Sustainable Smoothie

Business Plan

May 15, 2019

Submitted by: Victoria Pembroke

SW Vermont Career Development Center
321 Park Street, Bennington, VT 05201
Instructor: Ms. Tattersall
Instructor Phone: 802-447-0220 x222
Instructor Email: rtattersall@svcdc.org

Sustainable Smoothie
Business Plan
Victoria Pembroke

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The news is in: the Earth is dying and humans need to do something in order to save it.

Older generations as well as the newer, younger generations are beginning to recognize the

problem and know something must be done. These people will support businesses that don’t

use straws while posting about their support for the environment on their social media accounts.

These people form the perfect customer base for an environmentally-friendly smoothie

restaurant, because, the only new trend that people love almost as much as their cellphones

and protecting the environment, is a smoothie bowl.

Sustainable Smoothie sees an opportunity, an opportunity to save the environment while

making profit off of this new, ever-growing trendy environmentalist customer base. Sustainable

Smoothie is itself an opportunity. As a non-alcoholic snack bar located in downtown Bennington,

Vermont, Sustainable Smoothie will serve signature smoothie bowls, smoothies, spring rolls,

and salads to the young, hip, healthy, liberal Vermont customer, all while using the freshest,

local organic ingredient as possible. Sustainable Smoothie will promote healthy eating in a world

where obesity and heart failure rates are growing, and will promote environmentally friendly

practices in a world that is polluted and suffocating. The change has to happen somewhere, and

that somewhere is business.

By promoting healthy eating and environmental protection, Sustainable Smoothie

creates the perfect marketing strategy for itself. The business will be able to reach most of its

customer base online through its website, social media advertisements, and Facebook and

Instagram accounts, but it has an even greater advertising opportunity than that. By giving back

to the environment and the community, Sustainable Smoothie will be able to watch its sales

skyrocket. Twice a year, Sustainable Smoothie will host charity events in the form of runs or

concerts to support the charity of their choosing, all while serving their products at the event and

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getting the word of their business out into Bennington and surrounding counties. Sustainable

Smoothie will also sponsor promotional rewards systems for customers to get discounts on their

food products, all just by simply doing things like bringing their recyclables into the business

once a week. Sustainable Smoothie will also give back to the community and promote itself by

donating its compost, selling products at local events such as Garlic Fest, May Fest, and

Midnight Madness, and by hosting fun, community-based events. The opportunity for these

events are endless: the business could coordinate with the Vermont Arts Exchange, borrow a

few pottery wheels and a ceramics instructor, and invite community members into the business

to make and design their own ceramic bowls to encourage them to not only use them for

smoothie bowls, but to also stop using plastic or non-biodegradable dish products. Or, the

business could host flower and tree planting events throughout the community and give all

those who volunteer to help a Sustainable Smoothie coupon. Again, the marketing opportunities

and ways to better the community are endless.

And these opportunities will create a cycle that just keeps on giving, especially when it

comes to Sustainable Smoothie’s sales. Although start-up costs are projected to cost a little less

the $50,000 and fruit and vegetable ingredients are often very costly, as are biodegradable

products, Sustainable Smoothie is projected to make a profit of over $30,000 its first year, and

with the endless opportunity for marketing and ever-growing need to eat healthy and save our

Earth, this number will undoubtedly continue to grow in the coming years, and Sustainable

Smoothie will be the perfect business to grow with it, staying flexible and expanding throughout

Vermont and surrounding areas, because who doesn’t want to eat delicious, healthy food while

supporting a good cause?

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COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Sustainable Smoothie will be a smoothie and snack bar located on Main St. in

Bennington, Vermont. It will be a sole-proprietorship owned and managed by Victoria

Pembroke. Because Sustainable Smoothie will be an accommodation and food service

business, and more specifically, a snack and non-alcoholic beverage bar, its North American

Industry Classification System (NAICS) number will be 772515. Sustainable Smoothie will

provide a comfortable and welcoming eating environment where customers can relax from their

busy days and improve their health by enjoying delicious foods that are good for them. The

business will serve healthy and refreshing foods such as smoothie bowls, smoothie beverages,

juices, and small snacks such as vegetable spring rolls and salads. Since Sustainable Smoothie

will be based in Bennington, Vermont, its geographical market will be the county of Bennington

as well as other surrounding counties, such as Berkshire in Massachusetts, and the Rensselaer

and Washington counties in New York. Smoothie bowls, healthy eating, and environmentally

friendly practices tend to be very millennial trends, and while Sustainable Smoothie will sell to all

ages, its target market will be primarily within the age range of 13-35 years, and to people who

enjoy living healthy and active lifestyles or want to help support the environment. The household

income range of Sustainable Smoothie’s target market will also be around $50,000 to $75,000.

