New York City Food Trucks go Inside your Companies place of work.

April 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Food Trucks head inside to your place of work. NYC food trucks have been traveling up the freight elevator of the 19-story Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th Street in West Chelsea, to offer dining options five days a week to some 6,000 office workers and visitors.

“This is the first indoor vertical food-truck court in the city, and as far as I know, the country,”
said David Weber, president of the New York City Food Truck Association, which was asked by
the building’s owner, RXR Realty, to curate the daily “truck collection” because of a paucity of
lunchtime choices in the neighborhood, west of the High Line between 11th and 12th Avenues.

NYC Food Trucks Go Vertical, Reported by the New York Times

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Openings Tagged With: , , ,

Organic Trade Association Says Organic Industry Grew nearly by 10 Percent in 2011

April 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The U.S. organic industry grew by 9.5 percent overall in 2011 to reach $31.5 billion in sales. The organic food and beverage sector was valued at $29.22 billion, according to the Organic Trade Association’s 2012 Organic Industry Survey. “The U.S. organic sector continues to show steady and healthy growth, growing overall by 9.5 percent during 2011, and, for the first time, surpassing the $30 billion mark,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s executive director and CEO.

Organic Industry Grew Nearly 10 Percent in 2011, read the full article in Fast Casual

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz Tagged With:

DAVIDsTEA: LOOSE-LEAF TEA ENTERPRISE

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

17 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003 (Flatiron) • 212.253.7676

DAVIDsTEA

DAVIDsTEA

Their Success… A new direction to branding tea time. If you are looking for an “Organic Gold Rush” with your “Birthday Cake” topped off by a “Jolly Jellybean”, then you might consider this place to be “Paradise found”. These are the names of flavors you’ll find created by pairing loose-leaf teas with ingredients from around the world at this tea shop. David Segal, founder of DavidsTea, saw the need for a non-serious approach to drinking tea that’s now filling a void overlooked by traditional tea shops. The first location, which opened in Montreal, Canada, was the starting point for the tea empire’s success. The brand’s consistent messaging about making tea fun is careful crafted at every touch point– from the staffing and overall guest experience to brand concept and packaging. Tea time is usually relaxing to most but DavidsTea has pushed tea into a new gamut with a trendy, clean yet clever appeal. Tea time is now fun time.

What We Learned… Sometimes the key to a successful brand is what inspires us in a non-traditional way. David Segal based his brand off an idea that “tea should be more fun”.

Take Aways… What’s your inspiration? How can you use what inspires you in your
branded product?

Filed Under: Retail Spotlight Tagged With: ,

Quick Tips for Maximizing your Revenue Streams

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When opening a retail store or fast casual restaurant, we always hear from clients that right away they are going to wholesale, deliver and offer catering services out of their store. We love ambitious enterprises and want to see it happen, yet opening a retail store on its own is a very large undertaking and one that needs a lot of care and attention. Starting with a retail store, catering, wholesale and delivery are 4 different revenue streams with 4 with different associated costs. We recommend the following for getting your revenue streams in order and maximizing your future potential.

1) Open your retail store first. Understand your clients needs, get comfortable with the ordering, receiving, production and presentation of your products. Streamline your menu, stay true to who you are, you cannot be everything to everyone.

2) Dig deeper into the analysis of your current pricing model and your food costs. If you are in line and comfortable, you can then prepare for the additional revenue streams.

3) Start with catering or delivery next depending on your enterprise. Catering is a great way to produce a lot of the same product and charge in bulk. In addition, you can time your orders and prepare for the catered event in advance. Delivery is a way to add incremental revenue from individual guests that happens in real time.

4) Add Wholesale only if you feel that each account justifies the gross profit for the products sold. Remember, typically you are selling the same products for 50% off of retail prices.

5) For all of the above, prepare a simple budget accounting for the extra staff needed, packaging required and increase in food costs.

