24A- Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:
1.) Who has the need?

Every restaurant business and individual who cares about their impact on the environment has a need for my product concept. Anyone who uses disposable straws needs my product. Many coastal cities are banning plastic straws, so a lot of these restaurants will need an alternative like mine. As well as any restaurant or individual who wants to stop using plastic straws for their own moral reasons, not just because they are banned.

2.) The nature of the need:

Plastic straws are one of the top ten trash items found on beaches, sea life can injure themselves because of them and they are harmful to the ecosystem. Making a simple switch in the material used to make disposable straws can make a huge impact on the reduction of waste in our environment. There is a huge movement going on now where people want to ban the use of plastic straws in restaurants, this relates to and supports the creation of my product in order to be the solution to this need.

Changes in the environment that created this opportunity are all the publicity of how bad climate change is and how much of an impact humans have on the negative environmental problems we are seeing in the world. Adding trash and plastic to our oceans only worsens these issues, so people have started to really care and create a movement to stop using disposable straws because of how bad they are. The market is all the U.S., internationally they may need this product as well, and it is mainly focused along the coast where people pay more attention to the effect on beaches and ocean life. People currently use plastic straws to satisfy their need for a disposable straw, a lot of restaurants and individuals are very set in their ways of using plastic straws because they have for so long probably. This is a huge opportunity because it is needed all across America, and beyond. People are going to have to start caring more about our impact on the environment, and this is a great start. I think this window of opportunity will be open indefinitely. This will still be needed for years to come because changes need to be made for our world’s well-being. The wave of the movement to ban plastic straws may be a shorter trend, but the need will always be there.

Innovation:
My innovation is a product that will replace plastic straws, it will be biodegradable and recyclable. Plastic straws do neither of these things and end up in our oceans forever. My product will be made of corn and hemp materials. These materials are so much better than plastic because they work in the same way and are plastic-like but can be recycled or will biodegrade if they are thrown out into the environment. Paper straws are the current alternative to plastic straws, but they are not as durable and begin to fall apart when in liquid too long. My straws sold to individuals through grocery stores and other retail locations will sell in packs of 100 for $4.99, 200 for $6.99, or 500 for $11.99. For restaurants, bars, etc. who are buying in bulk, my straws will cost $22 a case and the price will lower per case the more cases bought at once.

Venture Concept:
My product solves the opportunity I found because it is a environmentally-friendly alternative to the plastic straw. It will reduce the amount of trash dumped into our oceans daily. Customers will buy and switch to my product because of its benefits to the environment, and because it is priced competitively to normal plastic straws. Why would an individual or company buy straws that harm our environment over ones that don’t for almost the exact same price and work the same way? It shouldn’t be hard to convince people to buy my straws over normal plastic straws or paper ones because of how well they work and how inexpensive they are. The hardest part will be building awareness of my new product, letting people know that it exists. My competitors are plastic straw companies, paper straw companies, and anyone else making straws that are less harmful to the environment than plastic straws. Their weaknesses are that they are harmful to ocean life, fall apart once left in a drink too long, or aren’t recyclable or biodegradable.

Packaging will be important for the retail sales to individual consumers, I will need to make sure it pops out on the shelf and clearly explains how much better my straws are to the environment than my competitors. Packaging doesn’t matter as much for bulk sales to restaurants, as long as the product arrives safe. Price needs to stay in the same range as most plastic straw options. I will also make sure I have great customer support and distribution. I would start out small until I got into those big retail stores and got big customers in the restaurant industry, then grow when necessary and hire only the amount of employees I need in order to keep up with demands.

Three Minor Elements
1.) My most important resource is how there is a movement happening now where people want to stop the use of plastic straws, this proves that there is a market for my product. All I need to do is be the first brand out there with this straw idea made out of hemp and corn.

2.) The next venture would be to expand the product line and begin making disposable cups, plates, silverware, etc. out of this material too because of its benefits from being biodegradable.

3.) In five years if I pursued this venture, I would want to see restaurants all along the east coast using my product instead of plastic straws. In ten years, I would want them to be in every restaurant in America. Also, I would want to see that expanded product line created and selling as well.