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Executive Summary Gourmet pasta is one of the best Pasta restaurants in Cabanatuan City with rapidly developing consumers brand and growing customer base. The signature line of innovative, premium pasta dishes include pesto with smoke salmon, pancetta and peas linguini in an alfredo sauce, and fresh mussels and clams in a marinara sauce. Gourmet Pasta also serves distinct salads, desserts, and beverages. Gourmet pasta uses homemade pasta, fresh vegetables and premium meets and cheeses.
Gourmet Pasta will reinvent the pasta experience for individuals, families, and take out customers with discretionary income by selling high quality, innovative product at a price designing, designing tasteful, convenient locations, and providing industry-benchmark customer service. Gourmet Pasta is the only pasta restaurant here in Cabanatuan city, although there are 2 Restaurant offering pasta dishes but they primarily served pizza’s, in gourmet pasta the restaurant primarily served are pasta’s although they have other dishes but their main product are pasta. Current situation
Gourmet Pasta is closed to entering their second year of operations. The restaurant has been well received, and marketing is now crucial to its continued success and future profitability. The store offers an extensive offering of gourmet pastas. The basic need is to offer individuals, families, and take out customers. Fresh, creative, attractive, pasta dishes, salads and desserts. Market trends The market trends for restaurant are headed toward a more sophisticated customer. The restaurants patron today relative to yesterday is more sophisticated in a number of different ways. 1. Food quality.
The preference for high-quality ingredients is increasing as customers are learning to appreciate the qualitative differences. 2. Presentation/appearance. As a presentation of an element of the culinary experience becomes more pervasive, patrons are learning to appreciate this aspect of industry. 3. Health consciousness. Filipinos are more cognizant of their health, evidenced by the increase in individuals exercising and health club membership, patrons are requesting more healthy alternatives when they eat out. 4. Selection. People are demanding larger selections of foods. They are no longer accepting a limited menu.
Market growth The pasta restaurant markets are estimated to grow by at least 10% for the next few years. This growth can be attributed to several different factors. The first factors are appreciations for health conscious food. While not all pasta is “good for you”, particularly the cream based sauces, pasta can be very tasty yet health conscious at the same time. Pasta is seen as a healthy food because of its high percentage of carbohydrates relative to fat. Another variable that is contributing to market growth is an increase in the number of hours our demographic is working.
Over the last five years the numbers of hours spent at work of our archetype customer has significantly increased. As the number of work hours increases, there is a high correlation of people that eat at out at restaurants. This is intuitively explained by the fact that with a limited number of hours available each day, people have less time to prepare their meals and eating out is one way to maximize their time. Product service/description Gourmet pasta created gourmet pastas and salads that are differentiated and superior to competitors. Customer can taste the quality and freshness of the product in every bite.
The following are the characteristic 1. Gourmet’s dough for the pasta is made with Italian semolina flour. 2. Cheeses are all imported 3. Vegetables are locally available 4. Meats are all top-shelf varieties. At gourmet’s food is not a product, the experience of dining is a service. Gourmet’s prides themselves on providing service that is on par with fine ding. This is accomplished through an extensive training program and only hiring experienced employees. Market Demographics The profile for Gourmet Pasta’s customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, and behaviour factors: Geographic Our immediate geographic target is the city of Cabanatuan with a population of 259,267 * The total targeted population is estimated at 50,000 Demographics * Male and female. * Ages 20-50, this is the segment that makes up 53% of the Cabanatuan market. * Young professionals who work close to the location. * Yuppies. * Have attended college and/or graduate school. * An income over P. 15,000. 00 * Eat out several times a week. * Tend to patronize higher quality restaurants. * Are cognizant about their health. Behavior Factors * Enjoy a high quality meal without the mess of making it themselves. When ordering, health concerns in regard to foods are taken into account. * There is value attributed to the appearance or presentation of food. Market Need Gourmet Pasta is providing its customers with a wide selection of high-quality pasta dishes and salads that are unique and pleasing in presentation, offer a wide selection of health conscious choices, and utilize top-shelf ingredients. Gourmet Pasta seeks to fulfil the following benefits that are important to their customers. * Selection. A wide choice of pasta and salad options. * Accessibility.
The patron can gain access to the restaurant with minimal waits and can choose the option of dine in or take out. * Customer service. The patron will be impressed with the level of attention that they receive. * Competitive pricing. All products/services will be competitively priced relative to comparable high-end pasta/Italian restaurants. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing Gourmet Pasta. Strengths * Strong relationships with vendors that offer high-quality ingredients and fast/frequent delivery schedules. Excellent staff who are highly trained and very customer attentive. * Great retail space that is bright, hip, clean, and located in an upscale mall, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district. * High customer loyalty among repeat customers. * High-quality food offerings that exceed competitor’s offerings in quality, presentation, and price. Weaknesses * Gourmet’s name lacks brand equity. * A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness. * The struggle to continually appear to be cutting edge. Opportunities * Growing market with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware that Gourmet Pasta exists. Increasing sales opportunities in take out business. * The ability to spread overhead over multiple revenue centres. Gourmets will be able to spread the management overhead costs among the multiple stores, decreasing the fixed costs per store. Threats * Competition from local restaurants that respond to Gourmet Pasta’s superior offerings. * Gourmet pasta restaurant chains found in other markets coming to Cabanatuan * A slump in the economy reducing customer’s disposable income spent on eating out. Competition Local Competition * Restaurant A:??This is an upscale Italian restaurant that has a limited selection of pasta dishes.
