Hi Guys,
I've been thinking about a business idea for now a couple of months, and I'm gonna start it when back in France (I'm in
Namibia now lol). I've been deeply thinking about this, and I really think there's a need today, In France, for that idea.
Here is the business I want to launch:
When I came for the first time in the USA (it was in Miami), every time I would go to the restaurant and I would leave some
food remains, the waiter/waitress would give me a box to keep my food and bring it home. This really caught my attention,
because I had never seen that before in France or anywhere else. I was with my girlfriend, who is french as well, and
neither had she seen that before. She found it great too: convenient, money saving and environment saving.
That's how came to me the idea of supllying all the restaurants in France (and Europe as well, why not) with food boxes.
That might sound stupid for you guys who come fom the US, but after all: if it's working for the American restaurants, why
shouldn't it work for the French ones (yeah I know we are specials, but that's not enough lol)?
Another point that makes me really want to lauch this business is that I have already worked for a restaurant in the past, as
a dishes cleaner (sorry, don't know the exact term). It was actually right after I came back from my US trip. I remember that
everyday I would see an aweful ammount of food going straight to the bin (and I can tell you this restaurant was serving
F*cking good food). At this time, I remember thinking: "why the hell don't we do like the americans? Just offer those people
a box and they will be happy to bring their food back home". However, I was not as much a business fan as i'm today, and I
didn't take actions to do it.
The thing in France is that, as the restaurants never offer boxes to take away your food with you, no one think about it
and everybody leaves the restaurant hands empty. And food goes to the bin (or to the dog mouth...). I'm pretty sure that
if there was a box already set on the table when the clients sit at their table, with a writing on it saying "put your food wastes in it and take it home" (for instance), a
couple of them would be happy. Moreover, in plenty of restaurant, the quantity of food they serve you is exeptionnaly big.
More than once have I felt "obliged" to finish my meal because I didn't want to waiste all this food. Never came to me
the idea of asking the waiter a box to store nor have I ever seen somebody else doin it, because it simply not in our
culture I guess. I guess there's a huge gap for it, because after all, American restaurants or French restaurants are exactly the same,
and we eat as much as you guys do.
So here is concretely my idea: I want to sell boxes to the restaurant all over France; as this is not in our culture to ask
for a box when leaving the restaurant, I was thinking about offering the restaurant owners to put the box directly on
the table, next to the plate, so that the customer can see the writing on the box saying "use that box to take away your food home".
I saw that in the US as well, the box was next to the plate, and I found it so much helpful as I didn't want t finish
my pizza (I eventually took it home, and found it so much helpful).
This way, the customer would feel free to take away his food with him. Otherwise, the idea of asking would never come up
to him.
Eventually, as well stated in the fastlane book (which is great by the way), I want to separate time from my business. But
here comes my question: how can I do that? How could set a business in this market where, after a couple of years, I could
make it run without too much effort? How can I affect all the restaurants in France without having to knock at the door of each of them?
I was thinking about building a website (I know how to code websites) but how could I make the restaurants to come see my
website and buy my boxes on it? That's really what matters now: what distribution system would be the most efficient one?
If you guys have an idea about that, i'd appreciate to read it.
My first step when I'm back in France will be to buy a couple of boxes (at the supermarket I guess) and put a writing on it
with a brand so that they look fashion, and try to sell them to a couple of local restaurants in Paris as a sample to see
if it works. If the result is good, i'll start to think big and start thinking how I can massively produce my boxes.
To come back to the 5 commandements of CENTS:
Need: there's a huge need for sure, people don't waiste food at home: they put the remains in boes that go in the fridge.
Why souldn't they do the same at restaurant (just like in the US)? Guys, I try to find a reason for that, but I don't se
anything else than: we haven't tried yet. I want solve the problem of food waistes, which is huge in France (i've seen that with my own two eyes).
There's a huge gap. I'll take advantage of it.
Entry: well, there's nobody else! I've also tried to type the keywords on google to look for restaurant packages, and i've
not even found a company that sells food boxes on it. I've tried all the words. Found nothing except huge boxes for massive
storage (fishes or stuff like that lol). We do have some fast food restaurants that use storage boxes, and those are the
turkish fast food restaurants mainly. But they basically use them to pack food to the customers, not to store food remains.
Control: Yep, i'll be the boss. I'll hav control over my business.
Scale: National. I won't do a high margin on every sold box, so that's why I want to serve millions. If I create a brand (and
god knows how a mere box can become a huge brand, with a fashion style and stuff like that on it. I can even put my website
on it). All the restaurants that serve food in France with tables. That is tens of millions of boxes to sell.
Time: Well, that was the question: how can I set a business system that eventually separates time from it? To be clear:
how can I massively sell my boxes and provide them to all the french restaurants in a couple of years?
This business sounds like there's a huge need that hasn't come up (and been fulfilled) yet.
If I offer people boxes right on their table, they might find it cost saving and environmental saving, and they might come
back to the restaurant where they found them. I'll give it a try and see if it works.
I would appreciate to have your opinions guys. Feel free to tell me what you think about this business.
Thanks a lot.
