Identify a Need

Most pizza brands in the market offer pizzas at extremely high prices while not providing much variety
of flavors owing to the brand value and the lack of any competitors who can provide affordably priced
pizzas so that it can be enjoyed by all segments. Due to this pizza is considered as a meal option in most
cases rather than a snack option. Moreover, many substitutes like momos, shawarma, burgers have
emerged who can provide snacking options to the consumers at affordable prices. However, there still
exists an untapped market for affordable pizzas to make it a snacking option also. Immediate plan of
action for the first two years

Market Potential

Pizza is one of the most famous fast food and the widest accepted international quick-service
restaurants across consumer segments in India. An increase in consumerism, disposable income, and the
number of working women has increased the demand and popularity of pizza. The market penetration
for pizza consumption is still low. There is a tremendous growth opportunity in tier II and II cities where
the educated middle-class population are adapting to the urban lifestyle. But the exponential profit
margin registered during the 2011-2014 period has steadily declined. There are lots of substitutes which
are more economical and offer a lot more varieties. Local brands, pizza, and its substitutes can slash
their food pricing and still compete in the market. The reason why big brands can’t do this is that they
have many costs associated with their business like royalty to use the brand name, hike in skilled labor,
rise in real estate prices, etc. Consumers are also very price sensitive. They expect value for money and
stay within their comfortable spending range. Apart from these factors, today’s younger generation has
become health conscious too. They care more about what goes into their body and therefore demand
healthier foods. There is an increasing demand for keto pizzas with low carbs. So, there is a great market
potential for more economical and healthier pizzas today.

Immediate plan of action for the first two years

Goal: Break even

Strategic Location: Bangalore

Steps to be taken:

1. Reduce cost
a. One size fit for all and maximize Indian ingredients
i. Most of the competitors enjoy an advantage through the decoy effect. From the
customer's point of view, this creates a barrier in choosing their exact need, if
they are not a regular customer. We have decided to come up with a 10” pizza
(9” is the size of a regular pizza) which will be the only size available at our store.
This reduces the fixed cost of buying cooking appliances for different sizes,
purchasing packaging materials, and designing the delivery methods.
ii. Since we are focused on bringing new Indian varieties, purchasing Italian
ingredients that add up to the cost will reduce to an extent.
2. Mobile Application
a. Since we are very determined in providing a wonderful customer experience. We would
take it a step ahead in providing the same through our mobile application. Our
application would be based on AR(Augmented Reality) and voice search enabled.
Through AR the customer would be able to visualize the pizza directly on his table even
before ordering with actual size with aid of the user mobile camera. Voice search
feature aims to assist the customer in ordering the pizza by providing recommendations
in making better combinations with add-ons and currently available offers
3. Delivery partners
a. Delivery will play a vital role in creating a good reputation as it forms the major part of
the sales. Apart from our delivery system, partnering with different delivery partners
like Swiggy and Zomato and other players will help us create a wide presence across
platforms. Through various marketing strategies, we can create more awareness
through these partners
4. Marketing and Promotions
a. Marketing activities
i. Digital Marketing
 Website creation will be given utmost care as it is where the customers
are redirected through various digital marketing activities
 Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp social media handles will be
created and regular stories and posts will be updated through
influencers
ii. Traditional Marketing
 Though not obsolete still have relevance to the maximum extent. Print
media like Newspaper Ads during important days can be availed and
billboards across important locations based on the average footfall can
be placed to create awareness.

