Bumble - 1st Place - 2017 National Business Plan Competition
Summary
TLDRBumble, a company founded by Victoria von Flu, aims to bolster the threatened bee population while offering honey products and pollination services. Based in the San Joaquin Valley, Bumble benefits from a prime location for agricultural business and offers unique honey flavors, distinguishing it from competitors. Despite initial challenges such as a limited number of hives, the company is proactive in expanding its supply and focuses on both retail and commercial sectors. With a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship and community involvement, Bumble's revenue is derived from pollination services, business contracts, and retail sales. The company faces threats like colony collapse disorder but has strategies in place to mitigate risks and is poised for growth, with plans to expand its reach and impact globally.
Takeaways
- đŻ The average American consumes 1.5 pounds of honey annually, signifying a substantial market for honey products.
- đ Honey production saw a 9% increase in the past year, indicating growth in the industry.
- đ Bees are crucial for pollinating over 70% of the world's crops, highlighting their importance to global food security.
- đ° Lone bee pollination contributed over $19 billion to the US economy last year, underscoring the economic impact of bees.
- đ Bumble, established in 2016, aims to bolster the threatened bee population and support communities with honey products and pollination services.
- đą Bumble's location in the San Joaquin Valley positions it advantageously for B2B sales between agricultural producers and their pollination services.
- đ Bumble differentiates itself by offering five unique flavors of raw honey and specialized pollination services with an 8 frame guarantee.
- đŠ As of now, Bumble has 500 hives available for rental, which is a potential weakness due to the company's early stage, but they plan to double the supply by 2018.
- đ Market opportunities include high demand for pollination services, especially in California, and the potential for honey to alleviate allergic symptoms.
- đ± Threats to Bumble include Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and harmful pesticides, which the company is proactively managing through partnerships and precautions.
- đŻ Bumble's goals are to foster environmental awareness and operate cohesively with all departments aligned towards common objectives, using KPIs to track progress.
- đ Bumble's profit is derived from 44% pollination services, 38% business contracts, and the remaining 18% from storefront, web sales, and tradeshow events.
- đč Bumble started with a $150,000 loan and has a cash flow that, as of April 2017, holds $220,000, indicating positive financial performance.
- đ The company's break-even point is projected to be reached with the sale of 35,000 units at an average price of $27, with a net profit rate of 38%.
- đ Bumble faces risks such as competition and consumer loyalty to existing honey producers but has strategies in place to mitigate these risks and ensure growth.
Q & A
How much honey does the average American consume annually?
-The average American consumes 1.5 pounds of honey each year.
What is the significance of bees in global agriculture?
-Bees pollinate over 70% of the world's crops, which is crucial for food production.
How much did bee pollination contribute to the US economy last year?
-Bee pollination contributed over 19 billion dollars to the US economy.
When did Bumble open its doors and what type of corporation is it?
-Bumble opened its doors on November 1st, 2016, as an S-Corporation.
What is Bumble's mission?
-Bumble's mission is to replenish the threatened bee population while supporting the community and crop lands with their honey products and pollination services.
What are the two main areas of focus for Bumble's business?
-Bumble's business is primarily focused on pollination services and its product line, which includes unique flavors of raw honey.
What is the current weakness in Bumble's business model?
-One of the current weaknesses is that Bumble only has five hundred hives available for rental, which could be risky for a startup business.
How does Bumble plan to address the issue of limited hives?
-Bumble is planning to double its hive supply by 2018 and is also considering buying an additional 250 hives using a portion of its cash reserve.
What is the potential impact of reduced honey imports from Asian countries on Bumble?
-With less competition from imported honey, Bumble expects to see an increase in demand for its honey, providing an opportunity to fill the market gap left by reduced imports.
What is Bumble's strategy for expansion?
-Bumble is considering expanding its retail sales to the East Coast, increasing its market share in the pollination industry, and potentially extending its international outreach program to more countries beyond Brazil.
How does Bumble ensure the protection of its bee population?
-Bumble requires its business partners to notify them 40 hours prior to spraying any pesticides on their property so that necessary action can be taken to protect the bee population.
What is the significance of Bumble's 'Bee's Needs' program?
-The 'Bee's Needs' program is Bumble's outreach initiative that focuses on both domestic and international efforts to support bees, including planting bee-friendly gardens and educating children about the importance of bees.
