Executive Summary

Cebu Mushrooms (CM) is a new NGO company formed under the laws of the Philippines.

This document has been prepared to provide the reader with information about the company, including business structure, company goals, an investment analysis and the industry trends.

CM to be located in Cebu will be involved in the cultivation of mushrooms for the local market specifically in the Visayas Region. The marketing of our mushrooms will commence two months from the time of the commencement of business operations.

Providing high quality products and services, we plan on competing favorably with established mushrooms farms through hiring the most competent hands that will drive the expansion plans of this business to achieve our desired goals.

Our mushrooms will be grown and distributed to the market using an extensive distribution network designed by professionals in this industry. Also, by adopting hygienic production and processing techniques, our products will adhere to the highest regulatory standards.

Objectives

The company’s objective is not only to make profit but also become a leading company that can compete favorably with other mushroom business in Cebu and also in the whole of the Philippines. To be able to effectively compete against our competitors, we intend to ensure that we hire the best professionals in the industry so as to build the perfect business structure.

Due to the fact that mushrooms are edible products, we intend to ensure that our mushrooms are grown in an environment that is conducive and hygienic. We are also growing the mushrooms organically as we intend to ensure that our mushrooms pack a high dose of nutrition.

Because we know how important our employees are to the growth of the organization, we intend to ensure that we create a conducive environment for them to work and also provide welfare packages that are aimed at ensuring that their productivity rate is increased.

Because the demand for mushrooms is increasing as more people are recognizing its importance, we have carefully chosen our channels of distribution that would ensure that our mushrooms reach all our existing customers and open opportunities to reaching potential customers.

One of our strongest factors at CM apart from producing and selling organic mushrooms is the excellent customer care we provide to our customers which has led to a high retention rate for us and an overall healthy bottom line for our business.

Our proficient uses of the internet to intensify awareness about our business and the products and services we offer are part of the sustainable practices that is obtainable at CM.

Mission

To provide hygienically packaged mushroom products in keeping with regulatory guidelines and also promoting the food and health needs of consumers.

Company Summary

Initially named Cebu Mushrooms (CM), the company anticipates that its efforts will have a positive impact on the local environment and economy.

CM proposes to choose its location after thoughtful and detailed research and demographic profiling.

Our Business Structure

Having a business structure is very important as it will help the business follow the vision which it has determined for itself. At CM, we have perfected the plans that will ensure that we get it right by employing only the best and competent hands to come and work in our firm to enable us attain the goals and objectives which we have set for ourselves.

Because we have a vision of ourselves becoming the brand leader in this industry, we knew we had to get all the right things done, from carrying out a feasibility study about the business, to writing a business plan that helped us determine the right capital that would be needed to start our business and creating roles and responsibilities so that we could employ just the right employees for our mushroom business.

Asides the fact that we intend to sell our mushrooms fresh and processed, there are other services that we would be offering as well to boost our earnings and so these services will need competent hands to ensure that all our operations run smoothly.

Listed below is the business structure we intend to use in building our mushroom business;

• Chief Executive Officer

• Mushroom Farm Manager

• Purchasing Manager

• Administrative Manager

• Sales and Marketing Team

• Accountant/treasurer

• Delivery Driver

• Production Workers

• Cleaner

Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer

• Responsible for the overall direction of the company

• Networks with other mushroom businesses and high powered clients on behalf of the company

• Oversees the management staff so as to increase their effectiveness.

Mushroom Farm Manager

• Responsible for growing the mushrooms

• Checks the mushrooms daily for defective ones

• Harvests the mushrooms when it is time

Purchasing Manager

• Responsible for purchasing all the raw materials needed by the business

• Sources for reliable vendors and distributors for the company

• Keeps an accurate database of all purchases and vendors

Administrative Manager

• Ensures that the business runs smoothly with as less hitches as possible

• Ensures that employees have great welfare packages and better working environments

• Assigns and delegates tasks to employees and ensures that they are carried out accordingly

Sales and Marketing Team

• Responsible for drafting marketing strategies and policies that will bring in sales for the company

• Continually research on target markets so as to identify new market opportunities for the company

• Engages in mushroom retailing to customers

• Is responsible for picking customer calls and taking down order requests or receiving complaints

• Receives customers on behalf of staff and direct them to the appropriate quarters

• Keeps an accurate database of customers for future profiling purposes

Accountant/treasurer

• Is responsible for all accurate financial records carried out by the business

• Ensures availability of cash for running operations and ensures that proper records are kept

• Carry out end of month reconciliation between the cash book and bank statement

Delivery Driver

• Delivers mushrooms to various accurate destinations using reliable routes

• Carry out light repair on delivery vehicle as well as regular maintenance as well

• Keeps an accurate logbook of distances travelled and also abides all traffic laws

Production Workers

• Do the processing of all mushroom production (e.g. bagging, sterilizing, inoculation, and etc.)

