Is there a market in the area for your product? After all, there is no point in deciding to specialise in wedding breakfasts or in making wedding cakes if the area is full of retired people.
To find out whether you will be able to sell your food and services you will need to do a little basic market research.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS INGREDIENT CARDS
Ingredient 2: Market research when starting a restaurant business
Question:
Market research when starting a restaurant business
Answer:
There are many things that market research can tell you. For example, you can:
-
-
- see if a market exists for your product/service
- define the size of that market
- determine customer profiles/target markets
- analyse market trends
- keep up with changes in the competition
- investigate customer needs
- make sure your promotion is appropriate
- evaluate new product opportunities
- determine better ways of getting your product to the customer
-
Why not draw a circle on the map outlining the area within which you could easily travel to deliver food, cater for dinners/parties, or for customers to visit your food outlet, etc. Next, try to assess that area in terms of spending power and tastes. To help you do this answer the following questions about the area as much as possible.
Is the area a wealthy one?
Are the residents likely to be able to afford to visit an upmarket cafe or to employ outside caterers? A chat with one or two local estate agents or local council officials will help you to identify the more expensive areas (maybe just drive around).
What sort of people live there?
Are they young people with young families, middle-aged people with grown-up families or is it a retirement area? Remember that different groups will have different requirements and different tastes.
What potential sales outlets are there?
If, for example, you are running a catering business your list should include markets, specialist grocers and butchers, delicatessens, tea rooms and cafes, wine bars, pubs and gift or souvenir shops in your area.
Is there any competition?
If so, can the area support more than one food outlet in the same field?
Market research helps you avoid one of the most common mistakes made in small businesses – producing a product or service and then trying to find customers for it. The secret of success is to find a need and fill it. By using market research, you can be sure you will be selling what customers want rather than just what you want to produce.
Learn more.
Download a copy of
How to Discover Your Market eGuide
for ONLY $19.95
and get your food business known.
https://alacartetraining.com/how-to-discover-your-market-eguide/
