Fancy Food Show: Market Research Snippet

Here are a few highlights from my primary market research work at the Fancy Food show:

Arette Foods sells organic tea seed oil, cold pressed from the seeds of a cousin to the tea plant. I tried several of the flavors, and they were good. I found myself drawn to the booth because they had signs saying tea oil, and I think we've all been fairly well conditioned to think of tea as healthy for us.

Although Arette is only a year old, I was told that China has been using this oil "for thousands of years." It could be interesting to watch Arette, as it tries to introduce a new healthy (think olive) oil to the American consumer. The person in the booth I spoke with said it had been a challenge so far. Lurking in the background for a few minutes, I watched and listened as two buyers came to the booth and dipped a piece of bread into the sample. They both thought it was good, but didn't request any literature. How many times have you tasted something good but not thought to integrate into your cooking or grocery shopping? I wonder what sort of market research Arette did before launching their line?

Food Trend Alert: Sweet Potato

Food forecasters are saying that the sweet potato is going to be an up and coming food. The sweet potato is loaded with fiber, vitamins B6 and C, and beta carotene. The continuing trend toward healthy eating, plus the simplicity of fixing the sweet potato - pop it in the microwave and in a matter of minutes you have a baked potato - may increase its popularity beyond winter holidays.

How can a food entrepreneur use this information? Here are some examples:

• If you're a baker, try making a sweet potato pound cake.
  
• Own a food cart, or thinking about it? Sweet potato pudding is a very popular recipe. If there's a creme brulee guy, why not a sweet potato pudding or sweet potato pie chick?
• Can you serve locavores by growing sweet potatoes?
• Can you create sweet potato recipes?
• Any other ideas?
  

The key here is to tie your entrepreneurial ideas to a growing trend, then test it to see if there might be a market. The health consciousness of the Bay Area makes it a likely geographic area for a healthy food like the sweet potato to take off. Now you can refine it by considering who is most likely to want to eat healthy.

Doing Market Research at a Tradeshow

I've just attended the 35th Winter Fancy Food show, one of the best places to find trend data for the cost of getting into the tradeshow. (The cost for the Fancy Food show was $35).

When you plan to do market research, create a plan before you go. Think about the questions for which you need answers. Write them out, and be sure they are open-ended, not questions which can be answered with a yes or no. Top up your business cards.
When you're at the tradeshow, don't forget to grab all the information you can find. At the Fancy Food show, I was able to get several copies of industry trade magazines, a newspaper, and sign up for an electronic newsletter when I got back to my office.

Most importantly, never break the cardinal rule: Do Not get in the way of a potential sale! Wait until the booth is not busy. If, while you are talking to the person, a prospect approaches, step aside. You can quickly ask if you can call them later, trade business cards and move on.

Between talking to various conversations, take a moment to make notes about what you learned so it's fresh. Then, when you get back to your office, fill your notes in so you don't forget anything.

San Francisco Fancy Food Show

I just attended the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. I spoke with many entrepreneurs, just brief conversations. Here are some of them:

• Leah of Mrs. A's Famous Salsa Buena, a teacher, who was encouraged to start her company by her high school class.


• Hattem, who is bringing the U.S. the healthful and delicious fava bean


• Mathieu, co-founder of Alter Eco, which makes an amazing (one of my personal Best in Show choices!) Dark Quinoa chocolate bar. (Quinoa is pronounced "keen-wah".)


• Geline of Italian Heritage Foods, who's title on her business card is "Mamma" (love that), is introducing amazingly delicious frozen Italian crepes.


• Kari, of Kari's Malva Pudding - an incrediby delicious South African dessert, and Nelson Mandela's favorite.

Watch this space for their stories, as well as information on food trends.

Nickelodeon Study

Renaissance graduates know that psychographics are critical to launching a new product or service. A study from Nickelodeon is worth a read. Here's a highlight:

“As Millennials become parents and Baby Boomers become grandparents, today’s families are different from what we’ve seen and come to expect from previous generations, in that staying together and playing together are the top priorities among everyone in the household,” said Ron Geraci, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Research. “Instead of being divided by tastes and clashing over values and things like music and entertainment choices, today’s parents, kids and grandparents are being drawn closer together by them, as well as embracing new value systems of tolerance and acceptance.”

The study is called The Family GPS, reasearch by Harris Interactive. What do you think about the findings?

Facebook Strong: College-Aged Still Love It

A few days ago, I had a discussion with a colleague who has an 8-year-old daughter -- just a few years away from being a tween. We were talking about what age groups like Facebook, and which still like MySpace. Yesterday, this study popped up in my email box (how does that happen?!?).