• Ensures that production quota are met at specified target schedules

Cleaner

• Ensure the farm and the entire premises are kept clean at all times

• Ensures that the restroom for customers and employees are kept neat at all times

• Ensures that cleaning supplies are always in stock

SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threat) Analysis

Because we know that it takes serious work before a business can become a leader in the industry, we have conducted a SWOT analysis so that we could effectively draft a strategy that will not only allow us compete favorably with our competitors in the marketplace but also ensure that our business stands out and is unique from that of our competitors.

In carrying out a SWOT analysis on our mushroom business, we intend to look internally at our strengths and weaknesses and externally at the opportunities and threats that are available to us.

Below is a preview of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of CM;

Strengths

The strength of our business lies in the fact that we would be growing various kinds of edible mushrooms to be able to reach a wide number of customers here in Central Visayas and also in the whole of the Philippines. We have a huge mushroom farm that is able to meet with the demands of our customers and have structures in place to meet with increasing demands.

Asides, offering fresh and processed mushrooms to our various customers, we will also offer training to intending mushroom farmers as well as consultancy services as well. Also, we have carefully chosen and perfected all our channels of distributions, so that our mushrooms can conveniently reach all our customers.

Because we know how important customers are to a business, we are offering an excellent customer service that will attend to the needs of our customers by attending to their requests, enquiries and orders and promptly resolving any complaints.

Weaknesses

The mushroom business isn’t new, which means that there are other established mushroom businesses in and around our location in Cebu. While this might be termed a weakness, we have however put strategies in place to ensure that we create the right awareness with potential customers and also ensure that our mushrooms are of the highest quality, as this we believe will effectively combat the other competitors.

Opportunities

Because mushrooms are a healthy meal for everyone, there are loads of opportunities that abound in this field, from those who are looking to start this business and need guidance. Also, because we are always on the lookout for new innovations and technologies in this field, we would be the perfect consultants for those who are new in the business and are looking for better ways to grow their business.

Threats

Every business faces threats every now and then and we acknowledge that we are going to face threats likely in the arrival of new competitors to our same location. The threat brought by this action can be curbed as we have strategies in place to combat any new strong competitor’s arrival.

MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

The mushroom market which has grown tremendously and is expected to continue is majorly drive by Filipinos love for consuming food that is healthy. Also, other trends include, increase in the processed food consumption and the ease of growing mushrooms.

This does not however mean that it is all rosy for the mushroom farmers as the limited shelf life of mushrooms is a serious hindrance to the business. The mushroom market is filled with intense competitors – small, medium and large scale – who apply various strategies to attract potential customers while also aiming to retain their own customers as well.

Another trend is the fact that mushrooms have multi-functional benefits especially as they are rich in proteins and have low or no fat and cholesterol. These nutritional values have nearly equated mushrooms as super foods. Also, mushrooms have been widely adopted by most growers in the country, with most selling their products in the farmer’s market.

The major challenge to the mushroom business has always been the limited shelf life but even that would soon change as there are several improving technologies, innovations as well as researches being constantly carried out to ensure that more people can have their mushrooms stay in their homes longer as well as more farmers storing their harvested mushrooms without worrying due to spoilage.

Our Target Market

Mushrooms are a favorite of many homes in the Central Visayas, and so we know that we have a huge target market available to buy our mushrooms. However, because we do not want to be limited by our idea of target market, we have also decided to carry out an in depth research into what to expect from our target market.

This would also help us to be able to draft effective strategies to conquer these target markets in and around Central Visayas and also in all other locations where we intend for our mushrooms to be sold at. The market research was done with the aid of a farm business consultant who has vast experience in the mushroom market, leading us to identify the markets that would patronize our products.

