Hope Blooms Case

Hope Blooms

Karim Popatia

Popa9140@mylaurier.ca

140289140

What

        Hope Blooms is a social enterprise located in Halifax that is owned and operated by Jessie Jollymore, a registered dietitian. Hope Blooms’ goal is to empower the at-risk youth in their community by engaging them in entrepreneurial activities and lead them towards a healthy life style. Throughout their company life cycle however, they have been facing a consistent problem. They are unable to satisfy the increasing amount of demand due to their internal capacity issues and as a result can not grow. Furthermore, most of their volunteers are currently in school and do not have much free time to dedicate to Hope Blooms. In other words, Hope is not able to bloom without growing.

        It is recommended that Hope Blooms, also known as HB, use a multi step approach to combat their capacity and growth issues. First, they should distribute their loan in a way that allows them to purchase additional storage space while still being able to build their greenhouse in 2015. It is assumed that since HB sells out of their product every year, that they are going to sell out at their full capacity of 20,000 units as well once the greenhouse is built. Next, they should use their strong position in their community to attract graduate students to assist in making their product during the hours that their volunteers are at school, and to act as student mentors when they are not. Finally, they should expand into the retail market once this extra storage and manpower is obtained in order to grow their brand awareness and market share.

Why

        The recommendation listed above satisfies the decision criteria listed in exhibit G, and is therefore a viable option for HB to pursue. According to the projected income statement outlined in exhibit A, not only is it qualitatively feasible but it will also generate a profit for them in 2015 and in future years when they expand to retailers. Furthermore, referring to exhibit C, a SWOT analysis shows that the recommendation takes advantage of HB’s opportunities and strengths while mitigating their threats and weaknesses. It ensures that HB maintains their charity status while still making a profit and growing at the same time. Additionally, it solves their capacity issue, gives the students mentors to look up to and an opportunity to expand in the retail market.

How

        The first step in implementing this strategy is to distribute the $40,000 to both the warehouse and the purchase of a storage facility (see exhibit F). They should purchase a storage facility located near their greenhouse to ensure the ease and transfer of inventory. After this is completed, they will have additional capacity which will eliminate their underlying issue. The next step is to look at the marketing mix to find an efficient way to strengthen their brand awareness to attract graduate students. This is illustrated in exhibit B. HB should focus more on the promotional side of this mix and use it to attract these graduate volunteers. The way that HB can grab their attention is by putting ads in newspapers offering them a chance to mentor the leaders of tomorrow while helping HB make additional units in the time their volunteers are in school. Furthermore, HB should use the STP analysis and positioning statement found in exhibit D and E to appeal to these graduate students who once lived in that community and get help them understand what HB is doing for it. The final step would be expanding into the retail market once HB has established that their storage facility is large enough to meet the demand required. HB should do business with companies that share the same values as they do, such as Loblaw and Sobeys (see exhibit H). They can do this by establishing brand awareness with the current deal they have with Loblaw, which is guaranteed to happen based on the current popularity of their product on a local scale. In a nutshell, this recommendation will allow HB to blossom while still staying true to their values and to the youth in their community.

Appendices

A)

Projected Income Statement for 2015[pic 1]

        [pic 2]

B)

C) SWOT Analysis

D) STP Analysis