Lastly, if you plan to add these revenue streams to your business, please plan with your architect to allot for the extra space needed to produce, store (refrigeration, freezer, dry storage) and package. Starting with a retail store is a great way to get known and give a face to your business. Once you have received great press and reviews, you will get busy and approached by many for wholesale, delivery or catering. It is your business, your home and best to take some time to really prepare for the operations and processes before you say yes. Once your business has a good rhythm, let the floodgates open.

Happy Revenue… TaraPaige Group

Filed Under: Enterprise Insight Tagged With: ,

Coffee companies continue to expand into Brooklyn, New York

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Brooklyn Roasting Company is expanding, tripling in size, according to an announcement on their blog. For coffee lovers in Dumbo, this is great news. They’ve taken over the space next door at 25 Jay Street and working on adding more production equipment as well as more craftsman furniture:

Considered by many to be the best espresso in Dumbo and Brooklyn, BRC is putting their bets in their Dumbo roasting plant. Congrats to the Brooklyn Roasting Co team and looking forward to the expansion!
Brooklyn Roasting Company expanding to 25 Jay Street

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Shopbuzz, Trending Now Tagged With: ,

NYC Parks Issues 2 New Requests for Food Concessions

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

New RFP’s have been issued from the New York City Park Department, calling all food purveyors. Click the links below to obtain the PDF’s and get going on your businesses.

NYC Parks RFB for Food Concessions in Central Park

Rockaway Beach Food Concessions, up to 5 Mobile Units

Filed Under: Opportunities Tagged With:

Entrepreneurs starting out, seeking a name for their business: 7 Quick Tips

April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Entrepreneurs fret over packaging and a host of other details as they get started, and then leave one of the most important aspects as an afterthought. The sad truth is that the right name can sometimes make all the difference when it comes to propelling a business to success, rather than just slogging on.
Names are quite powerful. Each word has a distinct difference. Get the name right, and you get branding as a by-product of your advertising.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz Tagged With: ,

Starbucks Teams up with Opportunity Finance Network to help create jobs

April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In November, Starbucks teamed up with the Opportunity Finance Network, a membership network of more than 180 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that provides loans and counseling to community businesses on the Create Jobs for USA Fund. Since November 2011 the fund raised about $2 million, helping to create or retain more than 2,300 jobs, many in poor communities.

The Create Jobs for USA program also provides capital grants to select CDFIs. These groups, in turn, provide loans to underserved community businesses like microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate ventures and affordable housing firms. The goal of Create Jobs for USA is to bring people and communities together to create and sustain jobs throughout America.

Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz makes good on his promise to invest in small business programs.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Heard on The Street Tagged With: , , ,

Women Chefs & Restaurateurs NYC Event, May 8th, 2012: Entrepreneurs opening a Restaurant or Retail Store

April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Thinking of opening your own fast casual restaurant, café or store? Join Women Chefs and Restaurateurs along with TaraPaige Group and other women experts for a panel about what you need to know before taking the leap and making your dreams come true. A panel of hospitality experts will provide insights that will set you up for success and answer your questions about what you need to know to start your own brick and mortar business. We will address the top concerns of many emerging businesses from writing the business plan and researching the market to finding the right space and negotiating favorable terms to getting legal advice to designing the space and building it out according to code and finally promoting it to the public.

Learn what it takes, how to prepare and when to make the jump from dreaming to executing.
Join Women Chefs and Restaurateurs on May 8th at the French Culinary Institute from 6pm-8pm

Filed Under: Events, Local Market Buzz Tagged With: , , , ,

Chipotle’s Quest for Increased Throughput leads to an Increase in Sales

April 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We have all admired the Chipotle Model and how efficient the business runs. Many emerging businesses we work with look to the Chipotle model from a financial and operational perspective of what works so well in the fast casual restaurant segment. Although they have achieved such a great model, all models must continue to be looked at, analyzed and tweaked to ensure businesses are achieving the maximum levels they should be. Take a read on how Chipotle continues to enhance their business.
Chipotle Keeps doing it.. Increasing the throughput for greater sales

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz Tagged With: , ,
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