Sustainable Smoothie will run from 7am-5pm on weekdays (Monday through Friday), 8am-6pm

on Saturdays, and will be closed on Sundays. As proprietor, Victoria Pembroke will be the store

manager, interior decorator, accountant, customer service representative, and primary

register/waitress employee, while there will be about seven other employees of at least fifteen

years of age who will work part-time shifts as register attendants and food preparers.

Sustainable Smoothie directly addresses the societal problem of obesity and malnutrition

by offering people a healthy eatery that is still easy, affordable, and delicious. Since there is no

smoothie bar in Bennington, Sustainable Smoothie will be the first of its kind to enter into the

area’s market, and will therefore offer a new commodity to the town for all to enjoy. The town of

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Bennington also has a declining population with more businesses and schools closing, so the

area is in need of new businesses like Sustainable Smoothie to not only employ citizens and

improve the town’s economy, but to also offer a desirable good that can attract others to the

area which may improve all other local business sales, incite more businesses to open, and

encourage more young adults and students to choose to study in or move to the area. These

benefits would produce a cycle that would just keep improving the Bennington economy.

Sustainable Smoothie’s main focus, other than supplying people with healthy and delicious

smoothies, is to help the planet through environmentally friendly practices. Sustainable

Smoothie believes that protecting the environment is paramount and vows to always compost,

recycle, not use any plastic products, and reduce waste and pollution overall by limiting it within

the business. We will also promote environmentally friendly practices to customers.

Sustainable Smoothie is also committed to supporting local farmers and vendors by only buying

local, farm-fresh produce and ingredients when possible. It also only buys and serves fresh

foods, maintains clean workstations and utensils, and ensures that its products are fresh,

healthy, organic, and natural. Sustainable Smoothie will also sponsor charity events twice a year

- once in the fall and spring. It will select the two different charities each year and host special

events that will include a 5k run and music festival, while still supplying attendees with

refreshing smoothies and snacks. These events will help spread awareness for the specific

charity, and proceeds from the run registration and music tickets, as well as from donations, will

go to the charity sponsored. Sustainable Smoothie will also donate 50% of its profit to the

charity from selling the snacks and refreshments at the event. Not only are all these endeavors

part of Sustainable Smoothie’s social responsibility, but they are also the core foundation and

goals that make up the business’ values.

As well as these values, Sustainable Smoothie also has a specific mission and vision for

the company. Sustainable Smoothie’s mission states: “Our mission is to better our planet

through eco-friendly practices and healthy, delicious food for all.” The business’ vision states:

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“Our vision is to gain recognition throughout Bennington County for being the best business in

the area at supplying healthy food options while promoting an eco-friendly community while

making a considerable profit.”

MARKETING

Sustainable Smoothie will be located in Bennington, Vermont and will primarily target

customers from Bennington County, especially for the business’ first year. Bennington County a

total population of around 36,054 residents, the majority of which are Caucasian, female, aged

50-59, live as a married-couple family, work in business or management, have the education

level of a high school graduate, and earn a household income of roughly $50,000 to $75,000.

The most typical business in Bennington County is also retail trade.

Although the most common business in the county is retail trade, Sustainable Smoothie

will still have a lot of competition what with the many restaurants and food businesses in the

area as well. Luckily, there is no smoothie bowl business in the county, so Sustainable Smoothie

will have the competitive advantage there. However, there are some cafes, like Love a Bagel in

Bennington, that do serve smoothie products, and there are other smoothie bowl businesses

within neighboring counties, such as The Smoothie Spot in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Moreover, there are plenty of fast-food eateries in the area, such as Burger King, Taco Bell,

McDonalds, and many other cafes, that have tasty, quick, and inexpensive options for

customers. These business will all be Sustainable Smoothie’s competition. Yet, Sustainable

Smoothie has many competitive advantages that will help it successfully compete with other

food business in the area, such as the health benefits its products offer customers, the

freshness, quality, locality of the products’ ingredients, the great atmosphere and customer

service Sustainable Smoothie offers, and the feeling customers will get of giving back to the

community and supporting something even larger when they support Sustainable Smoothie

through its charitable events, and environmental protection endeavors. A more in-depth and

specific SWOT analysis of Sustainable Smoothie can be found attached to this business plan.

