Southern States University
The Undersigned Faculty Approves the
Professional Applied Project of
Aretha Ribeiro Monteiro Pereira
GoldenDose.com Business Plan
This student has met the requirements for the Professional Applied Project. I can therefore recommend this student for an MBA degree.
Dr. Peggy G. Bilbruck, EdD
Faculty Name
___________________________________________
Faculty Signature
___________________________________________
Approval Date
GoldenDose.com
Aretha Ribeiro Monteiro Pereira
Southern States University
Professional Applied Project – BU 599
Dr. Peggy Bilbruck
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
GoldenDose.com is a business establishment that will be based in São Paulo, Brazil. The ownership of the company will include Aretha Pereira and two directors in Michael Humble and Victoria Cahill. The mission of the company will be to avail diverse vitamins and supplements to a wide range of consumers through the use of the internet technology. Its vision will entail growing a vitamin as well as supplements online store that will operate in a global space and be one of the leading brands for quality supplement products, cool culture, a great crew, and active involvement in the community. The core purposes of the business will be based on production and distribution of natural and herbal supplements which will include garlic, milk thistle, evening primrose, black cohosh, saw palmetto, ginkgo, ginseng, flaxseed, and Echinacea. The entity will majorly be internet-based and will emphasize eco-friendly products, superior customer service and low costs for the customers. GoldenDose.com should benefit from the tremendous growth observed in the supplements industry and the budding market that is Brazil. GoldenDose.com will leverage internet-based marketing and strategic promotional mixture to drive up the reception of the products in the market. The firm looks to achieve a minimum of 20% of growth over the initial five years in relation to the revenue that will be accrued.
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
GoldenDose.com will be established with a primary objective of offering an effective, affordable, and safe alternative to various dietary products sold in physical stores. As a firm that will majorly operate on the internet, GoldenDose.com will offer natural supplements to its consumers across the globe. Apart from the aforementioned supplements, the business will be keen to add new supplements in its product line at a later date. GoldenDose.com will not only provide supplements to its consumers, but also seek to distinguish itself from rivalry through the provision of critical information related to the risks associated with unnatural supplements on their health. Because the business will largely operate through the Internet, its website will be containing up-to-date information regarding its products, including their benefits and advantages.
History of Interest in Business Idea
The interest in business idea to sell supplements online is motivated by the notion that the supplement and vitamin manufacturing industry has witnessed a rapid growth in the recent years, making significantly high profits, thanks to the increase in the demand from a larger mainstream and health-conscious customer base and, obviously, a rise in the aging population. In addition, recent technological advancements, particularly the Internet, will offer the business an opportunity to remarkably lower the overhead costs as there will be no many and large stores as the business will be majorly conducted online. There is a high likelihood that GoldenDose.com will realize significant profits due to the increase in health expenditure as well as growth in nutrition and wellness interest among mainstream consumers. According to Raupova (2020), discretionary income will continue to strengthen, which implies that more and more consumers will be willing to trade up to premium on all-organic and natural products, thus lifting the revenue generated by businesses operating in the supplements industry.
Legal Structure
GoldenDose.com will be formed as a Partnership Company. Aretha Pereira will be the majority shareholder and will have partners in Michael Humble and Victoria Cahill who will act as the directors of the company. The ownership share will be 80 percent for Aretha Pereira and 20 percent for the directors. The choice of LLC will be preferred over Corporation and Partnership entities due to various reasons. Firstly, the company directors will not be held individually liable for actions and debts of the company (Smaiziene & Vaitkiene, 2013). Secondly, business expenses and income flow through the owners and are included on personal income tax. Thirdly, the legal structure is more flexible and less complicated, and is not associated with double taxation as taxes will not be levied on profits.
Core Competencies
To gain a competitive edge, GoldenDose.com’s website will be designed such that it is easy to use and customer service will be superior. The easy-to-use design of the website will be instrumental as Walker (2018) indicated that websites that are easy to use play a fundamental role in significantly increasing e-commerce sales. In addition, the design of GoldenDose.com’s website will help in encouraging purchases because consumers will easily and quickly make their supplement purchases. According to Makowska & Jasiński (2019), businesses tend to lose sales due to complex websites, which are considered to be far from intuitive.
More importantly, superior customer service will be at the center of GoldenDose.com’s operations, thus giving the business additional competitive advantage. The primary responsibility of the customer service department will be serving the consumers and website users in all ways required. Customers who will be calling the company with issues or problems will be amazed by the level of personal attention accorded them as well as how fast their issues will be resolved and significantly improved. Therefore, easy-to-use website design and exceptional customer service will be powerful assets to GoldenDose.com.
