FEASIBILITY STUDY OF FRUKIES BAKESHOP IN NASUGBU EAST SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

ABSTRACT

Frukies Bakeshop is a new business located at Nasugbu East Senior High School in Batangas. Our goal is to provide customers with innovative fruit-based treats using locally sourced ingredients. We have carefully considered the expenses for business overheads to ensure financial success. Our target market is the students of Nasugbu East Senior High School. The sales projection was based on a survey, and we will use cost-plus pricing for our pricing strategy. We plan to promote our business through social media, flyers, posters, and ambulant channels. Our competitive advantage lies in our unique offerings and positioning strategy. The location of our bakeshop is crucial for efficient product delivery. The startup cost of PHP 160,000.00 will be invested by the owners to obtain necessary materials and equipment. The projected return on investment (ROI) rate of the business are 17.76%, 22.62%, and 27.92% for years 2024, 2025, and 2026 respectively. We use affordable fruits like bananas, mangoes, and avocados to keep our prices reasonable for all customers. Offering affordable products is important to attract a wide range of customers and generate sales. 

Keywords: Frukies, Banana, Mango, Avocado, Cookies

Introduction

The Philippine fruit and vegetable industry faced major problems due to the short shelf life of the produce. There is a high postharvest loss (up to 40% or almost PhP26M loss per year) and food wastage of fruits due to over-ripening, rotting, bruises, dents. This amounts to millions of pesos in the Philippines where food is the primary concern of the population. The industry is faced with the challenge of retaining and/or improving the quality and prolonging the shelf life of fresh produce from harvest to the final customer. (PCIEERD Innovations 2024)

The Frukies Bakeshop utilized the used of native fruits in the Philippines such as the banana, mango and avocado. Furthermore, According to Mendiola (2022), The Philippines is the second major exporter of bananas in the world. That alone is enough to tell you about the significant role the fruit plays in the country's economy. By itself, bananas are an important source of revenue for farmers; moreover, its byproducts constitute their own industry. Plus, it's a great-tasting and nutritious fruit.

There are over 20 known varieties of bananas grown in the Philippines.
Among them, the Cavendish is the most prolific in terms of export as well as the biggest in terms of production, comprising almost half of the total volume. Locally, saba, lakatan, and latundan can be found in any household's fruit bowl. The banana industry has encountered numerous challenges through the years, from mites and climate change to poor infrastructure and even politics. Plantation bananas have been affected by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, which resulted in disputes over land distribution. In 2012, China, the biggest buyers of bananas, imposed quarantines on local bananas over the Scarborough Shoal issue.

Mango, locally known as "mangga" and scientifically named Mangifera indica L., is the Philippines' national fruit. It is also the third most important fruit crop based on export volume in the Philippines, next to banana and pineapple. The Philippines ranks 10th among the top producers of mango in the world with a 2.5% share in production (FAO 2014). Based on the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as of 2021, Ilocos Region remained the top mango producer with 124.68 thousand metric tons, contributing 22.4 percent to the national production, followed by SOCCSKSARGEN and Zamboanga Peninsula, which both shared 9.8 percent to the national output. (https://ispweb.pcaarrd.dost.gov.ph/isp-commodities/mango/)

In the Philippines, avocados are almost as common as bananas. Only that avocados are seasonal and bananas are there all year round.
While it's true that, among fruits, avocados are higher in calories, it is significantly lower in sugar. And avocados contain mostly monounsaturated fatty acids - about 20 grams per avocado - which are known to help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering the "bad" cholesterol and raising the "good" cholesterol. Another heart health benefit of avocado is its high potassium content. Potassium may help lower blood pressure, which in turn may help reduce the risk for hypertension-related diseases such as stroke and heart disease. Furthermore, Avocados are very high in fiber, with 14 grams in one avocado. Fiber aids in appetite control and, thus, helps in weight management. And fiber can help protect against certain cancers as well as inflammation (Peña, 2017).

The Philippines cookies and crackers market is on a growth trajectory, fueled by changing snacking habits and urbanization. As more consumers seek convenient and on-the-go snacking options, the demand for cookies and crackers has risen. Busy lifestyles and the influence of Western snack culture are driving the market's growth.

Moreover, the introduction of innovative flavors, healthier ingredients, and attractive packaging is further propelling the consumption of cookies and crackers in the country. The cookies and crackers market in the Philippines is likely to experience growth due to changing consumer preferences and an increasing snacking culture. Health-conscious choices and unique flavor demands are shaping the market landscape. Nevertheless, competition from local and international brands and the necessity to strike a balance between taste and health attributes could present challenges to market players. (6Wresearch,
2022)

Methodology       

Scope and Limitations  

This research focuses on the establishment of Frukies Bakeshop in Nasugbu East Senior High School. It will address the marketing, management, and financial aspects of providing healthy snack to the students within the school. The proponents will utilized 297 learners as respondents of the study. The number of samples and is determined with the use of Raosoft calculator. Stratified random sampling will be used in this study to spread an equal distribution of samples per strata.

Data Gathering Instrument  

The survey questionnaires were distributed to the respondents to assess the feasibility of the business and gather the relevant information for the report. The designed questionnaire incorporates the demographic characteristics of the respondents and their interest in utilizing the products offered by the proponents. The categories employed in the survey will function as the instrument for estimating the business expenses. 