Although the selection is limited and pricey, the dishes are quite good. * Restaurant B:??An Italian restaurant with a decent pasta selection, however quality is inconsistent. Service Offering Gourmet’s has created pastas and salads that are differentiated and superior to competitors. Customers can taste the quality and freshness of the product in every bite. The following are characteristics of the product: 1. Gourmet’s dough for the pasta is made with Italian semolina flour. 2. Cheeses are all imported. 3. Vegetables are organic and fresh with three shipments a week. 4. Meats are all top-shelf varieties, organic when possible.
At gourmet’s, food is not a product; the experience of dining is a service. Gourmet’s prides themselves on providing service that is on par with fine dining. This is accomplished through an extensive training program and only hiring experienced employees. Marketing Strategy Gourmet’s advertising budget is very limited, so the advertising program is simple. Gourmets will do direct mail, banner ads, and leaflets Mission Gourmet Pasta’s mission is to provide the customer the finest pasta meal and dining experience. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place.
Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers. Marketing Objectives 1. Maintain positive, steady, growth each month. . 2. Experience an increase in new customers who are turned into long-term customers. 3. Realize a growth strategy of one store per year. Target Marketing The market can be segmented into three target populations: * Individuals: people that dine in by themselves. * Families: a group of people, either friends or a group of nuclear relatives dining together. * Take out: people that prefer to eat Gourmet’s food in their home or at a different location than the actual restaurant.
The gourmet’s customers are hungry individuals between the ages of 20 and 50, making up 53% of Cabanatuan. Age is not the most defined demographic of this customer base; all age groups enjoy pasta. The most defined characteristic of the target market is income. Gourmet pasta stores have been very successful in high rent, mixed-use urban areas, combining several key demographic factors, Gourmet’s arrives at a profile of the primary customer as follows: * Sophisticated families who live nearby. * Young professionals who work close to the location. * Shoppers who patronize the high rent stores.
Positioning Gourmet Pasta will position itself as a reasonably priced, upscale, gourmet pasta restaurant. Consumers who appreciate high-quality food will recognize the value and unique offerings of Gourmet Pasta. Patrons will be single as well as families, ages 20-50. Gourmet Pasta positioning will leverage their competitive edge: * Product. The product will have the freshest ingredients including homemade pasta, imported cheeses, organic vegetables, and top-shelf meats. The product will also be developed to enhance presentation, everything will be aesthetically pleasing. Service. Customer service will be the priority. All employees will ensure that the customers are having the most pleasant dining experience. All employees will go through an extensive training program and only experienced people will be hired. By offering a superior product, coupled with superior service, gourmet’s will excel relative to the competition. Strategy Pyramids The single objective is to position gourmet’s as the premier gourmet pasta restaurant in the Mabini ext, Cabanatuan City area, commanding a majority of the market share within five years.
The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The message that Gourmet’s will seek to communicate is that Gourmets offers the freshest, most creative, health conscious, reasonably priced, gourmet pasta in Cabanatuan. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods. The first will be direct mail. The direct mail campaign will be a way to communicate directly with the consumer. Gourmet’s will also use banner ads and leaflets.
Marketing Mix Gourmet’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. * Pricing. Gourmet’s pricing scheme is that the product cost is 45% of the total retail price. * Distribution. Gourmet’s food will be distributed through a take out model where customers can call in their order and come to the restaurant to pick it up, come into the restaurant, place the take out order and wait for it to be completed, or come in and dine at the restaurant. * Advertising and Promotion.
The most successful advertising will be banner ads and leaflets. * Customer Service. Obsessive customer attention is the mantra. Gourmet’s philosophy is that whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy must occur, even at the expense of short-term profits. In the long term, this investment will pay off with a fiercely loyal customer base that is extremely vocal to their friends with referrals. Marketing Research During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of patrons of restaurants.
These focus groups provided useful insight into the decisions, and decision making processes, of consumers. An additional source of market research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system. The suggestion card system has several statements that patrons are asked to rate in terms of a given scale. There are also several open ended questions that allow the customer to freely offer constructive criticism or praise. Gourmets will work hard to implement reasonable suggestions in order to improve their service offerings as well as show their commitment to the customer that their suggestions are valued.
The last source of market research is competitive analysis/appreciation. Gourmet’s will continually patronize local restaurants for two reasons. The first is for competitive analysis, providing Gourmet’s with timely information regarding other restaurant’s service offering. The second reason is that local business owners, particularly restaurant owners, are often part of an informal fraternal organization where they support each other’s business. Keys to Success Location,
Gourmet’s site selection criteria are critical to success. It helped us identify the following site selection criteria: * Daytime and evening populations. * Shopping patterns. * Car counts. * Household income levels. At a Glance–The Protype Gourmet’s Store: * Location: an upscale mall, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district. * Design: bright, hip, and clean. * Size: 1,200-1,700 square feet. * Employees: six to seven full time. * Seating: 35-45. * Types of transactions: 80% dine in, 20% take out.