Business Plan for a Startup: Ekomero
Tungstedt, Emil (2013)
Tungstedt, Emil
Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu
2013
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2013111517106
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2013111517106
Tiivistelmä
The main objective of this paper is to create a business plan for the associates of Ekomero. Ekomero was conceived in 2012, to operate as an export/import company of Spanish organic, natural, and specialty foodstuffs in Finland. This paper examines the processes, procedures, documentation and legal requirements needed to perform in such an environment. The ultimate goal is to outline a framework for the business so that it could effectively adapt and serve potential customers’ working cultures within the Finnish food retail sector.
The business plan has to include a marketing strategy that could determine whether the business is feasible or not. An important consideration is whether the Ekomero concept could subsequently be changed in order to adapt to new approaches if the market seem too difficult to penetrate.
The raisons d'être of the business plan is to serve the associates as a channel for sharing a common language during the establishment of the business. The business plan is built upon Osterwalder´s Business Model Generation Canvas which outlines the principles for the company’s value creation. This constitutes the central part of the business plan from where the strategy and risk analysis are developed.
Finland’s three main actors, within the food retail sector, accounts for a 90% of the market share. This concentration of power within the industry has been the major factor for the unmet demand for organic food products. Despite the promotional efforts by organizations such as Luomuliitto Ry (Finnish Association for Organic Farming) and Organic Food Finland, and subsidies from the Finnish Government to organic producers in Finland, the country is in need of heavy imports in order to reach demand. Ekomero intends to capitalize on this opportunity. Therefore, in its conclusions the thesis examines the major constraints jeopardizing the business idea, in addition to the favorable factors of establishing such initiative. Insight is provided into the success of Osterwalder’s Canvas as a tool used by the associates in the Ekomero startup.
The business plan has to include a marketing strategy that could determine whether the business is feasible or not. An important consideration is whether the Ekomero concept could subsequently be changed in order to adapt to new approaches if the market seem too difficult to penetrate.
The raisons d'être of the business plan is to serve the associates as a channel for sharing a common language during the establishment of the business. The business plan is built upon Osterwalder´s Business Model Generation Canvas which outlines the principles for the company’s value creation. This constitutes the central part of the business plan from where the strategy and risk analysis are developed.
Finland’s three main actors, within the food retail sector, accounts for a 90% of the market share. This concentration of power within the industry has been the major factor for the unmet demand for organic food products. Despite the promotional efforts by organizations such as Luomuliitto Ry (Finnish Association for Organic Farming) and Organic Food Finland, and subsidies from the Finnish Government to organic producers in Finland, the country is in need of heavy imports in order to reach demand. Ekomero intends to capitalize on this opportunity. Therefore, in its conclusions the thesis examines the major constraints jeopardizing the business idea, in addition to the favorable factors of establishing such initiative. Insight is provided into the success of Osterwalder’s Canvas as a tool used by the associates in the Ekomero startup.