Researching New Business - Feedback please

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shaking

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My mum and her brother (both chefs) are thinking of starting up a business which sells home made meals as take aways / freezer fillers.

There are 2 different ways of marketing it:
1) Having the meals delivered to you frozen for your freezer and you then have your meals for the week or whenever (along the lines of Tesco finest or Marks and Spencer)
2) Getting them delivered unfrozen as in pop them in the microwave and it's tonight's dinner (similar to Supper's Ready or Butler's Pantry in Dublin)

There is a bit of disagreement in the ranks about which is the best way to go. Would you use option 1, as in would you buy your meals for the week from a company like this (presuming the food is top quality) at a cost of about c. €7 per head or would you be more likely to use it as a take away service just for that night's meal.

All replies, suggestions appreciated!
 
Re: Start up business, market research all feedback greatly appreciated

Frozen option - not so sure. Frozen meals never as nice as fresh. Also, you can buy fairly good quality frozen meals already. Secondly - they take up loads of room in your freezer, and you need to either remember to take them out to defrost or else they take ages in the oven (you'd have cooked a dinner yourself in the time). I think the fresh option would be best - if you are paying over the odds for the convenience of having someone else cook it for you, then better to have it fresh rather than frozen. Another idea - you could set up a text messaging service for people to text a number and get 'tonight's specials' sent to their phone.
 
Re: Start up business, market research all feedback greatly appreciated

Thanks for the feedback Sadie, like the idea of the text service too
 
Re: Start up business, market research all feedback greatly appreciated

I presume that there are significant overhead costs in complying with food safety regulations these days? Have you/they factored these into their business plan/budget? The www.fsai.ie website might have some info.
 
^^ Not to mention delivery costs and other non-food related compliance costs. will you be able to make money on €7/head, especially if it's 'top quality food'?
How much are pizzas, for example? (Cheaper ingredients)
 
Be careful here. Although you may have a great product you need to be sure you are in an ideal catchment area.
c.s.o can provide age groups of people living in your catchment area. Are there elderly or young individual couples that would and could afford to purchase your product.
What about the possiblity of approaching schools for childrens lunches?
Do you intend to have this available in your local town or county etc?
 
They're at the research stage and yes have taken into account the various health and safety requirements. They're still working on costings but reckon a main course will be around €7 and then extra for rice or potato option.

The town in question is in Meath, there are alot of take aways that do very well but nothing along the healthier lines.

The market suggested to them is families with young children who may not have time to prepare dinners if they're out at work all day. However I feel young professionals are the ones that will have the surplus cash.
 
Sorry if this seems negative but I honestly can't see it working in a provincial town - not when you can get a carvery lunch in many places for €8 upwards. The prospect of having to defrost or reheat cooked meals would turn me off straightaway.

If there was a market for this type of business, hotels and pubs would be doing it already, at minimal marginal cost, apart from delivery.
 
No doesn't seem negative it's useful information I'm trying to gather as much information as possible so it all helps. Do you think you'd use the service if the food was delivered hot to you like any other take away delivery?
 
There used to be a place in Howth (can't remember name, had no affiliation) that did takeaway fresh dishes - mostly Italian. It seemed to do very well and was the sort of place I would consider for an easy Saturday or Sunday meal. The meals had to be heated in the oven.

Another market research idea would be to stand outside the various takeaways at dinner time and ask people if they were able to go your shop and buy something that needed heating but was much healthier, would they use the service?
 
I've seen this recently in a butchers/deli shop where they have carvery type dinners made up and available to buy. Have also seen that some fish and chip type chippers are offering full meals too (e.g. pasta dishes, meat and two veg type dinners)....
When I lived in Australia I used www.jennycraig.com.au which is a weight loss company that provide full weekly meal options, delivered to your door. Wasn't using it so much for the weight loss but for the handiness and ensuring that my diet was balanced.... Very handy for busy people and the food was reasonable quality.
 
Purpeller / Lauren would you buy them if they came frozen? Will pass on the suggestion of researching outside take aways
 
Another vote for unfrozen but I'm anti microwave, it seems to make everything rather rubbery e.g lasagne reheated in an oven is so much better than one nuked in the microwave.
What sort of dishes are you thinking of offering?
 
I wouldn't be opposed to frozen but I think I'd be less likely to go to a specialty shop for my dinner as opposed to the supermarket.
 
moved from Work, Careers to Askaboutbusiness


I really think you mom and her brother should take a spep back from the (operations/marketing) details and prepare a comprehensive business plan. Such a plan should be for themselves alone to help them launch their new business. If other people (Banks, Accountants, Enteprise Agencies) require a plan then tailor your plan for them but continue to use your original plan.

When they are doing thier business plan the should consider who their customers are and what they require. Have a look a competitors direct (suppers ready, the butlers pantry) and indirect (chineese, indian, italian take away as well as M&S, country markets, door to door operations etc). Consider in detail how you are going to produce in sufficient quantity and quality consistently day in day out. Consider how you are going distribute the product/service (door to door, via supermarkets, via delis and speciality gourmet outlets, via farmers markets etc). Consider how you are going to fund the enterprise particularily in the first year. Consider the unit costs and profit and do a cash flow for the first 12mo-24mo. As pointed out above consider the regulatory environment particularily H&S and food hygene regulations.

Finally have you looked at the freezing technology you are going to employ.
 
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