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 Based on Bennington County’s demographics and Sustainable Smoothie’s business

traits, the business has developed a specific type of customer profile who they plan to target,

Hip & Healthy Heather. Heather is a Caucasian female aged between 15 and 35 years, has

attained the education level of some high school or a high school diploma, and is a student or

business employee living in a single-family home in Bennington, Vermont. Depending on the

specific age of Heather, she could either live with her parents and any siblings, by herself, with a

roommate, with a significant other or husband, or with a significant other or husband and infant

children. Heather is interested in the environment, the outdoors, pop culture, social media,

hanging with friends and family, eating out, and eating health. She’s a liberal or independent,

environmentally conscious, active, a healthy eater, is into trends and chic places, is independent

yet focused around work and friends, is outgoing and eccentric, enjoys shopping, and typically

wears either trendy or athletic apparel. Heather also enjoys listening to pop, alternative, or

electronic dance music, all of which she listens to on either Spotify or Apple Music. She watches

television on online streaming platforms like Netflix more often than she watches them on cable,

and some of her favorite shows might be Keeping up with the Kardashians, Ellen, Big Brother,

The Office, Friends, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, or Gilmore Girls. Heather regularly

browses through Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, and stays up to date with current events by

reading online news sources through these mediums or on Buzz Feed, The New York Times,

CNN, Cosmo, or E! News.

Heather needs a healthier restaurant option that she can go to knowing she’ll receive

food that is delicious, fast, but also good for her. She also needs a fun and comfortable

atmosphere where she can eat her food, hang out and talk with friends, or do work with free Wi-

Fi. Some concerns Heather might have about the business is the affordability of the food since it

widely known that the healthier food is, the more expensive it tends to be. She also might worry

about the wait times because smoothies can take a while to make and it will be the only place

like it in town, so that could cause more people to be in the restaurant and ordering food at any

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specific time, and, Heather is a busy girl. Another thing Heather might worry about is the quality

of the food and whether it is really that healthy for her considering the large calorie and carb

counts in smoothie ingredients like fruit, granola, and peanut butter, or she might question how

fresh or local the fruit is as it is hard to find affordable, fresh, local ingredients. Heather would

definitely would be tuned-off from the business if it was not kept well clean or if the atmosphere

was uncomfortable or ugly (not enough room, bland colors, not much seating, not lively, boring).

She would also be turned-off if the staff was rude/condescending, customer service was poor, or

if the business showed no regard for the environment (used only plastic products, didn’t recycle

or compost) or Heather’s nutrition needs (gave vegan/vegetarian customers food with meat or

eggs, put nuts on smoothie for customer allergic to nuts, put yogurt and milk in smoothie for

customer who was lactose intolerant, etc.).

Heather would recommend the business to a friend if the atmosphere was big, fun, and

inviting, if employees were kind and considerate, if the service was reasonably fast, if the food

was of good quality and reasonably priced, if the restaurant was kept clean and sanitary, and if

employees respected customers’ allergies or diet preferences and were environmentally

conscious. As a typical, middle-class citizen with a fairly average income, Heather would be

willing to spend up to $10 on Sustainable Smoothie’s products, with a few added toppings. She

would usually purchase it for herself only, and would frequent the business around once or twice

a week. If the prices were lower, say $8, Heather would be more willing to visit the restaurant

and purchase food as she would be spending less. Anything less than $8, however, would draw

suspicion from her as to how good the quality of the product really is.

Based on Sustainable Smoothie’s target customer profile and the business itself, an

effective marketing strategy has been developed to help the business become as successful as

possible. The best ways to reach Heather are through social media platforms such as Instagram

and Snapchat. With snapchat, it would be very effective to place ads throughout news

articles/stories such as Buzz Feed, Cosmo, E! News, CNN, or the New York Times. In-store

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promotions would also be very helpful as the customer enjoys being noticed and saving a buck

here or there. Promoting the business in nearby and online retail stores, and by local high

schools and businesses would also be helpful. The types of promotions that would engage

Heather would be loyalty rewards or through charity events or environment-awareness causes,

such as hosting relay races or local concerts to sponsor a certain charity and offering anyone

who attends a free smoothie coupon and discounted smoothie products at the event, or by

giving out coupons to customers who bring in recyclables or cans each week. The types of

promotions that will not engage this customer will be newspaper ads, local or government

access TV channel commercials, radio ads, direct mail, magazine coupons, or really any sort of

traditional advertising that has been around since the 1960s, as this customer is a young

millennial who is focused on the internet not newspaper, television streaming platforms not

cable channels, apple music and Spotify not the radio, email not direct mail, and social media,

not magazines. A more specific, cost and time conscious marketing action plan for Sustainable

Smoothie that involves all of these key promotions to help engage Heather can be found

attached to this business plan.

