1.1 COMPANY & INDUSTRY Nudlez, a Washington Corporation, is in the fast-food service industry. The company has developed a unique business model that reduces overhead by utilizing mobile vending units as opposed to brick and mortar stores. This is a very popular alternative to dining in larger business centric cities. 1.2 PRODUCTS & SERVICES Nudlez provides high quality, fast-served sian-styled meals, based on a central theme of noodles. The meals cater for variety and are delivered fresh faster than other noodle-based products. The meals are provided to the consumer initially through mobile Noodle !ending "nits #N!"$s%, &hich provide &idespread point of sale coverage. The N!"$s are state-of-the-art, complying &ith health regulations. The first trial N!" &as tested in 'eattle in (uly )*++, receiving great response. The N!" &ill become a product in itself, as Nudlez e,pands rapidly through franchising. Nudlez is a globally transportable business. 1.3 MARKET ANALYSIS !alued in )*++ at -.*/ billion, the domestic market for 0fast1 food is large and segmented, &ith sian style foods representing . of the top 2 choices in 'eattle at 2/3 of the market. Nudlez &ill initially target central business district #C45% lunchtime cro&ds, &here high-income earning but time-poor individuals are most greatly concentrated. 'hopping malls, university campuses, &eekend markets, and local business areas &ill then be targeted. 6vent catering and supermarket convenience foods &ill be markets that Nudlez then diversifies into. 1.4 STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION Nudlez &ill build brand recognition through its Noodle !ending "nits being placed strategically throughout large cities$ business districts. 7nce brand recognition has been achieved, catering services &ill be offered, and the Nudlez products &ill be available in supermarkets. dditionally, Nudlez offers franchise opportunities to help further e,pand its reach, along &ith adding an additional revenue stream. 1.5 MANAGEMENT The o&ners have significant e,perience in8 the hospitality industry, advertising, and business management. The founder previously o&ned t&o very successful Thai restaurants in 'eattle but gre& tired of paying e,orbitant rent hoping customers &ould turn up each night. 9is Nudlez concept takes the product to the street: 1.6 FINANCIAL PLAN Nudlez has strong financials, and is al&ays cash flo& positive. ;evenues are pro<ected to gro& to nearly -/=,***,*** by >ear /, &ith 64?T5 totaling -./,***,***. n initial analysis indicates that only .** meals per day per N!" must be sold to break even. The strong financial plan ensures that the company &ill be attractive as an acquisition for e,it. 1.7 FUNDS REQUIRED & USE The purpose of this business plan is to raise -.,/**,*** from an investor, in the form of a convertible and redeemable note, providing a 2)3 compound annual return. Nudlez is committed to the rollout of its @&ok-fresh$ fast food business in )*++. 2.0 Company Summary 2.1 LEGAL ENTITY & OWNERSIP Nudlez is trademark registered. Nudlez ?nc. &as incorporated in the 'tate of Washington in Aarch )*++. Nudlez is currently equally o&ned by Ar. 5an 4illings and Ar. 4ill Cook. They have already spent over -B/,*** in direct costs of product testing and development, and &ill commit a further -)**,*** in )*++, prior to funds being required from the investor. 4oth o&ners &ill each hold t&o voting rights on the 4oard &ith the investor holding one. 2.2 ISTORY fter running t&o successful Thai restaurants in 'eattle for five years, 5an 4illings spent most of the past t&o years in Thailand looking at business opportunities. While living there he ate almost e,clusively as the locals did, from street vendor food outlets. Not only &as the food freshly cooked in front of him, but the visual entertainment combined to augment the vibrant street culture. 9is initial thoughts &ere, 0this is &hat$s missing from our staid cities in the "nited 'tates.1 "sing this as his motivator he began to realize that there &ere also ma<or commercial benefits to running a fast-food net&ork &here the ma<ority of outlets &ere not restricted to one location. Cor a start, shop fronts in good locations are e,pensive. The key to making such a venture successful domestically &ould be to ensure that the vendor outlets are very hygienic, comply &ith health standards, serviced by an efficient re-supply net&ork producing consistent meals, &ith professionalism and quality paramount. 