1. I am a Marketing major and I hope to work in the sports industry. For my business idea, I decided to pitch a grocery truck which has a route around campus. My aspirations include helping this to grow and thrive and thus, allow it to expand to more off campus locations and apartments as well.
2. I hope to help college students eliminate the inconvenience and difficulty they find in getting groceries by essentially bringing the store to them.
3. I would provide this service to all UF students living on/around campus. Each student at some point has to go to the store, however, finding time to do this can be a hassle and take away from other priorities. Therefore, the bus would have a set route around campus on specific days at certain times.
4. Most students, according to my interviews, have had trouble at some point or another finding time to get to the grocery store. Therefore, they said that if the groceries essentially came to them, they would be much more prone to going down to get their groceries. With the same products that are in stores, students would only have to go downstairs or outside in order to get their needs.
5. Instead of waiting in long lines or dealing with the chaos of Publix, students could walk outside and onto the grocery truck and shop for their goods. They would check out, and only have to walk back to their apartment or dorm. Transportation seems to be a big issue on UF campus for students, and therefore, this aspect is taken care of. All a student has to do is walk outside to shop for groceries.
I do believe these elements fit together. I picture this truck somewhat like an ice cream truck, making rounds around a neighborhood. Students would simply go outside and buy their groceries on the bus. Therefore, the convenience of this while still providing the same products is ideal.
I like your idea. I am an online student so I do not know of the struggles of the on-campus student, but this does sound like a great opportunity for a business. Even if I didn't have troubles getting to a grocery store I would appreciate the convenience of your idea. The only hurdle I can see (and I know we are not this far into the course yet) is getting a permit to do business on the campus.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your semester,
-Dallin
Take a look at my blog as well. http://dallinj.blogspot.com/2016/02/idea-napkin-no-1.html
ReplyDeleteHello Emily,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a business. I think the grocery truck would be a huge success especially if it was endorsed by a major grocery like Publix. The idea of it driving around campus like an ice cream truck is interesting, but what about if it also had a registry of customers for its rout? Kinda like a paper boy who only delivers to people that have ordered the paper. This could help the elderly, disabled, students, and the lazy all the same. It would also help keep costs down if the truck was stocked with the specific order of the customers and maybe a few overstocked necessities for those forgotten about needs. You would need multiple refrigerated trucks and drivers. That might increase the cost of the service just a little but it would be worth it. Over all this is a great business idea, I'd like to see it in the future but not just for students. This could positively affect all of the populace if done correctly. It could be the answer grocery stores will be looking for in a few years when companies like Amazon start entering the grocery market and delivering to customers at home. Here is a link to my blog. Check it out if you get the chance.
http://dcbostwick.blogspot.com/2016/02/idea-napkin-1-week-6.html
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI think that your idea is extremely innovative and creative. I have never lived on campus, but I do know that many students that live on campus tend to also not have a car. Trying to purchase healthy groceries without having a way to transport them is far from ideal; your idea would completely solve this issue! I'm excited to see if you can lobby around SG to begin ideas of making something like this (even on a small scale) effective.
Check out my blog as well to see my ideas: travismcafee.blogspot.com
Hello Emily,
ReplyDeleteI literally wish this idea was in the works because I barely have any time to go to the store due to class, work, personal life, etc. So to have a grocery store truck that brings food is a great idea. I would have to say that I'm worried about the security of the grocery truck as it is possible for the truck to get robbed.
As crazy as that sounds, I recently saw an article where a bored customer threw a live alligator into drive thru window for fun. So I could only imagine what could happen to the grocery truck xD. On a more serious note, this is a brilliant idea that I can't wait to see become more fully fleshed out.
Here's the link to my blog: http://leadingthechange.blogspot.com/2016/02/idea-napkin-no-1.html