Retail Business Plan 1

Retail Business Plan

Hannah Bodenhamer

School of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Southern Mississippi

NFS 780: Advanced Practice in Nutrition and Food Systems

Professor Roxanne Kingston, MS, RD, LD

December 5, 2021
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Retail Business Plan Part 1

Mission Statement

The mission statement of Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation dietary services is to help

each patient achieve optimal and sustainable recovery and health through a nutritious ‘food first’

approach to nutrition, providing advanced medical nutrition therapy and clinical dietary

interventions to support each resident’s needs. The mission of Ensign Group, the management

company, is to create a place where residents and their families feel loved, informed, and

comfortable. Our affiliated entities create an empowered, professional work environment to

better assist employees in meeting customers’ needs (Ensign Group, n.d.).

Objectives

Palm aims to provide nourishing meals while adhering to clinical nutrition guidelines for

various guidelines. One objective of Palm’s food service department is to improve resident

satisfaction with dining services by reducing negative patient evaluations by 50% within two

months of December 1, 2021. Another objective of Palm food service department is to increase

food sales by 10% in December 2021. Increasing food sales to patient family members would

result from more guest visits for the residents. Allowing guests or health aids to be present

during meal times encourages residents and results in better patient meal intake (McLain, n.d.).

Overall, guest participation meals and improving customer satisfaction will have positive patient

and financial outcomes for Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation.

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Company Summary

Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is an affiliate entity location of the Ensign

Group. Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation operates under the Ensign Group but has robust

internal management and administration. Limited time is spent with the Ensign Group

Representative. The Ensign Group hosts yearly conventions for all foodservice department

heads and on-site training as needed. Skilled nursing, in-house physical and occupational

therapy, and activities are among some of this facility's services. The food service facility is

managed under the Ensign Group but is led by the Dietary Services Supervisor (DSS) and

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). This foodservice system offers a traditional

(conventional) style of service to patient rooms, with an option for room service between

significant meal times. This facility is focused on patient services but does have the option for

retail food for family members, guests, and employees. This food service department effectively

maintains proper hygiene, organization, storage, temperature control, and cleanliness. The

kitchen is audited once per month and rarely has markdowns; this is a significant improvement

made by the new DSS. However, the kitchen is chronically short-staffed and has difficulty

maintaining employees. Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation is located in an upscale area of

Southern California, creating a long commute for most individuals seeking kitchen work. With

increasing gas prices and highway traffic, management has had difficulty finding and retaining

eligible employees. Many kitchen employees have been pulled from the activities department,

creating a need for the activities and food service department.

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Market Analysis

Market Analysis Summary

Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center’s two most prominent competitors are the

neighboring long-term care facilities and local take-out restaurants. Palm Healthcare and

Rehabilitation Center is located in Orange County, California, with many long-term healthcare

facilities. Three of the facilities on the same block include Las Palmas Healthcare Center,

Laguna Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, and Villa Valencia Healthcare Center. These

facilities offer skilled nursing, in-house therapy, activities, and quality food service. None of

these facilities are equipped for significant catering events and are patient-services oriented.

These facilities accept medical insurance and are a competitor to Palm Healthcare and

Rehabilitation center for patient services. Local take-out restaurants such as In-n-Out, Jersey

Mike’s Subs, Chick-fil-A, and Raising Cane’s are the main competitors for retail foods.

Frequently, patients request their guests and family members to bring outside food during their

visits. These fast-food-style restaurants appeal to patients because of the ‘comfort food’

cravings they experience during their healing and rehabilitation. Many patients experience food

wants, cravings, and desires that this food service department cannot deliver due to inventory

and the inability to serve foods that contradict clinical nutrition recommendations.

