1) My potential opportunity is for a pet product called Canine Condiments. As mentioned before, my one year old dog used to be severely underweight. She had a poor appetite, which resulted in her ribs and bones being very obvious, even though she had constant access to food. When I heard professionals say she needed to put on weight as quickly as possible, I instantly tried several methods to try to excite her to eat her meals. I tried everything from cooking for her, adding gravy to her food, and switching dog foods. These methods were rather ineffective and expensive. The only method that helped her gain weight was when I cooked for her and bought her protein (chicken, beef, etc). Elderly dogs also have a similar unmet need, as they age they begin to loose their sense of taste and miss out on key nutrients in their food. The humans with the unmet need are the owners of these dogs. Also, dogs in the shelter and the shelter employees have an unmet need, as many dogs brought into dog shelters are malnourished and need to put on weight. The forces and changes in the environment that are creating this opportunity are mainly dependent upon the dog's instincts; some dogs have personal issues as to why they are underweight. Geographically, this market is defined by being in more affluent cities and suburbs, assuming these customers are willing to spend a little more on premium products for their pet, as well as shelters who would want to buy in bulk. Demographically, this market would be young adults who see the benefit of all natural supplements, rather than medicine.
There is a variety of ways that the market is currently satisfying their need; people are adding wet food to their dogs dry food, cooking fresh meals for their dog, trying several different foods until they find one their dog likes, and using a veterinary recommended product called Nautical (in my experience, my dog did not like it at all). In terms of loyalty, the market typically has to try several of these methods until they find one to suite their dogs preferences, which can be expensive. In a study of 900 dogs, 47% were underweight; this proposes a huge opportunity! And even better, the window for this opportunity is rather open, because there is not a firm solution on the market and people are always going to have dogs as pets, just as shelters are always going to be full of dogs in need.
My idea is to create a product called Canine Condiments that acts as a delicious and high-calorie sauce for dogs' food. My product would be radically innovative because there's not a weight-gain/appetite specific sauce for dogs on the market, so it would be the first of its kind. The product would be similar to a ketchup bottle, come in a variety of flavors for the dogs, and provide human-grade nutrition that is free of fillers/artificial content. You use the sauce by fixing your pet's dry/wet food as usual, and squeezing on 1-2 tablespoons of the condiment, then giving it a quick shake or mix. Ideally, the commercial size of the container would be offered in two sizes; an eight oz. size and a twelve oz. size. Also, shelters would have the opportunity to purchase the sauce in a bulk size, by the gallon. The dogs will smell a new and delicious addition to their meal and eat it right up. Price wise, I would make the product as affordable as possible, reaching as many dogs as possible. If I get with the right co-packer, the product would cost myself about $3.50 to produce and I would sell it for around $7-8. Compared to other dog treats and food, this is a very affordable price, leading to at least 50% profit margin, and if we sell the right volume, could be profitable long-term.
Canine Condiments would fix the unmet need of the market by encouraging the pet to eat more, building an appetite in the animal so they get used to eating, and eventually having them eat on their own. In turn, this product would help underweight, elderly, and stray/sheltered dogs maintain health and weight. People would pick my product because it has a specific goal. Though a niche product, I have talked to many people who would purchase my product. There are other out-of-the box alternatives, but Canine Condiments would be the first to reach this specific market. Customers would switch to this new product because when people's pets have health issues, they are willing to pay premium prices to fix it (look at dogs with cancer and treatment prices). That being said, it will be easy to get the customers to switch to this alternative method. Though no direct competitors, alternatives for this market are NutriCal (a high calorie puppy supplement), adding gravy to your pet's food, switching to a different wet/dry food, or cooking meals for your dog. Weaknesses of the competitors is price and effectiveness; it's expensive to try new dogs food. I have tried all alternative methods, and my dog only liked when I cooked for her, which got costly. While defining my business concept, price point and customer experience are most important. Pet owners often pay high prices for products/services, so if I can get price down, more people will buy more frequently. Also the customer experience is major; if the product works, then people will talk about it to their friends and continue to buy. My business would mainly be B2B, selling in retail and vet offices, but starting out I would like to sell at farmers markets. Starting out, I would have just a few employees, but that number would increase as the company grows. The venture would have a CEO, financial advisor, front-line employees for customer service, and logistical/product packaging employees.
I think my most important resource would be my financial advisory connection. I do not know much about finances, and I have several close connections in the field that could help me at a reduced cost. The next opportunity I would like to take advantage of would be the potential of going B2B and selling in retail. This would have to happen after much market success research. In five years, I want my product would grow internationally. I want to work with non-profits and donate our products to abused/rescued dogs who are underweight. I even think it would be possible to start an initiative where for every one bottle sold, a bottle is donated to a shelter/dog in need. This way Canine Condiments could give back while still making a profit. I hope I could give more opportunities to those who are uneducated, yet highly skilled and share some of my success with others. This first venture helps me achieve my vision of success by giving me a platform and a market who I could establish trust with, and my product could help vets, animal shelters, and the common dog owner.
2) I received really helpful feedback on my first venture concept post. My feedback included offering a bulk option for lower prices, refocusing my efforts to B2B rather than direct to consumer, including the size of the product, maintaining a presence at farmers markets, providing my resources to animal shelters, and including a "buy on, give one" incentive. In the "Whats Next" assignment, I got more feedback about refocusing to animal shelters, which I made a major theme of this assignment. Other than this, all the feedback I got was very positive and encouraging.
3) I changed my venture concept by listening to the feedback I got and applying it to my plan. Though this plan is almost identical to the original, I talked about expanding my potential market to animal shelters. Originally, I overlooked this part of people with the unmet need, so I am thankful my classmates pointed it out to me. Also, I tied together both selling at farmers markets and mainly B2B. My plan is to start in markets, gain exposure and word of mouth marketing, and then make the shift to selling in retail. Finally, I made sure to include the initiative where we give back by donating one bottle of condiments for every bottle sold. This way, our customers know they are doing a good deed by using our products.
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This is my dog, Mable.
She is the inspiration for my entire business,
Canine Condiments. |
