JEN ASHLEY RIANI NANDANA KATIE

“Indulge your love. Indulge your family.

Indulge.”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. House of IV Chocolate is a gift from the gods. We use high-quality artisan chocolate that is luxurious in appeal and delectable in taste. Visit House of IV Chocolate at our Toronto location, or order customizable chocolate treats online. With a focus on design and personalization, chocolate is custom-made and can be delivered throughout Canada and the United States.

Why choose IV? We are the ultimate luxury brand. IV allows you to design a chocolate bar that tantalizes your taste buds. Select a base bar (milk, dark, or white) and add toppings and flavours that will make your loved one swoon. Build your own truffle boxes. Choose from hundreds of flavour combinations or select from our specialties.

II. We are asking for a $500,000 loan to fund our new business.

Our IV Chocolate team consists of:

Jen Director of Design and Event PlanningRiani Master Chocolatier and Director of Innovative DesignNandana Director of Social MediaAshley Director of Public RelationsKatie Director of Finances

OPERATIONS TEAM

I. Chocolate Bars

I. Plain……………………$10.00II. 1-2 Toppings………….$16.00III. 3-4 Toppings……..….$20.00

II. Chocolate Truffles

I. Individual………………$3.50II. Box of four…………….$12.00III. Box of eight………..…$22.00

III. Wedding Favours

I. Table Topper…………..$5.00II. Small Gift……………….$8.00

IV. Seasonal Products

I. Gift Basket……………..$150.00II. Holiday Basket………...$180.00III. Specialty Basket………$180.00IV. Hot Cocoa…………….$2.99V. Deluxe Easter Basket…$120.00VI. Chocolate Rabbit……..$45.00

PRODUCTS

Chocolate Specialties:- Salted Orange

Creamsicle- Caramel Pretzel

Passion- Brandied Raspberry

Walnut- Toasted Coconut

Fudge- Bitter Blueberry

Sensation

xo -- RianiMaster Chocolatier

HOUSE OF IV CHOCOLATE BRAND

House of IV Chocolate is the ultimate luxury product and our brand will reflect that.

I. Rich colours that will convey uniqueness and elegance of the brand.

I. The primary colours we will be using are deep blue and silver, which set us apart from our main competitors.

II. Textured wrapping papers will immediately make our chocolate a perfect gift for friends, family, and loved ones.

We will be continuing to develop our brand with a designer. While we have a brand concept in place, a designer will help us bring the brand to life and achieve a consistent brand across various formats (packaging, website, and advertising).

A focus group was conducted on October 16, 2014 at Conestoga College.

I. The eight participants were all female.

II. They were generally enthusiastic about our chocolate business doing well during special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, weddings, parties, and more.

III. Participants would be willing to spend between $10-20 per chocolate bar.

IV. They were unsure about our brand name but after understanding it was a Roman numeral IV, they liked the idea and thought it was elite.

V. Our store could be considered a destination point if customers could either get a chocolate tour or see the chocolate being made.

VI. An opening event would be successful if we handed out free samples.

Before we launch our business we will conduct another focus group. We will focus on our target audience who will analyze our chocolate products.

FOCUS GROUP RESULTS

I. Primary:

I. Upper middle class (and up) looking for unique and luxurious gifts for friends, family, and loved ones. Willing to spend money on luxury items, and prefer quality over quantity.

II. Secondary:

I. Young professionals who have a disposable income, and are tech-savvy.

III. Tertiary:

I. Anyone looking for a special gift for a special someone.

TARGET MARKET

Godiva ChocolatesI. Available for online purchase

II. Brand colours are gold and brown

III. Maker of fine Belgium chocolate, sold at a high price point

IV. Product offerings include: bars, truffles, chocolate covered fruit, gift boxes, wedding favours

V. 11 Godiva boutiques in Ontario; 17 in Canada

VI. Package of six truffles cost $16.00/twelve truffles cost $30.00

VII. Gift Baskets range from $150-180.00

Purdys ChocolatierVIII.Available for online purchase, with $10.00 flat rate shipping in Canada

IX. Brand colours are purple and white

X. Canadian-owned and family operated business out of Vancouver, BC

XI. Package of four truffles cost $7.00

XII. Gift baskets range from $70-165.00

XIII.64 stores in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario

XIV. Include specials and promotions when ordering online

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Parity:

I. All luxury chocolate brands

II. All offer similar types of products

III. Having a high quality of chocolate

IV. Specialty crafted chocolates

V. Customized packaging for special occasions (Godiva and IV)

Difference:

VI. IV will offer less product selection, but will have completely customizable toppings to choose from

VII.IV is new to the market, however this provides a unique opportunity to invent a rich history for the brand (Roman mythology)

VIII.Branding colours will be deep blue and silver, which differ from competitors

