Target market = school kids

bogwalrus

I have been running a coffee shop/ wine bar in my town for the last year targeting teachers, bankers and just groups that want to relax and unwind.

I see potential in targeting the massive amount of school kids that hang around the town in the early morning and lunch time.

I am thinking of closing my current shop to open a new one in a very good location that has just come available so I'm looking for ideas as to what could be sold to these kids.

My ideas so far are to open a good quality deli that sells breakfast foods in the morning and prepared rolls and wraps for lunch time. I would focus on deals like drink and sandwich for €5 and attract people that just want to pop in and grab a good roll and then leave. This deli would be combined with a sit down area upstairs as there is room so people could have a nice coffee and sandwich also. I would also have juices and smoothies for the healthy gym people.

The location is on a courtyard in the middle of town with great parking that's always busy because there are two banks and of course the school is around the corner so school kids/teenagers are always about. There is also a gym, golf club and Gaa pitch very close by and this spot gets passed by all of them if people are on foot.

The closest competition for this deli would be super value that is down the road and is currently feeding these kids for lunch. Its not a great super value and the deli i would give 4 out of 10 compared the many deli's i have been to.

If some of you have some experience or ideas in this kind of market i would love to hear from you.

Here is an rough image of location. New shop is in red. The light grey is to show the courtyard and light blue is car park for around 32 cars. Its always full with people coming and going.



Thanks
Boggy

growmyfans

bogwalrus wrote: »

I have been running a coffee shop/ wine bar in my town for the last year targeting teachers, bankers and just groups that want to relax and unwind.

I see potential in targeting the massive amount of school kids that hang around the town in the early morning and lunch time.

I am thinking of closing my current shop to open a new one in a very good location that has just come available so I'm looking for ideas as to what could be sold to these kids.

My ideas so far are to open a good quality deli that sells breakfast foods in the morning and prepared rolls and wraps for lunch time. I would focus on deals like drink and sandwich for €5 and attract people that just want to pop in and grab a good roll and then leave. This deli would be combined with a sit down area upstairs as there is room so people could have a nice coffee and sandwich also. I would also have juices and smoothies for the healthy gym people.

The location is on a courtyard in the middle of town with great parking that's always busy because there are two banks and of course the school is around the corner so school kids/teenagers are always about. There is also a gym, golf club and Gaa pitch very close by and this spot gets passed by all of them if people are on foot.

The closest competition for this deli would be super value that is down the road and is currently feeding these kids for lunch. Its not a great super value and the deli i would give 4 out of 10 compared the many deli's i have been to.

If some of you have some experience or ideas in this kind of market i would love to hear from you.

Here is an rough image of location. New shop is in red. The light grey is to show the courtyard and light blue is car park for around 32 cars. Its always full with people coming and going.



Thanks
Boggy

what about "Midtown Food Court"....."Midtown" really reinforces the fact that your business is "in the middle of town"...there will be no confusion for customers and no chance that customers would end up going to the competition. "Food Court" sounds fun, young, and full of energy. You also need to stand out from your competition.there are a few Super values near by. I noticed that their marketing campaign is focused more at the senior generation and nothing towards the youth. If you were to offer a healthy breakfast e.g a healthy breakfast omelette or a bowl of porridge with fruit. Both omelettes and a bowl of porridge are relatively cheaper compared to a breakfast roll. After deciding 2 healthy breakfast options, get flyers printed featuring your main 2 healthy breakfasts e.g omelette/porridge and I would also include a special offer printed on the flyer, e.g 50 cent off, buy 4 get 1 free, loyalty system etc. . I would advise against going too executive on marketing because your brand/style needs to take into account that youth are too your target market.I would then set up a Facebook page and distribute the flyers to the gym, bank and sports-club. Each of these niches are ..........this is where I stop because I have not even asked you if you even like this idea.

I hope that you do like this idea because the possibilities are endless.If your creativity is flowing and would like to contact me, please message.

mo_bhicycle

For the gym customers you could sell natural 'recovery' and 'protein' drinks/foods. People spend a fortune on this stuff and typical recovery shake tastes bad. A very similar nutritional benefit can be gotten from natural alternatives.

bogwalrus

growmyfans wrote: »

what about "Midtown Food Court"....."Midtown" really reinforces the fact that your business is "in the middle of town"...there will be no confusion for customers and no chance that customers would end up going to the competition. "Food Court" sounds fun, young, and full of energy. You also need to stand out from your competition.there are a few Super values near by. I noticed that their marketing campaign is focused more at the senior generation and nothing towards the youth. If you were to offer a healthy breakfast e.g a healthy breakfast omelette or a bowl of porridge with fruit. Both omelettes and a bowl of porridge are relatively cheaper compared to a breakfast roll. After deciding 2 healthy breakfast options, get flyers printed featuring your main 2 healthy breakfasts e.g omelette/porridge and I would also include a special offer printed on the flyer, e.g 50 cent off, buy 4 get 1 free, loyalty system etc. . I would advise against going too executive on marketing because your brand/style needs to take into account that youth are too your target market.I would then set up a Facebook page and distribute the flyers to the gym, bank and sports-club. Each of these niches are ..........this is where I stop because I have not even asked you if you even like this idea.