OPERATIONS

Sustainable Smoothie will be open Monday-Friday from 7am-5pm and Saturday from

8am-6pm. Owner and manager, Victoria Pembroke, will arrive at the business approximately

one hour prior to opening each day in order to prep the food, open the registrar, and do any

necessary cleaning. There will be two five-hour work shifts: the first from 7-12 on weekdays and

8-1 on Saturdays, and the second from 12-5 on weekdays and 1-6 on Saturdays. In the warmer,

busier months, two employees will work each shift with Victoria, while in the colder, slower

months, only one employee will work each shift. All employees will show up to their shift ten

minutes early to wash their hands, put their things away, put any hair up, etc. One employee will

work the register each shift, taking orders, greeting customers, answering questions, etc., while

the other employee and Victoria work in the kitchen making the food and then delivering it out to

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customers in the dining area. A customer will come into the store, look at the menus above the

counter, decide what they want to order, and then tell the employee at the register what they

want and whether they want it for there or to go. The employee will then enter the desired

products into the MobileBytes register system, tell the customer how much they owe, and then

the customer will either pay by cash or credit card. Once the order is taken through the point-of-

sale register system, the order will appear on the kitchen display so the other employees in the

kitchen see it and know what they have to make next. The customer will then seat down in the

dining/seating area and wait for their order to come out. If they ordered it to go, their order will

come out in a biodegradable to go container and the customer will be on their way. If the

customer ordered to eat at the store, their order will come out in a ceramic or glass dish and

they will be able to grab metal utensils and enjoy their food in the store, by themselves, with

friends or family, or on a computer or phone working, going through social media, etc., as the

store will have fast and free Wi-Fi. There will be a bathroom open for public use for any

customers to use if they need. When the customer is finished chatting with friends, doing any

work, and eating their food, they will drop their dish and utensils into a tray where employees

can grab them later, wash them, and re-use them. Throughout the course of the day, employees

working in the kitchen will ensure the space stays clean, sanitary, and organized, and will

continue to prep food (cut veggies and fruits) as needed, depending on how busy the day gets.

During less busy times throughout the shift, employees will wipe down counters and tables in

the dining area and bring dirty dishes and utensils back to the kitchen to clean them as needed,

but so as not to waste any unnecessary water. Employees will also ensure that the bathroom

stays clean and stocked throughout the shift. Employees will also answer the phone as it rings

throughout the shift, taking orders or answering any questions, but Victoria Pembroke will

handle any important phone calls, such as customer complaints or vendor relations. The store

will close at its designated time, and employees will leave once all customers have and once

they have signed out of the register or finished what they were doing in the kitchen. Once

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everyone has left the store, Victoria Pembroke will stay an additional hour or so cleaning the

kitchen, washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, wiping down tables and chairs in the dining

area, cashing out the register, and preparing any food for the next. This is also the time of day

where Victoria will analyze their inventory and call vendors for additional products as needed,

but otherwise fresh produce will mostly come every three days to the store, and other

ingredients, such as milk, honey, peanut butter, granola, etc., will come every week. Once

Victoria is finished, she will turn off all the lights, and lock the doors to the store. She will then go

home and look over the day’s financials and record them. Victoria will do most of the business’s

accounting on Sundays when the store is closed. She will do this accounting using QuickBooks

on her computer at home, recording vendor bills and business sales, and keeping track of all

revenue and expenses. She will deposit all cash or check into the bank every Monday morning.

Victoria will also plan and execute all advertising on Sundays or any other free time she has.