Short-Term and Long-Term Business Goals
Short-term goals are instrumental as they help in ensuring that it observes a return on work while enhancing the management of tasks. For GoldenDose.com, short term goals include implementing loyalty program for repeat customers, increasing community engagement, posting on social media on a daily basis, as well as scheduling and throwing an employee appreciation week. On the other hand, long-term goals will help in promoting the overall business activity of the company. Thanks to setting long-term goals, GoldenDose.com will have the opportunity of regularly tracking the progress of its goals and revise or adapt them as necessary. Examples of long-term goals for the business includes achieving at least 95 percent positive feedback from customers, realize global presence in the next five years, increasing website sales by 90 percent by the end of first year in operation. In addition, the growth and expansion of the company will be associated with increase in the total number of employees. Over the first, there is anticipation of doubling the original number of workers.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Product and Service Description
GoldenDose.com will focus on providing the finest natural and herbal supplements, which will be sold through the internet. The company’s product offering includes minerals and vitamins, specialty dietary supplements, botanicals and herbs, protein powder, as well as weight loss products and meal replacements. Some of the products sold by the company include garlic, milk thistle, evening primrose, black cohosh, saw palmetto, ginkgo, ginseng, flaxseed, and Echinacea. As natural supplements, these products will be composed of one or more of such ingredients as amino acids, enzymes, herbs, and vitamins. The ingredients will help in supplementing the diet of the consumers through the provision of a missing nutrient(s). Garlic supplements will come in form powder and oil, both with substantial amount of sulfur compounds. Milk thistle, which has its main components in silychristin, silidianin and silibinin, will be critical against difference ailments. Evening primrose will mainly be in form of an oil product and will help in treatment of conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and acne. Black cohosh, saw palmetto and ginseng will also be available in oil or powder and their benefits should transcend wide array of health aspects. Echinacea oil will be applicable across different spectrums of care due to their immense health benefits.
Pictures and Diagrams
IndiaMART (2022). IndiaMART (2022).
UP Journey (2022).
Garari (2019). Garari (2019).
Customer Benefits
Research conducted by Smaiziene & Vaitkiene (2013) revealed that at least 75 percent of Brazilians consume at least one dietary supplement every day. This is an implication that many people are aware and have experienced the benefits associated with supplements and know how the consumption of supplements, particularly the natural and organic ones, help in enhancing their health. GoldenDose.com will seek to offer healthier natural and organic supplements and vitamins to its customers, who will gain diverse benefits from the convenient online store coupled with excellent customer service. Customers who purchase the various supplement products offered by GoldenDose.com will greatly benefit as their body will get sufficient proper nutrients, which will improve their overall quality of life. The supplements will go a long way in ensuring that consumers manage their weight as they only take what their body is lacking at a specific quantity.
Copyright or Patent Information
Intellectual property is an instrumental part of any business. According to Raupova (2020), intellectual property includes creations of the mind like images and names, symbols, designs, artistic and literary works, and inventions in commerce. Trademarks, copyrights, and patents form part of intellectual property as they enable individuals earn financial benefit or recognition from what they create or invent. Because e-commerce has become a mainstream venture, patenting or copyrighting GoldenDose.com may not be feasible. However, the business name will be trademarked for purposes of promoting its brand. In this regard, the trademark of the business will go a long way in protecting the logo image, brand statement, and the brand name as a way of ensuring that they are exclusively linked to the business.
Research and Development Activities
GoldenDose.com will be keen to continuously add improved as well as new products and features to its website so as to maintain the best of reputations. These may be found in natural and organic supplements and vitamins on FDA publications, magazines, and various supplement-related websites. GoldenDose.com will largely operate with the latest state-of-the-art hosting services and computer systems. Computers will be utilized towards listing auctions, updating the website, accessing email, and conducting market research. All inventory records and bookkeeping will be stored on a computer hard drive, with backing up done on floppy disk and zip drive included to the hardware. The computer will be periodically upgraded to be consistent with the rapidly expanding technology.
MARKET ANALYSIS
Market Knowledge and Analysis
Notably, numerous trends that are witnessed in physical stores like pharmacies and supermarkets apply even to online supplements and vitamin stores. According to Makowska & Jasiński (2019), the supplements industry has experienced a rapid growth in the recent years, thanks to the increased demand for the industry’s products. Many of the supplements and vitamin outlets across the glove have leveraged technology towards effectively predicting consumer demand patterns as well as strategically positioning their stores as a way of meeting the needs of the consumers. For GoldenDose.com, the notion is to leverage technology to maximize supply chain efficiencies in the online platform. More importantly, Walker (2018) posited that supplements and vitamin manufacturing and distribution industry is embracing eco-friendly approaches in production and packaging of the products. Such approaches will go a long way in persuading the environmentally-conscious consumers to purchase the products. Through the online platform, GoldenDose.com is going a notch higher in promoting eco-friendly efforts because its site does not have any negative environmental effects, unlike physical stores that contribute to environmental degradation through disposal of numerous wastes in the stores.
