An Evaluation of the Business Opportunity for a Local Product Retail Start Up

This project outlines a plan for the strategic launch of a new venture in the local food product and artisan market, based on the “100-mile model”. The project will evaluate the new business opportunities that such a local focus provides and the competitive dynamics that are shaping this rapidly evolving micro-industry. This new venture will include an online market as well as storefronts with a view to expand or franchise in the future. The online portion of the business will also offer an outlet for local service providers to offer their services. The business will follow a differentiation strategy by selling high quality products of a local nature not easily found elsewhere. To determine the best strategy, an industry analysis is conducted on the specialty food industry in the United States and grocery industry in Canada. The marketing analysis section of this paper investigates the best location for the business.