Venture Concept No. 2

Venture Concept No. 2

Chomp N' Run - A drug store on campus! 

Opportunity.

Here on the University of Florida’s campus, I have found a large unmet need. Students do not have access to purchase the daily products they need. UF’s campus is unique in the sense that there are stores within a close vicinity to some stores, there are few places to purchase daily needs. It is also a unique opportunity because there are over 8100 students who live on UF’s campus, and many of those do not have cars to travel to off-campus stores for daily needs. This market is a unique group people because they are willing to spend more money on convenience than the average consumer. This 18-25 year old group is known for doing thing last minute and needing things on the go. What happens when someone drops their toothbrush on the ground and needs a replacement? How about when one comes down with a cold and pulls the last tissue out of the box? Customers are currently satisfying their needs in multiple ways. Some are leaving campus to shop by taking long bus rides or losing their coveted parking spots. Others are finding substitutes for what they need at POD markets, but they do not have a lot of options. Some desperate students order items through amazon prime and would rather wait two days for the item to ship than take the time to find it off campus. This opportunity could be huge. The only downfall is that the project would need to get started fast. In the time that I started formulating this proposal, a CVS was opened on 13^th street at the Social 28 apartment complex. However, if UF acts fast and opens a drug store soon, they could use effective product promotion and advertising to make loyal customers.

Innovation.  

The drug store would be called Chomp N’ Run. The connection to the Gators would make students interested and want to come in. The store could advertise in UF libraries and on busses that travel through campus. It would be located behind the HUB and Marston science library, where many students congregate on campus on a daily basis. The biggest and most obvious perk to Chomp n’ Run is its level of convenience. Due to the restrictions of UF campus, it will be the closest drug store possible. Competitors will always have a lower level of convenience. It will have a larger and wider inventory than places such as POD Market or the Reitz Bookstore. By simply offering products that these places do not, competition will be lessened. The prices of this store would be reasonable. Prices would be cheaper than those of the convenient POD markets located only steps away from where students live; however, the prices would be slightly higher of those than a regular drug store because people are paying for the convenience of being able to grab a new toothbrush, nail clipper, or printed personal photos in between or after class.  

Venture Concept.

My newest venture concept concerning this project is the creation of a mobile rewards app for Chomp N’ Run. This app would offer rewards points on purchases that could be traded in for discounts and provide coupons and promotional items to anyone who actively uses the app. I believe that these features would create customer loyalty, improve user experience, and connect with the target market of young people through technology. My app would have three “sections.” One for coupons and general promotions, one for rewards, and one for general item search! This would solve that problem and make it easy for people to search if their desired item is available at our store! I believe that the combination of convenience, large inventory, and perks for returning customers will not only make UF students interested in Chomp N’ Run, but I think that they will really love it and use it as a regular stop for their needs. A loyal customer base will continue on as new students are continually funneled through the system. 

The Three Minor Elements. 

1. Most important resource - Convenience! UF students will love and take advantage of Chomp N' Run's convenient location. 

2. What's Next? - Chomp N' Run will use a promotional rewards app with coupons and rewards points to get students excited about shopping there! 

3. What's Next for You? - I hope to come back to UF in 5 years to see on campus students living with less of a struggle than I did! 

Feedback.

1. I got really positive feedback from my first venture concept! People loved my business venture as a whole. They felt that Chomp N' Run would do a good job meeting its target market. The only constructive criticism I received is that UF would not want to start Chomp N' Run for fear of cannibalizing the POD markets. I agree that this could happen; however, Chomp N' Run is going to have different inventory than the POD market. It will have a wide variety of inventory and meet different needs than POD. I also believe that students who live in residence halls on campus will still go to POD markets because of how close they are to where the students live. People who live in Beaty, Rawlings, or Graham will want to still have the convenience of walking downstairs in their pajamas as opposed to walking a few blocks to Chomp N' Run. Instead, it will target daytime students needs when people are on their way to class and need things that POD does not sell. 

2. Based on this feedback, I don't have much to change. With the right prices, hours, and inventory, I think that Chomp N' Run will thrive on UF's campus.