Target Market
According to Shao (2017), the nutritional vitamins and supplements market has grown to more than $6.5 billion every year. This growth is significantly contributed by the aging baby boomers that tend to show great concern with their mortality. The implication is that the aging population is driving the use of homeopathic and naturopathic health supplements. Therefore, GoldenDose.com will target the older adults seeking to live healthy lives in their older age. The populations is about a third of the total, standing at 30% across Brazil. In addition, the younger adults who are busy working and pursuing other key activities to make their life better form part of the target audience by the business. The young or youth population accounts for approximately 17%. This population segment is leveraging the internet to undertake diverse activities, which include online shopping for different products. GoldenDose.com seeks to leverage this opportunity and ensure that their supplements make part of the online purchases of the younger adults. GoldenDose.com will target both males and females in the two target market categories.
Competitive Analysis
| GoldenDose.com |
Bodybuilding.com |
Vitacost.com |
Overview:
Providing the finest natural and herbal supplements by leveraging the internet space as a way of lowering the consumer’s cost. |
Overview:
Brazil online retailer specializing in bodybuilding supplements, sports supplements, and dietary supplements (Bodybuilding.com, 2022). |
Overview:
Brazilian e-commerce firm engaging in the sale of supplements, vitamins, and organic grocery products (Vitacost, 2022). |
Additional value:
Exceptional customer service |
Additional value:
Diversity in sports, bodybuilding, and dietary supplements (Bodybuilding.com, 2022). |
Additional value:
Diversity into grocery products (Vitacost, 2022). |
Details:
Grow vitamins as well as supplements online store that will operate in a global space and be one of the leading brands for quality supplement products, cool culture, a great crew, and active involvement in the community. |
Details:
Customer transformation is Bodybuildingcom’s passion, with the business acting as a personal trainer, nutritionist, supplement expert, lifting partner, and support group to its customers. The company offers the products, tools, and technology required by customers to build muscle, burn fat, and become their best self (Bodybuilding.com, 2022). |
Details:
Vitacost.com believes in health for all, no matter whom or where the customer is. That is at the heart of the firm’s commitment to provide the very best natural, organic and eco-friendly products at the very best prices, with the best service to boot (Vitacost, 2022). |
Barriers to Entry
There are numerous elements that may compromise effective entry of GoldenDose.com to the online supplements and vitamins industry. These include need for relevant licenses, government regulations, and the issue of competition with large corporations existing in the industry. Permits and licenses issued by the authorities to maintain quality may jeopardize GoldenDose.com’s efforts to enter the market. Higher start-up costs present part of the barriers to entry as the technology required to kick start the business and gain a strong brand name will be a significant challenge.
Initial research and early preparation should provide the company ample time to deal with the licenses that will need to be acquired before the business becomes functional. Partnering with government entities should factor in streamlining the process of conformity with the regulations. GoldenDose.com will benefit in competing against corporations through putting in place elaborate price and product differentiation schemes (Schiavore & Simoni, 2019). The high costs of a start-up can be offset by bringing in investors into the fold. Addressing the barriers will be key in ensuring that GoldenDose.com is successful both in the short and long run.
STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Sales and Marketing Strategy
GoldenDose.com will seek to dominate the homeopathic and naturopathic supplement market while also creating an icon brand. As part of the marketing plan, GoldenDose.com will engage in web-based marketing in its first year of operation as a way of generating awareness of the product information and the company in general. Since internet-based advertising is cheaper, the company’s expenditure will be more cost-effective. The company will also engage in outdoor advertising to provide general awareness to the public at direct individuals to the website of the company. In its sales strategy, GoldenDose.com will ensure that at least 90 percent of its sales are processed online through the use of a secure socket layer (SSL), which is a secure and safe internet connection. Charging of all orders will be conducted through American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. The website will be designed such that it is very easy to use such that customers visiting the website end up buying at least one product.
Promotion Mix
Product mix will include diverse products that the company will offer to its customers. GoldenDose.com will ensure that it provides its consumers with diverse supplements and vitamins that are of high quality and are capable of meeting diverse customer needs. The promotion mix strategy will mainly revolve around price. Price will form the key focus as it will help in driving up the competitiveness of the company (Schiavore & Simoni, 2019).
Promotion Costs
GoldenDose.com acknowledges that advertising and promotion will go a long way in ensuring that it attracts a significant customer base. Therefore, the company is keen to ensure that its website is designed with diverse features that are easy to navigate, thus building a strong brand that is globally accepted. Web-based advertising will be at the core of the company’s promotion strategy (Schiavore & Simoni, 2019). Additional avenues of promotion and advertising include word of mouth from loyal consumers, use of social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook as a way of promoting the online store. The costs of promotion will be about seven percent of the total investment put into the business. This amount should be sufficient in establishing a solid marketing strategy. It is necessary that GoldenDose.com utilizes significant portion of investment in promotion so as to establish a foothold in the industry from the get go.