b. Food Vlogger
i. These are the important customers for these businesses, as they drive the
majority of customers through their reviews and ratings, So approaching
 Vloggers who have more followers can be invited to taste and comment on the
ambiance and quality which will help us gain more popularity
c. Review and ratings
i. This determines the life of the business. There are various ratings and reviews in
the various forum that needs to be maintained so sustain the competition. Food
safety standard certification and quality rating by the customers in various
forums must be gathered and must be displayed on our website and the stores
d. Pizza of the day
i. Special pizza varieties should be available in a particular week of the day. This
pizza would be decided based on the customer survey conducted. This pizza
would be unique and will not be available on any other days during the week.
These type of promotions also will be carried out
e. Delivery within 3 km
i. Since most of the delivery partners are offering free delivery within a certain
range of distance. We would also want to utilize the same strategy for our
delivery and within the range of 3km would be free of cost.
f. Loyalty Programs
i. The CoMoN people
 This will be the loyalty program that will be created for our customers
where they will be credited points for their every purchase through our
app or website. Once they reach certain points they will be offered a
voucher for a day meal at our kiosk.
5. Branch extension within Bangalore (3-4) end of two years
a. Based on the sales and other opportunities we would like to expand our franchise to at
least 3 shops within Bangalore which will help us break even quickly
6. At least one women operated exclusive shop
a. As part of the business plan, we wanted to run a complete kiosk through women
employees from procurement and delivery thus providing equal opportunities for which
our brand stands for

CoMoN Pizzas
Survey Results
To understand the consumer preferences and perceptions about pizzas and pizza brands, we have
conducted a short survey. We got 102 responses for this survey. The questions in the survey and the
results were mentioned below:

1. How often do you eat pizza in a month?

The target audience has reacted positively to this question. Nearly 86.3% of them are consumers of
pizza. Out of them, 21.5% of the audience consumes pizza twice or more than twice per month. So, it is
understood that there is a good demand for pizzas.

2. Which brand do you prefer the most?

Dominos enjoy a great preference among the target audience. 82.4% of the target group prefer the
brand. Pizza hut is preferred by 33.3 % of the group. Other brands have a very minute preference among
the target audience.

3. What is the driving factor in choosing a particular Pizza?

This is an important question as per the offering of CoMoN pizzas. Interestingly the target group
preferred taste and price as their major driving factors for their preference. The offering of CoMoN
pizzas is tasty pizzas at affordable prices, which blends very well with target consumers. Though the
brand is also important as a driving factor, taste and price overtake it. CoMoN pizzas' long-term goal is
to develop into an impactful brand while offering great taste at affordable prices.

4. What is the amount you are willing to spend on Pizza?

This is a crucial question for our pizza brand. When we visit a well know branded pizza outlet like
Dominos or Pizza Hut, we often spend more than Rs.500. But nearly 74.5% of the target customers are
willing to spend less than Rs.500. This is where we want to compete. We offer pizzas at affordable prices
so that a visit to our pizza outlets won't be expensive. The expectation is to attract the other 25% of the
people with great taste and brand value.

5. As per your perception, pizza caters to which class of society?

For this question, nearly 42.2% of the respondents think that pizza caters to the upper class and upper-
middle class. Our vision is to make pizza for even common people. Our brand name “CoMoN”
subliminally indicates common people.

6. According to you, what is the substitute food for Pizza?

This question is included in the survey to know direct and indirect substitutes/ competition for pizza. The
most mentioned substitute is Burger, followed by Momo and shawarmas. Some of the passionate pizza
lovers also mentioned that there is no substitute for pizza. These direct and indirect substitutes for pizza
may act as barriers to adoption for our target customers, especially the price-sensitive ones.

Barriers to Adoption
Barriers to adoption are all the factors that prevent consumers from using or trying a new product.
These range from inconveniences, the need to buy ancillary products, the difficulty getting it to work, or
the learning curve. In our case as well, being a new entrant in the market, there are few barriers to
adoption.

1. Lack of strong brand image

The pizza outlets are predominantly present in tier-1 and tier 2 cities. Most people in these places visit
either Dominos or pizza hut. This is because they have a strong brand image among the target
customers. There were also minor players like eagle boy’s pizza do not attract many people due to a lack
of brand image. Other local bakeries sell pizzas at low cost, but most people prefer purchasing other
snacks in the bakeries. So, it is a challenge for CoMoN Pizza to have a strong brand image. But when we
start the lack of brand image will hinder customer purchase decisions and act as a barrier to our product
adoption.

2. Availability of indirect substitutes

When we sell pizzas at a low cost, there will be an indirect competition like local bakeries, and other
snacks like chat, Chinese foods. Also, we are positioned predominantly in tier-3 cities, where the pizza
consumption rates are low. People in these small cities have tried and tested snack options. So, these
indirect substitutes pose a steep challenge to CoMoN Pizza. Target customer may prefer their tried and
test tastes rather than trying out a new pizza at least in the initial days.