Facebook Only Social Network That Matters Among College Students
(may load slow, but worth the 20-second wait)

Dr. NAICS and Your Classification

I get asked all the time by entrepreneurs who need help determining their NAICS classification. Without doubt, it can be hard to figure out how to classify your new business. What is NAICS, you ask (if you already know this, skip the definition)?

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, pronounced Nakes) was developed as the standard for use by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the collection, analysis, and publication of statistical data related to the business economy of the U.S. NAICS was developed under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and adopted in 1997 to replace the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. It was also developed in cooperation with the statistical agencies of Canada and Mexico to establish a 3-country standard that allows for a high level of comparability in business statistics among the three countries. -- official Census Bureau NAICS website

Why should you care? Because if you know how your business is classified, you can use the classification to find other same-classified businesses through a source like ReferenceUSA, and compare your business to others. You'll remember this from our class.

If you have trouble figuring out your NAICS classification, and you've really, really tried, then send an email to Dr. NAICS at naics@census.gov. They ask you to please include your telephone number in your email message in case they need to call you for more information.

Pricing: Oh The Woes

Little scares entrepreneurs as much as pricing. We all know that if a prospect eagerly becomes a new client with little questions that we may have just given away the farm. When a prospect doesn't call back after being told the price - and this not on the first or second meeting - we've probably charged too much.

I just read an amusing and informative article on Fast Company about pricing. The article is geared to big business, but there are always lessons even if you're a one-person shop.

Another blog post over on Fast Company by Alison Yama talks about pricing in a depression, and her approach is very relevant to small businesses. In fact, I shared her article in my class on pricing and distribution for entrepreneurs at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center.

I found this nifty tool that will calculate your gross profit margin at Bankrate.com

Enjoy!

SBA Report: Women-Led Businesses Contributing $3.6 trillion

While this is a self-serving press release from Aetna, the information is pulled from data from the U.S. Small Business Association. Go entrepreneurs!!

Here's the text from the Aetna press release ----

Women Led Businesses Continue To Fuel Growth In A Tough Economy

Aetna unveils new resource to help women entrepreneurs manage the health of their business, well-being of their employees

October 06, 2009 — According to the Small Business Administration, there are 9.1 million women owned businesses in the U.S., employing 27.5 million people and contributing $3.6 trillion to the economy. Aetna a leading provider of health care solutions to small businesses, understands the unique needs of this growing business segment and in response has developed a robust resource to help women business owners manage the health of their business, the well-being of their employees and their personal life. The website, www.aetnawomenatwork.com, features pertinent information, videos, events, education courses, and more, to help women balance their often dual roles as business and family caregivers and decision-makers.

“Female leadership of companies is changing how businesses are organized, managed and insured,” said Mary Claire Bonner, head of Local and Regional Business, a combined organization that includes Aetna Small and Middle Market Business. “Our work with women-led companies has taught us that the idea of communities – places where different people come together to share interests, goals, and values – is central to their success. This is how we have developed the benefit plans and tools needed to serve the health and well-being of companies led by women.”

The site content is built around three core areas: Healthy Business, Healthy Family, Healthy Life – three themes that resonate with women business leaders regardless of their industry.

Healthy Business
This section is designed to help women business leaders manage the health of their business and the well-being of the people who help make it succeed with links to:

* Aetna’s Small Group portfolio
* Online tools and resources such as Aetna Navigator®, Aetna’s easy-to-use, self-service member website
* Wellness information for the workplace

Healthy Family
When families share the value of health, the benefits are experienced by everyone—parents, children, colleagues, and employers. This section of the site is designed to help people get engaged in their health with the tools and information they need to make smart, healthy decisions, including:

* How health benefits can help save money
* Screening tests every family should consider
* Creating Personal Health Records for everyone in your family

Healthy Life
Aetna promotes health at every phase and stage of life —from guiding people through using their health plans, to promoting healthy eating tips and finding time for fitness. This area of the site offers information intended to improve the lives of women business owners, the lives of their employees, and their families, including:

* How to find doctors in your area
* How to get more from your insurance coverage
* How to plan for retirement

“We understand the unique challenges facing women led businesses, and small businesses in general,” said Bonner. “Aetnawomenatwork.com is another tangible example of our commitment to developing health and wellness solutions that deliver real value to this business segment.”

Source: Aetna

The Worldwide World

Are you a small business making a difference in the world as part of the way you do business? On eBay, lots of sellers donate a portion of their proceeds to a local or international cause. If you are a business that does something like this, no matter how small or large, I'd like to hear from you.

In the meantime, why not take this Global IQ Test, from President Bill Clinton's foundation?