Product or Service Pricing
Pricing is a fundamental factor that gives physical and online supplement stores an opportunity to attract many customers. Consumers normally visit retail outlets that sell high-quality products that are sold at a cheaper price. GoldenDose.com acknowledges its potential to compete with other giant vitamin and supplements online stores, but it will focus on ensuring that the prices of all its products are competitive to attract more consumers.
| Product |
Price per Pound (US$) |
| Garlic |
1.00 |
| Milk thistle |
22.79 |
| Evening primrose |
18.20 |
| Black cohosh |
25.00 |
| Saw palmetto, |
30.00 |
| Ginkgo |
13.50 |
| Ginseng |
35.40 |
| Flaxseed |
25.50 |
| Echinacea |
5.00 |
Operations Cycle
Because it is an online store, GoldenDose.com will operate 24 hours every day. To measure the operations of the business, key metrics evaluated include the number of viewers on the website, the number of visitors, the number of tweets and retweets, number of returning customers, inventory turnover, and customer favorite products. The company will have 35 employees initially. Three positions will be managerial. There will be three supervisors. Sales and marketing will each cover eight positions while delivery will cover 13 positions. The standard working hours will be eight per day or shift.
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
Company Organizational Structure
The company operates as an LLP owned by Aretha Pereira and will have two directors. The company will seek to hire a sophisticated team of board members, who will be granted stock shares towards providing an incentive for their performance on the board. Michael Humble and Victoria Cahill will be the company’s directors, with Mr. Humble acting as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Notable management positions for the business are customer service manager/representative, warehouse/distribution manager, and advisory board. Other employee positions will include sales and marketing team, and the delivery team.
| Warehouse and Distribution Manager |
Five Year Plan for Your Business
GoldenDose.com will be well-positioned towards taking on the available online supplements market and the management is quite optimistic that it will meet diverse set targets of income and profit generation in the first year of operation. The anticipation is that the firm should gain significant market share and continually improve its revenue year after year. The basis of achieving these objectives will be based on provision of quality products from the beginning. Over the course of five years, the business will look to expand on its product offerings while also improving the quality of the products over time. The company will use an integrated marketing strategy which will encompass online marketing across social media websites, use of search engine optimization, application of traditional media such as use of televisions and radios, and marketing through word of mouth. The company will also ascertain that there is sustenance in price competitiveness so as to gain more market share and be more competitive against other entities in the industry. There will be focus on ensuring that the prices of GoldenDose.com are relatively customer friendly compared to other industry players. Part of enhancing revenue and performance will be expanding into other countries in South America initially and then progressing to other regions. The ultimate five-year goal is to be among the top companies in the industry in Brazil and South America.
Leadership Style and Management Perspective
A democratic leadership style will be adopted by GoldenDose.com because it embraces communication, which is instrumental for an online business. In this regard, all staff will be welcomed to share ideas on how the business will be promoted while providing updates on the responsibilities and timing for all team members. The rationale behind the leadership style is because it facilitates giving and gaining feedback at all points of decision-making. Therefore, the leadership style will help in fostering growth, cooperation, and creativity for all team members.
CONCLUSION
With the growth in e-commerce, vitamins and supplements industry is bound to witness growth as well. To this end, online businesses should be keen to develop and create a plan that provides them an opportunity to keep up with the growth in the Internet usage and subsequent online purchases. GoldenDose.com will develop an e-business plan based on various areas for its success. In his regard, the business is clearly defined and the market plan created will help it target its two market segments, particularly older adults and younger adults. These two segments collectively cover about 47% of Brazil’s total population thus they offer a significant market base for the products of GoldenDose.com. The country as a whole has a $6.5 billion supplements industry which the company looks to exploit. Following this business plan to the latter will help the business in mapping and realizing the desired success of achieving 90% growth in sales after the first year. This will set the stage for GoldenDose.com to become a major part of the industry for years to come.
FINANCIAL PLAN AND PROJECTIONS
Sales Forecast
Income Statement for the Next Three Years
Projected Balance Sheet for the Next Three Years
REFERENCES
Bodybuilding.com. (2022). Bodyfit products. Retrieved from https://www.bodybuilding.com
Garari, K. (2019). Herbal, nutrition supplement toxic. Retrieved from www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/010519/herbal-nutrition-supplement-toxic.html
IndiaMART. (2022). Herbal dietary green food supplement. Retrieved from https://m.indiamart.com/proddetail/herbal-dietary-green-food-supplement-20612542855.html
Makowska, M., & Jasiński, Ł. (2019). A discussion of the unresolved 2016/17 plans for regulating the Polish dietary supplements market. Health Policy, 123(6), 544-549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.04.001
Raupova, A. (2020). Healthy Food Portal Business Plan and Its Function Model. https://commons.clarku.edu/sps_masters_papers/62
Schiavore, F., & Simoni, M. (2019). Strategic marketing approaches for the diffusion of innovation in highly regulated industrial markets: the value of market access. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-08-2018-0232
Shao, A. (2017). Global market entry regulations for nutraceuticals, functional foods, dietary/food/health supplements. In Developing new functional food and nutraceutical products (pp. 279-290). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802780-6.00015-8
Smaiziene, I., & Vaitkiene, R. (2013). Country of origin effect in a Lithuanian market of vitamins and dietary supplements. International Business Research, 6(12), 118. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v6n12p118
UP Journey. (2022). 10 best books on nutritional supplements. Retrieved from https://upjourney.com/best-books-on-nutritional-supplements
Vitacost. (2022). Supplements and more. Retrieved from https://www.vitacost.com
Walker, S. (2018). Sports Supplements for Taiwan. https://ethesys.lis.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/getfile?URN=etd-0617118-102553&filename=etd-0617118-102553.pdf
Southern States University
The Undersigned Faculty Approves the
Professional Applied Project of
Aretha Ribeiro Monteiro Pereira
GoldenDose.com Business Plan
This student has met the requirements for the Professional Applied Project. I can therefore recommend this student for an MBA degree.
