Economic Trends:
Baby boomers aren’t retiring:This forces the younger generation to either create new jobs or find multiple streams of income to make a meaningful salary. This leads a lot of millennials to free-lance jobs. The problem is that a lot of free-lance jobs are creativity based like makeup or writing, but not everyone has those skills.
Potential customer: Millennials with entry level jobs and salaries looking for another source of income
Exploitable: Yes, my idea is exploitable because there are many ways to make an income and creating a platform for non-creative millennials could take many different forms.
Why: I saw this opportunity because I am a millennial that will join the work force in a couple years and am aware of the struggles that people slightly older than me face. I am also not creative enough for freelance work.
Financial Markets control Food Prices: Commodities traders have the power to set gas, oil, and food prices. Food costs have been going up based on investors actions. A service could be created that keeps healthy food prices low and accessible.
Potential Customer: Low income households or college students
Exploitable: I don’t this idea is exploitable if we got a solid hold on the market, but obviously I don’t have any experience in creating a large scale food service.
Why: I am a college student who likes buying healthy food, but have realized they have gotten more expensive. Healthy options are also limited and not always easily accessible.
Regulatory Trends:
Move towards stricter guidelines on the content of food served at schools: Schools are having to serve healthier food at schools because of the obesity epidemic in America. Some schools have brought in outside companies to meet the health requirements, but still provide food that students want.
Potential Customer: Students
Exploitable:I think it would be hard to exploit because I don’t have experience in the food industry or large scale food markets like schools.
Why:I never bought lunch from school because it was either too unhealthy or looked unedible when it was healthy. At college I also never went to the dining hall because the food just didn’t look good and I think sourcing an outside company to make the food fresh and healthy, but also tasty would be beneficial.
Eco-labelling of food products: products promoted as less harmful to public health and the environment, such as ‘organic’ or ‘local,’ are carefully monitored to ensure accuracy of usage. Even though the food might be healthy and good for the environment, the packaging should too.
Potential Customers: Food manufacturers
Exploitable:I think this could be exploitable because I am possibly pursuing a minor in sustainability which would be relevant to this opportunity. The research and knowledge I would do and possibly the connections I make while doing this minor would make the opportunity more feasible.
Why: I have been trying to reduce my use of plastic and other harmful materials, but it is difficult when that is what my food is already packaged in.
Thank you Courtney, I enjoyed reading your blog post. I really connected with your second scenario which was about school lunches. As someone who used to purchase school lunches, I can say that both the healthy and unhealthy options looked inedible and I would love a better food vendor that provided more appetizing food. With public schools tight budget, that may be hard to accomplish.
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ReplyDeleteI really related to your post. A lot of the trends you mentioned I have experienced first hand. I am also worried about finding a stables source of income in the future. I also have many friends who are graduating this year and are stressing about finding a job. I also like your idea about eco labeling. Another concern for our generation is the state of our environment and our move toward sustainable food and energy.
ReplyDeleteI really like the sources that you looked at in your post. These trends are obviously very real and were addressed perfectly. Personally, I relate to your first trend as I also believe that finding a substantial and consistent way to earn money is getting harder and harder. I think that jobs are becoming more and more competitive while the number of them is shrinking. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI refused to eat cafeteria food, as well. I'm not sure how we're going to solve the increasing health-food issue, but I can only guess it'll be started at the communal level. The items you pointed out all have this theme of being regulatory, which I found interesting. Not necessarily governmental regulation, but each suggests we need to revamp and codify some things to better suit needs. I'm just going to suggest to you to not give up on some of these issues so quickly. There's almost always something we can do individually to help.
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