29A-Venture Concept No. 2

29A - Venture Concept

Opportunity

There is an opportunity that exists in the restaurant industry. The FDA and the younger generation have pushed for healthy options, convenience, and transparency in their food nutrition when eating out. With the use of food tracking applications, more people are tracking their calories and are interested in what is in their food at restaurants. People using these apps often have the flexibility to eat out at restaurants, but not without taking many steps to be able to do so to track their calorie intake when dining at a restaurant. Customers currently either do not eat out to avoid “cheating” on their diet, or look up nutrition information on the restaurant website before going in to dine to make sure the restaurant provides a meal that will fit into their calorie intake. There is opportunity for restaurants to cater better to these customers and create customer loyalty by being transparent. I believe the opportunity is large because the window of opportunity is always open. Consumers are almost always on a diet for some future event (summer break, spring break, weddings, anniversaries, graduation photos), therefore, there is always a market. The market for restaurants would be any restaurant that the FDA requires to list their calories next to meals already (this would be any restaurant with over 20 menu items).

Innovation

The product/service I would provide is a scannable menu that is compatible with the MyFitnessPal app. The product is an opportunity for restaurant businesses as well as consumers. The scannable menu would be marketed to chain restaurants. The restaurant would redo menus to include small QR codes (or barcode) next to each menu item. The price market to include QR codes is unknown at this stage of the product but would be dependent on the number of menu items offered. The cost is expected to be comparable to changing out menus every time a new menu item needs to be offered. From the consumer standpoint, they would be receiving the convenience of scanning the menu item instead of needing to input calorie counts manually. They would also be also share the convenience of not needing to search the restaurant website for nutrition information. All the information will be provided inside of the MyFitnessPal app. Once a customer chooses a menu item they will open their MyFitnessPal app, and scan the QR code on the menu. The app will list the menu item name, the calorie amount, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and all allergy information. Once the customer reviews the information, they will press a confirmation button and the meal will be added to your daily calorie intake. I think a reasonable price range would be $10 per month to be able to access the convenient tool. This price is comparable to apps that offer a similar feature, and is actually on the lower end to charge for a convenient fitness app.

Venture Concept

Customers with strict dietary needs or food allergens often do not eat out at all or have a select few restaurants that they choose to eat at because they are familiar with what goes into their food and the calorie content. My concept of the scannable menu paired with the top food tracking app will allow those customers convenience when dining out, confidence in choosing foods that fit their need, and they can rest assured that they do not have to give up on their diet just because they are eating out. The new addition of offering the application to people who suffer from food allergens can feel more confident about their food choices because instead of trusting staff to know every ingredient, they will have the full allergen list at the touch of a button.My concept is also valuable to restaurants as consumers shift to wanting more healthy choices and want to see transparency in restaurant menus nutrition. Scannable menu shows customers they care about customer experience convenience, and health. I chose to pair the scannable menu with MyFitnessPal because it is the top food tracking app. This decision was based off of customer ease in not needing to transfer apps. Therefore, I think customers will feel comfortable in knowing they can continue to be loyal to the app. Customers who do not already use MyFitnessPal, may make the switch to it due to the convenience the scannable menu will offer. The competition has not yet been created. Current fitness applications offer the ability to scan grocery store items to easily upload their nutrition, but there is not fitness app that allows that compatibility in restaurants. I believe the competition would arise after the app is put out as competitors will then try and compete in offering a better, improved upon solution.

Three Minor Elements

I believe the advantage my business concept will have is the partnership I plan to have in chain restaurants and the top food tracking app. Chain restaurants (Applebys, BJ’s Brewery, Chilis, etc.) and MyFitnessPal are already very successful branding names. Partnering with them will be an advantage.

The next step for the venture will probably target people who suffer from food allergens. Instead of depending on a waiter to tell you if an allergen is in an item, you will be able to see all ingredients that go into food choices to double check that your item does not contain your allergen.

It is not my intention to stay involved long term with this service. I would want to sell it to MyFitnessPal. I came up with this idea because I was one of the customers who is affected by it on a daily basis when I go out to eat.

2) I did not get any feedback on my first venture concept. One my “What’s Next?” post, I received one comment from Cameron stating that the idea of marketing the app to people with food allergens was also a great addition to the app because so many more people today suffer from allergens.

3) The only aspect I could think of to change about my venture concept to also market to people with allergens. People who suffer from food allergens will be able to scan the menu to look at the allergen list listed in their food choices so they do not have to depend on waiters to know the allergen information that can be crucial for their health.