Dr. Peggy G. Bilbruck, EdD
Faculty Name
___________________________________________
Faculty Signature
___________________________________________
Approval Date
GoldenDose.com
Aretha Ribeiro Monteiro Pereira
Southern States University
Professional Applied Project – BU 599
Dr. Peggy Bilbruck
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
GoldenDose.com is a business establishment that will be based in São Paulo, Brazil. The ownership of the company will include Aretha Pereira and two directors in Michael Humble and Victoria Cahill. The mission of the company will be to avail diverse vitamins and supplements to a wide range of consumers through the use of the internet technology. Its vision will entail growing a vitamin as well as supplements online store that will operate in a global space and be one of the leading brands for quality supplement products, cool culture, a great crew, and active involvement in the community. The core purposes of the business will be based on production and distribution of natural and herbal supplements which will include garlic, milk thistle, evening primrose, black cohosh, saw palmetto, ginkgo, ginseng, flaxseed, and Echinacea. The entity will majorly be internet-based and will emphasize eco-friendly products, superior customer service and low costs for the customers. GoldenDose.com should benefit from the tremendous growth observed in the supplements industry and the budding market that is Brazil. GoldenDose.com will leverage internet-based marketing and strategic promotional mixture to drive up the reception of the products in the market. The firm looks to achieve a minimum of 20% of growth over the initial five years in relation to the revenue that will be accrued.
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
GoldenDose.com will be established with a primary objective of offering an effective, affordable, and safe alternative to various dietary products sold in physical stores. As a firm that will majorly operate on the internet, GoldenDose.com will offer natural supplements to its consumers across the globe. Apart from the aforementioned supplements, the business will be keen to add new supplements in its product line at a later date. GoldenDose.com will not only provide supplements to its consumers, but also seek to distinguish itself from rivalry through the provision of critical information related to the risks associated with unnatural supplements on their health. Because the business will largely operate through the Internet, its website will be containing up-to-date information regarding its products, including their benefits and advantages.
History of Interest in Business Idea
The interest in business idea to sell supplements online is motivated by the notion that the supplement and vitamin manufacturing industry has witnessed a rapid growth in the recent years, making significantly high profits, thanks to the increase in the demand from a larger mainstream and health-conscious customer base and, obviously, a rise in the aging population. In addition, recent technological advancements, particularly the Internet, will offer the business an opportunity to remarkably lower the overhead costs as there will be no many and large stores as the business will be majorly conducted online. There is a high likelihood that GoldenDose.com will realize significant profits due to the increase in health expenditure as well as growth in nutrition and wellness interest among mainstream consumers. According to Raupova (2020), discretionary income will continue to strengthen, which implies that more and more consumers will be willing to trade up to premium on all-organic and natural products, thus lifting the revenue generated by businesses operating in the supplements industry.
Legal Structure
GoldenDose.com will be formed as a Partnership Company. Aretha Pereira will be the majority shareholder and will have partners in Michael Humble and Victoria Cahill who will act as the directors of the company. The ownership share will be 80 percent for Aretha Pereira and 20 percent for the directors. The choice of LLC will be preferred over Corporation and Partnership entities due to various reasons. Firstly, the company directors will not be held individually liable for actions and debts of the company (Smaiziene & Vaitkiene, 2013). Secondly, business expenses and income flow through the owners and are included on personal income tax. Thirdly, the legal structure is more flexible and less complicated, and is not associated with double taxation as taxes will not be levied on profits.
Core Competencies
To gain a competitive edge, GoldenDose.com’s website will be designed such that it is easy to use and customer service will be superior. The easy-to-use design of the website will be instrumental as Walker (2018) indicated that websites that are easy to use play a fundamental role in significantly increasing e-commerce sales. In addition, the design of GoldenDose.com’s website will help in encouraging purchases because consumers will easily and quickly make their supplement purchases. According to Makowska & Jasiński (2019), businesses tend to lose sales due to complex websites, which are considered to be far from intuitive.
