Introduction
The food industry has been adopting the current technological advancements in its operations. In particular, most food outlets use digital mobile applications and websites to improve their sales and reach more customers than before. As a result of the improved sales volume, most food businesses make significant profits that lure them into increasing the amount of food they prepare for their customers. Sadly, most of these businesses have tons of leftover food that often has to be discarded as waste.
However, some companies are willing to give away these remains for free. Nevertheless, inadequate platforms connect them to those in need of such aid. Therefore, it is essential to create a lasting solution to the problem and improve food security for needy individuals.
Outline of the Idea
Most individuals face the challenge of starvation due to the ever-increasing cost of living worldwide. In particular, many children from poor backgrounds struggle with malnutrition and deteriorating health (Nicastro & Carillo, 2021). Furthermore, many poor communities are in dire need of food aid globally. On the other hand, most food vendors find themselves with a surplus food supply that remains unsold at the end of the day (Riesenegger & Hübner, 2022). In most cases, the extra food items cannot be stored for later sales and end up in garbage bins.
Therefore, designing and developing a food charity app to connect food vendors to needy individuals has become crucial. The idea is to create a mobile app called “FoodMatch” to connect vendors to charities and community organizations. Food vendors will post updates on the available food items, while users will have an interface to book or place orders for food donations. The primary goal of this project is to reduce food waste and improve social welfare in communities by providing free meals to those in need.
Market Analysis
The target market for FoodMatch will be local restaurants, grocery stores, and caterers whose excess food items often go to waste. The app management team will launch a comprehensive marketing campaign to target these vendors and sensitize them to help those in need instead of wasting their surplus food products. One strategy that will successfully convince the food vendors to buy the project will be reduced waste management costs. Remarkably, if these food outlets embrace the new project, the garbage they send to waste management would decrease significantly (Riesenegger & Hübner, 2022). Therefore, it is highly likely that most vendors would support the project.
On the other hand, charity homes and organizations that provide free meals to needy individuals would benefit from the project. In particular, the app will allow them sustainable access to fresh and nutritious meals for their dependents. The app management team will also conduct mass advertisements for the app to enable maximum exploitation by these organizations. Most countries have private organizations dedicated to food donations, and the app would be revolutionary for their mission (Nicastro & Carillo, 2021).
Additionally, the marketing team will call for support from governmental and non-governmental departments to ensure its success in improving the community. Overall, the app intends to focus on local food outlets to help them deal with their waste while providing food aid to needy individuals. Consequently, the app would be a perfect solution to food insecurity affecting most regions worldwide.
FoodMatch Competitors
Based on a free-food approach, FoodMatch does not have many competitors in the market. However, several similar projects offer related services in the food industry. One of the primary competitors for the FoodMatch project is Food Donation Connection. This American-based organization links food donors to agencies dedicated to hunger relief in the USA (Lohnes, 2020).
It succeeds by creating an alternative to discarding surplus food in the USA. In one of their studies, Food Donation Connection indicated that more than 25% of all prepared food goes to waste (Lohnes, 2020). Therefore, by creating and maintaining interactive communications between food donors and food relief agencies, the organization helps alleviate hunger and reduce waste.
Another worthwhile competitor is Feeding America. This non-profit organization is also one of the largest charity groups striving to end food insecurity in America (Lohnes, 2020). Principally, the organization partners with food banks, local food programs, and food pantries to provide free meals to people facing starvation in the USA. Notably, more than 30 million US citizens face hunger problems and need food aid.
As such, Feeding America advocates for policies and procedures that necessitate a long-term solution to the hunger problem. The organization lays out several ways through which donors can aid needy individuals and families. In particular, there are monthly giving programs, honor and memorial gifts, workplace giving, cryptocurrency donations, fundraisers, and donor-advised funds.
Nevertheless, FoodMatch intends to be different from its competitors in several ways. Foremost, the app will include a user-friendly interface that will be simpler for all parties to use. Moreover, it will have an order tracking feature where users can locate their deliveries through GPS.
Moreover, FoodMatch will allow food donors to access their donations’ analytics and measure their long-term financial impact. Remarkably, the app will be utilized on a global scale, which will give it a significant boost over its competitors. As such, the FoodMatch app will have a competitive edge and gain preference among most users.
Reasons for the FoodMatch App’s Success
Most start-up businesses face significant challenges that result in business failures and closures. However, the FoodMatch app is highly likely to succeed due to the high demand for free food among citizens of different countries. Therefore, the development team speculates positive responses from food vendors and charity groups when they finally launch the app (Amankwah‐Amoah et al., 2021). Helping the food vendors manage their waste food items in a less costly way would lure them into embracing the project to cut down their operational costs. Moreover, it will be a form of indirect advertising where these vendors can get more publicity and create a positive brand image by giving back to society.
Another success point for the FoodMatch app is the availability of an experienced team in food service and tech development. Moreover, the app’s development is based on extensive research to identify gaps that require solutions like waste reduction and food aid. Calls for support from humanitarian groups will also ensure adequate support for the initial stages of the app’s operations. Moreover, in-app advertisements will also be a reliable source of revenue to ensure financial stability and independence.