Asides selling mushrooms in retail, we also intend to sell them wholesale to the following groups of people;

• Local health food stores

• Households

• Farmers’ markets

• Supermarkets

• Restaurants (Regular and elite)

• Hotels

• Factory cafeterias

• College cafeterias

• Produce places

• Caterers and catering services

• Food coops

• Health spas

Our Competitive Advantage

Our vision of establishing CM is so as to meet the needs of mushroom loving customers by growing all the different mushrooms consumed in America and also to become the leading mushroom business not only in the Central Visayas but in the whole of the Philippines as well.

However to attain our vision we would need to have competitive advantage so as to compete favorably with already established mushroom farms while remaining proactive in competing against new mushroom farms that would spring up.

Our major competitive advantage is in ensuring that we have hired and competent hands on board to ensure that work on our farm goes on smoothly. Our hired employees will work in an environment that is conducive so as to ensure that they attain a high level of productivity. Also, we intend to have welfare packages in place that will show our employees that we care about their welfare.

Customers are the most important reasons a business succeeds, especially loyal customers. We intend to have an excellent customer service where all the enquiries, complaints and orders will be promptly attended to. We also intend to have an incentive referral program for our loyal customers and even our first timers, this will ensure that our customers retain their loyalty to our brand, thereby giving us the competitive advantage we would need to become industry leaders.

Because we know hoe internet inclined the world has become, we intend to push our business via the internet as well, by ensuring we build a user friendly website where all our products and services will be displayed. We will ensure we hire the best web consultant to deploy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for our website so that our website will appear amongst top leads, for users searching for mushroom businesses. Also, we intend to remain active through our social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

We intend to generate income for our business from different sources such as;

• Different kinds of fresh mushrooms such as common button agaricus, criminis, portabellas, shiitake, oysters, medicinal reishi, lions mane, wood ear, enoki and maitake

• Processed mushrooms (frozen, dried, canned)

• Offer consultancy and advisory services

• Sell eBooks for intending new farmers

• Give trainings

Sales Forecast

Due to the fact that mushrooms have zero cholesterol or fat in it, most people have incorporated into their diets; which means there will always be a demand for mushrooms locally.

Our intention of growing all the kinds of mushroom consumed in the Philippines is enough to not only solidify our position as a leading brand in the business but also means that we would meet our sales target within a year of growing and running the business.

We carried out a critical evaluation of our target market via the help of a hired business consultant and we were able to effectively gather facts in the industry that not only analyzed our chances of success but also showed how we intend to make our revenue and profit generation possible in Central Visayas and in the country.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Marketing ensures that your business, its products and services gets noticed by existing and potential customers. No matter how wonderful a business idea is, without plans and strategies set to successfully market the business, it is likely to fail. Marketing involves going out and spreading the word about your products and services.

In successfully marketing your product, you would need to ensure that your products and or services are well packaged, branded and of the highest quality. This would then determine what price you would set for the product and or service after considering all the costs incurred to produce and deliver.

This is where the purchasing, accounting, producing and marketing team all work together to ensure that the appropriate prices are set so that it becomes affordable to the customer whilst also not causing the company any loss.

In ensuring that our products and services reach as many of our target market as possible, we will ensure that we sell our products directly to the public via farmers’ market and special food festivals. Our products can also be sold via wholesalers and through our official website online. All our channels of distribution will be carefully chosen so that we can effectively penetrate the market.

Our marketing and sales team has been fully empowered to ensure that our corporate sales and marketing goals are fully achieved. Most of the strategies that would be used by our marketing team are those that will take cognizance of our overall organizational objectives.

CM will ensure that they use the following strategies below to effectively market our different kinds of mushrooms to our different customers;

• Creating a website and ensuring that our products and services offered are prominently displayed

• Using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram to effectively market our goods

• Sending out weekly or monthly newsletters to existing and potential customers about mushrooms and its benefits

• Networking with other mushroom farmers to ensure that Cebu Mushrooms is well known

• Distribute flyers in strategic locations

• Advertise our mushroom business via television, radio and newspapers

• Engage in word of mouth marketing

• Reward our customers with incentives if they refer customers to us

• Sponsor relevant activities and events in the local community

• Use letter drops and mail outs to effectively promote our mushroom business

Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Every business needs a bit of publicity and advertising to survive, and the mushroom business is no different. Our aim at CM as a standard company is to ensure that we can favorably compete with other leading mushroom farms in Central Visayas and the whole of the Philippines by ensuring that we draft strategies that will publicize and advertise our mushroom business.