More importantly, superior customer service will be at the center of GoldenDose.com’s operations, thus giving the business additional competitive advantage. The primary responsibility of the customer service department will be serving the consumers and website users in all ways required. Customers who will be calling the company with issues or problems will be amazed by the level of personal attention accorded them as well as how fast their issues will be resolved and significantly improved. Therefore, easy-to-use website design and exceptional customer service will be powerful assets to GoldenDose.com.
Short-Term and Long-Term Business Goals
Short-term goals are instrumental as they help in ensuring that it observes a return on work while enhancing the management of tasks. For GoldenDose.com, short term goals include implementing loyalty program for repeat customers, increasing community engagement, posting on social media on a daily basis, as well as scheduling and throwing an employee appreciation week. On the other hand, long-term goals will help in promoting the overall business activity of the company. Thanks to setting long-term goals, GoldenDose.com will have the opportunity of regularly tracking the progress of its goals and revise or adapt them as necessary. Examples of long-term goals for the business includes achieving at least 95 percent positive feedback from customers, realize global presence in the next five years, increasing website sales by 90 percent by the end of first year in operation. In addition, the growth and expansion of the company will be associated with increase in the total number of employees. Over the first, there is anticipation of doubling the original number of workers.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Product and Service Description
GoldenDose.com will focus on providing the finest natural and herbal supplements, which will be sold through the internet. The company’s product offering includes minerals and vitamins, specialty dietary supplements, botanicals and herbs, protein powder, as well as weight loss products and meal replacements. Some of the products sold by the company include garlic, milk thistle, evening primrose, black cohosh, saw palmetto, ginkgo, ginseng, flaxseed, and Echinacea. As natural supplements, these products will be composed of one or more of such ingredients as amino acids, enzymes, herbs, and vitamins. The ingredients will help in supplementing the diet of the consumers through the provision of a missing nutrient(s). Garlic supplements will come in form powder and oil, both with substantial amount of sulfur compounds. Milk thistle, which has its main components in silychristin, silidianin and silibinin, will be critical against difference ailments. Evening primrose will mainly be in form of an oil product and will help in treatment of conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and acne. Black cohosh, saw palmetto and ginseng will also be available in oil or powder and their benefits should transcend wide array of health aspects. Echinacea oil will be applicable across different spectrums of care due to their immense health benefits.
Pictures and Diagrams
IndiaMART (2022). IndiaMART (2022).
UP Journey (2022).
Garari (2019). Garari (2019).
Customer Benefits
Research conducted by Smaiziene & Vaitkiene (2013) revealed that at least 75 percent of Brazilians consume at least one dietary supplement every day. This is an implication that many people are aware and have experienced the benefits associated with supplements and know how the consumption of supplements, particularly the natural and organic ones, help in enhancing their health. GoldenDose.com will seek to offer healthier natural and organic supplements and vitamins to its customers, who will gain diverse benefits from the convenient online store coupled with excellent customer service. Customers who purchase the various supplement products offered by GoldenDose.com will greatly benefit as their body will get sufficient proper nutrients, which will improve their overall quality of life. The supplements will go a long way in ensuring that consumers manage their weight as they only take what their body is lacking at a specific quantity.
Copyright or Patent Information
Intellectual property is an instrumental part of any business. According to Raupova (2020), intellectual property includes creations of the mind like images and names, symbols, designs, artistic and literary works, and inventions in commerce. Trademarks, copyrights, and patents form part of intellectual property as they enable individuals earn financial benefit or recognition from what they create or invent. Because e-commerce has become a mainstream venture, patenting or copyrighting GoldenDose.com may not be feasible. However, the business name will be trademarked for purposes of promoting its brand. In this regard, the trademark of the business will go a long way in protecting the logo image, brand statement, and the brand name as a way of ensuring that they are exclusively linked to the business.
Research and Development Activities
GoldenDose.com will be keen to continuously add improved as well as new products and features to its website so as to maintain the best of reputations. These may be found in natural and organic supplements and vitamins on FDA publications, magazines, and various supplement-related websites. GoldenDose.com will largely operate with the latest state-of-the-art hosting services and computer systems. Computers will be utilized towards listing auctions, updating the website, accessing email, and conducting market research. All inventory records and bookkeeping will be stored on a computer hard drive, with backing up done on floppy disk and zip drive included to the hardware. The computer will be periodically upgraded to be consistent with the rapidly expanding technology.
