Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Location Strategy
For the selection of the ideal location for a Paletta Pops store, the two major ideal
locations would be Kingstown or Arnos Vale. These two areas would be the main
sought after locations for a Paletta Pops expansion due to them possibly being the
two most frequently visited and popular locations in St. Vincent.
Kingstown, being the capital city of our country, is exposed to the highest amount
of traffic and visitors when compared to other places in St. Vincent. This is
because the majority of essential, popular and commercial businesses are located
here, as well as the majority of government offices. Having a location in
Kingstown (especially uptown) would be ideal for exposure of the business, as
well as ideal for having high levels of in-store traffic. Setting up shop in Kingstown
will open Paletta Pops to the possibility of having a broad range of clientele,
ranging from persons working in the area, visitors from the cruise ship terminal,
schoolchildren, and persons from other areas of the country who have come into
Kingstown to run errands or with the intent of spending money.
The next most logical area to place a Paletta Pops store would be Arnos Vale.
Although not as heavily visited or populated as Kingstown, Arnos Vale can be
considered to be the second most popular area in St. Vincent. Not only with plans
being put in place to develop Arnos Vale as the new capital city, it is slowly
becoming a commercial hot-spot due to the presence of a variety of popular local
businesses and franchises, and an emerging array of nightlife. Arnos Vale would
be a great option for a physical location as it also attracts a substantial amount of
traffic due to the businesses located there, as well as the fact that it acts as a hub
for local minibuses to pick up passengers and depart to their various locations.
Additionally, Arnos Vale is strategically placed on the outskirts of Kingstown,
meaning that the majority of working persons from the Windward side of the
island must pass through Arnos Vale several times on a daily basis. With proper
signage, many of these persons may be tempted to pull aside and grab a cold
treat after a long day of work.
Due to the vast majorities of properties in both of these areas already being
owned, the outlet space would most likely be leased. Given all the advantages of
the location, a strategically spaced property in Kingstown or Arnos Vale may
range from monthly rates of anywhere from $1200 - $4000. After careful
consideration of the size needed, the most adequate and affordable deals will be
chosen. The ideal characteristics for a rented space are the following:
Minimal renovations needed
Easily accessible to pedestrians or passersby (ideally visible from the road,
or no higher than the first floor of a building)
Ample space to house necessary equipment and enough seating
arrangements for customers.
Not exceeding a rent of $2,000 a month.
Production
Although there are varying Paletta Pop flavours, the core manufacturing
process is practically the same. 1) The main Popsicle base is first made by
preparing ingredients. This begins with thoroughly washing fruits (if fruit
based), and slicing them into pieces. 2) Depending on the flavour, other
ingredients are then added, such as sugar and water, and the mixture is
then blended (in a home blender due to the current home-style
production) to create the main base. The process is the same for milk pops,
with the exception of certain ingredients. 3) The popsicle base is then
poured into molds with their sticks, and placed in a freezer. Chunks of fruit,
cookie pieces, chocolate chips and other ingredients may be added to the
popsicle (depending on the flavour) to add texture, create more visual
appeal, and to contribute to flavour. 4) After the freezing process, the
popsicle molds are then submerged in a tub of warm water for a few
seconds to loosen the pops from their molds, and then removed. Upon
removal, the popsicles are placed in special Paletta Pops branded bags, to
be served to customers. Each popsicle bag has a branded sticker indicating
the flavour. It can be said that there are three main components to each
Paletta Pop: The popsicle base, the popsicle stick, and packaging.
However, with the equipment being sourced from the grant, this number
will significantly increase. Being requested is a large deep freeze unit for
highly increased storage space, along with the Finamac Turbo 8 popsicle
machine. This machine is an entry level popsicle manufacturing machine
with the capacity of producing 100 – 250 Paletta Pops per hour. This will
not only enable Paletta Pops to more efficiently and comfortably provide its
products to a larger customer base, but will also allow for the capability of
distributing its products to retailers as well as for the catering of events.
Quality Control – At Paletta Pops, the quality of our products is the most
important aspect of our operation. To ensure the highest quality of our
products, quality control begins before production. This entails the
selection of only the freshest and highest quality, all natural fruits and
ingredients in our popsicle blends. Each batch of our different flavors have
unique recipes which consist of specific measurements and quantities of
ingredients to ensure consistent flavor, quality and textures of our
products. As an extra measure, each mixture is individually taste tested to
confirm that tastes are up to standard. This is a process repeated after the
freezing of each popsicle, with a few set aside from each batch specifically
for this purpose.
Inventory
What raw materials will you be using for your manufacturing process? –
Since Paletta Pops are simple and naturally made popsicles, not many raw
materials will be used. The following are the raw materials to be used:
1. Assorted selection of fresh fruits/fruit pulp. (Flavor dependent)
2. Water/Milk. (Flavor dependent)
3. Sugar/Condensed milk. (Flavor dependent)
4. Additional toppings or ingredients such as chocolate chips or
cookie pieces. (Flavor dependent)
5. Popsicle sticks.
6. Popsicle bags and packaging.
What quantities must you keep in inventory? – A minimum of 100 Paletta
Pops would be kept in inventory upon employment of machines. Current
home scale production allows for a minimum of 30 Paletta Pops to be kept
in stock. The minimum quantity of raw materials to be kept in stock would
be estimated quantities to allow for a week’s production.
Who are your main suppliers? – My current main suppliers are as follows:
These suppliers do not offer credit payment options, and due to the nature of the
goods, return on items that are not selling is not available. However, return of
items that are damaged or broken may be available. All of the costs incurred are
already included in the cost of goods sold price for each unit.
These suppliers are all vital to the running of the business, as each of them
provide crucial raw materials. Although they have all proven to be very reliable
thus far, in the event that they cannot deliver, alternative suppliers can be
contacted to provide the same materials.
Year 2
Month Inventory Plus =Available Minus Inventory
at Purchases Inventory Monthly at month
beginning Forecasted end
of month Sales
(costs)
Equipment
Equipment Fair Market Acquired To Acquire Date of
Value Acquirement
Finamac $6,800. USD - To Acquire N/A
Turbo 8
Popsicle
Maker
Finamac $1,900 USD - To Acquire N/A
Mixer 15
Finamac Flex $1,900 USD - To Acquire N/A
UnMold Tank
Mastertech $1,999 XCD - To Acquire N/A
418L 14.8
CUFT Deep
Freezer
Quality Control
At Paletta Pops, the quality of our products is the most important aspect of
our operation. To ensure the highest quality of our products, quality control
begins before production. This entails the selection of only the freshest and
highest quality, all natural fruits and ingredients in our popsicle blends.
Each batch of our different flavors have unique recipes which consist of
specific measurements and quantities of ingredients to ensure consistent
flavor, quality and textures of our products. As an extra measure, each
mixture is individually taste tested to confirm that tastes are up to
standard. This is a process repeated after the freezing of each popsicle, with
a few set aside from each batch specifically for this purpose.