Sensuous Cupcakes
St. Paul, Minnesota
1-800-888-8888
info@sensuous.com
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Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary 04
II. General Company Description 05
2.1 Overview 05
2.2 Legal Description 06
2.3 Company Concept/History 07
2.4 Current Status 07
2.5 Vision & Mission Statement 08
III. Products and Services 09
3.1 Product Description 09
3.2 Service Description 09
IV. Marketing Plan 10
4.1 Industry Overview 10
4.1.1 Market Size 12
4.1.2 Target Market 13
4.1.3 Marketing Objectives 14
4.2 Products/Services 15
4.2.1 Pricing Strategy 15
4.2.2 Promotion Strategy 16
4.2.3 Distribution/Placement Strategy 16
4.3 Competitor Analysis 17
4.4 SWOT Analysis 19
4.5 TOWS Strategy Development 20
V. Operational Plan 22
5.1 Production 22
5.2 Location 22
5.3 Inventories 22
5.4 Suppliers 23
5.5 Exit Strategies 23
IV. Management and Organization 24
6.1 Company Structure & Ownership 24
6.2 Core Management Personnel 24
6.3 Roles & Responsibilities 24
6.4 Salary Structure 25
6.5 Key Success Factors 25
VII. Personal Financial Statements 27
7.1 Personal Financial Statements 27
7.2 Details of Personal Financial Statements 28
VIII. Startup Expenses and Capitalization 30
8.1 Capitalization 30
8.2 Startup Expenses 30
IX. Financial Plan 32
9.1 Primary Assumptions 32
9.2 Summary of Financial Results 32
9.3 12 Month Profit/Loss 33
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9.4 3 Year Profit Projection 33
9.5 Opening Day Balance Sheet 34
9.6 Break Even Analysis 36
Appendices 38
Appendix 1: Supply Lists 38
Research Bibliography 39
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I. Executive Summary
This business plan details a quick serve concept to be called Sensuous that
exclusively sells and markets the traditional American cupcake. The business is the
concept of Ms. Afarenses who for years managed the marketing department for a large
donut shop. She envisioned starting her own dessert outlet based on a fast food format
but with a mixed concept that would appeal to a wider clientele and demographic set.
Her concept is based on a Duncan Donuts type of format in which consumers are
served quickly but also encouraged to sit and drink coffee or tea with their dessert
items. Ms. Afarenses is investing $50 thousand of her own personal savings in order to
fund this venture and she is also applying for a $50 thousand small business
administration loan. Currently, she has located a site in the St. Paul, Minnesota area in
the downtown area along the Mississippi River.
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II. General Company Description
2.1 Overview
The intended small business is a dessert format fast food restaurant with
attributes of a quick casual format. The business’ name is Sensuous, Inc. or Sensuous
for short and the company is expected to be extremely popular with a wide range of
consumers by selling and marketing a traditional American treat which is the cupcake.
The cupcake has been noted by researchers to be uniquely American having first been
documented as a recipe in an American cookbook as long ago as 1826.1 The
opportunity for this format exists because the overall restaurant industry which is
composed of two major segments, which are the full-service segment and the fast food
segment, is still a popular industry to establish a new business in because food items
are always necessary.
Additionally, over the past decade a newer concept has quickly been developing
into a segment of its own which is the quick-casual segment. The quick-casual concept
is essentially a combination of the quick order and fast service of the fast-food segment
combined with some of the quality food products found in the traditional full-service
segment.2 The fast food-quick casual combination is a segment that produces over $6
billion a year in revenue and is growing in double digit percentages one year to the next.
The quick-casual as well as the more traditional fast food segment is still a growth
oriented market in the general restaurant industry and hold much promise for the
1
Musser, G. “Cupcakes.” Scientific American, (2009)301/03.
2
Varley, Rosemary, and David Gillooley. Retail Product Management: Buying and Merchandising.
London: Routledge, 2001.
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companies and small businesses involved in it. As a new concept in the greater fast
food segment, Sensuous has found a niche market product in its mixed dessert
products focusing on the traditional American cupcake. The company has planned its
menu to include, in addition to its dessert oriented cupcakes, cookies and similar items,
a variet