Outlines
đ Bumble's Business Overview and Market Position
Bumble, established in 2016, aims to bolster the declining bee population while offering honey products and pollination services. The company is strategically located in the San Joaquin Valley, a significant agricultural hub. Bumble differentiates itself by offering unique honey flavors and specialized pollination services. Despite starting with only 500 hives, the company plans to expand and is actively increasing brand awareness. They face challenges like competition and colony collapse disorder but have strategies to mitigate these risks. Bumble's goals include environmental stewardship and community involvement, with a strong focus on employee collaboration and performance.
đŻ Bumble's Market Insights and Product Strategy
Bumble faces minimal competition in the local honey market and has a distinct advantage in offering raw honey varieties. The company targets adults aged 30 to 45 who are interested in high-quality honey products and pollination services. Bumble's product line extends to skincare and is priced competitively. The company's marketing efforts are diverse, utilizing social media and local events to engage consumers. Bumble also has a strong community outreach program and derives its profit from pollination services, business contracts, and retail sales. The company's financials are healthy, with a clear path to break-even and growth.
đ Bumble's Expansion Plans and International Trade Considerations
Bumble is considering expansion beyond its current scope, with a focus on both the East Coast and international markets. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on reduced honey imports, which could increase demand for its products. Bumble is also looking to grow its presence in the lucrative pollination industry. While initially aiming for a balanced focus on retail and commercial sectors, Bumble has found that its commercial services, particularly pollination, are more profitable. The company is proactive in addressing threats to its hive supply and is planning to expand its operations while maintaining financial stability.
đ Bumble's Financial Planning and Risk Management
Bumble has a robust financial plan that includes the acquisition of additional hives to meet growing demand. With a substantial cash reserve, the company is financially equipped to expand its operations significantly. Bumble is cautious about the risk of colony collapse disorder and maintains a cash reserve to quickly replace any lost hives. The company's strategic planning and financial management aim to ensure long-term sustainability and growth, even in the face of potential challenges.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄHoney Production
đĄPollination Services
đĄBumble Bee Population
đĄSWOT Analysis
đĄS-Corporation
đĄHive Rental
đĄColony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
đĄBeekeeping
đĄEnvironmental Stewardship
đĄApiary Industry
đĄVirtual Enterprise Market
Highlights
The average American consumes 1.5 pounds of honey per year.
Honey production has increased by 9% in the past year.
Bees are responsible for pollinating over 70% of the world's crops.
Lone bee pollination contributed over $19 billion to the US economy last year.
Bumble, led by CEO Victoria von Flu, opened in 2016 with a mission to support the bee population and local agriculture.
Bumble is located in the San Joaquin Valley, a strategic location for B2B sales and agricultural partnerships.
The company offers five unique flavors of raw honey, differentiating it from local competitors.
Bumble's pollination services guarantee 8 out of 10 frames covered in bees, exceeding local standards.
Bumble has 500 hives available for rental but plans to double the supply by 2018.
The company has a diverse and aggressive marketing campaign to increase brand awareness.
There's a high demand for pollination services, especially in California, presenting an opportunity for Bumble.
Honey is known to alleviate allergic symptoms, beneficial in areas with severe air pollution and allergy seasons.
Bumble faces threats such as colony collapse disorder (CCD) and requires partners to notify them before pesticide use.
Bumble's goals include fostering environmental awareness and promoting values among employees.
The company uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor employee success and company goal achievement.
Bumble's long-term goals include contracting with five local agriculture producers within the next 18 months.
The US has seen a 1.9% increase in national GDP and a drop in unemployment rates, beneficial for small businesses like Bumble.
Bumble is ready to meet the demand for domestic honey production, as 80% of honey consumed in the US is currently imported.
Pollination services in the US are valued at $19 billion, presenting significant growth opportunities for Bumble.
Bumble's revenue is sourced from 44% pollination services, 38% business contracts, and 18% from storefront and online sales.
The company aims to break even by May 2017 with a net profit rate of 38%, accounting for both fixed and variable expenses.
Bumble faces business risks such as competition and consumer loyalty to previous honey producers but has strategies to mitigate these risks.
