...OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT BRIEF: Location: Whole Foods 1548 N Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, FL 33607 Time: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 5:00pm Gender: Male Age: In early 30’s Type of car: Lincoln Coupe How dressed: Dark denim jeans, Black Raulph Lauren Polo and Sperry’s Time of Day: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 5:00pm Was the store crowded? There was slight traffic from everyone doing a bit of after work/school shopping Did the person have a list? He did not have a written list at hand but he kept looking at his smartphone. I assumed that he may had a list on his phone because he was looking at his phone majority of the time. Did the person appear to follow the list and not deviate (buy any extra items)? This young man seemed to be on a mission. He approached each aisle with confident in picking out grocery items. He did pass by the aisle with pasta and seemed unsure of exactly what pasta to pick, and chose several. Did the person appear to buy an impulse item, if yes what was it? He did pass by the bakery, and then proceeded to back track and pick a couple cookies behind the glass bakery doors. What size of items did the person buy single serving, family packs, et cetera? He bought individual servings. Did the person comparison shop items or did the person go straight to the item? He did a bit of comparison shopping. I could tell he looked at certain products to study their nutritional information. The reason I know this is what...
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...socioeconomic market and community members. Meal Analysis In this meal analysis, the following foods and where they are derived from in order to get to our local grocery store shelves will be discussed. The ingredients consist of broiled (frozen) salmon, rice, fresh strawberries, and Folgers black coffee. One of the locally-owned grocery stores purchases most fresh produce from local farm and business owners. Due to geographic location, some ingredients must be imported from other areas of the country. Strawberries are grown year-round at a couple of farms which are a bit further away in distance. A farm in Minonk, Illinois grows strawberries, picks, packages and loads strawberries onto shipping trucks for distribution at our local grocer. The farm which is furthest located is 381.4 miles from Albert Lea (Perhus, 2014, May 5). This is the only locally grown item from the menu listing which can be grown in this area of the country. For some local grocery stores, there are local suppliers which grow their strawberries in greenhouses and then distribute to smaller owned markets and grocery stores. These methods provide a locally owned socioeconomic way of supporting local economies. Jasmine rice, would my preferred type of long grain rice to use anytime I eat rice. Locally, jasmine rice is distributed by Riviana Foods out of Houston, Texas and is exported from Thailand by Herba Bangkok S.L. based out of Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok Thailand (Riviana Foods Inc. 2014)...
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...Bloom is a very upscale grocery store. The focus is on satisfying customers and providing food services to the community. The store uses clear energizing and communication goals to get the employees to strive to work harder. Employees of Bloom are highly motivated and hard working. Incentives, such as pay raises and promotions are also used to maintain employee satisfaction. Although a division of the Food Lion Corporation, Bloom is a more upscale version of Food Lion. The store uses a variety of consumer-friendly technology. Self-checkout counters allow customers to scan their purchases themselves without having to wait in line for an available cashier. Many produce departments have scales featuring printers that will print a bar code for the item indicating the weight and price of the purchase. The Nature’s Place section offers a wide variety of natural and organic items. A person can also create their own six-pack of beer. To compete with other stores, Bloom also offers a huge selection of in-store services. There is a Redbox for DVD rentals, and ATM machine, as well as copy and fax machines. The Guest Services Center also offers Western Union, check cashing, lottery tickets, hunting licenses, and dry cleaning services. Gift cards, phone cards, and transit cards are available as well. Employees at Bloom appear to be friendlier than most grocery stores. When a customer enters the store, the employees say, “Welcome to Bloom, how may we assist you?” The majority of workers...