These fast-food-style restaurants appeal to family members and guests because of the

low price point, convenience, and taste. Guests can purchase a meal at Palm Healthcare and

Rehabilitation center for $5, about the same price as a fast-food meal. More health-conscious

guests may opt for family members to bring locally grown fruits and vegetables to dine on. Local

farming is a foodservice trend proliferating in Southern California. Palm’s food service

department does not have locally grown, seasonally grown, or a variety of produce on its menu.
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Increasing the freshness, quality, and variety of produce offered on the menu could be one way

this food service department can appeal to local trends.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to an

organization (Community Tool Box, n.d.). This type of analysis detects positive collaborating

factors that can be emphasized and negative factors or weaknesses that may be improved.

SWOT analyses offer new perspectives on growth and opportunity that an organization may use

to develop its business models further. See Figure 1 in the appendix for Palm Healthcare and

Rehabilitation center’s SWOT analysis. This analysis focuses on internal analysis (strengths

and weakness) and external analysis (opportunities and threats). Following the SWOT analysis

guidelines, a strength of Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation center’s food service is the low

retail price points ($5 per tray). At the same time, a weakness is the low variety of products

offered on the menu. Opportunities may be found in the rising demand for locally sourced food

products, while a threat may be a reduced budget for food inventory and costs. An

opportunity-strength strategy would be to add locally sourced produce from inexpensive

farmer’s markets to the menu to keep food costs low. An opportunity-weakness strategy would

be to add a local farmers market to source a wider variety of products as a food vendor. A

threat-strength strategy would be to make small changes over time to include new food trends

while remaining within budget. A threat-weakness strategy would be to apply for grants to use

on fresh produce and expanding inventory from local vendors.

Market Segmentation

Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is a 99-bed facility located in Laguna Woods,

California. The residents at Palm all reside in Orange County and are an affluent population.
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Most individuals come from skilled professions and have family members and guests who do

the same. The residents at Palm are mostly retired, older adults aged from mid 50’s and above.

Most resident’s facility stays are covered by private insurance, medicare, or medical, though

some have out-of-pocket expenses. Most residents are of caucasian, Asian, or middle eastern

heritage and are English speaking. Occasionally, the facility admits Spanish, Farsi, or

Tagalog-speaking residents. There are some translators available and some bilingual staff

members, but not enough to meet the needs of the facility and patients. Overall, the food

service department can adequately communicate with patients and meet their cultural needs.

Family members can bring home-cooked meals and outside foods if they have cultural concerns

about the menu. The patient services offered at Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation center

successfully meet the needs of the residents.

Target Market

The target market of Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is older, affluent adults

in Orange County, California. The residents are well educated and retired from professional or

skilled careers. Their families are educated, involved, and typically knowledgeable of healthcare

standards and procedures.

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Promotional Event Concept

This promotional event aims to increase family involvement and visitation on Christmas

(December 25, 2021) and increase resident mood with holiday nostalgia. This promotional event

is for a Christmas Day special lunch menu consisting of a pineapple glazed ham with grilled

pineapple, sweet potato casserole, and green peas with sliced mushroom. These trays will be

available to all residents in place of the standard cycle menu and available for purchase from

family members and staff for $7. Each tray will be served with a fresh dinner roll, margarine,

cream puff, and cranberry juice. The idea is to have a holiday-themed specialty menu to create

excitement and boost resident morale. This specialty menu item will be available at an

increased cost to cover the additional expense of inventory and create more revenue for the

foodservice department to offer sign-on bonuses for kitchen staff. This concept may help the

kitchen staff shortages, resident morale, and family likeability of the facility.
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Strategy Event Summary

Marketing Strategy

Several strategies will be in place to market the promotional Christmas lunch. This

market strategy utilizes the ‘ 4 P’s’ marketing mix to define a strategic marketing plan (Mind

Tools, n.d.). The ‘4 P’s’ include product, place, price, and promotion. Palm Healthcare and

Rehabilitation Center has selected a pineapple glazed ham product to cater to local holiday

cuisine traditions and satisfy the target market. The pricing of this Christmas lunch is strategic

and aims to keep costs low to family members while generating revenue for the food systems

department. This Christmas lunch will be promoted through word of mouth and the weekly

newsletter email. This holiday promotion will be advertised on fliers throughout the facility (figure

2) and in patient welcome packets to inform residents and their families of the menu items and

location (patient rooms). Utilizing the ‘4 P’s’ marketing mix, Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation

center hopes to reach all residents and potential holiday guests.