I hope that you do like this idea because the possibilities are endless.If your creativity is flowing and would like to contact me, please message.

I think your idea is great. thanks for your input=)

Since i started this thread I decided to go down the visitor center/shop route which sells drinks, taytos, choc bars and a few pre-made sandwich options. Also take away coffees.

This would be one side of the shop, the other side would sell your typical retail items to be sold to tourists visiting the town. There will also be a small museum upstairs to draw in the visitors.


The town gets a lot of tourists and there is nothing for them here. By opening a visitor center I am sure to get the bulk of tour buses that visit while also tipping away with the shop that can sell to the locals.

I can still do Juices and other items also for the gym members.

I think your idea of flyers will be very important. I will need to do a few different types for the different markets.

Whats your opinion on this direction?

bogwalrus

mo_bhicycle wrote: »

For the gym customers you could sell natural 'recovery' and 'protein' drinks/foods. People spend a fortune on this stuff and typical recovery shake tastes bad. A very similar nutritional benefit can be gotten from natural alternatives.

I'll definitely have a big drinks fridge with some nice healthy drinks they can quickly grab before or after gym. DO you think doing fresh juices would be more attractive or would just a few bottled health drinks do?

growmyfans

I think your ideas are great, but a word of warning....given that the school, gym and gaa club will make up a big majority of your footfall, I would not be too hasty to overdo it and focus more time and effort of tourists than the said niche.by turning you cafe into a tourist hub it may be off putting. at the end of the day, the school, gym and gaa club operates all year round and could be a constant source of traffic to your shop, whilst with tourists...the footfall is not as certain. I understand that you aspire to cater for tourists by opening your little museum. This is just my opinion....why not market and brand yourself in such a way that is sports orientated....this would attract people from gaa club, gym and youth from the school.For tourists...I would definitely track down the bus tour operators who service your town and send them discount vouchers for passengers. Tourists love Irish history...sticking on our theme of sports...why not stock GAA merchandise or even private label your own merchandise....e.g design unique merchandise Irish themed merchandise. The suggestions I am giving are quite broad because I don't know the exact specifics. I hope that my posts have helped and I wish you every success with your new venture.

bogwalrus

growmyfans wrote: »

I think your ideas are great, but a word of warning....given that the school, gym and gaa club will make up a big majority of your footfall, I would not be too hasty to overdo it and focus more time and effort of tourists than the said niche.by turning you cafe into a tourist hub it may be off putting. at the end of the day, the school, gym and gaa club operates all year round and could be a constant source of traffic to your shop, whilst with tourists...the footfall is not as certain. I understand that you aspire to cater for tourists by opening your little museum. This is just my opinion....why not market and brand yourself in such a way that is sports orientated....this would attract people from gaa club, gym and youth from the school.For tourists...I would definitely track down the bus tour operators who service your town and send them discount vouchers for passengers. Tourists love Irish history...sticking on our theme of sports...why not stock GAA merchandise or even private label your own merchandise....e.g design unique merchandise Irish themed merchandise. The suggestions I am giving are quite broad because I don't know the exact specifics. I hope that my posts have helped and I wish you every success with your new venture.

Your on the ball with all your comments.

Targeting the tourists should be easy as the tour operators pull up right outside the door and there is nothing like a tourist shop or even tourist office in the town. There is a lot of history in the town also.

So its really striking a nice balance between the two elements. Luckily most "visitor centers" i know have shops or some sort of cafe so i just have to look at a few more of these to get an idea of how they strike the balance.

Thanks again for your help and advice. It really does help when others contribute ideas as it gives more focus on what is important.:)

growmyfans

bogwalrus wrote: »

Your on the ball with all your comments.

Targeting the tourists should be easy as the tour operators pull up right outside the door and there is nothing like a tourist shop or even tourist office in the town. There is a lot of history in the town also.

So its really striking a nice balance between the two elements. Luckily most "visitor centers" i know have shops or some sort of cafe so i just have to look at a few more of these to get an idea of how they strike the balance.

