The Business Concept
Food poisoning due to poor storage is a major challenge today. Many people believe that refrigeration is the solution to food wastage. The truth is that despite the low temperatures that prevent the growth of microorganisms in food substances, most of them still have expiry dates regardless of storage methods. Many people still find spoiled food in their refrigerators and count significance losses emanating from such every day.
The idea is to come up with a device with an in-built memory of the expiry dates of all foodstuffs in the refrigerator. Two days to the expiry date of any foodstuff in the fridge, the device would raise an alarm and alert anyone who opens the fridge. The device would have to be hanged in a visible position. Codes and tentative dates of expiry for goods that do not have electric codes can be entered manually and set in the machine. This product is at the concept stage and would have to be tested out first before mass production.
Targeted Customers
This endeavor targets busy housewives who have to balance between arrays of duties every day. When this is done, food wastage and possibility of food poisoning would be eliminated. The ultimate result is that the technology would save households money that would be used in buying new products or treating cases of food poisoning. There is need for such services and therefore the opportunities for growth are immense.
The customer bracket can be widened to also include organizations that offer foodstuff and food-related services. At the beginning, this product can be tried out with a few households but can later be rolled out nationally and eventually regionally. For such growth to take place, it would be pertinent that the technology involved is patented to protect the original owners from exploitation.
Financial Analysis
The cost of producing one of these devices would be about $5 mainly to acquire the electrical device, wiring and the housing plus the magnetic strap at the back to aid in holding the device firmly onto the fridge. These are relatively small devices that can be produced even cheaper because of the economies of scale involved in producing in bulk. The Rate of Return on such an investment would have to be measured against the cost of the risks involved.
This is dependent on the value of the product involved and the likely cost of treating food poisoning. Considering that such risks would not cost any less, the cost of buying this device would be far much less than the cost incurred to correct the losses and health risks emanating from stale food. The retail price of this device can therefore range from $20 to $30.
This means profit six fold and therefore the rate of return for the manufacturer would be impressive since one can earn profits from four-fold to even six-fold. However, the profit margin would reduce slightly at the beginning as the groups tries to secure copy rights and setup a work station where the devices would be produced and the operational costs associated with the same.
Tentative forecast