Because we know how beneficial it would be for our mushroom business when we publicize and advertise rightly, we have hired an online publicity consultant to help draft publicity and advertising strategies that we ensure that we sell our mushrooms to all nooks and crannies in other cities of the Philippines asides from Cebu.

It would be noteworthy to state that not only are we carrying out publicity to increase our brand awareness and encourage more patronage from our customers but also to ensure that we communicate the message of our brand effectively. Some of the platforms we intend to use in publicizing and advertising our mushroom farm business include;

• Creating a unique website and making sure that we engage our customers vigorously through our webpage

• Participating in all food festivals and trade fairs for networking purposes

• Placing adverts in local newspapers, food and lifestyle magazines as well as on radio and television stations

• Distribute our unique fliers in various strategic locations

• Make use of our social media platforms lime Instagram and Facebook to promote our different kinds of mushrooms and the business in overall.

• Participate in community programs and relevant events

• Install billboards in various strategies and conspicuous locations all around Central Visayas

Our Pricing Strategy

Setting a price for any product depends on what was used in procuring and packaging the product, and also what was spent to make the product including the labor used. While it might not be so easy to set a price on services, physical goods are usually easy to set a price for. Pricing is very important as you must ensure that it will be affordable to your customers but not also make your company worse off, profits wise.

The prices for our mushrooms will totally depend on the kind of mushrooms as some breed demand more attention than others. We would also cut down costs where necessary so that we do not fix an unnecessary cost into our final price. This means that we would be fair to our customers and ourselves as regarding the price we would set for our mushrooms.

Payment Options

We at CM know how important it is for our customers to have an easy payment option and not be unduly stressed when intending to make payments. We are also aware that because people are different, there are preferences for different payment options that would suit their tastes and lifestyle.

In view of this, here are the payment options available to our customers;

• Cash payment

• Payment via credit card

• Payment via check

• Payment via online transfer

The above available payment options were carefully selected and in collaboration with our bank which have a trusted platform where we are sure of as few hitches as possible during transactions.

Financial Estimates

Start-up Summary

Start-up expense totals include legal costs, leasehold improvements, rent, and related expenses. Start-up assets required include assets office equipment, furniture, and initial inventory and initial cash to handle the first few months of expenses.

The bulk of capital generated for our mushroom business will be used to buy the spawn and substrate we will need to start the business as well as pay salaries of employees and utility bills as well.

Requirements

Start-up Expenses

Legal (Incorporation, Permits, Licenses)

    15,000.00

Consulting Services

    5,000.00

Leasehold Improvements / Renovations

  35,000.00

Stationery/Office Supplies

    4,000.00

Advertising/Promotion

    5,000.00

Website Design

    3,000.00

Space Rental (2 months advance, 1 month down payment)

  30,000.00

Utilities (During Build-out)

    20,000.00

Miscellaneous

    10,000.00

Total Start-up Expenses

  127,000.00

Start-up Assets

                          

Cash Required

20,000.00

Start-up Inventory (spawn, substrate, growing bags, packaging materials) (2 months production)

  134,880.00

Other Current Assets

                  -  

Long-term Assets

  -

Total Assets

154,880.00

Total Requirements

281,880.00

 

From the accurate estimation above, we would need an amount of Php281,880.00 to be able to successfully start a mushroom business that would not only become profitable but compete favorably with other established mushroom businesses out there.

Revenue Summary

Our source of revenue will come from the products and services we offer which consist of our variety of mushroom products in addition to the consultancy and advisory services we provided. A fee will be charged for these activities, including the training programs organized for interested farmers.

To achieve the required Annual Income to meet Operating Expenses, CM currently anticipates generating a conservative Php800K in Earned Income:

 

Monthly Sales  P100,000.00

                         

     150,000.00 X 12 months

    1,800,000.00

Monthly Expenses

 

     83,440.00 X 12 months

    1,001,280.00

Total Earned Income (Php)

798,720.00

 

Promotion Strategy

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The company’s first objective in promoting our center will be to capitalize on the power of the WORD OF MOUTH.

In every business it is a well-known fact that word-of-mouth advertising is any businesses’ best friend or worst enemy. Yet, this does not preclude the fact that announcements, placing advertisements in the local newspapers, television, radio, lifestyle magazines and our future planned website are not just as important in reaching new visitors and will be employed as follows:

Advertising

Getting our positioning message to the public, “healthy option.”

Internet Advantage
a website will be created for the company for online exposure.

Sales Brochure
Informing the public of all the products offered at the center.