Thanks again for your help and advice. It really does help when others contribute ideas as it gives more focus on what is important.:)

you are very welcome

Herbalist

It looks to be a very central location which is great.

With regard to the school kids I think it may be worth doing some research there on what they seek out to buy. While it is always brilliant to offer healthy options it is worth checking out what they are currently looking for and buying in the super value.

sky2424

growmyfans wrote: »

I think your ideas are great, but a word of warning....given that the school, gym and gaa club will make up a big majority of your footfall, I would not be too hasty to overdo it and focus more time and effort of tourists than the said niche.by turning you cafe into a tourist hub it may be off putting. at the end of the day, the school, gym and gaa club operates all year round and could be a constant source of traffic to your shop, whilst with tourists...the footfall is not as certain. I understand that you aspire to cater for tourists by opening your little museum. This is just my opinion....why not market and brand yourself in such a way that is sports orientated....this would attract people from gaa club, gym and youth from the school.For tourists...I would definitely track down the bus tour operators who service your town and send them discount vouchers for passengers. Tourists love Irish history...sticking on our theme of sports...why not stock GAA merchandise or even private label your own merchandise....e.g design unique merchandise Irish themed merchandise. The suggestions I am giving are quite broad because I don't know the exact specifics. I hope that my posts have helped and I wish you every success with your new venture.

Agreed- Too much focus on targeting school kids may lead to a quiet summer holiday period.

bogwalrus

Herbalist wrote: »

It looks to be a very central location which is great.

With regard to the school kids I think it may be worth doing some research there on what they seek out to buy. While it is always brilliant to offer healthy options it is worth checking out what they are currently looking for and buying in the super value.

I'll build up the courage to talk to a number of them. Those teenagers can be fierce intimidating but Its the right step and proper market research. Thanks=)

bogwalrus

sky2424 wrote: »

Agreed- Too much focus on targeting school kids may lead to a quiet summer holiday period.

That's why hopefully I will get all the tourists in the door for The summer period buying all sorts of local Irish products and gifts.

It might be a case that I emphasise the tourist shop elements more in summer (as in extended the retail space) While in the winter months focus more on the local trade and increase the shops space. Hmmmmm.

mo_bhicycle

bogwalrus wrote: »

I'll definitely have a big drinks fridge with some nice healthy drinks they can quickly grab before or after gym. DO you think doing fresh juices would be more attractive or would just a few bottled health drinks do?

Before they gym and after the gym they'll want different things.
Before the gym it'd be a drink with electrolyte, something like this might work: http://www.cheekybumsblog.com/2012/04/living-naturally-homemade-electrolyte-drink-move-over-pedialyte/

After the gym it'd be something a bit more substantial, with a good mix of carbs and protein. This could be a smoothie with some protein, quinoa porridge, quinoa smoothie, or simply some chocolate milk.

I think the key thing here is that the vast majority of the products marketed at gym goers are overpriced, don't taste great, and equally effective natural alternatives are available for pretty much every product.

The above suggestions are based on what my group of friends and I would be interested in. I believe that gym-goers are becoming increasingly savvy in relation to what they are consuming, and I feel the natural alternatives could do well.

I'd definitely recommend doing a bit of market research as the above is based on a gut-feeling rather than on previous retail experience. If you do some research I'd love to hear what feedback you get.

bogwalrus

mo_bhicycle wrote: »

Before they gym and after the gym they'll want different things.
Before the gym it'd be a drink with electrolyte, something like this might work: http://www.cheekybumsblog.com/2012/04/living-naturally-homemade-electrolyte-drink-move-over-pedialyte/

After the gym it'd be something a bit more substantial, with a good mix of carbs and protein. This could be a smoothie with some protein, quinoa porridge, quinoa smoothie, or simply some chocolate milk.

I think the key thing here is that the vast majority of the products marketed at gym goers are overpriced, don't taste great, and equally effective natural alternatives are available for pretty much every product.

The above suggestions are based on what my group of friends and I would be interested in. I believe that gym-goers are becoming increasingly savvy in relation to what they are consuming, and I feel the natural alternatives could do well.

I'd definitely recommend doing a bit of market research as the above is based on a gut-feeling rather than on previous retail experience. If you do some research I'd love to hear what feedback you get.

What i was considering was doing a flyer that has a list of fresh juices with different characteristics such as "actic acid reduction" etc. So Maybe five juices that help with different things before and after being at the gym. These would be made in the shop with fresh fruit from the local veg stall that is there 5 days a week.

One issue will be opening times though. I know the gym is busy in the morn up to 6pm but i would want to close at 6pm and not really open for the evenings.