Sales Forecast

Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center expects the Christmas promotional lunch

event to increase visitation by 250% and sales by 300%. In general, sales and visitation are low

at Palm. By increasing visitation and having a promotional item, the foodservice department

expects less outside food to be brought in. Therefore, the sales for this day are proposed to

increase significantly.
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Retail Business Plan Part 2

Resource Summary

Employee Resources

The employee tasks of preparing for this event began with the dietary services

supervisor. He evaluated the plan for a promotional event and gave approval of recipes, costing,

sourcing, and resident likeability. Based on positive forecasting markers, the glazed ham

Christmas lunch was approved. An initial promotion of the date and food will be shared in the

promotional emails one month prior to the event.

About two weeks ahead of Christmas, the DSS ordered the necessary ingredients. This

involved recipe costing, standardization, and item sourcing. Preparing a new menu item and

ordering can be time consuming, so the assistant DSS helped prepare information and

analyses. The ingredients arrived 5 days before the event day; the kitchen staff received the

inventory goods and stored them in the proper temperature control storage space.

Two days prior to Christmas, kitchen staff removed the ham from the freezer and placed

it in the fridge to defrost. A day prior to Chirtmas, the ham was brushed in a marinade and

returned to the refrigerator to remain fresh for serving. As the event day arrived, the pineapple

glazed ham was prepped and cooked by the chefs, then delivered to resident rooms by certified

nursing assistant (CNA) staff.

Equipment Resources

The main equipment used in this promotional event are a large freezer, fridge, deck pan

(single style), and conventional oven. A properly kept freezer and fridge keep foods fresh and

healthy to eat, reducing food waste significantly. The conventional oven is not outright better for

the environment than other alternatives, however, there are habits to keep that would lower the
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potential environmental impact. Such habits include decreasing the frequency of opening the

oven door, keeping the oven door glass clean, and opting for a gas-powered oven that would

reduce electricity use (Sierra, 2018). To make more green choices, this foodservice facility could

replace the traditional oven with a convection oven, and consider solar panels to power the

electricity-consuming appliances. Food service organizations should try to reduce food waste by

properly storing and preparing foods. Following critical control point protocol can significantly

impact these outcomes.

Food Resources

The approved vendors to supply the inventory required for the Christmas lunch are

Newport Farms, Sunterra Farms, Kirkland, and Sprouts Market. These are all local food

producers that are health and wellness oriented. The menu includes a pineapple glazed ham

with grilled pineapple, sweet potato casserole, green peas with sliced mushrooms, fresh dinner

roll with margarine, and a cream puff (figure 2). All ingredients are to be ordered from the

appropriate vendor the Thursday before the start of the week (figure 7-8). Shipments arrive

each Monday at various times in the morning.

Financial Resources

The total budget for this holiday meal is 594.8 USD. The variable costs involved in this

budget are food, hourly wages, and utilities (Darlington, 2019). The average cost of food per

resident meal day is $6.61 (Schilling, 2019). With 99 and an expected 35 meals sold (40%

increase from current sales), the total cost of food would be $282.33. There are 4 kitchen staff

members, including the DSS, chef, and line cooks involved in the production of this meal. A total

of 18 working hours are required to plan, prepare, cook, and deliver these meals. The average

salary between these 4 employees is $18.25 per hour, so the total labor cost would be $292.50.

Utilities costs 2% of the total budget and adds an additional $22.00 (Restohub, n.d.). 102 meals
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must be sold to cover the costs, however, the total resident’s insurance covers the total cost.

Accounting for the 99 resident meals covered by insurance, 3 additional meals will need to be

sold to guests or family members.

