Opportunity Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Food Industry Report

This report examines business opportunities and current trends within the food and beverage industry, with a specific focus on the restaurant chain Ledbury. It begins with an introduction to innovation and opportunity analysis in the context of entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of adapting to market trends. The report highlights the growing consumer preference for healthier food options, including baked goods and dishes with natural ingredients, and how Ledbury is responding to these trends. The analysis delves into various business opportunities, such as nutritional foods, food safety, innovation, home-made food, online food markets, and hybrid cuisine. It further explores how these trends translate into specific opportunities for businesses, including healthy and oil-free food options, transparency in food preparation, the use of artificial intelligence, social media feedback, customized food products, processed foods, and the incorporation of natural herbs and ingredients. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the industry's evolving landscape, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs and businesses aiming to thrive in the competitive food market.

Opportunity innovation
and Entrepreneurship

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Business opportunity and latest trends in the food and beverage industry. ...........................3
Business opportunities derived from latest trends..................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Innovation means transforming the new idea into a final product so that it creates value
and satisfies the needs and wants of the customers. Innovation is also known as making some
new changes in the existing product. Opportunity means analysing the trends of the market and
planning the future course if action according to the outcome. It is the duty of the entrepreneur to
make the best use of the opportunities available in the external environment. So that the
customers are satisfied. In this report the business opportunity in the food industry and its
impact on the business will be discussed(Drucker, 2014). The organisation chosen for this report
is Ledbury which is restaurant food chain organisation. The company was established in 2005
with the motive of providing better services to the customer's.
Mega trend- The latest mega trend going on in market is people are becoming more
health conscious and they are demanding heath and natural food products. So the food and
beverage industry has started making some major changes in their plans and strategy to attract
more and more customers. Now the organisations have started introducing food products which
are free from artificial flavours. To retain their customers Ledbury is also focusing on producing
baked food products. This is because the fried food is not good for the heath of the customers.
Keeping this in mind the organisations have introduced a new technology in which the customers
can have a look at their food while it is in the process. Various organisations also have started
using natural spices and ingredients so that the customers can taste the traditional spices.
Organisations are continuously making necessary alterations in there food products by launching
various healthy products in a combo. For example- baked fries with energy drink which is sugar
free. The company's can also make changes in the food production process so that there is less
wastage of resources.
Business opportunity and latest trends in the food and beverage industry.
Business opportunities are the various options available for the entrepreneur to generate
income and to earn profit. It is the sale of the product or service to the customers. The
entrepreneur must be aware about the various opportunities available for its business. If these
business opportunities are taken into consideration by the entrepreneur than the business will
grow well. Analyses of the business opportunity can be done on the basis of present and past
trends of the market, change in the need and preferences of the customer, competitors action
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plan, etc. Employees of any organisation also plays a vital role for the planning and analysis of
the business opportunities. As they will give new ideas for the growth and expansion of the
business.
Food and beverage industry is one of the fast growing industry. This is because food
industry basically works according to the needs and demands of this customers. Rapid changes
takes place in this type of industry. But this industry also involves high risk and uncertainty. This
is because the need , preferences and demands of the customers keeps on changes. And change in
the technology also affects the working of this industry. The organisation must focus on
identifying the recent trends and opportunities to increase the market share of the business. In
this industry there are ever demanding customers. And the demand of the customers directly
affect the working of the organisation because if these demands are not taken into consideration
than organisations may suffer huge loss(Lucchese and Pianta, 2012).
One of the latest trend in this industry is the customers are becoming more heath
conscious. It is seen that the customers are more worried about their health. So the company's
needs to analysis this trend and introduce such products which are healthy for this customers.
Some of the latest trends in the food and beverage industry are mentioned below:
 Nutritional foods- Customers have started moving towards healthy and fresh food
products. The customers of this industry want products which have high nutritional
value which means they want food which is sugar free, lactose free, low calories and
healthy food. So due to this various organisations in this industry needs to focus on
producing healthy products which can involve some natural ingredients.
 Food safety and transparency- Another important trends in this type of industry is
customers are knowing demanding to have a good knowledge about the food they are
eating. Due to this the Ledbury is required to maintain the food safety measures while
making the food. The customers needs to be given the detailed information about the
ingredients used in the manufacturing of the product
 Innovation and differentiation- If the organisations wants to sustain in the market for
longer period of time than they must try to produce product which is different from its
competitors such as baked food products. As customers want products which have some
new quality. Introducing new and innovative product will satisfy the needs and wants of
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the customers. The innovation needs to be done on regular basis so that the product is
not out dated and it must not loose the attention of its customers.
 Home-made food- The customers are also demanding home-made food products
because it is more healthy and safe for their health. Customers are preferring
personalized food items. So due to this the competition in the small scale industry is
increased. The entrepreneurs can use this as a big business opportunity for their
business. This trend is benefiting many new entrepreneurs and it is also creating a
employment opportunities for many people.
 Online food market- With the recent trends in the market the online food ordering
market has grown well. Now the customers can order their food from their home. Most
of the customers are preferring this method because they can order they food according
to their convenience. As in this the customers are getting the the option of customising