Transcripts
the average American eats 1.5 pounds of
honey a year honey production has a 9%
in the past year
bees pollinate over 70% of the world's
agriculture last year lone bee
pollination contributed over 19 billion
dollars to the US economy so you might
be wondering what's all the buzz about
hello my name is victoria von flu CEO of
bumble and this is my hive maddie Rivera
VP of HR ma young CEO Oh Griffin peavler
CFO Sofia Caputo VP of Sales bumble
opened its doors on November 1st of 2016
as an s-corporation with the loan
150,000 dollars in a contract with wave
farms bumbles mission is to replenish
the threatened bee population while
supporting our community and our crop
lands with our honey products and
pollination services our company
educates consumers on the importance of
bees fostering a positive social
environmental and economic influence in
current County and beyond a look at our
SWOT analysis we'll highlight how the
company plans to succeed first the
strength bumble is located in the heart
of the San Joaquin Valley and Agri
business hub where over 250 types of
produce are grown and is responsible for
almost 15 percent of the world's
agriculture this is the perfect
environment to establish
business-to-business sales between local
agricultural producers and our
pollination services second bumble has
strong product differentiation we offer
five unique flavors of raw honey in
comparison to our local competitors who
only offer to our pollination services
are specialized with an 8 frame
guarantee meaning that in our 10 frame
view boxes at any given time eight
frames will be completely covered in
bees in comparison to local pollination
service providers who only guarantee six
frames now the weaknesses as of now
bumble only has five hundred hives
available for rental which could be
dangerous in such a fragile stage of
start-up business however we are already
taking steps to double our hive supply
by 2018 and in the mean time we'll
emphasize our retail dependent revenue
streams
lastly bumble is conscious of our lack
of brand awareness within a broad
industry to combat this we've created a
marketing campaign that is diverse and
aggressive so that our customers can
join us in saving the bees however they
please bumble is presented with a few
market and environmental variables that
one
selves to potential opportunities the
demand for pollination services severely
out members the available supply of bees
and high especially in California making
the ideal time to enter this market
honey has also been known to alleviate
allergenic symptoms which is welcome
news to our home back in Kern County
where we suffer from severe air
pollution and a harsh allergy season
bumble does face a few external threats
one being colony collapse disorder or
CCD an instance where bees abandon their
hives leading to a loss of production
harmful pesticides catalyze CCD for this
reason bumble requires its business
partners to notify as forty hours prior
to spraying any pesticides on their
property so that we can take the
necessary action to maintain and protect
our bee population bumble's business
goals include fostering environmental
awareness to our community as we promote
the same values in our employees at
bumble we formulate our company's
objectives through the collaborative
efforts of our executive team allowing
for all departments to work cohesively
with the same goals in mind in addition
to an open-door policy we will quarterly
evaluations for employees to ensure that
they are performing in accordance with
bumbles expectations and objectives we
utilize key performance indicators or
KPIs which help us monitor the
progression of employee success towards
achieving company goals our hive is
organized in a spoken-- wheel
organization chart which allows our
executive rank to establish the most
effective models planning within the
company each department follows a
specific chain of command that works its
way up to the delegated executive
officer of each department ensuring that
all departments are working
collaboratively towards Gumbel's long
term mission when a bubble's for long
term business goals includes contracting
with five local agriculture producers
within the next 18 months
currently the economy is buzzing
especially for small businesses the
united states have experienced a 1.9
percent increase in national GDP over
the past year alone and with the healthy
inflation rate of 2.5 percent consumers
have flexibility with their disposable
income California's unemployment rate
has dropped the 5 percent and the
national unemployment rate is now only
4.8%
which is the lowest of this decade the
honey and apiary industries provide
growth opportunities for the company
there are currently 1700 commercial
beekeepers with an annual industry
growth rate of 4.4% in the u.s. national
honey industry report recorded 486
million pounds
honey consumed by Americans in 2015 but
80% of that honey is imported to the
United States bumble is ready to do its
parts help meet that demand pollination
services proved to exceed honey
production in terms of value in a
Cornell University study pollination
services in in the United States were
valued at 19 billion dollars the USDA
data shows it in the California Central
Valley almond farmers alone spend up to
239 million dollars annually on bee
pollination services through our
contract with wave farms we are
contributing 250 hives almond production
thus tapping into industry opportunities
our company's faces the real world
competition of local honey producing
companies like Jim's honey farm VI