This includes referring to the business’ marketing action plan and keeping up with her social

media accounts, coming up with new social media advertisements, planning any new

rewards/promotions systems, and planning the two charity events the business hosts twice a

year. Victoria will also advertise for help needed and interview and hire any employees as

needed on her free time. On Thursday, the business will accept any recyclables customers bring

into the store (cardboard, cans, bottles, etc.) and will give promotional rewards for customers

who bring in two bags of recyclables a week for three consecutive weeks. These recyclables will

placed in a bin outside the store, and Victoria will take them, as well as any of the business’

recyclables, to be recycled at the end of the business day Thursday. On Friday, Victoria will

donate the business’ compost to local landscapers or any other businesses in the area that

make their own compost, in order to promote environmentally friendly practices and give back to

the community.

FINANCIAL PLAN

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 In order to open Sustainable Smoothie with adequate supplies, employees, and

preparation, it will cost about $49,117.00 total. The business will be located in a rented 2,500 sq.

ft. building on Main St. in Bennington, VT, so first month’s rent, the security deposit, and all

utilities will cost an estimated $6,900. The building will also need to be renovated so that it is

equipped to prepare and serve food as well as welcome customers into an inviting and

comfortable environment. The cost of all renovations to the building for the business, including

exterior and interior décor, flooring, kitchen, furniture, electrical, and plumbing is estimated to be

about $22,200. As stated in the operations section of this business plan, Sustainable Smoothie

will use MobileBytes Cashing Systems Point of Sales System as a register and credit card

scanner, and use MobileBytes Kitchen Display System in the kitchen, the costs of which are

included in renovation expenses. The estimated cost of inventory for Sustainable Smoothie’s

first month is $12,285. This number was calculated by taking the average product the business

would sell, an Acai Berry Bowl, looking at the ingredients that make it up, the cost of each

ingredient, and then figuring the cost of making the typical product: $3.78. It was then figured

that given Sustainable Smoothie’s hours and the fact that the business would likely sell around

ten to fifteen bowls an hour during the first few summer months of the business being opened,

the business would sell about 130 bowls a day, or 3,250 a month. At a typical cost of $3.78 to

make these 3,250 bowls, the cost of food inventory for Sustainable Smoothie’s first month would

be $12,285. The fact that the business plans to purchase its produce fresh from organic and

local farms when possible was also taken into consideration. Based on Sustainable Smoothie’s

Marketing Action Plan and the budget included, all marketing expenses prior to the business

opening is projected to be $6,000. Then, lastly, all legal and registration fees as well as cleaning

supplies and employee training expenses are expected to total $732. Sustainable Smoothie

therefore has a total startup cost of $49,117. Please see the full startup cost chart attached to

this business plan for more information.

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 Many of the costs included in Sustainable Smoothie’s startup costs followed over into

the business’ monthly cash flow, including inventory, rent, and utilities. However, some

expenses are expected to vary month to month. Given that Sustainable Smoothie opens in June

and April-September are the business’ busier months, it was estimated that from June through

September in the business’ first year, Sustainable Smoothie will sell an average of 3,250 bowls

per month (130 per day). As Vermont enters the colder months however (October-November),

the business will likely decrease in sales, and then decrease even more in the coldest months

(December-February). However, once March arrives, since Sustainable Smoothie will have

been open for roughly nine months and will continue its advertising and promotions, sales are

expected to increase back up to what they were in the beginning summer months, and then as it

gets warmer in April and May, sales are expected to continue to increase beyond what they

were when the business first opened. Not only is the fluctuation in sales visible in the company’s

revenue on the cash flow chart, but it can also be seen in the inventory expenses, as with less

sales comes less supplies needed and vice-versa. Business wages also fluctuate depending on

the season because in the busier, summer months, Sustainable Smoothie plans to have two

employees and proprietor Victoria Pembroke per each five-hour shift, but only one employee

and proprietor Victoria Pembroke per shift in the slower, winter months. Employees will start off

being paid minimum wage, or $11 per hour, and as there are two shifts in a day and proprietor

Victoria Pembroke does not plan to receive a paycheck during the business’ first year, wages for

the busier months are expected to total $3,080 a month while wages for the slower months will

be $2,640 a month. With wages come payroll tax. The total employer payroll tax rate, including

Vermont state and federal Medicare, social security, and unemployment, is 9.25%, so this was

allocated in the cash flow statement based on each month’s cost of wages. The business’

marketing costs each month are based on the marketing action plan. For the first three months

of the business being opened, Sustainable Smoothie will pay $1,000 for online advertising, and

then by September, it will start offering in-store promotions and loyalty rewards, which will cost

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the business an additional estimated $1,000. Miscellaneous expenses are also accounted for in

