Executive Summary
North Beverages is a new company that will be providing the staff and students of North Park
Secondary School with beverages, chocolate bars and candy. There are a variety of products offered
such as smoothies, bubble tea, tea, coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate, chocolate bars and assorted
candies. Research was conducted through online surveys that were sent over email to the students of
North Park. Through this research, it was found that the target market will be willing and able to pay for
the products for a minimum price of $2.00 for beverages. Through this students said that they
sometimes buy hot beverages and they usually buy a small size. This product is recommend to the
students and staff of North Park because most of these people have to travel a certain amount distance
to get a decent cup of coffee or the students are paying for overpriced products that North Beverages
sells for a more convenient price. The place for the store is located in the commons corner and it is
easily accessible by everyone. The products will be promoted through various advertisement methods
such as announcements, posters, TV, and social networking sites (Facebook etc.).
Business Description
North Beverages is willing to guarantee a high level of customer satisfaction and hopes to
provide the customers with what we know as mouth watering beverages. Our smoothie makers and
juice blenders will ensure that your beverage is exactly what you are looking for in a tasty savoury drink.
By doing background research, the owner’s of North Beverages have found that North Park is one of
three schools to host the International Business and Technology Program. This school has also hosted
the International Co-op Program in conjunction with AFS (American Field Services), which has sent a
selected number of students for one semester to Paraguay, South America for volunteer work. The
program has been hosted by North Park Secondary School since 1998 and has been a great success
thanks to the work of Jon Ruhnke. After nearly 30 years, the school portapack was demolished in 2008
to make way for a long-awaited extension. The International Business and Technology (IBT) Program is
an innovative program that goes beyond the traditional secondary school curriculum by incorporating
technology and by preparing students for the challenges of the technological demanding world. Our
mission is simple, to be a business which can successfully reach our goals and to achieve the most out of
this venture as possible. By setting achievable personal goals, we as a hard working staff will be able to
achieve maximum team performance. This in turn will improve our overall store performance.
Customer satisfaction and bringing the ideas and values of our customer to our business will make it
much easier to create a great customer relationship and friendly business environment.
Market Analysis
North Beverages is a store that will be opened in the Commons Corner of North Park Secondary
School. It will have a small storage room and a large room to operate in. The products we plan to sell are
a large variety of smoothies, fruit juices, herbal teas, bubble tea, coffee, espressos, cappuccinos, candies
and snacks. Our target market is the students and staff at North Park secondary school since individuals
that are not attending North Park are not allowed inside the North Park students and staff will be ones
that will buy our products. To purchase a beverage such as a smoothie or coffee you can get it from the
café but they tend to be over priced. There are stores outside North Park that can also provide these
products to the students but it takes longer to get making North Beverages much more convenient.
Management Team
We will work hard to increase profits by striving to improve the quality of our goods. We hope
to be able to break even by the course of a year and to pay off all liabilities within a year of being in
business. To achieve these strategic goals, we will follow a strict set of operational goals. To increase
our profits, we would make sure we are progressively growing as a business through providing the
customers what they are willing to buy, bring in more desired goods and products and make sure the
customers are happy with our services over all. By increasing these profits and saving up sufficient
amounts, we will be able to meet our second goal which would be to pay off all liabilities and to be able
to break even. Wanting to be a successful business, we would want to be praised on our hard work,
great service and tasteful drinks with good ratings and reviews. To achieve this goal we would need to
work very hard at satisfying our customers’ needs. We would go out of our way to make sure the
consumers are happy with what they have asked for. By exceeding their expectations with taste, quality
and appearance, being able to receive positive feedback will not be a problem. North Beverages would
also like to continue later on as a franchise meaning expansion would be the next step for our venture.
To ensure we have successful branches at other locations, we will need to develop a good business
model which is what we will use in order to make sure the business is successful.
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure shows that there will be the 5 owner’s who will be on ‘On-Call’ if
any member of the staff is unable to attend their shift. We will have 4 shifts:
Shift A- Monday Tuesday Wednesday (Before School PERIOD 3)
Shift B- Monday Tuesday Wednesday (PERIOD 4 -After School)
Shift C- Tuesday Thursday (Before School PERIOD 3)
Shift D- Tuesday Thursday (PERIOD 4- After School)
Every week the shifts will switch so that in a 2 weeks time period, all employees will have worked a
complete 5 days.
Ownership Structure
The chart shows that we will have a partnership ownership style. There will be 5 partners who
are different managers and are in charge of different components of the business. Having different
managers responsible for different areas of the business will make it much easier to handle situations.
We will ensure that our management team will take a democratic approach to our ownership
style because it will allow free thought and idea sharing between our staff which will create an open and
free thought filled atmosphere. Having our staff give their opinions allows for easy feedback which in
turn leads to better, faster and easier improvements. If any problems and areas of concern come to the
attention of the staff, then we will be able to make sure it does not further continue. This ownership
structure also allows for equal control of decision making within the staff. Having a team of owners all
final decisions will be made by but staff does have a say with their opinions.
