Business Description
Jack and Wilma Anderson have been involved in the fast food business for more than five years. They opened a small mobile restaurant in 2014 in Albany Park, Chicago selling majorly coffee, burgers and sandwiches. Although the two have been successful in increasing their profit margins each year, they have had an interest in starting a restaurant business that specializes in food and alcoholic drinks. Consequently, they have decided to focus on these products besides fast food.
Characteristics
Jawil restaurant is a business idea meant to attract the younger generation, particularly between the ages of 20-35, interested in discovering new delicacies and drinks. Jawil fits this age group because the items provided are affordable, portable, healthy, and clean. The restaurant will also offer diverse meals to accommodate customers from various cultures. Furthermore, the services and products will be integrated into an online platform which is appealing to the generation. The targeted audience will be able to either eat from the restaurant or contact the food court and make orders virtually for deliveries. The business will start with a single physical location at Albany Park, Chicago with a total of 15 employees: four cooks, eight waiters, and three drivers. As the owners, Jack and Wilma will occupy the general manager and accountant positions respectively.
Mission
The restaurant’s mission is to serve Chicago residents with variety of cultural dishes and the best drinks at affordable prices without compromising on quality, health and safety of the customers. Jawil’s goal is to promote diversity by offering meals from across the world from a single kitchen. Excellence, integrity, respect, giving, and growth are the restaurant’s guiding principles and all employees strive to adhere to them at all times.
Product and Service Description
One of the company’s objectives is to deliver healthy dishes, and the restaurant will focus more on traditional meals and avoid fast food. Consequently, the business will offer Mexican, Italian, Indian, Asian, and African dishes to ensure customers have unique and fulfilling experiences. Additionally, all alcoholic drinks including port wine, beer, whiskey, vodka, brandy, and rum will be available but only to individuals who are 18 years of age and above. Since the location will be Albany Park, Jawil will have delivery services within its neighborhood to all requests made via the digital platform. The company will use competitive pricing technique to better position the restaurant and avoid losing customers. Additionally, the point of differentiation will be that family meals will be discounted and regular clients will also receive offers.
Industry and Market Analysis
Industry Analysis
The food and drinks business is viewed as a diverse industry with major forecast sales in the sector. Currently, the projected total sales for 2021 is $804 billion and this amount represents 4 percent of America’s entire gross domestic product (Research & Markets, 2020). Furthermore, the economic impact of restaurant operations could surpass $2.3 trillion in 2021 (Research & Markets, 2020).
On a normal day in the United States, close to 200 million individuals visit food points and this shows that sector has ready consumers. In the U.S, there are a total of 660, 775 restaurants and about 8,000 of these are located in Chicago (Research & Markets, 2020). The industry is divided into two broad categories, full-service restaurants (FSR) which offer all food and drinks products and quick service restaurants (QSR) which are mainly cafeterias and limit their drinks to nonalcoholic. Jawil is an FSR because it plans to serve a variety of meals and beverages without any limitations.
Market Analysis
The food and drinks business in America is one of the most competitive industries with an estimated combined revenue of $500 billion (Research & Markets, 2020). The major competitive restaurants in the United States are McDonald’s and Starbucks, although the former does not serve alcoholic beverages. In Chicago, the top eateries which offer traditional meals similar to the Jawil are Oriole, Alinea, and Goosefoot.
These FSRs can be categorized as competitors because they offer unique and culture-based delicacies at affordable costs. Similarly, narrowing it down to Albany Park, which will be Jawil’s main business location, Kabobi – Persian and Mediterranean Grill, El Fogon de Elena, and Albany Place Kitchen and Bar are businesses which are potential rivals in the area. However, Jawil stands out because, unlike the mentioned companies, it is diverse in providing meals from across the world and not just a single culture. People from the Mexican, Asian, and African origin can all find their exotic meals at Jawil.
Marketing and Promotional Plan
Jawil positions itself as a luxurious cultural foods and drinks center in Albany Park, Chicago. The business plans to achieve this status by providing exceptional and high-quality delicacies prepared with exotic ingredients but at affordable prices. Customers eating at the joint will have the privilege of enjoying a serene atmosphere with styled wooden seats and tables. The waiters and receptionists will be trained to welcome clients with warm smiles and to give them a happy experience. Those making virtual orders will also receive the same treatment from company representatives and delivery personnel.
Target Market
The main target customers of Jawil Food and Drinks are the younger generation aged between 20 and 35 who either work or study in the region. This group enjoys exploration and creating a restaurant with interesting meals will attract their attention. Furthermore, research indicates that young people have embraced healthier and safe foods and slowly deviating from fast meals. Jawil offers such products but with diversity to keep the experience exciting every time clients visit. The other market segment will be members of various communities, mainly Italians, Mexicans, Asians, and Africans. Since these individuals are far from their original homeland, Jawil aims at bringing their exotic meals to them.
Market Positioning
The company will ensure that all activities whether business related or not are aimed at reinforcing its brand. Jawil Foods and Drinks stands for meals that are exotic, healthy, and affordable. As a result, all components of the restaurant’s communication with partners, suppliers, customers and employees will sell this brand messages. Anyone who interacts with Jawil’s name is supposed to recognize that it represents quality and cultural meals.
Marketing Strategies
Since the restaurant business is competitive, Jawil aims at using aggressive and well developed strategies to attain its marketing objectives. The company will employ social media as the main marketing tool since the 20-35 years target audience spends most of its time on the internet. Content related to the products and services offered will be created and shared across all virtual platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Bolos et al., 2016). Paid media advertising and direct selling will also be used on potential older clients who do not have regular interaction with the social media.
Promotional Strategies
Marketing alone is not sufficient in ensuring a business attracts the correct group of customers. Consequently, Jawil plans to use productive promotional approaches to boost the marketing strategies. At the beginning the restaurant will apply a customer referral incentive program to motivate existing clients to invite their friends (Morgan et al., 2018). End of giveaways and food samples will also play a crucial role in harnessing more customers and selling the brand.
Operational Plan
Jawil Foods and Drinks will operate for seven days a week serving both lunch and dinner. Schedules will be required to help manage multiple shifts and to allow flexibility whenever there is an increase or decrease in customer traffic. Additionally, the restaurant will employ rotation and labeling strategies and adequate storage equipment to sure the quality of meals is maintained even during peak hours of the business. Jawil will use an efficient supply-chain structure to ensure the ordered items are fresh and the ones in store are safe as well. Since groceries expire fast, its flow will vary depending on the monitored number of daily and weekly customers.
Meals will be prepared as soon as orders are made to help in keeping track of the sales and to ensure the served foods are crisp. All incoming funds will be resolved at the end of each shift to avoid unnecessary financial irregularities.
Financial Plan
Start-up Costs
For efficient planning, it is necessary to calculate the total funds that will be required to start the business and also make accurate projections of expected expenses once the restaurant is in operation. The total amount required to start the restaurant will be $480,000. These funds will be contributed by the owners Jack and Wilma and the rest secured as back loans to be paid later from profits made.
Table 1: Jawil Food and Drinks Inc. Start-up Costs.
12-Month Projected Income Statement
Table 2 Jawil Food and Drinks Inc. Projected Income Statement.
References
Bolos, C., Idemudia, E., Mai, P., & Rasinghani, M. (2016). Conceptual models on the effectiveness of e-marketing strategies in engaging consumers. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 24(4). Web.
Research & Markets. (2020). Global full-service restaurants industry (2020 to 2027) – market trajectory & analytics. Cision PR Newswire. Web.
Morgan, N., Whitler, K., & Feng, H. (2018). Research in marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Web.