MARKET ANALYSIS
Market Knowledge and Analysis
Notably, numerous trends that are witnessed in physical stores like pharmacies and supermarkets apply even to online supplements and vitamin stores. According to Makowska & Jasiński (2019), the supplements industry has experienced a rapid growth in the recent years, thanks to the increased demand for the industry’s products. Many of the supplements and vitamin outlets across the glove have leveraged technology towards effectively predicting consumer demand patterns as well as strategically positioning their stores as a way of meeting the needs of the consumers. For GoldenDose.com, the notion is to leverage technology to maximize supply chain efficiencies in the online platform. More importantly, Walker (2018) posited that supplements and vitamin manufacturing and distribution industry is embracing eco-friendly approaches in production and packaging of the products. Such approaches will go a long way in persuading the environmentally-conscious consumers to purchase the products. Through the online platform, GoldenDose.com is going a notch higher in promoting eco-friendly efforts because its site does not have any negative environmental effects, unlike physical stores that contribute to environmental degradation through disposal of numerous wastes in the stores.
Target Market
According to Shao (2017), the nutritional vitamins and supplements market has grown to more than $6.5 billion every year. This growth is significantly contributed by the aging baby boomers that tend to show great concern with their mortality. The implication is that the aging population is driving the use of homeopathic and naturopathic health supplements. Therefore, GoldenDose.com will target the older adults seeking to live healthy lives in their older age. The populations is about a third of the total, standing at 30% across Brazil. In addition, the younger adults who are busy working and pursuing other key activities to make their life better form part of the target audience by the business. The young or youth population accounts for approximately 17%. This population segment is leveraging the internet to undertake diverse activities, which include online shopping for different products. GoldenDose.com seeks to leverage this opportunity and ensure that their supplements make part of the online purchases of the younger adults. GoldenDose.com will target both males and females in the two target market categories.
Competitive Analysis
| GoldenDose.com |
Bodybuilding.com |
Vitacost.com |
Overview:
Providing the finest natural and herbal supplements by leveraging the internet space as a way of lowering the consumer’s cost. |
Overview:
Brazil online retailer specializing in bodybuilding supplements, sports supplements, and dietary supplements (Bodybuilding.com, 2022). |
Overview:
Brazilian e-commerce firm engaging in the sale of supplements, vitamins, and organic grocery products (Vitacost, 2022). |
Additional value:
Exceptional customer service |
Additional value:
Diversity in sports, bodybuilding, and dietary supplements (Bodybuilding.com, 2022). |
Additional value:
Diversity into grocery products (Vitacost, 2022). |
Details:
Grow vitamins as well as supplements online store that will operate in a global space and be one of the leading brands for quality supplement products, cool culture, a great crew, and active involvement in the community. |
Details:
Customer transformation is Bodybuildingcom’s passion, with the business acting as a personal trainer, nutritionist, supplement expert, lifting partner, and support group to its customers. The company offers the products, tools, and technology required by customers to build muscle, burn fat, and become their best self (Bodybuilding.com, 2022). |
Details:
Vitacost.com believes in health for all, no matter whom or where the customer is. That is at the heart of the firm’s commitment to provide the very best natural, organic and eco-friendly products at the very best prices, with the best service to boot (Vitacost, 2022). |
Barriers to Entry
There are numerous elements that may compromise effective entry of GoldenDose.com to the online supplements and vitamins industry. These include need for relevant licenses, government regulations, and the issue of competition with large corporations existing in the industry. Permits and licenses issued by the authorities to maintain quality may jeopardize GoldenDose.com’s efforts to enter the market. Higher start-up costs present part of the barriers to entry as the technology required to kick start the business and gain a strong brand name will be a significant challenge.
Initial research and early preparation should provide the company ample time to deal with the licenses that will need to be acquired before the business becomes functional. Partnering with government entities should factor in streamlining the process of conformity with the regulations. GoldenDose.com will benefit in competing against corporations through putting in place elaborate price and product differentiation schemes (Schiavore & Simoni, 2019). The high costs of a start-up can be offset by bringing in investors into the fold. Addressing the barriers will be key in ensuring that GoldenDose.com is successful both in the short and long run.
STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Sales and Marketing Strategy
GoldenDose.com will seek to dominate the homeopathic and naturopathic supplement market while also creating an icon brand. As part of the marketing plan, GoldenDose.com will engage in web-based marketing in its first year of operation as a way of generating awareness of the product information and the company in general. Since internet-based advertising is cheaper, the company’s expenditure will be more cost-effective. The company will also engage in outdoor advertising to provide general awareness to the public at direct individuals to the website of the company. In its sales strategy, GoldenDose.com will ensure that at least 90 percent of its sales are processed online through the use of a secure socket layer (SSL), which is a secure and safe internet connection. Charging of all orders will be conducted through American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. The website will be designed such that it is very easy to use such that customers visiting the website end up buying at least one product.
Promotion Mix
Product mix will include diverse products that the company will offer to its customers. GoldenDose.com will ensure that it provides its consumers with diverse supplements and vitamins that are of high quality and are capable of meeting diverse customer needs. The promotion mix strategy will mainly revolve around price. Price will form the key focus as it will help in driving up the competitiveness of the company (Schiavore & Simoni, 2019).
