Assignment 25: What's Next?

Existing Market

1. What's next in terms of my product is to start making prototypes and have people try the bites themselves. I feel like at the price that they're at it's not really that appealing to buy a whole batch just to try one. Furthermore, I would also like to maybe setup some free samples for people to try. Maybe dedicate one whole batch so that people can try the product before they buy them.

Interviews

1. Danny

• Danny talked about how I should be planning my time in case of big orders. Since it takes a lot of time to make, he recommends that I schedule what I need to do that's unrelated to making the Bulk Bites and work around those things. He likes the idea of creating a batch of samples because people don't want to buy something that they don't know what it taste like; especially, if they would be dropping a minimum of $15.

2. Conner

• Conner talked about creating more differential batches when it comes to how many people want to buy. He recommends that I should make lower quantity batches and higher ones as well. After telling him about my ideas, like Danny, he was all for the extra batch for people to sample.

3. Michael

• Michael talked about creating a package for the Bulk Bites. He recommends that I not only have the batches but also a unique package that appeals to the customer. He also recommended that I do a to-go container for people on the go and those who want to take some to the gym. When I told him about my ideas, he recommended that I do make the sample batch, but also do what Conner said and create small batches.

Future Path

For the ideas that I had before the interviews, I'm going to stick with them. I'm going to create a batch of samples so that people are able to try the product before they buy them. I will most likely create different ones with maybe a few ingredients changed so that it highlights the personalize-able aspect that I am trying to implement into my venture. Since all of my interviewees liked the idea of the sample batches, I'll most likely do this in the future.

Reading through the feedback I got in the interviews, my interviewees gave some good ideas that I can put into my business for the future. I've always thought of making more incremental batches for those who were more worried about the price of the batches. I just felt that it would be kind of a headache and inefficient to make the batches too small or too large. I really liked Danny's idea of building a schedule as to when I will be making the batches because it's key that they don't just add stress to my everyday schedule. 

New Market

1. Since it seems that I'm marketing more towards those who go to the gym and college students, I think I may expand my target market to mothers and people working outside. 
2. These two groups would be perfect to market to because of their situations. For mothers, the snack would  be perfect to go into their kid's lunch boxes. The Bulk Bites will satisfy all the needs in terms of nutrition for a growing boy/girl providing protein, carbs, sugar, good fats, and fiber. For those who work at an outside job, the sun is constantly stealing calories from your body causing these individuals to have a need for a surplus of calories. These Bulk Bites would be perfect because they're quick to eat and they supply a high enough calorie content to satisfy the outdoor worker's need for more calories in the day.

Interviews

1. Mike

• Mike thinks that my business can help those who work outside because currently he would normally just run across the street to get something from a fast food place instead of making a snack before he heads to work. The fact that my product is healthy makes it more desirable than continually going to fast food places to get a snack between meals. Mike thinks that I should make a carry to-go container where individuals can just bring a little container instead of the whole batch package.

 2. Carol

• Carol is part of the mother market where she needs to make snacks for her kids to eat while at school. She normally struggles to find things on the shelf that are both healthy and tasty for her kids. Carol said that if my Bulk Bites are tasty, that my product could go the distance in the market. However, some adaptations that she recommended was to increase diversity in the ingredients because a lot of kids are allergic to peanuts and that will affect the reach to these kind of mothers.

What I learned about the New Markets

In terms of the outside worker, I learned that working outside is really detrimental on your calorie storage. The sun depletes a lot of the calories causing a lot of outside workers to burn more calories than those who work in an office all day. So to battle this, these individuals consume a surplus of calories, and it doesn't matter what kinda calories they are. Most of the calories that they consume are unhealthy which is where my product would shine in the market. My expectations about the outside workers market was correct in that they require more calories than the normal in-office individual. I do believe that this market seems to be about the same level as the existing market that I'm trying to reach. 

In terms of the mother market, I learned a lot about the constraints that I would have if I were to enter that market. Things that I would have to watch out for would be how my product tastes. The taste of my product needs to appeal  to the younger generation where they are very picky on what they like to eat and don't necessarily care about how healthy the snack is. Another thing that I need to watch out for are allergies. A lot of kids are allergic to things like peanuts which is one of the main ingredients to my snacks. So I would have to see if I could someway substitute that in the recipes for those with this kind of allergy. However, my expectations for the market were correct where I knew that I was going to battling picky eaters, but didn't realize the peanut allergy situation. On second thought, this market doesn't seem to be as attractive that I thought it was going to be. I feel that it may be more of a hassle than a benefit to my venture.