9e spent considerable time designing a purpose built Noodle !ending "nit. 9e also moved back to 'eattle and rene&ed his ties in the culinary community to elicit the design of fresh and tasty meals to be served from the N!". The Nudlez brand &as born: ;ealizing the opportunity to seize a market niche through rapid e,pansion, the inventor also <oined forces &ith an e,perienced international business team to develop and implement that initiative. 2.3 FACILITIES & LOCATIONS 5uring the start-up phase of the business, food sales revenue &ill come from N!" lunchtime customers in busy 'eattle C45 locations. small office &ill be setup in 'eattle that &ill serve as the headquarters of the company. 3.0 Products and Services 3.1 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The principal product of Nudlez is fast-served, quality, sian-styled individual meals. The meals are based on a central theme of noodles, but have a fle,ible degree of customization to suit the purchasers$ tastes. The second, but equally important supporting product, is the mobile cooking unit used to prepare the individual meals. This Noodle !ending "nit #N!"% has been specifically designed to produce the Nudlez meals in the shortest time possible. While Nudlez &ill o&n and operate some N!"$s, the bulk of the fleet &ill be purchased and operated by franchisees. These t&o products symbiotically solidify the Nudlez brand name. Nudlez is a state- of-the-art stir-fry noodle street vending system. While Nudlez$s footprint in the three ma<or metropolitan cities in Washington &ill be underpinned by the N!" fleet and a smaller number of strategically placed Nudlez stores, the aim in year-2 is to diversify the revenue stream by selling the meal product alone in supermarkets for home preparation and consumption. 3.2 FEATURES & !ENEFITS Cast D ffordable Aeals The N!" operator cooks the meals in front of the customer &ithin si,ty seconds, using fresh ingredients. s implied by the Nudlez tagline @&ok fresh$, each serving of noodles is a taste sensation, freshly cooked-to-order and served piping hot in a convenient cardboard pail. Customers are invited to create their o&n noodle dish follo&ing three easy steps8 'tep .8 'elect Noodle TypeE 'tep )8 dd 'auceE 'tep 28 Choose Frotein. Compared to the meals offered by competitors, Nudlez offers a fresh, tasty, nutritious alternative. Nudlez may be slo&er than some fast food from the point of order, but it is significantly fresher, more nutritious, and almost /*3 more profitable. 7ne secret to the speed of Nudlez meals is that the meats and vegetables are pre- blanched and hygienically sealed in the same pail that the customer eventually receives. The operator simply removes from the fridge, and combines &ith noodles and sauce in the &ok. Noodle !ending "nit 6ach N!" is completely self-contained, mounted on &heels and totally mobile. ?t is delivered on-site each day by a custom designed mini-van and simply &heeled into position. 'tabilizing legs are deployed, the roof pops up and it is ready to go: t the end of the day it is simply &heeled back into the mini-van and returned to base for cleaning and &aste removal. 6nsuring the speed of the N!" operation is the Nudle-;ac. The Nudle-;ac is essentially a light&eight grid that is packed in the meal production facility &ith the various meal options. The Nudle-;ac is self- leveling and designed to fit perfectly in the N!"$s fridge. 6ach N!" cart is immaculately presented in stainless steel and branded in strong colorful graphics. t night the noodle stand benefits from its o&n internal lighting. Construction is of the highest quality kitchen-grade stainless steel. ?t is designed to be versatile for use in <ust about any place &here it is legal to sell food from a temporary stall. ?n comparison to standard @caravan-type$ vendor units, the N!" has ma<or advantages in that it is8 cheaper to produce, smaller size for better site access, self-sustaining po&er #no mains required short-term%, easily moved by one person, unique look, hygienic and cheap to service. 3.3 COMPETITION The range of competitors here spans the market dominants like Ac5onalds, to sand&ich and sushi bars, to @vendor$ foods like kebabs. 9o&ever, &hen looking for closer similarity to Nudlez$s offering, &e arrive at the specialized noodle-based products provided by such companies as @Noodlist$. storefront operation located close to Fioneer 'quare in 'eattle, the meal variety at @Noodlist$ is slightly broader. 