Goal

Dear Kim Coontz,

I hope you have read through my blog thus far and became aware of this vital opportunity here in Orange County.  You and your organization has led the creation of numerous successful cooperatives in California, why not add one more?  The OC Food Co-op will complement the other cooperatives in the state greatly and allow OC residents to experience what their fellow state members get to. 

With my in-depth investigation of the demographics and statistics of Orange County and its residents, you should get a feel of why I think the OC Food Co-op will be successful.  For a successful business the mission must fulfill a want and/or a need in the market.  The OC needs a stronger community, better organic produce, cheaper food prices, and a local “spot” rather than home to call…home.  Please take this idea into consideration and present it to your board.  If you need any help with the creation of this, I am an, well-educated and business-savvy entrepreneurship major at Chapman University and I will be more than happy to be a part of the project. 

Sincerely,

Laurin Schreiber

Marketing

In order to attract more members and cement its status in Orange County, the OC Food Co-op will have to incorporate strong marketing tactics into their plan of implementation.  Advertising and promotions will be key at the very beginning, even before building, to generate funding and support. 

Guerilla Marketing:  The Co-op will create promotional materials, including flyers, signage, business cards, and posters in order to successfully brand themselves.  These materials will be distributed at various community functions, farmer’s markets, businesses and other organizations.  Mail promotions will also be beneficial as the Co-op is trying to get families and neighbors together to support the cause.  The presence of the OC Food Co-op branded material will spread the word fo the cooperative and help raise awareness if it within the OC neighborhood.

Social Networking:  It will maintain a frequently updated website (www.ocfoodcoop.com) and a personal blog, hoping to create a viral web presence.  There will be an active Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account to keep members and people of the community continuously updated on new products and events at the Co-op.

For example, Rainbow Grocery has a successful Facebook Fan page where followers can be updated on new events and promotions at the co-op:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/Rainbow-Grocery/46550221389?ref=ts

Key marketing tactics, especially at the beginning, will be crucial in getting the Co-op up and running.  The idea of creating a Food Cooperative in the OC can not be executed without community support.

Financing

According to sustainablebusinesses.com, Orange County ranks 3rd in the country for the most funding presented to small, sustainable businesses.

Orange County not only can provide for the Co-op physically, but can also supplement funding to get the cooperative up and moving.  Currently, cooperatives in general have various sources of funding available to them such as the Food Co-op 500 grant, small business funding and City funding.  Our first round of financing will be from the members investment.  To become a member of the Co-op and benefit from all aspects of the business one must pay a flat fee, around $100.  The OC is known for supporting sustainable businesses and according to sustainablebusinesses.com, Orange County ranks 3rd in the country for the most funding presented to small, sustainable businesses.  Venture Capitalists thrive in this area, always looking for an innovative idea that proves success.

Local Competition

Fresh & Easy, Ralphs, Trader Joes, Sprouts, and Whole Foods investigated.

Fresh & Easy: A new grocery store to Southern California, this market focuses on providing fresh, no-brand produce at extremely low prices.  They are able to accommodate these low prices by maintaining a simple store with eco-friendly lights and self-checkout counters.  Stores are conveniently located and easy to navigate through.  Shopping here is quick and efficient and the staff are extremely friendly.  http://www.freshandeasy.com

Trader Joes: A hippie grocery market chain throughout the US, it prides itself in selling both the basics (milk, apples, bread…) and gourmet food (handtossed pizza from Italy) at reasonable prices.  The fun and upbeat environment encourages its customers to try something new with a 100% return guarantee.  http://www.traderjoes.com

Ralphs: The largest chain in the OC, Ralphs has everything a customer needs.  Selling basics and all top-brand products, the aisles are always fully stocked.  Customer cards give special savings everyday and allow for discounts on future purchases.  However, the impersonal shopping experience and sterile atmosphere is unattractive for most and typically remains as a back-up for most shoppers.   http://www.ralphs.com/Pages/default.aspx

Sprouts Farmers Market: A fairly new market to the California area, Sprouts proudly sells farm fresh produce (purchased local when possible) and provides most goods in bulk form (to cut prices for customers).  With a huge market of vitamins and supplements, this is great spot for healthy eating.  http://sprouts.com/home.php

Whole Foods: The world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with over 250 stores in the US and UK.  They seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture.  Great for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and cooking up gourmet meals at home.  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Out of all the options in Orange County, Sprouts and Whole Foods is the closest to what the OC Food Co-op will offer.  But what makes this cooperative stand out?  Its mission to work with the community and create a network with neightbors and workers.  Its pledge to improve the current society in southern california through the food sold at the co-op and the shopping environment makes it unique against all other grocery stores.