3. Consumer perception with low prices

There is this misconception about low prices. CoMoN pizzas targets to achieve low costs by achieving
operational efficiencies. But target customers may perceive low costs as low quality. This will be more
dangerous when it is associated with food products. This misconception is even more pronounced in
lower-tier cities. Trust and quality are the most important factors to succeed in the food business. If the
prices are increasing, we may lose the price-sensitive customer to direct and indirect competition. If we
maintain low prices, customers may perceive CoMoN pizzas as low-quality products. This makes the
situation complicated and acts as a barrier to the adoption of this product.

Managing barriers to adoption:

Managing the barriers to adoption is very crucial for any start-up. Handling them effectively will help the
business to thrive. CoMoN pizzas also face few barriers to adoption. But these can be managed by
adopting few strategies.

1. Creating a new brand

Instead of communicating CoMoN pizzas just as a mere product, it should be communicated as a brand.
It will help us differentiate from local competitors and helps in positioning the product as a credible
offering. This brand also helps to compete with major established brands like Dominos and Pizza Hut.
This primarily helps in registering a place in customers’ mind and have additional benefits like stronger
support from supply chain partners, growth opportunities, category extensions, and franchising options
in the future.

2. Communicating Value

The customer often ranks brands in association with price tiers in the category. The pizzas should be
prices as per the values they generate. The product should be communicated as the quality available in
low-cost rather than a cheap product. Saying so, the quality standards should be maintained with
utmost precision. Just delivering good value is not sufficient. Customers should be able to appreciate the
value of the brand. Apart from the product offering, the service also plays an important role in the
outlets. The service should also be at par with industry standards. Once consumers understand that the
same product with good quality and service is available at lower prices, they will build trust in the brand.

3. Pitching as an Indian Brand

Considering the current economic scenario, where people are favoring local and Indian brands, it is
beneficial to leverage the trend. This will give us a head start and motivate target customers to try our
products.

4. Brand Positioning

The band positioning is also a tool to combat the barriers of adoption. CoMoN pizzas are focused to
bring Indian flavors at affordable prices to your table. We are determined in delivering high-quality pizza
to all segments of people. The target is to change the perception of the general audience about the pizza
and reinforce that pizza is for everyone and affordable to middle and lower-middle-class segments.
How the existing need is satisfied by Pizza Alternatives and substitutes:

According to Euromonitor International research Burger is turning out to be the next favorite options for
Indians because of its smaller ticket size compared to Pizza . It is turning out to be a good grab and go
option . More over Burger is seemingly becoming a scalable option because of the constant demand
arising because of the rising disposables incomes in urban area . Though the market share of Burger is
only 2% in the QSR market , it is goring at a CAGR of 25% in the Indian market only next to pizza as an
alternative.

Even within those consuming pizza, most of the urban consumers are shifting their gears towards to the
more healthier options keeping in view thew the long term health consequences. They are even willing
to shell out extra bucks to satisfy their hunger pangs by moving to alternate pizza bases like whole
wheat grain base, mushroom base, sweet potato base, oats pizza base, whole wheat pizza base,
cauliflower pizza base and chickpea pizza base etc.

There is also a new trend coming in from some creative chefs in some smaller food chains where in
there are coming up with hybrid variants of two or more varieties. For example in South India the
concept of Dosa Pizza with dosa as a base ,is gaining much popularity and traction form the crowd who
are bored of routine pizzas. Similarly the concepts of pastapizza, Chizza, and burger pizza are innovative
variants which the consumers are looking at these days.

Now if we look at the Pizza substitutes , there is a majority of fast foods in unorganized market which
lies into this category. The substitutes include the local fast food cuisines in every state . People find the
local fast foods a very convenient and a go to option for many middle class Indian population. Apart
form the local fast food varieties, even the Chinese foods like Noodles, Momos are very popular among
the Indian crowd . These unorganized food outlet markets constitutes the majority of the Indian
snacking market and is a very tough competitor to the pizza market.