Sustainable Smoothie’s cash flow projection and total about $200 a month; these expenses are

not for anything in particular, but it is a good idea to allocate a little extra money for any

unplanned, additional expenses. Sustainable Smoothie will not be paying for accounting or any

management services as Victoria Pembroke will do all accounting, hiring, managing,

advertising, and financial work on her own. The business also decided not to include business

taxes in its first year cash flow projection because it is a Proprietorship, Proprietor Victoria

Pembroke will not be receiving a paycheck, and sales tax is not included in the business’

expected revenue, but will be included in the pricing of products. Therefore, the total cost of

expenses each month will be around $20,000. Most smoothie bowls will cost $8 flat with a

certain amount of free, additional toppings, but any extra toppings or superfood boosters such

as spirulina or flaxseed, will be an additional $0.26. Therefore, the typical product at Sustainable

Smoothie will be priced at about $8.26, but with Vermont’s 9% food sales tax, the typical price

customers will be paying for their food will be $9. This is an appropriate price because it makes

the business enough profit after costs of goods and fixed costs are considered, but it is also not

too expensive of a price for the target customer to pay, and is competitive with other, similar

restaurants. With the typical price for products being $8.26, the typical revenue expected each

month from sales is $25,000, again depending on the season and how many sales are expected

each day in that season. After Sustainable Smoothie’s first year, the projected ending cash

balance is $33,624.40. Please see the attached cash flow projection chart for more detailed

information.

This ending cash balance is Sustainable Smoothie’s net income, as seen in the attached

yearly income statement for the business. This net income is found by taking the business’ total

revenues for the year and then subtracting the total inventory or costs of goods sold to find the

gross profit. Then, by totaling all of the business’ operating expenses for the year and

subtracting this number from the gross profit, the net income for Sustainable Smoothie’s first

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year is found: $33,624.40. Please see the income statement attached to this business plan for

more information.

By using some of the numbers in the income statement as well as the cost to produce

the typical product and the price at which it is sold, Sustainable Smoothie found how many

products they must sell in a year – and with that, how much revenue they must make – in order

to break-even with all of the business’ expenses. The operating expenses in the income

statement are Sustainable Smoothie’s fixed costs, so by dividing this number ($118,294.60) by

the contribution margin (selling price – variable cost: $8.26 - $3.78 = $4.48), the business finds

its yearly units break-even point (26,406). This number is the amount of products the business

must sell in a year to break-even, so by multiplying this number by the selling price of the typical

product ($8.26), Sustainable Smoothie finds its yearly revenue break-even point ($218,013.56).

Please the break-even analysis chart below for reference.

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Sustainable Smoothie SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

● Offers very healthy options, much healthier than other eating options in ● Sometimes long wait times due to the intensive process on

the area blending fruits and the potential lack of staff and equipment due

● Serves the freshest, most quality products to a lot of customers ordering at once

● Staff is very friendly and helpful ● More expensive products than other fast food options in the area

● Offers a lot of seating and a very comfortable and welcoming seating due to the high cost of healthy, local and fresh ingredients as well

area as not using any plastics and being as environmentally friendly

● Offers flexibility: snacks that customers can quickly grab and leave with, as possible

or snacks that customers can order, be served, and enjoy at the venue ● Is a sole-proprietorship, so the business has only one person as

● Free Wi-Fi and comfortable/efficient work areas manager, accountant, customer service representative, and all

● Environmentally conscious and friendly business; appeals to those who else, so some departments might not be as strong as other

care about protecting the environment businesses that have a focused person in each category of the

● Hosts many fun and charitable events so that will attract people looking business organizational structure

to do something fun in the community and/or wanting to give back to the ● Is a new business opening in town, and it is often hard to gain

community and certain charities loyal customers and garner trust from residents in the area at

● Is a local business, so there are friendly faces and local management as first, as well as fall into a regular business cycle that is most

opposed to fast food corporations in the area efficient and successful

Opportunities Threats

● The only business of its kind in the area ● More people are moving out of town and less are moving in;

● Located near lots of other businesses and a popular shopping area decreasing population

● The only other smoothie bowl eatery is 30 minutes away and has very ● Much of the town’s population is 50+ years old, and tend to like
 little space and seating more traditional eateries rather than the millennial fad of a

● The town is planning to start redesigning Putnam Square (area very smoothie bowl

close to the smoothie shop) into a little park area with a fountain, outdoor ● Lots of cheaper, fast food restaurants in the area

stage for local music, and outdoor seating to encourage more foot traffic ● Poverty rate in the county is 12.8% and the average income isn’t

downtown and more local shoppers to visit stores and restaurants very high, so many residents may not be able to afford luxury

