Worksheet+5A

[|[i]] WORKSHEET 5A Feasibility Market Research Plan

Instructions
q Go through the worksheets for Step 5 and fill in what you can. q Note gaps in the worksheets and where verification is needed. q Using this worksheet, develop a research plan to fill in those gaps. ___
 * 1. How will you directly contact target customers to evaluate their interest in and willingness to pay for your products or services? (Examples include informal contact, interviews, surveys, and focus groups.)**

- We would bring out venture plan and approach the high school for a meeting so that we could talk to the principal and other board members regarding the advantages of the this new plan. During this process, we would highligh the advantages of the plan to the students and how this venture would make the school stands out from the others in term of how they take steps to improve the health factor of its students and also their support for the local food producers.

- We could send out survey questions to a list of potential high schools and ask them questions in relation to the venture. Depending on their respond, we could determine the level of interest.

- We could work with focus group of students (our target market) and see how they would respond to the new food plan that available. So, maybe have groups of students try out the food plan for one month and see the difference and progress they make. After the one month, then we could talk to them again to see if they would consider sticking with the plan.


 * 2. What knowledgeable people can you contact to get more information about these target customers?**

- The school counsellor, school nutritionist, school board,


 * 3. What trade associations, government agencies, or chambers of commerce will you contact for information about this industry?

-** Vancouver School District - Vancouver Food Policy Council - Trade association for the local food producers


 * 4. What industry experts, consultants, or suppliers will you contact for information about this industry?

-** Nutritionist that had worked with young adults. - Book resources from other dietician. Learn how they would generate a plan and what constitute a balance diet for different age group. - Look at the competition's plan and talk to those who are willing to share information. Try to learn from those who has already been in the industry of generating dietary plan. - Farmer's Market Society - FarmFolk/City Folk Society, that is a non-profit society that works with food communities to develop a local, sustainable food systems. "FarmFolk/CityFolk's work has helped put food and agriculture on many agendas, including those of the general public, media, government, and other NGOs. Because the issue of food is so closely tied to our environment, health, social justice, and economy, FarmFolk/CityFolk's work has covered many avenues. After 10 years and many successes, FarmFolk/CityFolk is focusing on 3 programs: Protecting our foodlands; supporting our farmers and food producers; and making links between farm and city folks to enhance local food communities. It is the connection between farm and city, producer and consumer, grower and eater that creates sustainable communities." (http://www.ffcf.bc.ca/) FarmFolk/City Folk Society also has programs for community outreach and community consulting. They also have a big library with related themes. - Slow Food that is a " non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world...Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work" (. - Just Abundance is a non-profit that supports "supports healthy food systems for individuals, communities and the planet, the vision of Just Abundance is to maximize personal health, create vitality and nourish longevity in our lives through the sustainable use of the wealth that real food can offer. Just Abundance is putting real food back into human nutrition...Customized services include nutrition assessment, food education, meal planning, recipe adaptation, food preparation techniques, kitchen reorganization, grocery store tours and seminars." (http://www.justabundance.ca/)


 * 5. Who else in the industry (preferably noncompetitors) will you contact for information about this industry?

-** Attained information from the Centre for Healthy Human Development (CHHD) that will give insight about health development. - Talk to representative from the BC Children's Hospital to get a better understanding on children's health information and what areas we should focus on to reduce health risk.

-** Our main competitors are the fast-food chains that have the food concession on the highschools. We already know the quality and kinds of food they prepare. What we don't know is how much the schools pay for this service. The best way to find this out would be talking to someone inside the school. We can try to do some research on prices and services, pretending we are part of a school board, but we don't know how jelous they are with the information.
 * 6. What kinds of “secret shopping” will you do of competitors to get a feel for their offerings and marketing strategies?

There are at least ten organizations that support local food consumption. They have a lot of information of the different organizations that group local producers, healthy recepies, educational material, innovative ways of engaging in business, etc. We can also find information in the Vancouver Social Planning website where there is a lot of information on food policies.
 * 7. What kinds of library and Internet research will you undertake to improve your understanding of this industry?**

We need to do research on best practices in the field, on the advantages and possitive changes (academically, phisically, emotionally) the students experienced eating healthier.
 * 8. What other sources of information will you draw on to help answer the questions in Step 5?**

[|[i]] //Copyright 2002 Amherst H. Wilder Foundation Published by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 919 Lafond Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104// May not be copied or altered except for use by organization or individual who purchased this book. May not be resold