For starters, I see the Gator Boli as an innovative, refreshing and cool way of consuming alcohol. In terms of potential customers, I will be targeting the segment of college students in the Gainesville area, which is certainly broad as the majority of the population of the town is really young because of the constant flow of students attending Santa Fe College and the University of Florida.
· The forces in the environment creating this opportunity are the social context of students (usually outgoing, motivated to be social, make friends, party and drink), the lack of different alternatives for drinking (the usual beer, vodka, etc.) and the impact of seltzers with alcohol such as Truly and White Claw that are becoming more popular among young people, which let know that people want to change the way they drink alcohol.
· The Gainesville area is composed mostly by young people, as students from different parts of the state of Florida come to Santa Fe College and the University of Florida for college. Also there is a lot of diversity, which is something characteristic form the state of Florida in general, so there is basically people from different races (mostly African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics) and a good amount of international students.
· This opportunity is certainly big as this is the moment when people is starting to look for something new and gaining interest in new ways of drinking, and this is reflected in the broad and successful impact that Truly and White Claw are having right now.
· In my opinion, this window is not going to be opened for a long time, as many other big companies are noticing the change in people’s tastes and working towards creating new products that feed customer’s needs. Then the competition will be fierce, and it would be more difficult to enter the market than it is right now.
Innovation:
· I define my product as innovative because I am bringing the concept of the Latin American “Boli” to the United States and mixing it with alcohol in order to create a product that appeals attractively for the young population who consumes alcohol here in Gainesville.
· The factor of the weather here in Florida makes a good opportunity to offer my product in the hot season of the year, especially on events that are massive as tailgates during football seasons, bagged iced-cocktails will be uniquely refreshing and just perfect for the moment of enjoying a drink in a great environment.
· The fact that the “Boli” is a foreign concept that has not been introduced here in the United States could create a certain interest to people to try the product, also the Hispanic population will recognize it and be motivated to buy.
· The cost of making this is really cheap. As the packaging is really simple, it does not take a lot of time or people to make the product and other equipment different than a fridge. Helping to offer a product at a low price.
Venture Concept:
· The customers would be motivated to buy this product because of its low price and the amount of alcohol you can get for such a low price, also because it would be refreshing, have a really good taste and fun to drink.
· The main competitors here might be White Claw and Truly, and as they are really mainstream right now, it might be really hard to hit the market and make an impact, it could take time and it must be necessary to create good customer relationships.
· In order to compete I would charge between 2.00 – 2.50 $ per “Boli” as the packaging is really cheap because I can get it from Colombia (10,000 bags might cost around 8 $), the alcohol is the expensive part as a shot from a bottle of Bacardi, for example, is around 60 cents (17 shots per bottle of 10.50$). In my opinion, this would be my main competitive advantage. I believe this would be my competitive advantage.
· I would take customer service as the most important part, for this, I would create an Instagram where I would take orders and offer delivery of the product (for some charge) or offer the opportunity of picking up the product. I could offer some small coolers with 10 – 15 “Bolis” and charge a good attractive price for the product mix.
· For the organization of the venture, I would lead the operations and at the beginning I would work on making and delivering the product, if demand rises I could think of hiring maybe 2 or 3 people for specifically preparing the product, and other 2 or 3 for delivery, and I would pitch in if it is necessary. It all depends on the demand for the product.
Description:
1. I believe that the bagged iced cocktails have a lot of potential right now, as people is starting to change their tastes and are more opened to try new thing. My product's secret sauce can be defined as being a great alternative for drinking that is refreshing, innovative, and really cheap. It is basically a cocktail for 2.00$.
2. If the product succeeds, the next opportunity I would tackle would be bottled cocktails, as they are similar to my product, and might go better in some situations where “Bolis” are not the fit.
3. In the future, I would have a lead, profitable brand in the alcohol industry (focused on prepared drinks), and I would like to have my products being sold all over America, helping people to enjoy several moments without having to worry about the money so much. Also, I would like to sponsor the Gators as I would be a proud UF alumnus. I also think that if the product makes it big, I might consider selling and try to invest in another industry, as I am a person who likes new challenges and would be willing to try and make it in another industry with a higher growth rate.
d
- Part 2 and 3 (Venture Concept No. 2)
I believe that I did a really nice job in my first venture concept and I did not really find a lot of stuff to change from it as it was pretty much complete. Also from the feedback I got, I noticed that this opportunity is actually really big and that I did a really good job working around this idea and coming up with a venture concept that covers a lot of the main concerns and points of my business. I did not get any recommendations about changes in my venture concept as all the feedback I received was positive. The only thing I changed was in the end, hypothetically thinking about a massive success, how I might be willing to sell in order to invest in another industry with a higher growth rate, as I am a person who likes challenges and would be willing to take a shot.