Operations
Price- North Beverages will be using Penetration Pricing (here the organisation sets a low price
to increase sales and market share. Once market share has been captured, the firm will increase prices
accordingly) and also Psychological Pricing (The seller here will consider the psychology of price and the
positioning of price within the market place. The seller will therefore charge 99¢ instead of $1 or $199
instead of $200. The reason why these methods work is because buyers will still say they purchased
their product under $200 dollars, even though it was a dollar less)*. With these pricing strategies it is
more likely that the profit will remain high and we will still be attracting customers. After looking at the
survey, we noticed that most people are willing to pay $2-$3 so all of our products are priced between
$1.99-2.99.
Promotions- To sell a product, promoting it is very important. We will be creating
announcements that will be aired during the school year. They will start playing as soon as the year
starts in September so that way people will know what to look forward too. The store will open the
second week of September. Specific announcements will be aired for sales or special events at North
Beverages. Advertising in the form of posters will be used to inform the students and teachers about
some of the products and promotions that are offered. Brief advertisements will be used to promote
the store and specific products on the screens in the Commons and the Cafeteria. The Commons and the
Cafeteria is where most of the students are at lunch so by placing most of the posters there it will catch
more people’s attention. As the store opens for business, there will also be flyers handed out to the
students in the Commons and around the school to remind them about the store and what we will be
offering them. We will be using ‘Above the Line Promotion’ and ‘Below the Line Promotion’. For sales
promotions we will have days such as ‘Frooty Fridays’ were we will have our fruit smoothes on sale such
as 15% off and these days will be advertised. There will be days such as Tea-Tastic Tuesdays also where
all Tea’s or a select few will be on sale. These sales will attract costumers that will come for the cheaper
products. We will be selling straight to the customer. Our products will include smoothies, teas, juices
and snacks such as candy and chocolates. We will have cups with the stores name on them for the
smoothies, juices and coffees. The nutritional information will not be on the cups but on the sides of the
store for people to be able to refer to them.
Product- North Beverages will be providing the students and staff at North Park Secondary
school with smoothies, coffee, tea, juices and other small snacks such as candies and chocolates. Our
beverages will be sold in different sized cups that will be clear. What makes our products different is
that on every day of the week we will have a different super hero smoothie. Every day of the week, 1
smoothie will reflect a different superhero. Each Monday we will have blue and red smoothes
representing Superman, every Tuesday it will be green for the Hulk etc. The nutritional information for
all of our smoothies, fruit juices etc will be kept in the store so they can be provided to whoever is
interested. North Beverages will be providing teas such as herbal and bubble teas which are not
provided in the school cafeteria. Our smoothies will have 25% less sugar than a regular smoothie and
will have more health benefits compared to other smoothies around North Park Secondary School. For
example our smoothies will use low fat yogurt and organic fruits.
Place - The supplies to make the products such as cups and fruits will go from the
manufacturer/producer to wholesaler and then to us which are the retailers. We will compose the
supplies into our products and then provide them to the end consumers which are the students and
staff of North Park. This chain of getting goods will go from the manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer
to end consumers is the third type of channel of distribution in terms of consumer goods. North
Beverages will be purchasing our supplies in bulk from wholesalers who will be provided these supplies
from the manufacturer. The products will be sold in the North Park commons corner which is located in
the commons of the school where most of the students spend their spare time.
In order to run the store, there needs to be eight people working a week. This means four
people will be operating the store in a day, one shift at a time. There will be two people in each shift.
There will be one manager and one will be a customer service representative. Two individuals will work
before school, in one lunch and the other two at the other lunche and after school. The first shift will be
from 7:50 to 8:20, the 2nd shift will be from 11:15 to 12:15, the 3rd shift will be from 12:30-1:30 and the
last shift will be from 3:00 to 3:30. Each individual will be schedule to work when he/she can work. The
staff hired need to be responsible, respectful, and outgoing. They also must have time/money
management skills, communication skills, and must be able to multitask.
Recruitment-To gain grab the attention of future employees, there will be a significant amount
of advertising done prior to the end of the school year. This way, possible employees have been
selected for the following school year store opening and the store will be able to open. Advertising will
be done through many methods. There will be many posters put up around the school in the busiest
hallways. Announcements will be made over the PA system as well as ads on school TVs will be aired.
Also the advertisement of job availability will be seen through social networking sites such as Facebook
and Twitter. There will be an application that students will have to fill out. From there, there will be a
submission of a resume and report card and then an interview will be conducted. Advertisements
include:
Selection
After the applicant has completed and submitted the application, the owners will go over them
find the ones that meet the requirements of the staff needed. The staff needed must have good marks,
(75+% average), cooperative, and must have many other basic skills. From there, submissions of
resumes and recommendations will be required. As well, a criminal record check will be required to
ensure that the applicant can be trusted. After the selection through resumes and recommendations,
an interview will be conducted to further see if the applicant is capable of being the right employee for
this company.