9o&ever speed of preparation is significantly slo&er than Nudlez, necessitating the addition of standard pre-cooked, oily and some&hat bland sian fare to satisfy the @time-poor$ consumers. ?t is only this time constraint that is satisfied though, as taste and nutrition are compromised. The lack of speed in the fresh cooked sian fast food market is emphasized by another competitor, @9ot Wok$, offering noodle- based meals in the 'ea-Tac ?nternational irport, &here a sign on the counter informs consumers that meals may take up to thirty minutes to prepare. captive consumer group is not being e,ploited here. Nudlez &ill change that. @Wok in a 4o,$ is an 7regon competitor that intends to open stores in Washington beginning in )*++. The company currently operates .G stores in the Facific North&est. Aarket research indicates company revenue for )*++ reached -/ million, representing a gro&th rate of B= percent over the prior year. This gro&th is encouraging to Nudlez, &hich through the use of its N!"$s and its other competitive advantages &ill gain broader e,posure. The e,istence of such competitors makes Nudlez an attractive acquisition or merger proposition. 3.4 COMPETITIVE EDGE"!ARRIERS TO ENTRY "nique modality of fast-food availability, &ith unmatched preparation times Ho&er capital costs and overheads and high margin unit sales through broad e,posure. 9ealthy, fresh, fast, quality, price competitive alternative Ne& funky, identifiable brand, professional approach and solid management imed at segment of large market not currently e,ploited by the competition 3.5 DEVELOPMENT The founders of Nudlez have invested a total of -B/,*** in development of the N!", and plan to spend an additional -)**,*** over the ne,t year on development of the second generation N!". The @Ieneration-)$ N!" is currently under design, maintaining versatility yet improving &ith the introduction of inventions such as the Nudle-;ac. 4.0 ar!et "nalysis Summary 4.1 TARGET MARKET With Nudlez, the term 0customer1 holds t&o meaningsE firstly as a reference to 0consumers1 &ho may purchase a meal from a Nudlez point of presence, and secondly as 0entities1 &ith an interest in o&ning a Nudlez franchise. The primary target 0consumer1 group for the first phase of Nudlez fits the profile of a medium to high-income earner, &ith a healthy and fresh lifestyle orientation. The first phase of the business plan is about gro&ing brand a&areness quickly &ith customers of this profile. 'hortly after gro&ing the brand a&areness, as part of the Nudlez rapid gro&th plans, franchisee customers looking for a self-employment opportunity providing good income relative to the hours &orked &ill be targeted. ?nstitutions such as university campuses &ill also be targeted as potential franchisees. The profile &ill then e,tend through catering to the customer &ho is looking for a relatively lo& cost, value-adding product to support private or corporate events. This customer &ill be served at both the supermarket #5?>% and event catering levels. 4.2 MARKET SI#E With sales in e,cess of -.*/ billion, the market for fast food is substantial, and the opportunity to build and gro& a ne& e,citing product &ith a strong brand is real. sian style food represented appro,imately 2/3 of this revenue. lthough the market is mature &ith heavy buyerJseller saturation, it is heavily segmented on quality, style, modality and price, presenting opportunity for niche market products such as Nudlez. Customers$ perception of @healthier$ is an important value proposition. Nudlez provides this, &ith the added bonus of serving the meal quickly. The idea that desirable food could be prepared in a quick fashion appeals to a sizeable portion of the marketE those in tourism, people engaged in a commercial capacity, busy homemakers and students. These fe& e,amples are indicative of a large and gro&ing collection of 0time poor1 individuals placing increasing value on every spare moment of their day. Nudlez has the ability to match the ravenous need for convenience &ith the utility that modern, fast paced lifestyles drive. Nudlez negates boundaries of culture, age and preference, through a daily mission to satiate appetites. 4.3 MARKET TRENDS Today the contemporary food outlet must maintain its appeal &ithin an increasingly health-conscious market. World&ide the 0diet1 continues to gain momentum and this means that products &ith less appeal to the diet-conscious &ill suffer reduced success. 6ntrepreneurs continue to derive e,traordinary profits from @health- conscious$ ventures, for e,ample @(amba (uice$ #(amba (uice is a fruit-based snack e.g. smoothies and drinks, &hich offers a fresh and healthy alternative to the ma<or players$ product. (amba (uice e,pects -B* Aillion in revenue from its ./* stores in )*++.