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Executive Summary
Teasanity is an online store on Ebay that sells affordable teas and tea blends at reasonable prices for the average U.S. consumer. Tea has increasingly become a popular consumer product within the country due to its health benefits and the growing desire of the American public to shift to healthier options when it comes to the type of drinks that they consume. Unfortunately, as seen in the case of brands such as Twinnings, tea is inordinately expensive within the United States with a small box with 20 tea bags typically sold within the $5 range.
While this may seem to be relatively affordable, most tea drinkers consumer two to three cups of tea a day with a single box barely lasting a week. Within a month, the cost can rise to $30, and this does not take into consideration the cost of delivery in some areas which can add a dollar or more to the price. Aside from this, many teas sold locally are infused with flavors that take away from the natural flavor of the tea, as seen in the case of the English Breakfast and Christmas Tea blends of Twinnings. These added flavors can diminish the natural anti-oxidant properties of tea and could even contribute towards the development of a wide assortment of health-related issues. American consumers want a natural, unadulterated tea that can be bought at an affordable price and, as such, this is where Teasanity enters into the picture.
By purchasing tea directly from the source (ex: bulk suppliers on Alibaba), Teasanity would be able to provide tea that is natural, has not been infused with chemicals and can be bought in large batches at relatively affordable prices. This addresses many of the problems that were brought up earlier and showed just how effective this potential business concept could be if implemented in an appropriate manner.[“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]
Mission Statement
Teasanity seeks to provide affordable and unadulterated tea that has not been overly processed or infused with chemicals to consumers within the United States. Through such actions, the company will contribute to the growing desire of the American public to have access to safe and healthy drinks that will enhance their physical well-being rather than damage it through the ingestion of harmful chemicals in the form of popular artificial sodas and fruit juices.
Company Information
Teasanity is a recently established company that was created during the latter half of 2016. Its founder is (INSERT NAME HERE) who loves tea and sought to introduce its wonders to the rest of the consumer market within the United States through an affordable product lineup that is convenient to access. Teasanity only has one employee, the founder, who works out of her parent’s home in (PLACE ADDRESS OF PARENTS HERE). Since the company is a startup, its current operational structure is ideally suited for the amount of business that it does on a daily basis. As the company garners more positive reviews in the future and, as a result, more customers, it is likely that additional employees will be hired and a larger premises rented.
Growth Highlights
Since starting on the first week of November, Teasanity has developed a relatively robust growth rate with two to four sales being made every week. Positive reviews for the company’s services on Ebay are currently at three reviews with a high likelihood of increased growth in the upcoming holiday season as more people buy presents online for their friends and loved ones. Holiday gift packaging has already been purchased in advance and will be offered as a free service to buyers within the first week of the December sales period.
Products/Services
Teasanity primarily sells teas sold per kilo/half a kilo to its consumers (small sample sizes can be purchased on a case to case basis). These are unadulterated teas that have not been overly processed with no additional chemicals being added to them. They are bought in bulk directly from the producers and then sold in individually sealed packages based on the desired weight that the customer buys them in.
The range of teas that are currently available are Japanese Green Tea (leaves), Japanese Green Tea with Toasted Rice, Japanese Macha Powder (ground green tea leaves), and Black Tea. All teas are guaranteed to have been processed within the last six months which ensures their freshness when consumed.
Financial Information
The business is currently being financed via a small loan from the parents of the founder ($5,000) which is currently being used to purchase the tea and packaging directly from producers in Asia via Aliexpress.com and Alibaba.com. Presently, the business is performing as expected since it has just started out; however, with the upcoming holiday purchasing season, it is likely that there will be a considerable increase in the amount of people that will purchase the company’s products via Ebay. Aside from the small business loan from the founder’s parents, there are currently no other investors in the small enterprise and it is likely that there will be no investors interested in it within the immediate future since it has yet to get through its first year of operation.[Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]
Summary of Future Plans
Teasanity will continue to sell its products on Ebay within the foreseeable future but will also attempt to generate more external business leads through the use of social media advertising. This involves posting links to the business on the owner’s Facebook page so that her friends and family can see the business and hopefully purchase products through it or share the post with their own friends. Aside from this, a dedicated Facebook page will be created for the company where daily posts will feature the various products that the company is selling and will have articles detailing the health benefits associated with drinking tea.