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...Zack DeYmaz Dr. Lewis Eating Culture Food Procurement With such a wide variety of brand names and prices, going to your local grocery store can seem overwhelming with all the choices put in front of you. But what you don’t think about is, “Why am I at Kroger?” The reason is probably because that’s where my family shops or the affordable prices. In reality, economics controls what we eat according to financial status or social class. Anderson elaborates in chapter 5 of “Everyone Eats”, “Economics determines which plants or animals can be grown most cheaply, and which will sell at the best price. A plant that grows well but cannot be sold will vanish from monetized economy” (Anderson 82). There may be a wide variety of choices, but they are choices within your budget. Fresh fruits and meats come at a much higher price, which many people can’t afford. So they end up settling for food that isn’t quite as fresh or nutritious. On the other end of the spectrum, Fresh Market provides fresh higher quality goods, but at a higher price. This is where the split in social class becomes apparent. I visited both grocery stores with a different mindset other than to just buy food, and realized major differences between the two that had never occurred to me. As I walked into Kroger the first thing I noticed was how plain and uninviting the environment was. The irritating fluorescent lighting following you everywhere, along with the constant announcements over the...
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...kitchen, have to go use the bathroom because you didn't want to go at the store, and then maybe look through the mail real quick and then the phone rings. 15 more minutes go by. Finally that raw meat makes its way into the refrigerator or freezer. For 50 minutes the raw meat was at an unsafe temperature. May not seem like that much time, especially when foods can be exposed to unsafe temperature for a cumulative of 4 hours. But those 4 hours starts when the animal slaughtered. So when you take into consideration the time it took to first process the animal, the time it took to transport the meat from its original refrigerated source to a refrigerated truck, the time it took to remove it from that truck and deliver it to the grocer and the time it took the grocer to process the product and put it out for sale and then add the time you had the meat in your possession before you put it in your refrigerator how much time has that meat not been at a safe temperature? Something to think about B. Reveal So, today I would like to talk about food safety. C. Preview I will discuss bacteria growth and diseases, ways of preventing food borne illnesses, and proper handling and preparation of food and equipment. II. Bacteria A. Kinds of Bacteria - There are four types of...
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...EST1 – Subdomain 310.2 Task 310.2.1-05 This paper will address the areas of improvement that Company Q can implement to improve their attitude toward social responsibility. Company Q is described as a small local grocery store chain with several locations in metropolitan areas. Recently, Company Q closed a couple of it's stores that were located in higher-crime-rate neighborhoods citing a consistent loss of revenue. Additionally, Company Q does not participate in donating day-old products to local community food banks. Management explains that day-old products are instead thrown away. The explanation provided for this is that management fears that donating food may heighten their risk of losing revenue to fraud and employee theft. Lastly, it is explained that Company Q – after years of customer requests – has started to offer it's customers a very limited selection of high margin, health conscious and organic products. Scores of small and large businesses operate in metropolitan areas. Chain businesses that operate in multiple areas should target each particular customer base individually – what sells very well in one area may not sell at all in another. Because economic, cultural, and lifestyle differences exist from one neighborhood to the next, a business that focuses on it's local customer's needs will be more successful. I feel that Company Q should reconsider the closing of their stores in higher-crime-rate...
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...Food, and access to it, is a determinant of health and well-being. The USDA defines a food desert as, “parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthy whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas” ("USDA Defines Food Deserts", 2011). Food deserts are often found in rural, minority, and low-income areas because they lack large, retail food markets and have a higher number of convenience stores, where healthy foods are less available. Families and individuals living in a geographic area where residents experience barriers to accessing healthy foods, including, both physical and economic obstacles can face greater risk for adverse health outcomes ("Access to Healthy Food and Why it Matters", 2013). The burden of food deserts extends beyond the access to affordable healthy food, and leads to a potential greater disparity in poor health outcomes among residents in these communities. Theories One major theory that explains the development of food deserts is Bitler and Haider’s theory of supply and demand (2009). They allege that income, and the cost of food are not the only factors in why food deserts develop in communities. They argue that certain ethnic groups demand certain products. Thus, residents of inner cities or rural food deserts have less access to the healthy fresh foods because, perhaps, they are not demanded as highly as other ingredients (Bitler & Haider, 2009). Due to fresh, healthy foods typically being more expensive than low-quality, preserved...
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...still holds to the original idea of service, selection, and value though. They strive to sell good products and cheaper prices like Barney Kroger did when he opened the first Kroger. Barney Kroger’s motto was “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.” The functional area Kroger fits best in because the way they are run is marketing, sales, distribution, and customer satisfaction. I do not believe they would fit any other functional area. Kroger’s business ethics are highly regarded in the business world, as they have made strides in the way many things are now done in grocery stores. They were the first to routinely monitor product quality and scientifically test the food in their stores. Kroger was also the first grocer to formalize consumer research. The ability to get through check out faster was even started by them thanks to QueVision. One of the things that really stand out about Kroger in the business world was the successful merger of Kroger and Fred Meyer, Inc. When most other mergers...