% Nudlez is designed to make the most of the public$s increasing nutritional conscience. The economic environment for the successful outlet &ill take into account the factors and conditions that influence the ability of its target market to afford its product. Consumers today, particularly in business-centric cites, have a relatively high disposable income. Nudlez &ill be priced competitively &ith e,isting alternatives and &ill strive to attract market share through product differentiation. 4.4 SWOT ANALYSIS 'trengths 'trong product supported by great tasking meals &ith a strong focus on quality, healthy and competitively priced meals in addition to the speed of producing meals 'trong brand, &hich has been tested before full implementation. 6mphasis on a fund brand culture Aarket conditions are favorable &ith Nudlez offering ne& niche spark in an other&ise static market Ho& development risk as the product currently e,ists 6asy, lo& risk gro&th through short time to market and short time for N!" construction as &ell as lo& cost per unit Transferable business model as a result of similarities in trends and the "' culture of street style food vending. bility to capitalize on brand and concept &ith e,pansion through franchise and other market segments Ho& management risk due to e,perienced team and the strong diversification of skills and e,pertise K holistic results 9igh gross margins on meal products, &hich can be ma,imized by negotiating bulk purchase agreements &ith &holesalers. Weaknesses 5efendability of concept as the meal products cannot be patentedE this needs to be addressed by building strong brand a&areness and establishing copyright on total quality system. Cocus also on rapid gro&th and securing prime sites in target markets N!" restocking logistics is being addressed through N!" design, &hich ensures breakeven results for a day$s trade &ithout restocking. Central production facilities also being established to support restocking 'ite permits for street vending need to be established before implementation of N!"$s, but also private sites &ill be secured to reduce e,posure to local government issues Froduct may be vulnerable to &eaken over time, &hich can be minimized through product innovation and diversification 7pportunities Niche-specific opportunities through monopolizing niche market by building strong brand a&areness and leading the street food vending culture through being vigilant &ith other vending business opportunities. Ho& restriction to N!" operating hours means there can be diversity of venues and access to a very diverse target customer group Capitalize on diversity of venues and consumer groups to promote and market e,pansion through event catering and franchise o&nership ?nternational e,pansion to 6urope, &hich has a strong culture for street food vending and pre-prepared meals. Target strategic partner for <oint venture, master franchise or sale of Nudlez Threats Hocal government regulations in relation to street vendors means permits secured have minimum life period, ho&ever change in this area is slo& !ulnerability to imitation products from competitors &ill be reduced through rapid development of Nudlez products and brand. 'hort-term site permits means the Nudlez brand needs to be diversified through catering, franchise and supermarket placement 'easonal demand for N!"$s meaning inconsistent returns. This can be minimized through diversifying brand through catering, franchising and a supermarket product line. #.0 Strate$y % &mplementation 5.1 PILOSOPY 0To forge a ne&, vibrant, high quality brand in the fast-food sectorE to challenge the established market by offering a fresh, tasty and professional alternativeE and to build a robust business model founded on high-yield, lo& capital outlay products.1 ?t is our vision that Nudlez &ill e,pand predominantly through franchising domestically and then to appropriate international markets. ?t &ill diversify through catering and product placement in supermarkets. The possibility of trade acquisition or merger also e,ists. 5.2 MARKETING STRATEGY Iiven that the "nited 'tates is positioned .st in the top .* global markets for &eekly fast food consumption, the marketing strategy is based on penetrating the market rapidly. This &ill be achieved by placing the N!"$s in strategic locations &here the likelihood of consuming a takea&ay meal is e,tremely high. 6,pansion of numbers of N!"$s and stores through franchising &ill ensure that first mover advantage is optimized. The net&ork is supported by an integrated total quality management system ensuring consistency, &hich &ill be leveraged in the marketing strategy. Capital outlay for franchisees &ill be lo& &ith o&ners earning more dollars per hour &orked than other franchise options. 