The OC Food Co-op will provide the diversity of the larger grocery stores (such as Ralphs) with the quality that is provided at smaller niche grocery stores (such as Sprouts).  The Co-op will truly be a store of the community.  It will alter its inventory based on member demand, catering to the desires of its member community.  Differentiating itself by focusing on quality products that are ecologically conscious and by making food economically accessible.

Target Audience

Orange County moms:

These women are in charge of the household and do all the necessary grocery shopping and errand-running.  They make the grocery lists and have the most influence on their family’s eating habits.

Young women (age 18-28)

This key public is active and strives for a healthy lifestyle.  They tend to be interested in ecological and sustainable products and helping the environment.  Fresh produce is common in their daily diets.

Senior Citizens

Retired and settled comfortably in their houses, this target audience is heavily involved in their community and wants the best for their neighborhood.  Buying locally and contributing to community efforts is something they can afford and have time to participate in.

According to Orange County demographic statistics in 2008:

Current population of the OC – 3,010,759 people

Residents over the age of 65 – 11.4% of population = roughly 343,227 senior citizens

Female persons – 49.9% of population = 1,505,345 women

Households – 935,287 = extremely rough estimate of how many families in the OC

OC Investigated

With pressure to be fit, most residents stick to a healthy eating regime.  With the OC Food Co-op open every day and conveniently located, residents will be able to get their healthy ingredients at anytime.

I believe that the current market for food co-operatives and organic food combined with the OC lifestyle allows the OC Food Co-op to be a future success.

“The number one trend really is no longer a trend… The natural products industry has won the argument that natural and organic is better. You can see that in many places.” said Jay Jacobowitz, president and founder of Retail Insights. A survey of shoppers in conventional supermarkets conducted by the National Grocers Assn. bolstered Jacobowitz’s point. When asked to name the most unsatisfying aspect of their primary supermarket, consumers cited lack of assortment in health foods, health and beauty aids and vitamins assortment as their top three complaints.

Orange County is known to be the center of body image and maintaining a lean figure.  With pressure to be fit, most residents stick to a healthy eating regime.  Farmers markets are extremely popular in the area which proves the popularity of eating fresh and organic produce.  With the OC Food Co-op open every day and conveniently located, residents will be able to get their healthy ingredients at anytime.

The country itself has also experienced an explosive growth in the demand and production of organic food.  The consumption of organic food has therefore surged and the Organic Trade Association estimated that $14.4 billion of orgaqnic food was sold in the US in 2005, up from only $1 billion in 1990.

The wealth of the region is tremendous and residents have extra spending cash to afford local and gourmet food products which tend to more expensive.  Average household income in Orange County is $74,862, which is high in comparison to other regions of the United States.

Purpose: solve poor neighbor relations in the OC

As a new resident of Orange County, I have found neighborhood relations to be extremely poor and I am embarressed to admit I dont know any of the people who live close to me.

The basis of any cooperative business is to link people and groups together in a strong relationship for a common purpose.  This purpose is focused on addressing a social and/or economic problem in the immediate community.  The OC Food Co-op will aim to create tighter neighborhoods in Orange County, promoting friendly relations with those who live in the vicinity of each member.  As a new resident of Orange County, I have found neighborhood relations to be extremely poor and I am embarressed to admit I dont know any of the people who live close to me.  Good neighbors are beneficial in many different ways: notifiying you of suspicious behavior when you are on vacation, giving you an egg when you are short one to make cookies, or to bring in your newspaper when you have forgotten.  The OC Food Co-op will promote creating tight relationships with each neighbor by providing a friendly shopping environment and community events.

My story – Rainbow Grocery

March 30, 2010 3:10 p.m.