● Town has an annual Midnight Madness to offer special deals around snacks and treats

Main Street stores and encourage citizens to shop, as well as an annual ● Local college just closed, so that will be a loss of some potential

May Fest with vendors in the streets and more customers walking customers

downtown ● Product ingredients are mainly fruits, which are very seasonal

● More and more people are becoming more environmentally-aware and and depend greatly on climate, so some ingredients may be

want to do what they can to protect the Earth difficult to find fresh and locally, or even at reasonable prices,

and these could affect what products the business can serve at

certain times or how affordable those products may be

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Sustainable Smoothie Marketing Action Plan

Marketing Action Plan

Marketing Objectives:
1. Increase business and product awareness by 30 percent from the start of establishing
the business to the opening of the business, gaining at least 100 customers on opening
day
2. Inform target customers about the benefits of the product, the business’ values, and all
of the charities the business is involved with so as to increase awareness of the
business by an additional 50 percent from opening day to one year after opening, and
steadily increase sales day by day so as there is a 10 percent increase from the
business’ first month to its twelfth
3. Earn at least $15,000 in proceeds for charities and at charity events and collect an
average of 450 recyclable items per week, all in the business’ first year.

Target Customer: Female, White, 15-35 years, lives independently or with significant other,
roommate, or family with small children, is a high school student or business employee, lives in
an apartment or single-family home in or around Bennington, VT, earns a household income of
around $50,000, is active and/or trendy, and somewhat liberal.

Total Budget: $7,000

Preface: Sustainable Smoothie is located in a relatively small town and targets millennial
customers who don’t often listen to the radio or watch cable TV. New businesses in small towns
like Bennington often draw a lot of attention at first anyways because word-of-mouth travels fast.
Also, since there isn’t as much business as more populated areas, new stores tend to stand out
more. For these reasons, Sustainable Smoothie will not spend money on radio, TV ads, or the
like, but will rather rely heavily on marketing through word-of-mouth and signs outside the store
(which will be located on Main St., a heavily trafficked road for those in vehicles and on foot) but
will also use social media in order to attract their millennial audience. I believe these will be
effective ways in attracting customers to start and have listed some of them as well as other,
short-term actions, below (label marketing objective #1). However, in order to keep customers
and increase sales, Sustainable Smoothie will rely on excellent customer service, great
products, and the following unique marketing actions (labeled marketing objective #2 and/or #3.
 Action Marketing Timeline Budget Staff Evaluation
Objective
#

Create a website for the business 1 Four $5,000 (for Myself Analyze the business analytics of each
and register the business with months promotions) social media account to see the
Google. Create social media before the change over the four months in
pages for the business on store opens impressions, interactions, profile clicks,
Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, until followers, tags, and likes. If the
and Twitter and begin to design opening numbers are increasing steadily over
the pages, post advertisements day. Social the period (and if people are beginning
and pictures of products/building, media to reach out to the accounts or myself
follow other accounts, and presence with questions or comments) then the
promote posts and the page on will action is working successfully.
Instagram and Snapchat, as well continue,
as put links to the pages on the however,
website and on Google. as long as
the store
does.

Serve smoothie bowls for one 1 One month $0 (expenses for Myself Look at how many smoothies were
night at a specific event in town before producing and sold, how many flyers were handed
(Garlic Fest, May Fest, Midnight store smoothie bowls One out, how many people engaged with us
Madness - depends on the opens; can but we should other and asked us about the start of the
season, if Midnight Madness serve do once or gain profit from emplo business, and how many followers and
them at Bennington Pottery) and a two-three the night) yee impressions we gained on our social
hand out nicely designed and times (would media accounts afterwards. The larger
informative flyers about the depending have the numbers, the more successful the
business and when it opens. on events hired action was.
available emplo
and yees
 projected for
profit to be start of
made. busine
ss by
now)

Hang flyers up outside of local
businesses and retail shops, put
up signs around green spaces and
where cars drive by, and put a
large, flashy sign outside of where
the store is located that states the
name of the store and the words
“Opening Soon.”
1 One month $500 Myself See if, after hanging flyers around and
before putting up the sign, more accounts visit
store opens the business’ social media pages,
until store reach out to me with questions and/or
opens. excitement, and listen around for talk
from others about the business to see
if more people are talking about it and
overall awareness of the business has
increased.