6,pected net profit after ta, for franchisees is )*3. 5.3 SALES STRATEGY The marketing ob<ective of Nudlez is to position itself so that consumers of fast food are confident they are purchasing and consuming a healthy and fresh product, enhanced by the overall delivery e,perience. The marketing ob<ectives are to8 ;apidly establish a recognized brand through street vendor points of sale supported by a smaller number of strategically placed hardstand stores Fosition itself as a fresh, tasty and healthy alternative to traditional fast food Aaintain high gross margins on meal products Capitalize on the brand through e,pansion using franchising and product diversification, &hich &ill include catering and supermarket placement Nudlez$s initial strategy &ill be focused &ithin Washington, commencing in 'eattle then &ithin .= months e,pansion into 'pokane and the !ancouverJFortland metropolis. 4eginning &ith company o&ned N!"$s and central production facilities, rapid e,pansion &ill then be achieved through franchising in all target areas. 5.4 OPERATIONS N!" production &ill be outsourced to a manufacturer in 'eattle and has been estimated at -.),/** per N!". 6ach city &ill have company o&ned N!"$s, shops, a central kitchen premises and support kitchens #hubs%. Froduct Froduction and Freparation ;a& product has been sourced from selected 'eattle suppliers. ?t is a competitive quality market, &ith room for a number of suppliers to diversify risk. The secret to Nudlez$ fast delivery to the customer from moment of order is the blanching and preparation process of the ra& product at the central kitchen premises and hub sites. This &ill be overseen by our master-chef teams, adhering to strict health regulations. ll ordering, stocking and quality controls &ill be managed on an in- house computer based system enabling usage patterns to be monitored maintaining ordering efficiency and minimizing &astage. 5.5 NVU S$%&'()* unique system for N!" and store restocking, the Nudle-;ac is currently under design. 6ssentially providing completely removable internal sectioning to the refrigerators to hold the different meals available, it is spring-loaded so that &hen one meal is removed, the ne,t meal raises to the top for easy access. t the beginning of each day, a franchisee &ill arrive at their support kitchen &here the Nudle-;ac, preloaded &ith the day$s meals, &ill be loaded directly into the N!"$s fridge &ithout having to remove the N!" from the van providing an efficient stocking system and minimizing the time meals spend out of refrigeration. Cor large catering events, support vans &ill provide additional pre-stocked Nudle-;acs to onsite N!"$s. 5.6 E+IT STRATEGY ?t is Nudlez ob<ective to be acquired by another fast food company &ithin five years by posting large revenues and a substantial 64?T5. dditionally, merger options, as &ell as an ?F7 may be considered at that time. '.0 ana$ement Summary 6.1 ORGANI#ATIONAL STRUCTURE Nudlez &ill be lead by 4ill Cook, C67. 9e &ill report to the founders and investors, &hich &ill make up the board. The C67 &ill oversee the CC7, C?7, Cood and 9uman ;esources departments. 6.2 MANAGEMENT TEAM With over =* years of sector diverse, international strategic and operational combined e,perience, professionally qualified and &ith energetic personalities critical to ensuring the Nudlez values, the o&ners and the management provide the skills to deliver8 4ill Cook has run start-up business operations, &ith broad management skills 5an 4illings has o&ned and managed ) successful restaurants and an advertising firm 5avid Noor is a financial &iz &ith broad entrepreneurial appreciation ngela Iates is not your typical C?7, &ith a creative flair and eye for efficiency 'heila rch brings the important 9; skills combined &ith a marketing bent 4ill Cook - C67 D 5irector #'ystems, 'trategy D Cinance% 4ill is a 'eattle boy, born and bred, &ith an intimate kno&ledge of the cultural and niche diversities of 'eattle. 7riginally &ith an honors degree in Civil 6ngineering, 4ill &orked in the 'eattle construction industry from the =*$s boom time through the recession of the early L*$s. Crom there he traveled overseas &orking in such places as the "M, 4osnia #during the &ar%, ;omania and 9olland. The bulk of his e,perience in these eight years centered on strategic management of start-up ventures. These ranged from establishing critical engineering support facilities for the "N in 4osnia, to e,pending 'hell$s retail net&ork across 6astern 6urope, to property development ventures in ;omania. 