Promotion Costs
GoldenDose.com acknowledges that advertising and promotion will go a long way in ensuring that it attracts a significant customer base. Therefore, the company is keen to ensure that its website is designed with diverse features that are easy to navigate, thus building a strong brand that is globally accepted. Web-based advertising will be at the core of the company’s promotion strategy (Schiavore & Simoni, 2019). Additional avenues of promotion and advertising include word of mouth from loyal consumers, use of social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook as a way of promoting the online store. The costs of promotion will be about seven percent of the total investment put into the business. This amount should be sufficient in establishing a solid marketing strategy. It is necessary that GoldenDose.com utilizes significant portion of investment in promotion so as to establish a foothold in the industry from the get go.
Product or Service Pricing
Pricing is a fundamental factor that gives physical and online supplement stores an opportunity to attract many customers. Consumers normally visit retail outlets that sell high-quality products that are sold at a cheaper price. GoldenDose.com acknowledges its potential to compete with other giant vitamin and supplements online stores, but it will focus on ensuring that the prices of all its products are competitive to attract more consumers.
| Product |
Price per Pound (US$) |
| Garlic |
1.00 |
| Milk thistle |
22.79 |
| Evening primrose |
18.20 |
| Black cohosh |
25.00 |
| Saw palmetto, |
30.00 |
| Ginkgo |
13.50 |
| Ginseng |
35.40 |
| Flaxseed |
25.50 |
| Echinacea |
5.00 |
Operations Cycle
Because it is an online store, GoldenDose.com will operate 24 hours every day. To measure the operations of the business, key metrics evaluated include the number of viewers on the website, the number of visitors, the number of tweets and retweets, number of returning customers, inventory turnover, and customer favorite products. The company will have 35 employees initially. Three positions will be managerial. There will be three supervisors. Sales and marketing will each cover eight positions while delivery will cover 13 positions. The standard working hours will be eight per day or shift.
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
Company Organizational Structure
The company operates as an LLP owned by Aretha Pereira and will have two directors. The company will seek to hire a sophisticated team of board members, who will be granted stock shares towards providing an incentive for their performance on the board. Michael Humble and Victoria Cahill will be the company’s directors, with Mr. Humble acting as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Notable management positions for the business are customer service manager/representative, warehouse/distribution manager, and advisory board. Other employee positions will include sales and marketing team, and the delivery team.
| Warehouse and Distribution Manager |
Five Year Plan for Your Business
GoldenDose.com will be well-positioned towards taking on the available online supplements market and the management is quite optimistic that it will meet diverse set targets of income and profit generation in the first year of operation. The anticipation is that the firm should gain significant market share and continually improve its revenue year after year. The basis of achieving these objectives will be based on provision of quality products from the beginning. Over the course of five years, the business will look to expand on its product offerings while also improving the quality of the products over time. The company will use an integrated marketing strategy which will encompass online marketing across social media websites, use of search engine optimization, application of traditional media such as use of televisions and radios, and marketing through word of mouth. The company will also ascertain that there is sustenance in price competitiveness so as to gain more market share and be more competitive against other entities in the industry. There will be focus on ensuring that the prices of GoldenDose.com are relatively customer friendly compared to other industry players. Part of enhancing revenue and performance will be expanding into other countries in South America initially and then progressing to other regions. The ultimate five-year goal is to be among the top companies in the industry in Brazil and South America.
Leadership Style and Management Perspective
A democratic leadership style will be adopted by GoldenDose.com because it embraces communication, which is instrumental for an online business. In this regard, all staff will be welcomed to share ideas on how the business will be promoted while providing updates on the responsibilities and timing for all team members. The rationale behind the leadership style is because it facilitates giving and gaining feedback at all points of decision-making. Therefore, the leadership style will help in fostering growth, cooperation, and creativity for all team members.
CONCLUSION
With the growth in e-commerce, vitamins and supplements industry is bound to witness growth as well. To this end, online businesses should be keen to develop and create a plan that provides them an opportunity to keep up with the growth in the Internet usage and subsequent online purchases. GoldenDose.com will develop an e-business plan based on various areas for its success. In his regard, the business is clearly defined and the market plan created will help it target its two market segments, particularly older adults and younger adults. These two segments collectively cover about 47% of Brazil’s total population thus they offer a significant market base for the products of GoldenDose.com. The country as a whole has a $6.5 billion supplements industry which the company looks to exploit. Following this business plan to the latter will help the business in mapping and realizing the desired success of achieving 90% growth in sales after the first year. This will set the stage for GoldenDose.com to become a major part of the industry for years to come.
FINANCIAL PLAN AND PROJECTIONS
Sales Forecast
Income Statement for the Next Three Years
Projected Balance Sheet for the Next Three Years
REFERENCES
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Vitacost. (2022). Supplements and more. Retrieved from https://www.vitacost.com
Walker, S. (2018). Sports Supplements for Taiwan. https://ethesys.lis.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/getfile?URN=etd-0617118-102553&filename=etd-0617118-102553.pdf
