Blossom Restaurant

Blossom Restaurant

Executive Summary

Blossom Restaurant is a new local café operating in New York City. The restaurant has emerged popular among the locals due to its unique menu with a variety of options for customers to choose between different plant-based menus that focus on seasonal items using fresh produce sourced within the locality. New York City does not have many restaurants that share similar concepts to Blossom; hence, it is providing products new to people. The idea appeals to vegetarians and vegans as well as meat lovers can use burger made from beet juice and peas.

Primarily, Blossom Restaurant aims to achieve $200,000 in sales within its first financial year. The company expects to meet this objective and increase it by 50% by the end of the second trading year. Blossom’s objectives further include offering promotions and maintaining a low expense level while ensuring customer satisfaction. In consideration of Blossom’s specific marketing goals, the idea of the company is to maintain a brilliant and open atmosphere and providing a healthy meal.

Current Market Situation

Blossom is a new market entrant with a unique menu, having started as the maker and the pioneer of the plant-based menu. The restaurant focuses on making each meal extraordinary for vegans and vegetarians. As the National Restaurant Association (2020) reports, the most popular food trends in the present market include gluten-free options, meat alternatives, houses made of condiments, substitutes of vegetable cabs, and plant-derived meats. The food mentioned above trends in the modern market would allow Blossom Restaurant to record excellent performance for the reason that their menu is complete of these options. A report by the National Restaurant Association (2020) indicates that the restaurant industry recorded a gross of $899 billion in sales during the financial year 2019, representing a 4% increase over the previous year. In consideration that the United States is a hub of millions of cafeterias, it represents one of the most significant industries in addition to being the workstation of roughly 10% of the nation’s workforce. The report further suggests that the restaurant industry would continue to grow due to the expanding economy as well as positive consumer sentiment that support spending in the industry. The increased pent-up among consumers for restaurants is high, nearly 50% of consumers report not using restaurants as often they would like.

The increasing trend of takeaways in the restaurant industry also shows an expansionary period for the industry. The current situation index evidences the present health of the industry. Today, restaurants have advanced their operations by adding additional labor, sales, and stores founded to increase capital expenditures (Sena. 2020). In relation to this positive uptrend, casual dining restaurant stocks, like Blossom Restaurant, experienced an increase in customer flow and new concepts like plant-based menus. The occurrence of such trends means that the full service of the restaurant is booming. To that end, Blossom Restaurant has the responsibility of identifying its direct and indirect competitors in a bid to ensure an improved chance of succeeding in the sector. As Sena (2020) describes, a direct competitor refers to a company that produces similar products to its competitor. An indirect competitor, on the other side, is a company that deals in products or services that would provide customers with a similar outcome they derive from another company. In this situation, the direct competitors of Blossom mention companies that deal in the plant-based menu, such as Panera Bread. Other competitors, such as McDonald’s, offer high prices with non-organic food. An example of an indirect competitor of the company would be vegetarians that prefer to grow their cooking at home.

Blossom’s operations and product lines allow them to employ a demand-driven pricing tactic. Given that the demand for organic foods is increasing due to health and wellness awareness among consumers, Blossom has the freedom to sell its products at high prices. The restaurant deals in an enticing ambiance and brand. What’s more, it offers unique and delicious plant-based food options. The demand for natural and plant-based food options is high since Blossom provides an atmosphere that guests would not find across the city. To that effect, the skimming approach adopted by Blossom is a recipe for making maximum profits before new entrants invade the market and start the price-based competition. Penetration pricing approach allows the setting of price low to gain market share within a short period. In most instances, this pricing approach is crucial at the time of introducing a new product, and the price appears to increase after the promotional period has elapsed. An additional pricing tactic available for Blossom would be the competition method. The approach utilizes the prices of individual competition on the broader market to serve as a baseline to consider present expenses. Blossom’s nature of business means that it can price its unique food products the same as its competitors or higher than other market players. Blossom Restaurant could further employ bundle pricing by adding different items on the menu to allow them to lower the price. For instance, the restaurant may implement the concept of value meals where a customer buys an assortment of food menus, such as salad and beverage, to lower the price.

SWOT Analysis

In marketing terms, a SWOT analysis refers to a strategic planning approach applied by different individuals or companies to constitute a workable plan for their business by identifying the associated strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis of the restaurant industry would determine to suppose the business idea offered by Blossom is good or bad. In the restaurant industry, the SWOT analysis is essential in determining the beneficial and detrimental practices of the business, similar to establishing the problems that an entity presently experiences to promote speedy resolutions. Through SWOT analysis, Blossom Restaurant can develop opportunities that would help it grow and improve in addition to avoiding any threats from affecting the business. The table below shows Blossom Restaurant’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.