Implementation Summary

Narrative of Event

The promotional event taking place at Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is a

Christmas lunch. This lunch will be served at approximately 12:30 PM to all 99 facility residents

and offered to family, guests, and staff for $7 per tray. Trays will be served to residents and

guests in their rooms by CNAs in heat-controlled covers. The meal will consist of a pineapple

glaze ham with grilled pineapple, a sweet potato casserole, green peas with sliced mushroom, a

fresh dinner roll with margarine, and a cream puff. Residents’ family and guests will be informed

of this event through email notifications one month, two weeks, and one week in advance.

Guests must place their orders between three days and one hour of the serving date and time

(12/25/2021, 12:30 PM) through the DSS’s email or phone. Residents will automatically receive

this lunch and dinner with no extra charge.

Production and Leftovers

The dietary staff expected to serve 134 trays to 99 residents and 35 guests. On

Christmas Eve, the DSS had already received 27 pre-ordered trays. The day of production, the

staff prepared enough for 150 trays to account for late guest or staff orders. In total, 143 trays

were delivered to residents and their guests with 44 tray sales. The left-over 7 trays were

offered for sale to remaining staff members and ultimately distributed to administrators or

disposed of in the compost bin as these food scraps are not eligible for donation.

Profit
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The Christmas Lunch event generated $308 in revenue and $287 in gross profit. Only 3

trays were needed to be sold in order to cover the food cost for 150 prepared trays. Palm

Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center surpassed this goal with 44 tray sales.

Layout of Event

Due to current COVID-19 procedure, all meals will be served to residents and guests in

resident rooms. At this time, the activities/dining room is only available to patients and CNAs for

supervised, one-to-one feeding as ordered by their doctor. Each room can accommodate two

residents, and six total guests (3 guests each). Residents who have more family members may

choose to move outside and will need to inform CNAs and staff 20 minutes prior to the tray line.

Utensils, napkins, sides, and drinks will all be provided on each tray.
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Evaluation

Evaluation Summary

Of the 143 trays served, no formal complaints were received by the DSS or

administration. With over 103 visitors and 44 trays sold, the goal of increasing visitation by

250% and sales by 300% was well surpassed. Visitation increased 468% and tray sales

increased 346%. On average, this facility sells 12 trays per day. This promotion even sold 44

total trays to guests and staff members. Guests who placed orders via email were replied to with

a link to a survey to review the food (figure 8). This event had a 76% (19) positive response

rate, 4% (1) negative response rate, and 20% (5) unanswered reviews (table 1).

Self-Evaluation

Overall, the event was very successful and surpassed the facility’s expectations. The

promotion and marketing of the meal is one aspect that can be improved. Less than half of the

visitors (37%) of visitors ordered the Christmas lunch. With better event promotion and

marketing, these numbers could greatly increase. The dietary staff believes that lack of prior

knowledge of the event prevented many guests from ordering trays. The DSS should produce

more attractive fliers to place around the facility and consider having professional fliers made.

These fliers can be made for free on online design platforms such as Canva and printed for

$0.49 per page at FedEx. Additionally, the DSS can encourage the nurses and front-desk

personnel to inform family members and guests of the event during the weeks leading up to the

promotion. A more attractive and strategic email newsletter can be produced to catch the eye of

the reader. With the implementation of better marketing and promotion, there is potential for

another increase in sales.

The implementation, sales, and planning aspects of this event were successful and

should be repeated in the future. The DSS began planning the event more than one month in
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advance to be prepared for inventory ordering, receiving, and preparation. This recipe came

from a standardized diet manual which the staff is familiar with. No special equipment was

required so the chef and kitchen staff were about to prepare the meal with no additional training.

In total, the foodservice department profited $287 from this event and met their goal of boosting

resident morale. More promotional events should be considered throughout the year.

Executive Summary
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Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center encourages the celebration of holidays and

welcoming of guests to increase resident morale. The dietary services department needed to

plan a promotional event that would cater to the target market of affluent residents and their

families. A Christmas lunch, offered to residents and their guests, was planned with the goal of

creating nostalgia and cheer amongst the individuals present at the facility on Christmas Day.