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...Toppits Foods LTD. Issues: How to increase profits of the garlic and herb cubes business * To increase productivity, promote awareness, gain loyalty * Increase distribution channels? * Lower cost supplier? * Change promotional activities? Analysis: * Garlic and herb cubes were introduced in mid 2000s * Had a lot of attention due to ease of use, convenience and freshness * Won numerous awards/superior alternative * All natural, preservative free, nut-free * This provides many benefits over competition * May let them tap into markets that others can’t * Flavour is maintained for up to 2 years * Sold in major grocery stores across Canada * Creating awareness was hard due to lack of exposure * Cubes were only marginally profitable * 4% of market share * Previously, major target market were women ages 25-54 * Home-cooked meals/healthy meals * Full-time jobs * 45% of population fell into this age group * Wanted to consider a variety of consumers * Looking for convenience, healthy alternatives * Considering to target students * Easy to use products * 18-25 years old * Limited transportation/budget * 16% of the population * Considering to target Jewish communities * Tend to support products from Israel * 1% of total population Competition * Unprepared fresh herbs and garlic cloves, dried...
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...Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. started in the kitchen of Sarah, Kim, and Jillian’s family home in the suburbs of Chicago. The three sisters initially bought the ingredients for their natural dog food recipes from the local grocery store. They used their dogs and the neighborhood dogs as their taste testers. Their dog food products were so good, the local kennels and veterinary offices were glad to distribute the sisters' products to their customers. Local demand increased significantly. Local pet stores and small grocery stores discovered the products and became distributors. The sisters moved the expanding business into a larger facility and hired a few more workers. While their competitors’ sales were flat or declining, Smackey Dog Food, Inc.’s sales were on a vertical climb! Sales were so good last year, that the sisters opened a boutique division named Best Boy Gourmet, specializing in freshly manufactured, one-serving packages meant for consumption no later than 3 days after production. They sell this product at 3 times the cost of their other products and by special order only through their new website. Demand is high, but waste has been an issue. Sarah is the president and general manager of the operation. Sarah has been very proactive in growing the business. She has met with her banker to discuss expanding the facilities and equipment with another $150,000 loan. Their first loan for $150,000 was secured by the industrial size, food production equipment...
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...Frequent Shopper Program Roy Gage BSA 310 November 7, 2013 Oswald Angst Kudler Fine Foods has been in business since 1998 and has since opened two more stores since. Since inception the store has been known for there fine foods and wine selection. They have been so successful that they are looking to open a frequent shopper program for each store. In the process of attempting the program, there may have been some questions that have not been answered as far as security concerns. Some of which I would like to discuss in this article. I would like to discuss security within the legal and ethical department. In the proposal on your website the program that you are attempting to create has some security holes and some things that you may not have thought of yet. From the first sentence on your website, you discuss tracking the customer purchasing behavior. This will have to be strategic on how you plan on tracking their customers. The laws are very strict on following the customer’s data and what they purchase. A consent form will have to be signed for the company to start monitoring what they are purchasing also. If the proper paperwork and research is not done before this shopper is implemented, the store could suffer huge fines and loss of customers. For a small upcoming grocery store a thousand dollar fine could be a huge hit in their bottom line and if this happens in all the grocery stores that Kudler foods owns. It could potentially put them out of business. If...