Data Gathering Procedure 

The proponent has done the following procedures in data gathering: 

1. The proposed business entitled “Frukies Bakeshop” was presented to the Business Research Project Professor.

2. After the approval of the title, the researchers conducted a thorough investigation and used modern way to gather up-to-date information by searching online.

3. Then, the researchers created a questionnaire for the survey, and will distribute using stratified sampling method to equally distribute the questionnaire.

4. The researchers collected the filled-out surveys and then counted, analyzed, and evaluated the data.

Respondents of the Study 

Table 1

The respondents of the proposed business are the learners in Nasugbu East Senior High School. The proponent had chosen the specified area since the proponent resides and plans to establish the business in Nasugbu East Senior High School. The proponent utilized 297 learners as respondents of the study. Raosoft calculator was used to determine the number of samples, and stratified random sampling to spread an equal distribution of samples per strata. Based from the results of the survey, out of 297 respondents, the researchers found 2 outliers 

Target Market  

The target market of Frukies Bakeshop are the students at Nasugbu East Senior High School. Offering a variety of fruit-based snacks that cater to different tastes. The bakeshop aims to provide convenient and easy-to-access options within the school, making it the preferred choice for students seeking healthy and tasty treats. Collaborating with the school administration can help promote these nutritious snacks and their benefits for students’ well-being.

Results and discussion   

Willingness to Purchase the Products of Frukies Bakeshop 

Table 2

Table 2.1 shows that 264 of the respondents has the willingness to avail the products of the proposed business, which represents the 89% of the total population of Nasugbu East Senior High School, while the 33 respondents, which represents the 11% of the population was not willing to avail the proposed product 

Willingness to Purchase per Item 

Table 3

Based on the information gathered from the survey questionnaire, for the first product line featuring the banana frukies, 30% of the respondents are willing to purchase this flavor. For the next product line which is the mango frukies with the highest level of willingness to purchase was interpreted at 45% based on the respondents. For the avocado frukies, it has the lowest level of willingness to purchase with 25% response from the respondents. 

Breakdown of Students` Weekly Allowance 

Table 4

Table 2.2 shows that most of the allowance of the respondents are ranging from 400 to 699 pesos which represent the 56% of the total population of the Nasugbu East Senior High School. 

Breakdown of Students` Weekly Snack Budget 

Table 5

Table 2.3 shows that majority of the respondent has 50-249 pesos weekly budget for snacks, which represents the 67.12% of the total population of Nasugbu East Senior High School. On the other hand, the lowest is 850 to 1049 pesos weekly budget for snacks, which is from 1 of the respondents and it represent 0.34% of the population 

Breakdown of Students` Purchasing Potential 

Table 6

Based on the data collected from the survey questionnaire, in the breakdown of students’ purchasing potential, it appears that most of the students have a potential range between Php 10.00 and Php 79.00, purchasing potential that includes 235 students, which represents 83.33% of the total population of Nasugbu East Senior High School. On the other hand, the potential ranges of Php 290.00 to Php 359.00 and Php 360.00 to Php 449.00 have the lowest quantity of students, with only 2 students in each potential range, which represents 0.71% of the total population of Nasugbu East Senior High School 

Breakdown of Students` Purchasing Potential in Peso 

Table 7

Total Average Spending Potential (Total\Total Population) = 65.98 Weekly Average Potential based on Canteen Data = 69.00 

This table presents a detailed breakdown of students' purchasing potential in pesos. It includes different potential ranges and the corresponding average amount or quantity spent by the students in each range. It shows the percentage of students over the total purchasing population potential in each range. The table culminates by providing the total average spending potential, which is calculated to be 65.98 pesos. It shows that 65.98 pesos is somehow related to the canteen data, which is 69.00 pesos. 

Students` Perception on Affordability of Frukies 

Table 8

Based on the table, the results of the survey presents that all the respondents strongly agrees that the flavors of frukies are afforadable. 

Students` Perception on Effective Promotional Strategy 

Table 9

Based on the results of the survey, Poster has a total responses of 17%; Flyers and Ambulant has the same responses which is 8% of the population. Most of the respondents preferred the social media promotion who have the highest quantity which is 222 or 67% of the total responses. Therefore, Frukies Bakeshop will use the Social Media promotion/ Facebook promotion as their promotional strategy to advertise and promote the frukies.

Conclusion

The results of the survey shows that most of the respondents have an allowance ranging between 400.00 to 699.00 pesos.  It also shows that 89% of the respondents are willing to purchase Frukies especially the mango flavored frukies. The survey also found that the average spending potential of the respondents is 65.98 pesos which seen to somehow related to the weekly average potential based on the canteen data which is 69.00 pesos.

Recommendation

Based on the results of the findings, it is recommended to focus on promoting the Mango flavored frukies, as it has the highest willingness to purchase with a. Marketing efforts should also target the range between Php 10.00 and Php 79.00, as this is the most students’ purchasing potential . Utilizing social media advertisement as the main promotional strategy of the business can help increase the brand awareness and build brand identity that will lead in attracting more customers.