The menu consisted of a pineapple glazed ham with grilled pineapple, sweet potato casserole,

and green peas with sliced mushroom, a dinner roll with margarine, and a cream puff. This tray

was available to all residents in place of the regular cycle menu, and to guests and staff for $7.

To promote this event, the DSS created fliers to post throughout the facility and include in

patient welcome packets. He also arranged for the weekly newsletter emails to include the

event details.

The food service department's expectations to increase visitation by 250% and sales by

300% were well surpassed at 468% and 346%, respectively. 143 total trays were served, with

44 tray sales and 99 residents. This promotional event generated $308 in revenue and $287 in

gross profit. Overall, likeability ratings amongst the guests and residents was high. 95% of

survey responders enjoyed the meal and services offered with only one (5%) complaint. The

DSS plans to recreate this promotional event with a different recipe and theme with the goal of

bringing cheer and increased morale to the facility.

References
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Darlington, N. (2019, February 22). The ultimate guide to restaurant costs. Restaurant

Management & Growth Blog. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from

https://www.7shifts.com/blog/restaurant-costs/.

Gas or electric-which stove is better? Sierra Club. (2018, April 30). Retrieved December 1,

2021, from

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2018-3-may-june/ask-mr-green/gas-or-electric-whi

ch-stove-better.

How much does it cost to open a restaurant. RestoHub. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29,

2021, from

https://www.restohub.org/finances/financial-planning/how-much-does-it-cost-to-ope

n-a-restaurant/.

McLain, K. B. (n.d.). Foundations for assisting in home care. Food, Nutrition, and Meal

Preparation | Foundations for Assisting in Home Care. Retrieved December 1,

2021, from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-home-health-aide/chapter/food-nutrition-a

nd-meal-preparation/.

the Mind Tools Content Team By the Mind Tools Content Team, Team, the M. T. C., wrote,

B. T., wrote, B., & wrote, M. (n.d.). The marketing mix and the 4PS: Understanding

how to position your market offering. from MindTools.com. Retrieved December 1,

2021, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_94.htm.

Schilling, B. (2019, January 24). 2014 LTC/senior living census: Ancillary foodservice

locations gain in popularity. FoodService Director. Retrieved December 1, 2021,

from
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https://www.foodservicedirector.com/operations/2014-ltcsenior-living-census-ancilla

ry-foodservice-locations-gain-popularity.

Section 14. SWOT analysis: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Chapter

3. Assessing Community Needs and Resources | Section 14. SWOT Analysis:

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats | Main Section | Community

Tool Box. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from

https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-an

d-resources/swot-analysis/main.

Who is the Ensign Group. The Ensign Group, Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021,

from https://ensigngroup.net/.
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Appendix

Figure 1. Christmas Lunch Promotional Flier

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Figure 2. Copy of Feedback and Evaluation Survey

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Figure 3. Evaluation Responses

Retail Business Plan
Strengths
● Low retail price points
($5 per tray)
Opportunities Opportunity-Strength
● Rising demand for Strategies
locally sourced ● Add locally sourced
food products produce from
inexpensive farmer’s
market to menu to
keep food cost low
Threats Threat-Strength Strategies
● Reduced budget ● Make small changes
for food inventory over time to include
and costs new food trends while
remaining within
budget
Table 1. Palm Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center SWOT Analysis
21
Weaknesses
● Low variety of produce
offered on the menu
Opportunity-Weakness
Strategies
● Add a local farmers
market as a food
vendor to source a
larger variety of
produce
Threat-Weakness Strategies
● Apply for grant to use
on fresh produce and
expanding inventory
from local vendors
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Table 2. Pineapple Glazed Ham Recipe

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Table 3. Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

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Table 4. Green Peas with Sliced Mushrooms Recipe

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Table 5. Meet Order Guide for Christmas Week of the Cycle Menu Menu
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Table 6. Grocery Store Order Guide for Menu Christmas Week

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Nutrients Total

Calories 737.6

Protein (g) 38

Carbohydrates (g) 120

Fat (g) 54

Sodium (g) 1.7

Table 7. Menu Nutrient Analyses