Today I visited Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco after a 3 month break.  Waiting in a 15 minute traffic jam just to park, I knew I was in for a busy shopping experience.  The moment I walked into the cooperative I was  instantly surrounded by fellow San Franciscans maneuvering their carts and baskets around the packed store.  Since everyone is a loyal customer and frequents the store weekly, each person knows exactly what they want and where to find it in the store.  Everyone is on a mission and navigates their way through the store quickly and smoothly.  Workers are dressed casually and start conversations with everyone.  Within the first five minutes I was already offered to try a cookie that the creator herself was advertising.  The energy in the co-op is something you cant experience anywhere else.   I was able to find the ingredients I needed for dinner as well as a couple new items to try out.  Walking up and down the aisles you will always be surprised with new products.  This makes the shopping experience exciting and new every time you walk in.  The atmosphere in the store creates an upbeat environment that is positive and rejuvenating.  After 30 minutes I was checked-out and back in my car, excited to start cooking and try my new finds.

Entrance of Rainbow Grocery

Aisles

Fresh Produce

Customers will wait even 20 minutes to purchase their produce

Rainbow Grocery is very community-driven

I know Orange County residents would be excited with the idea of a food cooperative in their area.  The closest one in southern California is in Santa Monica, about an hour drive from the heart of the OC.  The Santa Monica Co-op is doing extremely well and is very popular in the area.  This proves the interest in buying local goods at cooperatives and I know that the OC Food Co-op will succeed.

Welcome to the OC Food Cooperative

“Imagine walking into this airy utopia of fresh ingredients and warm, friendly neighbors all working together to help each other grow….”

Located in the heart of Orange County in Irvine, California, the OC Food Cooperative will be a retail grocery store co-operative.  This new gourmet food endeavor will combine healthy, reasonably priced, mindful selected grocery options with co-operative practices.   By doing so, it will take on an active role in supporting its passionate, local, and diverse community of Orange County.

The food co-op will strive to offer locally and organically grown produce and quality, healthful and environmentally and socially friendly foods at low costs to its members.  OC Food Co-op will be member-ownded and operated.  It will embrace the OC community and will work to ensure people from all socio-economic backgrounds have access to its benefits.  It seeks to develop a strong community institution by being a responsible and ethical entity, using not-for-profit purchasing and selling practices and maximizing hte positive impact through its presence.

Imagine walking into this airy utopia of fresh ingredients and warm, friendly neighbors all working together to help each other grow.  Where else in Orange County have you experienced this? No where.  Hence the reason I am fighting to introduce this new and exciting business venture to the Southern California county.

Kim Coontz: Bring the Cooperative Lifestyle to the OC

I visit the market twice a week to get groceries.  Living in Orange, CA I tend to shop at Sprouts, Trader Joes, Mothers Market, and Whole Foods.  These markets sell predominantly organic products and brands that support sustainability measures.  Home is in San Francisco.  There I shop at only one market: Rainbow Grocery.  Rainbow Grocery has been in San Francisco since 1975 and offers “resources, education and a forum for informational exchange for many local communities and organizations.”  The distinction between Rainbow Grocery and a market such as Ralphs is the business system it is run by.  Rainbow is a cooperative food organization, a unique business model that I feel needs to be implemented more in our society.

“A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise” (International Cooperative Alliance, “Statement of Cooperative Identity”, September 1995).

Cooperatives in general have been around ever since the Industrial Revolution in England.  For my personal initiative I will be focusing solely on a cooperative food market, a place that sells local produce and organic goods.  Food cooperatives, as they are formally referred to, are owned fully by their customers.  These co-ops are formed to gain control over the type and quality of products available and to obtain lower food prices.  There are only 12 major co-ops in the state of California, a dismal number when you look at the size and population of the state.  The majority of these co-ops are based in Northern California with none in Orange County.

I hope to influence Kim Coontz and the Board of Directors at the California Center for Cooperative Development to expand their initiative into Orange County.  The closest food co-op to me in Orange County is in Santa Monica, about a 45 minute drive.  With a well-established farmers market network here I feel there is a great interest in buying local produce and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Orange County residents will appreciate the addition of a food co-op to use as a substitute to the normal Ralphs, Albertsons and Fresh & Easy where the food is mass-produced and sold in impersonal environments.