25A – What’s Next?
Existing Market
Step 1: The next step for my venture concept would be expanding my existing market to bigger establishments. Ideally, I think I would be interested in whole selling to restaurants that focus on take-out orders but also stick to hand wash their dishes. For example, Chipotle is a popular food chain that hand washes their dishes so I think regionally selling my aprons in bulk to Chipotle would be a great next step.
Step 2: I would hope that the customers in my existing market would think that my next step of whole selling my product would be a good next step in my venture. I think something that a customer would say that we aren't planning to do is branding on the apron. If I were to speak to these customers I would guess they would ask me if I plan on having the option to include company logos and different colorways on the aprons.
Step 3: Since the beginning of these assignments, I've taken what my interviewees have said to major consideration. Customer feedback is highly important when you are just beginning to navigate your market. If I were to explore a new method of distribution through whole selling, I believe I could create the budget to implement customization to the aprons as well. In the best-case scenario, my next step would include input from my customers and my own.
New Market:
Step 1: The new target that I would pursue is finding a way to sell my apron for personal use. My existing markets are based on exclusively selling my products to the restaurant industry. Getting my products on the shelves of stores like Home Goods, Walmart, Target, etc. would be an exciting new step.
Step 2: I'll be able to create value for people in this market because I could expand my product to creating trendy aprons for home kitchen purposes. An idea I had was creating aprons out of recycled materials to provide a sustainable option for those searching for a new apron.
Step 3: I'm not exactly sure what customers in this market would say since most of my input I've received is specific to my existing market but I would assume that any type of customer would appreciate having the option to customize their aprons. I think for homeware purposes having the ability to pick the material would be a great feature as well.
Step 4: Since I'm unable to reach out to potential customers of this market, I decided to explore the Internet to see what the apron market looked like. There aren't too many options when it comes to hand-made aprons so I think my initial idea of having customization options could have some potential. Currently, I believe my existing market is more attractive than the new market but I think if I were to begin this venture, I could make a better judgment of that.
Step 1: The next step for my venture concept would be expanding my existing market to bigger establishments. Ideally, I think I would be interested in whole selling to restaurants that focus on take-out orders but also stick to hand wash their dishes. For example, Chipotle is a popular food chain that hand washes their dishes so I think regionally selling my aprons in bulk to Chipotle would be a great next step.
Step 2: I would hope that the customers in my existing market would think that my next step of whole selling my product would be a good next step in my venture. I think something that a customer would say that we aren't planning to do is branding on the apron. If I were to speak to these customers I would guess they would ask me if I plan on having the option to include company logos and different colorways on the aprons.
Step 3: Since the beginning of these assignments, I've taken what my interviewees have said to major consideration. Customer feedback is highly important when you are just beginning to navigate your market. If I were to explore a new method of distribution through whole selling, I believe I could create the budget to implement customization to the aprons as well. In the best-case scenario, my next step would include input from my customers and my own.
New Market:
Step 1: The new target that I would pursue is finding a way to sell my apron for personal use. My existing markets are based on exclusively selling my products to the restaurant industry. Getting my products on the shelves of stores like Home Goods, Walmart, Target, etc. would be an exciting new step.
Step 2: I'll be able to create value for people in this market because I could expand my product to creating trendy aprons for home kitchen purposes. An idea I had was creating aprons out of recycled materials to provide a sustainable option for those searching for a new apron.
Step 3: I'm not exactly sure what customers in this market would say since most of my input I've received is specific to my existing market but I would assume that any type of customer would appreciate having the option to customize their aprons. I think for homeware purposes having the ability to pick the material would be a great feature as well.
Step 4: Since I'm unable to reach out to potential customers of this market, I decided to explore the Internet to see what the apron market looked like. There aren't too many options when it comes to hand-made aprons so I think my initial idea of having customization options could have some potential. Currently, I believe my existing market is more attractive than the new market but I think if I were to begin this venture, I could make a better judgment of that.
Hi, Isabella! I enjoyed reading your blog post for this assignment. I agree that getting your product into stores like HomeGoods, Walmart and Target is an excellent next step. I also liked your idea of creating an apron out of recycled materials, as this would expand your target market to include people who are environmentally-conscious. I had a similar experience as you because of the interview component being suspended. I also briefly conducted research on the Internet for those steps, but for the most part, I relied on my knowledge of my target market. Once again, excellent job!
ReplyDeleteHello Isabella,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your venture's "what's next" blog post. I agree that your first step should be to connect with some mid to large scale food company in order to gain a good position within your market. I do agree that entering the home good market is the appropriate course of action when trying to expand your venture's overall exposure to the marketplace. I would also look at trying to stock some aprons in the some large home goods retail stores. Great post!
Isabella,
ReplyDeleteAgain, I think that your product would be very practical for everyday use. It has not just commercial applications, but consumer applications as well. Once it's proven to work in the commercial world, it shouldn't be difficult to make a consumer model. But, consumers don't have to deal with the volume of work commercial establishments have, so it would be interesting to see what a consumer model would look like. But big box retailers like Sam's Club and Costco cater to small businesses, so they would seem to be a natural fit.
Hey Isabella,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post! I think that your next step in trying to wholesale your product to larger chain companies could be such a great opportunity. That right there could be a huge job in itself. Making large business deals with chains like Chipotle and others could be so successful. I think that selling aprons to the normal homeowner could be really great too. With people switching over to eco- friendly products, a recycled apron would be so great. Good job!
Hey Isabella,
ReplyDeleteOutstanding job once again! I have to agree with Lamar on this one about this being a product that can work for consumer applications apart from the commercial applications. I could potentially see this being advertised on QVC or being sold in places like Bed Bath and Beyond. I think the aesthetic of your product matches perfectly with these types of retailers.