market insights with less than 75 firms
categorizes business services
none of which focus on pollination
though there are numerous vie cosmetic
companies like essence no one is quite
like bumble as our quality products line
in our vital outreach efforts are
unmatched of the 54 virtual food and
beverage companies including all out on
top none offer whipped or raw honey
essentially our products are not yet
faced with any competition on the
virtual market allowing us to control
our entire market share some of target
market consists of adults ages 30 to 45
looking to purchase high quality
artisanal honey products and bee
pollination services we chose this age
range based off of real-world statistics
and data discovering that in the San
Joaquin Valley farmers an immediate
pollination services as well as men and
women willing to spend their disposable
income on our products fellows in this
age range now this is not to say that
bumble plans to exclude any other age
demographics honey knows no age and 16
or 67 its health benefits can be enjoyed
by anyone and everyone that being said
the ideal bumble customer doesn't come
from a specific age group or demographic
bumble prides itself on attracting the
customer that's interested in the health
benefits honey has to offer while
focusing on environmental stewardship as
well our storefront is located in
downtown Bakersfield California downtown
Bakersfield is seen as a hub of vibrant
life and the influx of people brought to
this area for First Friday a monthly
festival can ensure us an ever expanding
customer base for our product line
bumble harvest the beeswax and honey in
order to create a diverse product line
offering skincare life
I'll edible and service-based goods we
also follow product quality leadership
strategy and research industry markups
when determining our retail prices on
the low-priced consumer end of our
perceptional map our honey sticks and
lip balm can be found our 12 ounce jars
of whipped and raw honey are
competitively priced in a consumer
favorite as we offer five rich flavors
the company also outsources argues to
local growers in the San Joaquin Valley
and bee box rentals average at $200 per
bee box per month it can be seen through
our promotional marketing mix that we
strive to reach out to both our real and
virtual consumers and we do so through
various various social media accounts
personnel selling presents at each of
our local farmers markets and each of
our California's EE trade shows
we also exclusively offer tradeshow
promotions during tradeshow season not
seen in our normal catalog offerings one
of which includes a special honey flight
where you can sample four of our unique
flavors the bees means is our outreach
program focused both domestically and
internationally the bees needs
international partners with the honey
hutch to donate 100 of our hives to send
to South America the bees needs
California so kiss back home in
Bakersfield where we're planting be
friendly gardens around town and
educating current county children about
the necessity of the bee in our everyday
life bumbles profit placement is sourced
from 44% pollination services 38%
business contract and the remaining 18%
is comprised of storefront transactions
web sales and tradeshow events bumble
was started with a loan $150,000 our
cash flow and balance sheet proof cash
to be the most prominent assets holding
two hundred and twenty thousand dollars
as the ending cash of April 2017 our
business contact with wave farms
accounts for seventy five percent of
payroll which is consistently bumbles
largest expense starred expenses from
our income statement have set prices
provided by the standard payment rates
of vei
while other expenses were calculated by
comparing similar expenses from local
businesses the break-even point in
average units of sale will occur when
35,000 units have been sold at an
average price of twenty seven dollars
and a net profit rate of thirty eight
percent this net profit rate accounts
for both fixed and variable expenses as
bumble has met all the sales projections
to date we can accurately project to
break-even by May of 2017
now bumble does face a few business
risks
when you start up companies possible the
consumers would stay loyal to their
previous honey producers in the event
that we fail to make sales projections
bubble will send sales representatives
into the agriculture community to remind
business owners of bubbles unmatched
high quality at a fair price if we fail
to create our projected amount of
business-to-business sales the company
would certainly have to take strategic
measures business-to-business sales
make up roughly 1/2 of all of our income
while this lack of financial support
would hinder bumble's growth our
relatively high profit margins and
aggressive marketing strategies would
allow us to stay afloat in the event of
this risk or to occur due to the
multi-faceted nature of our business
operation it is highly unlikely there
are two primary revenue streams should
fail to meet sales projections
simultaneously so why bumble an untapped
market full of potential over 1 million
dollars of revenue in the first year
alone your investments can make a global
impact so be a part of our movement
bumble from our hives to yours and
that's what the buzz is about thank you
we will now take any questions well done
so as a lot of discussion national
discussion going on around international
trade all right would your business do
better in an environment with more or
less regulation so to refer to some of
the current policies regarding the