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...Case Study Report Outline and Grading Guide (150 points) COMPANY NAME/WEBSITE/INDUSTRY FreshDirect, Freshdirect.com, Food and Grocery BACKGROUND/HISTORY Fresh Direct is a company that allows you to order your food online and get next day delivery, their moto is “Our Food is fresh, our customers are spoiled….. Order on the web today and get next-day delivery of the best food at the best price, exactly the way you want it with 100% satisfaction guaranteed.” The primary business is to allow customers to order their food online and avoid going to a grocery store they can buy anything they want online and you can have it delivered to you house. Key players would be the people who launched the business in 2001 Joseph Fedele and Jason Ackerman. Many companies have fallen online with the grocery service and they boldly stated they were the “greatest way to shop for food” this again was a bold statement in many of these chains have fallen. Company launched in 2001 and by 2011 you had to have a order of 30$ with a delivery fee associated with it. The company started to fall apart when the competition start to raise in the industry that is when they started offering local grown and organic but their were some fields they just couldn’t compete with. 23–30 Borden Avenue Long Island City, New York 11101 U.S.A. Telephone: (718) 928-1000 Fax: (718) 433-0648 Web site: http://www.freshdirect.com Private Company Founded: 1999 Sales: $200 million (2005 est.) NAIC: 311991 Perishable...
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...Jennifer Kunkel COMPANY NAME/WEBSITE/INDUSTRY FreshDirect / http://www.freshdirect.com/site_access/site_access.jsp / grocery industry BACKGROUND/HISTORY FreshDirect was created in July 2001 by cofounder and former chief executive officer Joseph Fedele, who was able to bring plenty of experience in New York City’s food industry to the company. Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer Jason Ackerman was an investment banker with Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, where he specialized in supermarket mergers and acquisitions and gained him exposure into the grocery industry. Fedele and Ackerman had decided to open their own chain of fresh-food stores, but decided to pursue an option that allowed them to use online shopping and central distribution to deliver their products to consumers. The idea behind the company was to take products that you typically get from a grocery store and deliver them to the doors of their customers. After several changes to CEO, Jason Ackerman is currently holding the position. (Dess, c125) SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths * Financial backing from several private sources, with a small contribution coming from the State of New York. * Outstanding customer service. * Door to door delivery. * Warehouses have multiple temperature zones to ensure freshness of different types of food. * Refrigerated trucks. Weaknesses * Only located within a certain mile radius of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau County, Riverdale, Westchester, select...
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...Kudler Fine Foods is looking at the prospect implementing internet based product and supply purchasing into the point of sale system that is already in place at all three Kudler locations. The addition of internet based purchasing for supplies and product inventory is aimed to help reduce overhead on purchasing costs for the company, while also diversifying the availability of products presented to customers. Currently, Kudler Fine Foods uses local and regional vendors for almost all of their products available in their stores. These vendors supply Kudler Fine Foods with the necessary supply of food, grocery, and cooking items to keep the Kudler inventories and stock levels at acceptable levels of product. Using local and regional based vendors has proven to be effective, however there is little room for price negotiation on products as the vendor is the sole supplier of these set products. “When the product being purchased is fairly standard and readily available, most firms choose to utilize the competitive bidding process of supplier selection. This involves little or no negotiation”. (Reference for Business, 2012) In order to receive products from a vendor, Kudler Fine Foods must find vendors that offer products that they would consider selling in their grocery stores. Once vendors are found, these vendors will put in a bid to offer their products and services to Kudler. However, this is where it is a little bit tricky. As stated above, Kudler uses mainly local and regional...
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...EST 1 310.2.1-05 Being a small, local grocery store chain in a major metropolitan area does not come without its challenges. In the recent past, national chains have been forcing smaller stores to close their doors. This coupled with local companies’ need to ensure that they are conducting their business having positive effects on social responsibility places a lot of focus on proper management. When making business decisions companies need to look at the broad spectrum of impacts that their decisions will have on the community, its employees, investors and its shareholders. (P.30, Business Ethics 2009 Update: Ethical Decision Making and Cases) Companies need to ensure that they understand the needs of their customers, quickly react to requests and maintain a positive reputation in order to be successful. Company Q has some improvements to make in order to thrive in the community and be able to compete with the emerging national chains. Recently Company Q chose to close two stores in areas where crime rates were higher within the city. The store closures are a result of consistent financial losses the stores experienced over several years. If the stores have consistently lost money over the years, we need to understand the reasons as to why. Company Q should have been able to understand the demographic of its customers in order to ensure that they had the correct product mix that would yield high returns. If Company Q was offering product not in demand it should...
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