Host a special “Opening Day” 1, 2, 3 The exact $500 Myself Record how many customers attended
event with balloons, fun goodie day the (buyin the store opening day and how much
bags, decorated outdoor seating store g we earned in sales. Then listen to talk
along the street outside the opens. supplie around town about the opening day
business, discounted products, s, and record how many additional
and fun music (not live artists promot customers continue to visit the store
though, because that’s too ing throughout the following weeks. If at
expensive). Also give out free day, least 100 people attended the opening
stuffed marine animals like runnin day event, sales were lucrative, talk
dolphins, whales, stingrays, g day) around town about the day and the
jellyfish, fish, sharks etc. and and business was positive, the business
some stickers that have the three gained more interactions and followers
business’ logo as well as others other on social media, and a steady amount
that have a self-made logo with emplo of customers continued to visit the
the words “Protect Our Oceans” yees store throughout the following weeks,
and “Protect Marine Life.” for consider the day a success.
Advertise opening day through taking
social media accounts, and flyers orders,
(hung up or handed out at events makin
beforehand). g

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 smoot
hies,
helpin
g
clean,
and
ensuri
ng day
runs
smoot
hly -
no pun
intend
ed).

Continue social media presence 2, 3 Once the $0 Myself Analyze the business analytics of each
by posting pictures of the business account to see if interactions,
products, mention their health opens impressions, likes, follows, and
benefits, post about the charities throughout mentions increase over the course of
the business donates to and one entire the year. If more people begin
supports, post about promotions, year of the interacting with the account, and I see
and post little facts about pollution business sales increase over the course of the
statistics once a day to raise being year, then I would deem this action a
awareness. opened, success.
and
possibly
longer if I
find that the
customers
regularly
interact
with the
pages and
that they
are
effective in

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 marketing
and
advertising
the
business.

Establish in-store promotions and 2, 3 About 3 $1,000 Myself Record the amount of recyclables
rewards systems such as free months (in collected each week, and, if it
smoothie bowls after every ten after establi increases over time, deem that
bowls purchased, 20% off opening the shing environmental protection endeavor a
coupons for every week you bring business and success. Also compare the expense for
in at least 30 recycled items, and and then promot the promotions with the additional
20% off coupons for every week throughout ing the customers the brought in and
you visit the store three or more one entire reward additional sales they rendered. If I’m
times. Promote these types of year of the s), only losing money, then I should re-
rewards through my social media business Myself evaluate this action, but if I find that I’m
accounts and through flyers inside being and attracting more sales than the money
the business. opened, other I’m losing from promotions, then I
and emplo would consider this action successful
possibly yees and likely continue it or expand it
longer if I (in further.
find the handin
promotions g out
to be coupo
successful. ns for
those
partici
pating
in
reward
s)

Host charitable events (concerts, 2, 3 About three $0 (if a concert, Myself, Compare business awareness from
races) where all proceeds of ticket months find local artists three when the first three months of when
sales go towards the specific after willing to other the business opened to the rest of the
charity, and sell product at events opening the volunteer for the emplo year as events occur. Record proceeds

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and donate a percentage of the business charity’s benefit, yees, made from each event and amount of
sales to the charity as well. and then and if a race, ask and people in attendance, and if it
throughout for volunteers volunt increases over time to reach my goal of
one entire from the eers $15,000 in one year, deem them a
year of the community from success. Also analyze product sales at
business (Rotary, Interact, the each event and then at the business
being Etc.) to help out, comm before and after the events to see if the
opened, profit made from unity events have an obvious impact on the
and cost of entry to business’ sales and customers. If sales
possibly event will be increase overtime and more customers
longer if I donated to visit the store more frequently,
find the charity and profit especially following these events,
events to made from deem them a success.
be smoothie bowl
successful. sales (after
supplies and
employees are
paid) will also be
donated)

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Sustainable Smoothie Start-Up Cost Chart
Sustainable Smoothie Cash Flow Projection Chart
Sustainable Smoothie Income Statement
Sustainable Smoothie Floor Plan

Location: Main Street, Bennington, VT 05201

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Sustainable Smoothie Business Card

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Sustainable Smoothie Advertisement Flyer

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Sustainable Smoothie Bowl Menu

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Sustainable Smoothie Drink Menu

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Sustainable Smoothie Salad/Veggie Menu

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