The Health Nut

If I had the resources to set up a business, I would open The Health Nut, a business that provides healthy food options for people on the go. There are currently quite a few fast food chains but they mainly serve calorie laden meals. There are a few healthy options such as Jugo Juice and Booster Juice but these chains do not provide a drive through service for busy customers. As a society we seem to be more aware of our choices and our health. We are also a very busy and appear to have trouble balancing our professional and personal lives. I feel many consumers would like a fast, affordable and healthy option for meals to grab on the go whether it’s a soccer mom on her way to practise with the kids, an office employee on their way to a meeting or a busy student rushing between classes.

My business would start out small with the hope to expand. If the first location were successful l, I would plan on opening more locations and keep expanding from there. The ultimate goal would be to create a franchise.

The market for a business like this is enormous. I checked McDonald’s website and saw that there are more than 1,400 McDonald's restaurants in Canada employing more than 80,000 Canadians (http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/contact_us/faq.html). These restaurants are placed all throughout Canada. McDonald’s also has many, many more restaurants located worldwide but I would want to keep my business within Canada. In the beginning, the market within my reach would be fairly small and mainly restrained to the area I chose for my business. People of all types and ages would patronise my restaurant but the majority of the business would likely come from health conscious consumers between the ages of 20 – 45 who lead a busy lifestyle. With success and new restaurant locations, the size of the market I could reach would increase.

Some of the fixed or short-run costs to consider would be salaries, rent, utilities, capital investments and business taxes. When starting up, the short-run costs need to be kept as low as possible until the business starts to earn a profit. Once a profit is being earned, new locations may be opened. With regards to future planning, all the short-run costs would become long-run costs.

As the business expands, the economies of scale for the business will change. With each new location opened, the output levels will need to be evaluated. Businesses must strive for the highest level of output for the lowest average cost per unit in order to succeed.

Jugo Juice is a great example of a similar business. Jugo Juice was founded in 1998 in Calgary, AB (http://www.jugojuice.com/about-jugo/history). They have grown from one small business in Calgary to having locations in 7 of Canada’s provinces (http://www.jugojuice.com/about-jugo/locations). Clearly this business has been very successful. They saw that society was starting to take notice of their health and were pioneers in providing healthy alternatives in the fast food industry. One of their major strengths is that they took initiative when they saw change happening and were able to start a business to supply products for the new demand. That being said, I feel my restaurant has potential to compete with Jugo Juice because I believe one of Jugo Juice’s biggest weaknesses is the fact that they don’t have locations that offer a drive through service.

In the food and service industry, it is crucial to keep customers happy and today’s consumers are busier than ever. A healthy fast food drive through option may be just what consumers are looking for!