starting a fast food chain

Opening a Fast Food Franchise: Frightening yet Exciting

It can be both frightening and exciting to consider opening a fast food franchise. It is frightening since there are well-known, established companies in the industry, like Burger King, but it is also alluring because there is a growing worldwide population that needs to be fed. The rapid advancements in science that have allowed for better healthcare and improved childbearing conditions have directly reduced infant mortality rates, which has resulted in significant growth in the world population in the millennial years. This means that more children are living to adulthood. Additionally, there have been several cures synthesized for diseases such as malaria that were once considered deadly. The net effect is that the global population is on the rise and food supply must be steady and able to sustain this huge population.

The Market for Fast Food Chains

The above observation is what motivated the fast food chain business idea. The market for it is there since people must eat and with the busy modern economies, few people have the time to cook their own food. From this perspective, it viable to speculate that there is a shortage of food outlets. As matter of fact, the number of fast food chains may increase as the global population expands.

Concerns with Harmful Cooking Methods and Ingredients

However, as the population has increased, the need to have food delivered fast has led to harmful cooking methods and ingredients whose main goal is to ensure speedy preparation. Plenty of fat is used in the preparation of these foods and red meat is the primary component despite the fact that it has been discouraged by several scientific bodies as being a potential carcinogen. Towards this end, the grasshopper\/ insect burger is considered viable in several aspects since it ensures that the food can be prepared fast and adds a healthy touch to it.

Industry and Target Market Feasibility Analysis

The grasshopper and insect burger idea fits within the fast food industry that has been highlighted in the previous section. The mentioned aspects in the above sections regarding the aspects and features of the industry shall be contextualized and aligned to demonstrate the feasibility of the insect burger idea in the field. To achieve this, the fast food industry and the target markets shall be analyzed in terms of the competition and the 4p's of marketing.

Industry Analysis

The fast food industry is rampant in the united states and the entire world owing to the rise in population and evolving lifestyles of people that have seen individuals cook less and eat out more (Spurlock, 2012). As a matter of fact, the industry is popular enough to generate revenues of about $570 billion annually globally. This rivals and even exceeds the economies of several countries. Additionally, experts predict that the industry shall have an annual growth of 2.5% for the foreseeable future (Schlosser, 2012). In fact, in the United States alone, the industry was worth about $6 dollars in 1970's but by 2015, it jumped to approximately $200 dollars (Schlosser, 2012). This is an indication that the industry is growing and that there are positive prospects that businesses that manage to establish themselves in it would benefit immensely from the ready market and possibility for growth. Clearly, the market is not saturated.

Growth and Profitability Factors

The factors that affect growth and profitability in the fast food industry are; the uniqueness of the products, the rapid increase in the global population, cultures, adaptability, technology, improvements in agricultural techniques and government regulations. Product uniqueness tends to attract a loyal following of consumers thus helping the business grow. The variations in population directly affect the amount of demand the business gets. Culture affects the acceptability of the products and as such, the demand for it. An example is a Muslim culture which does not entertain pork eating. Such a culture would be bad news for fast food restaurants that sell pork products.

Competition

However, on the other hand, it is important to note that there are over 200000 fast food outlets in the united states alone. This points to potentially stiff competition that a new entrant would face in this market. The big players in the market are McDonald's, Starbucks and King burgers among others. These are giants that have been in the industry for several years and have a well-established infrastructure that gives them an edge. However, market segmentation and the target market discussed in the subsequent paragraph is what enables the competition to exist and provides for an opening for new entrants.

Segmentation and Target Market

The industry can be segmented differently based on various factors such as; the pricing of the products, the location of the various outlets, the cuisine served by the outlets and the product lines that the outlets in the industry engage in. This segmentation is relevant to various scenarios. Segmentation based on pricing yields; high-class fast food joints, the middle-class joints, and the low-class joints. Location of the joints yields segmentation such as the Wall Street joints, the Asian fast food places, and the Mexican fast food places. Segmentation based on cuisine takes the form of regional cuisines that have been localized such as Chinese cuisines, Mexican cuisines, and Indian cuisine. The grasshopper burgers shall have an opening based on cosine and pricing. The type of burger in itself sets it apart from the competitors since the big giants are focused on animal products such as beef and pork. As a matter of fact, the mentioned ingredients have sparked debates over health concerns (Schlosser, 2012). This means that the insect burger can enter the market as a niche product and thus would be virtually unopposed on entry. However, competition may arise as the established brands catch on the idea. Additionally, insects allow for the burger to be priced cheaply due to insect abundance and have the advantage of being a healthy alternative to the common ingredients in the industry. From this perspective, the target market for the grasshopper burger would be the individuals who value a low-priced burger (the low and middle-class individuals) as well as those who are health conscious (which cuts across every age and social group).

4P's Of Marketing

To market the burger effectively, the price shall be adjusted to accommodate the market. This is already taken care of due to the fact that the burger shall be priced cheaper than the rest on the market due to its low cost of production and simple yet abundant raw material (insects). The marketing is made easier by the uniqueness of the product as well, being the first insect burger in the region (50minutes.com, 2015). The burger restaurants shall be placed alongside groceries and traditionally made burger restaurant chains so that they can give consumers an obvious choice and be easily accessible. Finally, the burger shall be promoted as a health product as well as a fast food, which increases the possibility for purchase and consideration among a vast group of people who are increasingly becoming health conscious. Advertising mediums would include partnerships efforts with clinics in discouraging red meat and saturated fats, animal rights billboards and campaigns as well as brochures with detailed information on the products. Finally, the internet would be an invaluable and cheap advertising tools that shall be employed to rapidly distribute the news about the product (50Minutes.com & Milano, 2015).

References

50minutes.com. (2015). The swot analysis: A key tool for developing your business strategy (management & marketing book 21). Seattle: 50minutes.com.

50minutes.com, & Milano, c. (2015). The marketing mix: Master the 4 ps of marketing (management & marketing book 8). Seattle: 50minutes.com.

Schlosser, e. (2012). Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-american meal. Boston: mariner books.

Spurlock, m. (2012). Don't eat this book: Fast food and the supersizing of america. New York City: Berkley.