Avocado Margarine Proposal
The food industry continues to expand on a daily basis with new innovations taking the center stage in incremental product values. Of special interest is the market in margarines and other spreads. Spreads such as jam and peanut butter have occupied a great market share due to their potential for value addition in terms of nutrition and taste. On the other hand, margarine has undergone minimum improvements since invention but has continued to occupy a large market share due to its potential for multiple uses and the early market entry advantage. Talking to users of the present day margarines brought out the need for such innovative ideas, particularly due to the observation that many of the margarine users also added vegetable salads, and avocado to their breads before consumption. Finding such ready -made products will help reduce the additional costs of having to purchase the avocado separately while also increasing the nutritional value of the margarines.
The idea for the inclusion of avocado as an ingredient in margarine production was given form through brainstorming and gap analysis. While brainstorming, many ideas were developed but the comparative viability made it essential to only present the most economically appealing for project consideration. Identification of the gap in nutritive value of margarine if compared to that of peanut butter and jam also drew the need for inclusion as a project. The proposal is to include blended avocado and ground nuts in margarine production elements. In order to increase the nutritional value of margarine, the present proposal aims at an innovative measure that would lead to the production of margarines incorporating nuts and avocado as nutritional elements. Although this may not change the uses of margarine, it will help to make it more nutritious, tastier and thus gain a greater market share.
Limitations and market analysis
Despite being a sustainable project proposal, the key limitation of the proposed product is that it may limit the applications of margarine especially for those who are allergic to nuts and/ or avocado. It can thus be implemented in margarines for spread only while those designed for cooking can let the new innovation be. The innovation addresses the food industry, an ever expanding industry with multiple market opportunities. In the recent years, companies such as Unilever, which lead in the production and sale of margarines, have reported a decline in the sales. This is indicative of a competitive market with lots of substitute products. However if this can be rectified through better innovations such as the proposed inclusion of nuts and avocado into the products, it is projected that market shares are bound to grow and the use of margarine will also rise.
Customers and Customer Development
The innovative product targets the food market customers. These are customers who have continuously use margarine for cooking as well as spreads. The market needs innovation while the customers need a taste of something different from the conventional margarines hence the observed shift towards more healthy and tastier spreads. In order to address these needs, the customers need to be reached through the media, through offering test samples and through getting customer feedbacks on what they need. This will help address their concerns in an even better way. The major competitor in this market is Unilever. However, their market shares have been reducing due to the presence of more value added products and better product prices across the market. It is essential that the proposal takes the initiative to be the first market entrant with such an idea, hence gain competitive market shares.
Business model
In implementing this proposal, the greatest challenge would be to address the hypothesis that most people do not use margarine because of high fat levels. This will be addressed through effective market research and marketing activities. To be a profitable business, phase implementation is recommended since it will enable the organization to scale up its productions based on customer feedback and also to make changes where necessary while avoiding wastes. Working on this project has shown clearly how innovation and creativity can create a business opportunity while addressing potential customer problems. The innovation given provides an excellent business opportunity that can be advanced into after effective market research on customer behaviors.