Finally, the app will establish reliable partnerships with local community organizations and food vendors to ensure a steady supply of surplus food and a dedicated network of recipients. Principally, outlets like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Chicken House generate vast amounts of food waste, some of which are fit for human consumption. As a result, proper packaging of surplus food items and disbursement to disadvantaged groups will be revolutionary in waste management and improving social welfare. Therefore, with appropriate advertising and positive embrace from food vendors and the general public, the FoodMatch mobile app will most likely succeed and establish itself as a global food donation app.
Rewards from the Success of FoodMatch
One of the primary rewards of the success of this project would be the reduction of the global hunger problem. In most cases, dealing with hunger problems in a country only requires creative strategies that push for well-established individuals to help the less fortunate. In this case, the app promotes food vendors with surplus items to avoid wasting them and instead availing them for charity. Furthermore, the app’s success will reduce garbage quantity and save the participating food outlets the enormous costs of managing waste. Most importantly, the app will contribute to a globally sustainable and more equitable food system.
Furthermore, the app will incorporate in-app paid advertisements that would be income-generating. Principally, the management team speculates heavy traffic from users worldwide, creating a perfect promotional platform. Therefore, the app will be open to ads that will not interfere with the primary objective of connecting food vendors to charity recipients. The generated income will be adequate to pay the app management bills and financially establish self-sufficiency. The app will also receive donations directly from different groups and individuals worldwide, increasing food aid to those in need.
The Estimated Costs
The initial projected cost for launching the project is $100,000. This amount is expected to be sufficient for app development, marketing, and operational expenses. The app management team intends to raise the first revenue from a recurrent annual subscription fee from the vendors and the food recipients.
The fees charged to interested food vendors will be based on a tiered pricing system, depending on the vendors’ company size. On the other hand, the recipients will be required to pay a uniform monthly subscription fee that would also be determined by whether the recipient is an individual of a group. Initially, the app targets to charge 20 dollars for individuals and 100 dollars for organizations as the respective subscription fees.
After being appropriately established, the app will include paid promotions to be featured in the app. Business organizations interested in advertising with the app will pay monthly subscriptions to keep their adverts playing on the app. This move will expand the sources of revenue to make the app self-dependent, even without external donations. As such, the expenses in consecutive years will not be challenging, and the app will be able to generate adequate revenue for all its annual costs.
Risk Factors
Every business is subject to different risks that may limit its success in the industry. In the case of FoodMatch, the primary risk factor is a lack of participation from the food vendors and community groups. The reluctance or ignorance of the app may result in a low supply and demand for food donations through the app (Amankwah‐Amoah et al., 2021; Klimas et al., 2020).
Consequently, obtaining sustainable and adequate traffic from users may take longer than expected. Furthermore, some users may consider the subscription fee arbitrary and unnecessary, making them reluctant to use the app. However, there are plans to provide incentives and marketing support to mitigate such risks.
Furthermore, there is a risk of getting negative feedback that may taint the app’s public image. However, this risk is only likely if the app fails to work as intended. Therefore, there are well-thought strategies to ensure everything works out as planned (Klimas et al., 2020). Likewise, legal risks may affect the launch of the app in different regions. Therefore, vigorous research initiatives are dedicated to ensuring that the development team understands the legal environment affecting the launch of the FoodMatch app. Moreover, the team is prepared with a reliable legal team for any accruing legal support.
Project Management
The management team comprises experienced app developers, marketing experts, and food service professionals. These individuals work harmoniously to ensure the successful development of the FoodMatch app and its launch for public use. More specifically, the developers will be responsible for the technical work of designing and creating the mobile application.
The marketing experts will ensure proper marketing strategies are in place to create awareness of the app and increase the visiting traffic. On the other hand, food service professionals will be responsible for ensuring the donated food meets the proper standards for human consumption. They will also be accountable for monitoring packaging and conducting regular inspections of the food donated by the vendors to ensure quality.
Likewise, the development team establishes working partnerships with the food vendors and local charity organizations that provide opinion support during the development phase. There are also plans to build stronger relationships with the already-established organizations that offer similar services. This move will ensure effectiveness in service delivery and promote better outreach for needy individuals. The team will remain committed to transparency and maintain open communication with all stakeholders to avoid conflicts that may result in business failure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, launching the FoodMatch app will be a revolutionary undertaking that will improve social welfare by providing accessible food aid to many recipients. The app intends to reduce food wastage and help the hungry access free meals at a small subscription fee. The project will go a long way to fight food insecurity and improve the living standards of many families. Moreover, it will help many food vendors solve their waste management problem by reducing the amount of edible food they send to garbage collection.
References
Amankwah‐Amoah, J., Khan, Z., Ifere, S. E., Nyuur, R. B., & Khan, H. (2021). Entrepreneurs’ learning from business failures: An emerging market perspective. British Journal of Management, 33(4), 1735–1756. Web.
Klimas, P., Czakon, W., Kraus, S., Kailer, N., & Maalaoui, A. (2020). Entrepreneurial failure: A synthesis and conceptual framework of its effects. European Management Review, 18(1), 167–182. Web.
Lohnes, J. D. (2020). Regulating surplus: Charity and the legal geographies of food waste enclosure. Agriculture and Human Values, 38(2), 351–363. Web.
Nicastro, R., & Carillo, P. (2021). Food loss and waste prevention strategies from farm to fork. Sustainability, 13(10), 5443. Web.
Riesenegger, L., & Hübner, A. (2022). Reducing food waste at retail stores—an explorative study. Sustainability, 14(5), 2494. Web.