:smxB:
I've been thinking about a business idea for now a couple of months, and I'm gonna start it when back in France (I'm in
Namibia now lol). I've been deeply thinking about this, and I really think there's a need today, In France, for that idea.
Here is the business I want to launch:
When I came for the first time in the USA (it was in Miami), every time I would go to the restaurant and I would leave some
food remains, the waiter/waitress would give me a box to keep my food and bring it home. This really caught my attention,
because I had never seen that before in France or anywhere else. I was with my girlfriend, who is french as well, and
neither had she seen that before. She found it great too: convenient, money saving and environment saving.
That's how came to me the idea of supllying all the restaurants in France (and Europe as well, why not) with food boxes.
That might sound stupid for you guys who come fom the US, but after all: if it's working for the American restaurants, why
shouldn't it work for the French ones (yeah I know we are specials, but that's not enough lol)?
Another point that makes me really want to lauch this business is that I have already worked for a restaurant in the past, as
a dishes cleaner (sorry, don't know the exact term). It was actually right after I came back from my US trip. I remember that
everyday I would see an aweful ammount of food going straight to the bin (and I can tell you this restaurant was serving
F*cking good food). At this time, I remember thinking: "why the hell don't we do like the americans? Just offer those people
a box and they will be happy to bring their food back home". However, I was not as much a business fan as i'm today, and I
didn't take actions to do it.
The thing in France is that, as the restaurants never offer boxes to take away your food with you, no one think about it
and everybody leaves the restaurant hands empty. And food goes to the bin (or to the dog mouth...). I'm pretty sure that
if there was a box already set on the table when the clients sit at their table, with a writing on it saying "put your food wastes in it and take it home" (for instance), a
couple of them would be happy. Moreover, in plenty of restaurant, the quantity of food they serve you is exeptionnaly big.
More than once have I felt "obliged" to finish my meal because I didn't want to waiste all this food. Never came to me
the idea of asking the waiter a box to store nor have I ever seen somebody else doin it, because it simply not in our
culture I guess. I guess there's a huge gap for it, because after all, American restaurants or French restaurants are exactly the same,
and we eat as much as you guys do.
So here is concretely my idea: I want to sell boxes to the restaurant all over France; as this is not in our culture to ask
for a box when leaving the restaurant, I was thinking about offering the restaurant owners to put the box directly on
the table, next to the plate, so that the customer can see the writing on the box saying "use that box to take away your food home".
I saw that in the US as well, the box was next to the plate, and I found it so much helpful as I didn't want t finish
my pizza (I eventually took it home, and found it so much helpful).
This way, the customer would feel free to take away his food with him. Otherwise, the idea of asking would never come up
to him.
Eventually, as well stated in the fastlane book (which is great by the way), I want to separate time from my business. But
here comes my question: how can I do that? How could set a business in this market where, after a couple of years, I could
make it run without too much effort? How can I affect all the restaurants in France without having to knock at the door of each of them?
I was thinking about building a website (I know how to code websites) but how could I make the restaurants to come see my
website and buy my boxes on it? That's really what matters now: what distribution system would be the most efficient one?
If you guys have an idea about that, i'd appreciate to read it.
My first step when I'm back in France will be to buy a couple of boxes (at the supermarket I guess) and put a writing on it
with a brand so that they look fashion, and try to sell them to a couple of local restaurants in Paris as a sample to see
if it works. If the result is good, i'll start to think big and start thinking how I can massively produce my boxes.
To come back to the 5 commandements of CENTS:
Need: there's a huge need for sure, people don't waiste food at home: they put the remains in boes that go in the fridge.
Why souldn't they do the same at restaurant (just like in the US)? Guys, I try to find a reason for that, but I don't se
anything else than: we haven't tried yet. I want solve the problem of food waistes, which is huge in France (i've seen that with my own two eyes).
There's a huge gap. I'll take advantage of it.
Entry: well, there's nobody else! I've also tried to type the keywords on google to look for restaurant packages, and i've
not even found a company that sells food boxes on it. I've tried all the words. Found nothing except huge boxes for massive
storage (fishes or stuff like that lol). We do have some fast food restaurants that use storage boxes, and those are the
turkish fast food restaurants mainly. But they basically use them to pack food to the customers, not to store food remains.
Control: Yep, i'll be the boss. I'll hav control over my business.
Scale: National. I won't do a high margin on every sold box, so that's why I want to serve millions. If I create a brand (and
god knows how a mere box can become a huge brand, with a fashion style and stuff like that on it. I can even put my website
on it). All the restaurants that serve food in France with tables. That is tens of millions of boxes to sell.
Time: Well, that was the question: how can I set a business system that eventually separates time from it? To be clear:
how can I massively sell my boxes and provide them to all the french restaurants in a couple of years?
This business sounds like there's a huge need that hasn't come up (and been fulfilled) yet.
If I offer people boxes right on their table, they might find it cost saving and environmental saving, and they might come
back to the restaurant where they found them. I'll give it a try and see if it works.
I would appreciate to have your opinions guys. Feel free to tell me what you think about this business.
Thanks a lot.
:smxB:
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