4ill returned to 'eattle in )*++ to utilize this broad strategic e,perience on home soil, initially focusing on the property sector. 4ill has kno&n 5an for over )* years and quickly assessed the potential of his Nudlez idea, convincing 5an that rapid e,pansion &as key to securing the market niche. 4ill graduated his A4 &ith 9igh 5istinction in )*++. 5an 4illings - 5irector #Aarketing D Cood Technology% fter a successful career in advertising culminating in the establishment of his o&n 'eattle based agency, 5an entered the hospitality industry. 9is first venture, Fad ;eal Thai, a Thai restaurant and takea&ay situated on bustling Fine 'treet, &as an instant hit. n innovative and funky menu, supported &ith clever marketing #including the use of real 4angkok Fad$s for delivery vehicles% sa& the business achieve critical acclaim. ;ave revie&s in 'hort 4lack and Cheap 6ats to name a fe&, &ere follo&ed by televised appearances on @'eattle Weekly$ and 'eattle$s Cood Hover$s Iuide. second Fad restaurant opened in 4ellevue, and &as a&arded the prestigious @4ent Cork1 a&ard. 5an sold the Fad enterprise in )*++ to pursue business interests in Thailand. ?t &as here, &hile en<oying 4angkok$s vibrant street food culture, &here the Nudlez concept &as born. 5an has a degree in 'cience from the "niversity of Washington. 6.3 PERSONNEL NEEDS ?n the long term, the employeeJincome ratio &ill be appro,imately -.)/,*** per employee. Nudlez &ill run a lean operation &ith an emphasis on sales and food production. ?n years t&o and three the sales staff &ill gro& from )* to ..* people, and the production staff &ill gro& from .) to )BB people. dministration &ill gro& as needed. (.0 Financial Plan 7.1 REQUIREMENTS Nudlez &ill require -.,/**,*** from an investor. The funds &ill be used primarily for the completion of one central and five suburban meal production facilities. The funds &ill be e,pected in t&o rounds, -B/*,*** to begin operations, and a further -B/*,*** seven months later #four months after revenues have commenced%. The investor$s -.,/**,*** &ill be structured as a redeemable note, convertible to ./3 shareholding in Nudlez at the end of year-2. lternatively, redemption can be done at this time providing a return of -2,N/*,*** #).2 times investment%, equating to a compound annual return of appro,imately 2)3. The end of year-2 is good point for possible investor e,it, as decisions on product e,pansion into supermarkets &ill be made at this time. 7.2 USE OF FUNDS Cunds &ill be used to initially finish development of the N!" and to establish fit out central premises in 'eattle, including ?T infrastructure. / hubs and / sites &ill initially be established in 'eattle, follo&ing that e,pansion into !ancouverJFortland and 'pokane &ill begin. 7.3 INCOME STATEMENT PRO,ECTIONS Nudlez &ill be profitable by the end of its first fiscal year, as sho&n in the attached financial statements. The business &ill gro& dramatically in years t&o and three. 4reak 6ven nalysis break even analysis, assuming zero catering and acquisition stores, reveals less than .** meals per N!" and ./* per store need to be sold per trading day to achieve break even. 7.4 ASSUMPTIONS Number of average rain days for the 2 cities is .) per month. This equates to appro,imately N*3 of the month, &hich &e have conservatively applied, despite its lo& probability. The conservatism also allo&s for logistics accidents, staff truancy, etc. to arrive at .2 trading daysJmonth for N!"$s. #6,clude catering% Total employment in the e,panded 'eattle C45 areas is estimated at over 2/*,***. Nudlez e,pects to capture less than )3 of this daily market from C45 N!"$s and stores 'eattle and FortlandJ!ancouver are similar sized markets, &ith 'pokane being appro,imately half the size. ;evenue estimates reflect these ratios. Ien-. and first Ien-) N!", testing and development costs totaling around -B/,*** already spent by inventor are not included in financials. Cirst Ien-) N!" &ill obtain homologation, meaning that the design has blanket pre-approval &ith local government, reducing time and cost for individual site permits. Cirst .* N!"$s cost -.)/,***, including homologation. Wastage is estimated at ./3 across all food related product #validated in 'eattle trials%. This &ill reduce once the @Nudle-;ac$ and associated ?T systems are in place Training, Ouality Aanagement 'ystems and Cranchise 7perations Aanuals &ill be completed effectively for -))*,*** by the end of year ..
Food Truck Business Guide For Beginners: A Step By Step Guide On How To Start A Mobile Food Business And Work Towards Making It Sustainable And Profitable