Meal idea fails to whet appetites
Ber careful now, this one has some sting to it.
Rarely has a new retail business idea been embraced by entrepreneurs so quickly, only to fail so spectacularly, as did the “meal assembly” concept.Never heard of it? That seems to be the problem
Of course you have to marvel at some of the included comments, just take this little gem from Dave Bellso of the famed Make & Take Gourmet who had an all but foolproof plan for raking in the cash. And don’t forget, he is the one who owns the marketing arm of his little meal assembly empire.
“For some reason, the whole concept is just not doing very well,” said Dave Bellso, whose wife owns the Make & Take Gourmet chain, based in Syracuse. The two-year-old company had a store at The Crossing shopping center in Clifton Park, but closed it after a year for lack of business.
But of course they never admit something is wrong, it’s always the customer is simply not informed of the glorious rapture that awaits at the end of the meal assembly rainbow.
“Not enough people know about it,” said Teresa Shurtz, vice president of operations at Super Suppers, based in Fort Worth, Texas. Now in 42 states, the chain began about five years ago and has about 150 stores.
Although we still see that Super Supper is claiming more store than there really are. But even at 150 they are nearly 100 off the 270 mark of their former claims.
Seems a few writers in the media are starting to see the light.
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August 19th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Wow, that’s three articles with no mention of either of the usual MAK experts! Could it be that journalists are finally doing their homework?
August 20th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Wow!! What a site!! The perfect reason to have the internet!!!
I’d love your opinon on making meals as a non-profit. Our church has a large kitchen and we are thinking of once-a-month cooking as a group to save money, attract the neighbors and have fun!
Can your concept work (for 100 families) because
We already have a large, unused, kitchen?
We don’t need to pay for a location?
Our labor will be one person to coordinate with everyone else as volunteers?
We only “open” our doors one-or-two Saturdays a month?
Can we help save people money by buying in bulk so that their meal cost is no more than if they cooked at home? Or cheaper?
Or are we looking at failure here from the beginning?
Thanks for your comments. Just wish they didn’t have to be gained by so much hard experience.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:03 am
My thoughts:
– Buying in bulk does save money if you are able to buy just the right amount. Pricing has to always be checked as well known suppliers charge more than grocery store prices for certain items and prices constantly change.
– The labor effort is enormous and often under-estimated - for initial setup, ingredient prep, and cleanup.
– The effort to put together menus that stand to the rigors of freezing is also enormous and often under-estimated.
– Check with your local regulatory agency to see what requirements there may be for staff/volunteers. Most (maybe all?) require that all are trained in food handling/safety and that there is a certified food safety manager on hand.
I think the overall idea for a church/group activity is interesting, but this is a tough business model and requires a tremendous amount of overall effort and time - especially when setting up for a session or two only once or twice a month.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Have you heard of http://www.angelfoodministries.com?
Larry check out their website maybe you could provide the delivery place for the groceries with cooking lessons or recipes to use the groceries people receive? That is what I hope to do at my church.