international trade the new
administration seems to be taking a step
back from it specifically the
trans-pacific partnership and this means
that we can expect to see less imports
from a lot of Asian countries and so
looking at the on the honey industry in
particular 80% of the honey that you see
on the store shelves is imported from
Asian countries and so if we see less
imports from these countries that means
that bumble will expect to see the last
competition in the future in terms of
honey and we can actually fill in the
demand that is now available because of
the reduced imports Kirchhoff question
assuming you continue to grow and become
a very mature business in your wildest
dream what would be the next phase of
expansion beyond your current product
offering or would you argue to
not expand outside of you're very
focused scope so right now bumble is
focused in California in Bakersfield but
we've already been taking steps to kind
of branch out to the East Coast with our
retail sales so we have a few business
contracts or a business of business
sales agreements one with Brooklyn sweet
and savory catering where we provide
them our honey for their restaurant and
so in the future in terms of expansion
we're looking at making more of those
contracts and getting bubbles named more
over here looking at the pollination
industry the industry is actually a 19
billion-dollar place and so looking to
bumble's growth 19 billion dollars is a
huge market and if we could take a
larger spot in not than we are right now
I'd be a great advancement to our
company however we do see a lot of
potential specifically strengthening our
ability to happen into the industry in
Kern County specifically so as mentioned
previously Kern County the area where
we're based right now a councilors 15%
of the world agriculture and so before
we want to expand outside of that and
spread ourselves too thin we wanted to
make sure that we're maximizing our
profits with the resources we already
have they're in our wildest dreams as
far as our mission goes we would love to
be able to expand our beez kneez program
to more South Africa South American
countries as we are only in Brazil at
the moment so the best thing for our
company in the world would be if we
could expand that to multiple countries
instead of just one so in listening to
your presentation I heard a lot about
retail honey sales and as I looked at
the chart there lots of different
individual products at the far upper
right-hand corner of course you have the
pollination service and that seems to
constitute 50% or more of profits and
revenues so I guess my question to you
is are you a retail company or you a
commercial company or are you trying to
be both in the beginning when we started
bumble we wanted to create a business
that was equally focused on pollination
services and our products line however
after our first few months of operation
we realized that it was kind of
unrealistic to be a 50/50 company
because pollination services do exceed
profit-wise over our product line but we
do see that the product line still
a really vital part of our company
because it allows us to reach the
virtual enterprise market the
pollination services you can't really
sell a beehive to a 16 year old at a
trade show however you can't sell honey
and you can't sell face maps and
products and that's this is a way that
we really tap into the virtual market
and so while we're not a 50/50 centered
business both of them are really vital
parts to our company and so when you
look specifically at our profitability
while the commercial sector of our
company is definitely the main sector
the fact is we're not losing profit by
focusing on both so when we look at the
revenue generated from our retail sales
which are mostly emphasized in the
virtual world we're generating enough to
also have 100 thousand dollars of profit
specifically comparing them to expenses
related to retail sales so things like
our storefront rent and because of that
we see that it's still beneficial for us
to invest in both sectors but we do
mainly focus on the commercial sector in
one of your earlier slides you made an
observation about a threat about not
having enough hives how are you going to
rectify that if you have that
opportunity where there's less
competition so that this way you could
kind of slot in and meet the current
demand in terms of hives we are already
planning to double our hive supply by
2018 and as we grow a more firm customer
base as a company we can definitely
expand on that however taking
competition into play that comment was
made on the commercial side are on the
consumer side I'm sorry more so as the
honey imported from Asian countries and
would be our opportunity to jump on that
new available space and in terms of
actions we're already taking this month
we're planning on buying 250 additional
hives you utilizing a percentage of our
cash reserve which is $220,000 and so it
cost us 40 granted by our initial 500
hives and with our 220 grand cash
reserve
we have enough wiggle room to be able to
actually buy our high supply five times
over four times over
and so the reason what we haven't
already done this is because for one we
want to save cash to hire more
beekeepers before weeks they don't have
to buy too much but for two we want to
have some Casa service left over in case
there is a risk of colony collapse
disorder so that let's say we lose a
portion of our hives we can
by those highs back and still have cash
reserve to expand in the future
[Applause]
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