Sample Interview Questions
1. What are some of your skills?
2. Do you have any experience?
3. What are your strengths?
4. What are your weaknesses?
5. Can you handle multiply tasks/responsibilities?
6. Why are you applying for this job?
Example Application:
Interview Checklist:
Interview Check List
Employee ‘s Name
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Appearance
Applicant has a
sloppy appearance,
bad posture and
attire is not
appropriate.
Applicant show
semi-sloppy
appearance, poor
posture and attire is
not completely
appropriate.
Applicant has a
Applicant has
good appearance, excellent
well posture and
appearance, well
attire is appropriate. posture and attire is
exceeding.
Knowledge
Applicant has no
knowledge in
general of the
company or
inventory.
Applicant has some
knowledge in
general of the
company or
inventory.
Applicant has good
knowledge in
general of the
company or
inventory.
Personality
Applicant portrays a Applicant portrays
lazy, sloppy and
lazy and poor
impolite attitude. attitude.
Applicant portrays a Applicant portrays
good, polite and
an outgoing, polite
civilized attitude.
and civilized
attitude.
Skills
Applicant shows no Applicant shows
required skill.
somewhat of the
required skills.
Applicant shows an Applicant shows an
appropriate amount outstanding amount
of required skills.
of required skills.
Overall/Other Comments
Level 4
Applicant has
excellent knowledge
in general of the
company or
inventory.
Training and Orientation
Training and orientation will take one week prior to school beginning. All training and
orientation will be done by either of the owners. Applicants will firstly be greeted and welcomed to the
company. This will be followed by a tour of the facility. From here the applicants will be taught how to
operate and run the machinery. They will be taught different jobs such as the cashier and machine
operator. This will be followed by a break, to get to know the other members of the staff and company.
After this, the employees will go over hygiene of themselves and the store. They will be taught to be
cautious and how to safely work with the machines. The day will end with closing remarks and any
questions the applicants may ask.
Developing Positive Attitudes
Everyone working is to be encouraged to work the best of their ability and to keep a positive
environment around them. To develop this there will be a performance system of the employees and
whoever performs the best will receive employee of the month. With this honour, one would receive
rewards of coupons and discounts on merchandise. Here is a sample performance evaluation sheet:
Employee ‘s Name
Hygiene
Poor
Good
Excellent
Overall Attitude
Poor
Good
Excellent
Organization
Poor
Good
Excellent
Productivity
Poor
Good
Excellent
Time Management
Poor
Good
Excellent
Customer Satisfaction
Poor
Good
Excellent
Overall/Other Comments
Departures and Dismissals
If an employee wishes to leave they are to give the owners two week in advance notice so a
replacement can be found. An exit interview will be conducted upon departure and this would give
feedback on the company and how to improve it. If an employee is not performing to the best of their
ability, they will be given a verbal warning first, a written warning second and then there will be an exit
interview conducted upon the dismissal of the employee. An exit interview will also be done with
graduating students to get feedback on the company and store.
Sample Exit Interview Questions
1. What is your reason for leaving?
2. Did you receive enough training for your positions?
3. Anything you would like to change about your position?
4. Any comments on the workplace?
5. What do you think we can do to improve the quality of our store?
6. Would you recommend working here to others?
Risk Assessment
Before beginning our venture, North Beverages will face many potential problems such as
finding employees with the right skills to make sure the business will be successful. As it will be a new
store with new products being offered, gaining a large amount of customers will be tough. Once North
Beverages gains customers, potential risks may arise concerning the business. Originally when the
commons corner was first opened, the store had faced theft and vandalism. These were the main
reasons as to why the store shut-down. These are very evident problems that North Beverages may face
now. Another risk that the business may face is price conflicts. The company has many competitors in
and around the school that may interfere with the sales at North Beverages. The managers of North
Beverages had gone to each of the competitors and observed their prices. Although North Beverages
prices are lower than our competitors, some hold different promotional offers. To avoid this, North
Beverages has better and more distinct promotional offers and specials that, according to an online
survey, many North Park students and staff would prefer.
The company’s competitor’s reaction will be to change their pricing strategies in an attempt to
bring back their customers. They may also introduce new foods to attract the student and staff
attention. Competitors outside of North Park such as ‘Hasty Market’ will most likely try new
promotional strategies. The overall reaction of our competitors will be that they will want to take
immediate action towards our store.
Conclusion
This will be an effective market plan because the product is something that appeals to all
students and teachers. The Commons Corner is easily accessible place by everyone and the price allows
the target market to be willing and able to buy the product. The product will be highly promoted and
so everyone will know about it.