Venture Concept No. 2

1) Opportunity

In the United States, we have almost hit 5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. There is no immediate end in sight for this pandemic, which has had extremely negative effects on not just our public health, but on our education systems and businesses in all kinds of industries, such as the tourism industry. While there are countless industries in need of assistance, one of the greatest hits has been taken by the food business industry. Coronavirus is passed through air particles, which has made millions of people (myself included) weary of eating indoors or even risking exposure at restaurants. "Did the chef wash his hands?" "What if their masks weren't worn properly when handling my food?" These questions and many more run through the minds of consumers.

Restaurants have had to adjust by complying with social distancing and mask orders. This means setting tables at least six feet apart, which greatly diminishes their capacity. This means even restaurants that remain popular during the pandemic can still lose business, even with the same amount of consumers walking through the door. In fact, this may even cause wait times, which can also make people have to stand or sit closer than six feet to each other. Even the customers who do decide to eat are spending less and being more frugal due to the economic recession caused by COVID. 

One of the main problems restaurants face now, however, is inventory. COVID-19 cases have risen and fallen dramatically and without any pattern or predictability. This is true in both nationwide and local estimates. It has been hard for experts to predict the spread or containment of the virus. Because of this phenomenon, restaurants have been unable to track their demand, as it changes from week to week depending on the amount of cases. But because restaurants work on a schedule with suppliers, they are still required to order food on a fairly regular basis- sometimes weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Some large chains have been able to implement new inventory management systems to contain this issue, but most restaurants are still left playing it by ear every time they order inventory. Because of this, there are thousands of restaurants nationwide with too much food inventory that is going to expire and be tossed, registered as a net loss for the restaurant. While this phenomenon occurs, at the same time, there are millions of consumers across America who are struggling to find food items at grocery stores as well.

Innovation

Restaurants have too much food, and consumers are seeking new sources of food to cook at home. Therefore, the innovation is getting the excess food from restaurants into the hands of consumers at a reduced cost to the end consumer (enticing purchases from restaurants rather than grocery stores). A specialized firm targeting this innovation could have potential. 

This innovation can be utilized in two different ways. In the first way, the specialized firm would help the restaurants set up food displays and market-style vending to sell directly to their own consumers. This would include supplying and constructing shelving and structures on-site to both display and package food items consumers could purchase and take with them. This is already a somewhat proven concept, as many restaurants have resorted to this step during the pandemic already (albeit many times in an unprofessional way that can be improved upon by a specialized firm). 

The second way a firm can utilize this innovation is by simply buying the excess inventory from restaurants in bulk and reduced prices, and reselling directly to consumers on their own. Restaurants would like this option because it still gets rid of their net loss and prevents food items from wasting away on their shelves. This would benefit the specialized firm because they'd have more control over the reselling of items than when working with restaurants.

Venture Concept

The two paths of applying the innovation solves the opportunity mentioned earlier, and would be a win-win. Restaurants would greatly reduce their losses and have a new source of income (very important during a pandemic to have). Simultaneously, consumers would have a new and cheaper source to put food on the table at home without breaking the bank. Therefore, I do not believe it would be difficult to get consumers and restaurants to invest in this business. The secret sauce for this business is the innovation for the opportunity that hasn’t yet had an innovation.

One of the strongest parts of this business is that because this a new firm that specifically functions during coronavirus, there isn’t necessarily any direct competition as there has been no innovation yet to address this opportunity. It is fair to say, however, that a specialized firm seeking the secondary innovation route may face indirect competition from food sources like grocery stores. 

When going about this venture, a business would certainly do better if it was fairly big. This is because the more spread out nationwide this business is, the more customers it would gain. There would have to be several hundred (if not thousands eventually) of employees to manage this business. 

In 5 years, I believe this business can still exist, so long as it adapts to non-COVID times. Even during regular times before COVID, there is still millions of tons of food years that are wasted unnecessarily. A business that resells unused food would still have a place in society. This experience would certainly help me grow as an entrepreneur, and I could see myself making my next venture in a similar business model but in the tourism industry.

2) In terms of feedback, I received mostly positive feedback. My peers left no criticisms of my venture concept. However, during the "whats next" activity, some entrepreneurs and industry insiders believed this business model may be time-sensitive and would only work during COVID. They emphasized I might have to change the model after COVID in order to maintain the business

3) Based on this feedback, I changed the model so that post-COVID, the business would focus on the millions of tons of food that is thrown out every year that could be used, donated, or resold.

4) 

How a business might set up shelving for a restaurant to resell unused food inventory in the restaurant, market-style directly to consumers.