the their according to their taste and preferences. This trend also helps customers in
getting fresh food at their door step.
 Hybrid cuisine- According to the latest trends customers are demanding balanced dish
for their meal. The company's needs to do various new experiments to attract more and
more customers. They are doing this by making some necessary changes in their menu
and using traditional techniques for making the food. The organisations are also
introducing meals which can give the customers a proper balanced diet. This includes
food with high protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. In this company's are using natural
ingredients and spices so that customers can have please their taste buds. This will
directly help in increasing the profitability and market share of the company. If this
trend is properly used than the organisation will also be able to give tough competition
to its competitors(Naphade and et. al., 2011).
Business opportunities derived from latest trends.
The organisations in the food industry are benefiting much from the latest trends
emerging in the market. For example, demands of baked food products are more in market trend.
Thus, these trends are creating various new business opportunities for them. The company's can
take advantage from these trends through engaging in producing and selling baked food products
of wide range after analysing the trends deeply. This is because if these trends are not studied
properly than it may have a adverse impact in the business and the industry will also suffer loss.
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After analysis of the trends the future course of action can be planned. The various new business
opportunities generated from the trends are discussed below:
 Healthy and oil free food- Since the customers are shifting from oily and junk food to
healthy food. So keeping this in mind the organisations have started replacing the oil
food with the baked food. The Ledbury have replaced the fried fries with the baked fries.
As the these baked fries will not harmful for the heath of the customers. According to the
demand of the customers they want to have food which id full of protein and nutrition.
So to overcome this the concept of baked food product is introduced. As this is does not
result in the change of taste of the food.
 Transparency- The customers of food and beverage industry are demanding to have a
detail information about the food they are eating. So keeping this problem in mind the
Ledbury have introduced a new technique in which the customers can have a look at the
food making process. This means customers can keep a watch on the ingredients used in
making their product. With the use of cameras and video recording customers can see
how their food is being prepared in the kitchen. So the organisations are trying to
manage the heath and safety issues of their valuable customers(Muller, Hutchins and
Cardoso Pinto, 2012).
 Use of Artificial intelligence- The latest technology is now being used by the food and
beverage industry. Many organisations have started using Artificial Intelligence to attract
more and more customers. With the help of this technology robots and other machines
are replaced with the human resources. Now the orders for placing the food are taken by
the robots . This was used to reduce the errors while placing and serving the orders. As
it was found that the employees were making mistakes in placing the right order. So
with the use of latest machines and robots right food is served to the customers with less
wastage of time.
 Feedbacks from social media- The problems and views of customers regarding the
taste of food and regarding the services of the organisation can be taken from the
feedback of the customers from social media. Many top organisations in this industry are
using this method to interact with their customers. This is being done to increase the
brand loyalty among the customers. And also to fulfil the needs and demands of the
customers. This is also helping the company's in retaining their customers. The
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organisations can gather the information from social media, analyse it can than can make
the plans according to the outcome of the research.
 Customized food products- As the needs and demands of the customers are uncertain
and ever changing. So keeping this in mind the organisations have introduced the option
for its customers to choose the ingredients according to their taste. The customers can
now change the toppings and spices in the food according to their preferences. By doing
this the natural taste of the product will also remain same. This option is available for
the customers who are ordering their food online and offline. Doing this the customers
will get a balanced meal according to their taste.
 Processed food- It is seen that the customers are demanding food which is easy to cook
and healthy. So keeping this in mind now the company's are providing food which is half
cooked and properly packed. This means now the customers just have to reheat their
food and the food will be ready to eat. The juices and other liquid beverages are being
sold in the market with Tetra packing. In these packs the juices will last longer and will
also remain healthy. As the materials used in this packing is not harmful for the health of
the customers. By using this method the company's will be able to attract more and more
customers. This is because the food will be available to them according to their
convenience.
 Use of natural herbs and ingredients- As the customers are becoming more heath
conscious and they are more concerned about their health. So the company's have started
using natural herbs and spices in their food. Use of natural food items will help the
customers in maintain their health. As these food will not contain any artificial flavours
because use of such flavours will change the taste of the food. And if the company's are
using natural spices and herbs in preparing their food than the food will also look
attractive. As the food will have more green vegetables and natural fruits. Customers will
be more attracted to this because it will directly help in improving and maintaining their
heath. If this is used than company's will be able to compete with its competitors in a
better way and the customers will also not shift from one brand to another(Lichtenthaler,
2011).
PESTEL Analysis
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The PESTEL analysis of food and beverage industry for knowing the recent trends ,
threats and opportunities are discussed below-
Political Factor- These includes the rules and regulations imposed by the ruling party of
the country in which the business activities is being performed by the organisation. It is very
much necessary for Ledbury to analyse the political environment for making better plans for the
future action.
Economical factor- These consist of the taxation and inflation rate which is affecting the
business of Ledbury. The management of the organisation needs to make better plans for
managing the external environmental activities.
Social factor – These factors are the social beliefs and values which needs to taken in to
consideration by Ledbury. The food and beverage industry is very much dependent on its
customer's. So management must introduce the products which are easily acceptable by its
potential customer's.
Technological factor- Organisation must focus on using latest technologies for
manufacturing the food and also for attracting more and more customer's.
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Illustration 1: The PESTEL ANALYSIS. 2018.

