Gourmet Food Store Business Plan

Executive Summary

Sarrica's Market is a new business located in downtown Moab, Utah. The store is an upscale international grocery and delicatessen with a distinct menu that includes authentic, hard to find ingredients from around the country and the world. The facility will include a sixteen person capacity eating area, deli/kitchen with counter and check out area, grocery/gift area, and a public restroom.

The mission of Sarrica's Market is to provide Moab, Utah's residents and visitors with a combination of quality, authentic, hard to find, grocery items and prepared foods, with good service and a pleasant atmosphere with the warm feel of an Old-World outdoor market. Our store motto is, "eat and enjoy."

The deli will serve sandwiches, salads, specialty drinks, and picnic lunches. Gift items will complement the international theme of the store and include a limited selection of kitchen wares, cookbooks, picnic items, and original hand-sewn items and jewelry. Gift baskets will also be available in the store and over the internet.  All the recipes used in the deli will highlight the grocery items sold in the market. 

The gourmet and specialty foods market is booming across the country. Consumers are looking for quality food coupled with a quality shopping experience. Many large cities have have entire sections dedicated to ethnic foods and culture. As rural America moves away from agriculture and natural resources, and towards tourism as its main economy source, more and more people are flocking to areas such as Moab. These new populations are starved for the fine ingredients they were able to purchase in big cities and are looking for a rural solution to this problem. Moab's residents and many visitors have expressed the desire for a local gourmet food store.

By making alliances with local farmers and restaurants, as well as international distributors, Sarrica's Market will give customers a combination of "shopping local" and wide gourmet selection previously unavailable in this highly visited rural area. For residents, Sarrica's offers a more convenient and appealing option than ordering online or lugging fancy groceries back from infrequent trips to the nearest cities (several hours away), especially in winter.

Sarrica's projects net profits increasing over the first three years. The increasing profitability is partly based on expectations that wide seasonal differences in sales levels in the first year will moderate as we strengthen our local clientele base. These forecasts are based on the recent performance of similar cross-market upscale stores in Moab, and general trends in the gourmet food stores industry.

To achieve our objectives, the owners of Sarrica's Market are contributing $24,000 and seeking a $100,000 small business loan. These loans will be used for start-up costs and will be paid back from the cash flow of the business within five years. 

1.1 Mission

The mission of Sarrica's Market is to provide Moab, Utah's residents and visitors with an upscale grocery store, gift shop, and delicatessen specializing in a combination of quality, authentic, hard to find, grocery items from around the world.

1.2 Goals and Objectives

Sarrica's Market has the following goals and objectives:

1. Obtain necessary funding ($24,000 in investor/personal loans and $100,000 in small business administration loans).
2. Create a service-based company that exceeds customers' expectations, and increases the number of repeat clients serviced by at least 20% per year, through superior performance and word-of-mouth referrals.
3. Become an established community destination with a customer satisfaction rate of 90% by the end of the first year.
4. Achieve cash flow self-sufficiency by the end of the first year.
5. Sales of $461,900 in the first year, with sales increasing to $484,735 in the second year and $508,000 in the third year.
6. Provide an income for the founders by the end of the second year with income growth possibilities.
7. Repay debt from original financing by the end of the fifth year.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to success for Sarrica's Market include:

• Reputation: Every customer visiting our store will want to return and will recommend us to their friends and family. Word of mouth marketing will be a powerful ally for our business.
• Superior Customer Service: Knowledgeable, friendly service will be of the utmost importance.
• Location: Provide an easily accessible location for customer convenience, including walk-by and drive-by traffic. 
• Product/Environment: Offer a variety of high quality foods with domestic and international themes, sold at a fair price in a clean, authentic, comfortable environment.
• Convenience: Our customers will know that they can get what they need at our market for a fair price. This will reduce their need to travel to get desired items or order them online.