away then to make an emergency shopping trip that wastes time, money, and

resources. In certain instances this extra inventory may also be used in other products to

enhance options and quality. Another suggestion is an itemized list in the freezer for

employees to record food transactions on how much they take out of the inventory and

any additions they make to the inventory.

FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

Bhavana needs more space. She is currently at capacity with her freezer/refrigerator

space.

More strategic placement of the freezer/refrigerator so steps are not wasted.

EMPLOYEE ALLOCATIONSBhavana has currently implemented a detailed spreadsheet of activities that need to

happen for each day. This is a good step in time management.

Have a 10 min meeting at the end of each day for everyone to know what they will be

working on the next day and to review the schedule.

Other staff members besides Bhavana and the chef should perform deliveries and extra

shopping trips.

Clearly define roles and responsibilities.


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DONT QUIT RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

APPENDIX 1 SURVEY USED TO CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH

APPENDIX 2 MARKET RESEARCH RESULTS

APPENDIX 3 MENU EXAMPLE AND EXPLAINATION

bhavana foods final report

Documents