Environmental Factor- Ledbury must try to use the resources in the best possible
manner. This is because it is essential for the organisation to take perform various CSR activities
for building good brand image in the mind of customer's.
Legal factor- These are the laws and regulations which needs to be taken into
consideration by Ledbury as without this the goals will not be achieved in the proper manner.
STP- The organisation is launching the new product which is baked fries for its heath conscious
customer's. So before launching the product it is essential for the organisation to analyse and
evaluate its target market. This can be done by using STP analysis which is discussed below-
SEGMENTATION TARGETTING POSITIONING
The segmentation of the newly
launched product will be done
according to the available
customer's. So the market in
this is divided into various age
group of customer's. The
organisation will target young
customer's.
The customer's who are more
conscious about their health
will be targeted. So the people
belonging from 18 to 30 years
of age will be the target market
for the organisation.
The new product will be able
in various restaurants of
Ledbury and customer's will
also have a option to order
food online.
Marketing mix for the newly introduced product is discussed below-
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Illustration 2: STEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONG. 2018

PRODUCT PLACE
The product will be baked fries for the health
conscious customer's. This product will not
have a bad influence on the health as the
product will be oil free. The taste of the
product will be not be changed.
The product will be available in various
restaurants so that customer's can easily reach
to satisfy their need and wants.
PRICE PROMOTION
The price of the product will be decided
according to the paying capacity of the
customer's. This means the price will be
affordable.
The promotion for the new product will be
done on various social networking sites and the
management of Ledbury will also use various
promotional strategies to attract more and more
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Illustration 3: 4P'S OF MARKETING. 2016

customer's.
CONCLUSION
From the given report it has been concluded that it is very much necessary for the
business organisations and entrepreneurs to properly identify the business opportunities available
in the market. If this is not done than the working of the organisations will be affected and the
company might suffer loss. The plans for the new business needs to be made after analysing the
situations and demands of the customers. The customers needs to be given every necessary
information regarding their food. If the major trends are focused properly than the entrepreneur
will be able to capture whole market and the customers will be satisfied. The customers will also
not shift from one brand to another.
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