Situation Analysis
Market Summary (Target Market – Customers)
The primary target market of the business are consumers that enjoy drinking tea but want a more affordable and natural option than what is currently available in today’s markets. These are internet savvy customers who purchase many of the items they use in their everyday life through the internet and are well aware of how products are shipped and arrive at their address. Aside from this, these consumers are also interested in improving their health and, as such, have turned towards drinking tea since it has next to no calories in it and is an excellent source of anti-oxidants.
Market Demographics
Consumers within this demographic consist of low to mid-tier consumers (i.e. working to middle class) who have access to the internet and a credit card (Hildebrandt, 2012). These are consumers who, on average, purchase many items online yet do so in small amounts due to the inherent cost associated with buying items in bulk.
Market Needs
The primary needs within this market are for items to be delivered in a quick and efficient manner. Customers want to be assured that they receive their items and that they will know when it will arrive. This is why all packages sent by Teasanity through USPS will have a tracking number that will be forwarded to the customers once the packages have been sent out. Through this method, the worries of the customers are resolved, and their primary needs are met.
Market Trends
The primary trend within this market has been to cater to customers that are after teas that have good flavors yet are not overly immersed in artificial flavorings. This is why Teasanity is well-positioned within this market since the products the company selling conform to present-day trends in tea sales within the United States.
Market Growth
Presently, the growth of the tea industry within the United States has been lukewarm, to say the least. This is because coffee tends to dominate the hot beverage consumer sector with tea trailing behind it by a significant margin. One of the reasons behind this is the inherent cost of some tea blends as well as the general unfamiliarity that many local consumers have with drinking tea on a daily basis.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The primary strength of Teasanity lies in its ability to provide customers with better value for the money that they spend. Since the company is buying the tea in bulk directly from the supplier and it does not undergo any additional processing, labeling, packaging or advertisement, and the cost is far lower. For example, Teasanity sells its green tea leaves at $10 per 1-kilo bag; considering the fact, that brands like Twinnings sell an equivalent product for $5 per 20 tea bag box, consumers gain far more value purchasing through Teasanity than Twinnings. Not only that, the green tea leaves from Teasanity are far less processed than their Twinnings counterpart making them far stronger requiring fewer leaves to bring out the flavor of the product. By having a cheaper and better tasting product, Teasanity positions itself as being a superior supplier compared to other competitors on Ebay.
Weaknesses
The primary weakness of Teasanity is the of lack of brand awareness it has compared to other online sellers on Ebay. While Teasanity is selling products that taste more natural and have better value, brands such as Twinnings are more well known and, as such, consumers are likely to choose a brand that they know rather than trust a relatively new brand.
Opportunities
The growing number of tea drinkers within the U.S. represents a great opportunity for Teasanity given the potential for penetrating a consumer market that is expanding (Roberts Jr.,2012). To accomplish its goals of carving out a large percentage of this customer base, Teasanity would need to position itself as “the premier supplier” of natural and affordable tea on Ebay. Such a strategy can be accomplished through a variety of online promotions geared towards increasing awareness of the company’s online Ebay store and the Teasanity brand.
Threats
The main threat to the Teasanity brand is the relatively few barriers to entry into the niche market that the company is operating in (Ericksen, 2016). Its operational framework and supply chain is easily replicated by anyone with a computer and sufficient knowledge about online suppliers and, as such, Teasanity would need to continuously be on the lookout for potential rivals.[Click Essay Writer to order your essay]
Marketing Strategy
Marketing Objectives: The primary goal of the company is to become the leading destination for tea buyers on Ebay to go to when it comes to purchasing teas.
Financial Objectives: The first financial goal of this enterprise is to raise enough money to pay off the small business loan from the founder’s parents to set up the business. Once that is accomplished, a dedicated website will be made where Teasanity can conduct sales and product presentations to avoid over-reliance on Ebay’s seller system.
Target Markets: Potential consumers will be targetted through the use of word-of-mouth advertising as well as asking friends and family members to share the posts of Teasanity’s Facebook page to generate greater brand awareness. Aside from this, the company will also use Facebook ads to increase the number of people that view the company’s Facebook page.
Positioning: The company will leverage its cheaper yet better tasting and quantitatively larger products to appeal to consumers that are looking for great deals on teas online.
Strategies: The primary method of marketing that Teasanity will utilize is Facebook advertising through shared posts and Facebook ads. Banner ads from Google Ads may be considered in the future once a website has been created for the company.
Financials
Breakeven Analysis
Through an analysis of the bulk shipping prices on Alibaba, the following teas can be sold on Ebay at the cost of $10 with a profit for $3 per product: Japanese Green Tea (leaves), Japanese Green Tea with Toasted Rice, Japanese Macha Powder (ground green tea leaves), and Black Tea. The delivery charge of each product is $5 (based on current USPS rates for the product) along with 10% of the price added due to Ebay’s fees. The result is that each kilo of tea would cost a buyer $16 to purchase which is still within an acceptable range when compared to the price range of Twinnings for their tea boxes. Since the company is currently operating out of the home of the founder’s parents with the owner being the only employee, costs are almost non-existent, aside from the price of the product ($7 per bag) and the delivery cost. This enables the owner to sell products at $7 if needed if they required to get rid of excess inventory and simply break-even. Overall, due to the current size of the business and the fact that it is still a startup, the breakeven point is still relatively non-existent outside of the parameters that were already mentioned.
Sales Forecast
Within the past two weeks ever since the business was established, sales have remaining steady at three to four per week. It is anticipated that with the upcoming Christmas season, this should increase to six to eight sales per week.
Expense Forecast: Based on the earlier data involving the company working out of the home of the founder’s parents, costs are isolated to the price of shipping and to replenish the product.
Controls
The primary elements that will be monitored in the business are the reviews that appear reviewing the products sold by the company. Reviews can be considered as the lifeblood of any business that operates on Ebay since they are often the basis behind why a customer would choose to purchase a product from an online seller. This is one of the reasons why the price of the tea is currently set at $10 per kilo since this is meant to initially increase the number of reviews until such a point that the company becomes more well-established on Ebay.
Contingency Planning
Since business is primarily internet based and the owner is not renting any equipment or leasing any property to operate the company, then the necessary contingency plan focuses on ensuring that all orders are met. This can take the form of asking the owner’s parents to send packages in the proprietor’s name just in case they are unable to do so due to one reason or another.
Summary
Overall, when looking at the type of product that is being sold, the method in which it is marketed and the expenses associated with daily operations, it can be stated that the plan is feasible and can lead to a moderate level of profitability in the short-term. Long-term profits for the company will be contingent on its capacity to generate positive reviews to increase the amount of trust that new buyers would have to the company’s products. Aside from this, the use of social media as a means of advertising and promoting the company’s products is a good move since it is relatively low-cost and can reach a large number of people. Not only that, by looking at the number of “likes” on the company’ Facebook page, the owner can determine whether the current market penetration efforts are effective.
Reference List
Ericksen, A. B. (2016). Water, Tea and Gen Z. Convenience Store Decisions, 27(8), 42.
Hildebrandt, S. (2012). Tea competes for share. Beverage Industry, 103(6), 20.
Roberts Jr., W. A. (2012). Beverages: Form Follows Function. Prepared Foods, 181(8), 25.