KEY POINTS OF PARITY & DIFFERENCE

House of IV Chocolate

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

- Low overhead- Primarily

online- Unique in the

Canadian market

- Provides custom flavours and packaging

- Ability to see chocolate being made in-store

- Entering into wedding and bakery services

- Uses quality ingredients

- An affordable luxury and recession-proof

- Potentially difficult to enter the international market

- Cross-border shipping may make chocolate expensive

- Primary target market may not be comfortable ordering online

- 45.3% of chocolate is purchased in supermarkets and discount stores1

- Turn House of IV Chocolate into a destination point in Toronto

- Expand number of store locations

- Grow sales beyond Canada and the United States

- Custom name personalization and words on chocolate bars

- Create custom, collectible IV charms

- Bad publicity- Lack of

visibility in the marketplace

- Product quality does not meet customers’ satisfaction

- Making the budget stretch for two years

- Economic and social factors

- Competition from similar businesses

- Opposition from critics

The worldwide chocolate market is doing very well “despite a recessive global picture, falling disposable incomes, volatile commodity prices and increasing competition.”2

Chocolate seems to fall under the ‘lipstick effect,’ in that “consumers are more willing to buy less costly luxury goods, such as cosmetics and chocolate, even as they cut back on other luxuries… expensive chocolate is an affordable luxury.”3

Health, via portion control packaging; emphasis of antioxidants/energy boosting qualities; innovations, such as customization/personalization; and sustainability using fair trade practices4 are driving growth in the chocolate market.

THE CHOCOLATE MARKET

I. Website:

I. The face of our business along with our boutique storefront

II. Web developer and designer will develop a user friendly website and online store (ecommerce platform)

III. Will reflect professionalism, elegance, style and luxury

II. Advertising:

I. All ads will start being run around the time of our Grand Opening, in August of 2015

II. We will utilize radio, print, billboard, online advertising, and sales promotions

MARKETING STRATEGIES

I. The ROI on radio advertising is 6:1; much higher than other mediums and is affordable

II. Easy to target our audience based on radio stations

III. Using our funding, new ads will be written so they can be season-specific

IV. Ads will be aimed at men on stations such as Q107 and The Edge

V. Ads will be aimed at women on stations such as CHUM FM and CHFI

Budget: $250/month (15/30 second spots per month) per radio station

Run on seven radio stations in Toronto for 12 months

Three different ads will be recorded, with a cost of $300 each

Total Cost: $22,000

RADIO

I. Ads will be limited to special occasion time periods, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas

II. Advertisements will only appear in select magazines

III. In order to publicize our storefront in Toronto, advertising through magazines to Torontonians is advantageous

Budget: Run print ads in select magazines: The Grid, NOW Magazine, and Toronto Life

$15,000 each to run for one year

Total Cost: $45,000

PRINT

I. Billboard will be rented for six months

II. Location will be in the art/restaurant district in Toronto

III. Advertising is expensive, but the visibility and traffic factors are essential to publicize our name

Budget: One billboard rented for six months

Total Cost: $60,000

BILLBOARD

I. Includes Google Ads and Facebook Ads

II. Appropriate for our online business

III. Doesn’t have geographical limitations

IV. Google, Facebook and Twitter are among the highest traffic sites

V. Showing up in Google searches (high end chocolate, gift ideas, etc.) is highly beneficial

Budget: $1250/month for Facebook ads, for 24 months - $30,000

$1000/month for Google ads, for 24 months - $24,000

$500/month for Twitter ads, for 12 months - $6,000

$500/month for promoted Tweets for 12 months - $6,000

Total Cost: $225,200

ONLINE ADVERTISING

I. Promotions through social media platforms, such as discounts or “buy three, get the IV free”

II. Large promotions before special events such as Valentine’s Day.

I. We will hand out mini chocolate bars in major city centres

II. Packaging will say “Be Mine” and will direct people to our website with a special promotional code

Budget: Five people to tour four cities

$10,000 per inter-province city; $2,000 for Toronto

Total cost: $32,000

SALES PROMOTIONS

I. TIFF

II. Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival

III. WXN Top 100 – hosted by the Women’s Executive Network

IV. Official Launch Party for House of IV Chocolate

V. Charity Work

PUBLIC RELATIONS

I. Active on many social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+

II. Messages will be scheduled in advance

I. Twice a week on LinkedIn and Google+II. Three times a week on FacebookIII. Five times a day on Twitter and Pinterest

III. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest platforms will be directed to our target markets

IV. Online promotions will be used to track effectiveness of social media campaigns

V. LinkedIn will build our business reputation

VI. Google+ will build our Internet presence, increase search engine optimization, and draw increased traffic to our website

SOCIAL MEDIA

I. Foodie, Fashion, and Lifestyle Bloggers/Vloggers

II. Wedding and Event Planners

III. Florists

IV. Spas and Salons

INFLUENCERS

I. Our Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan will reach our target audiences

II. We will spend larger sums of money over multiple platforms for our launch, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, TIFF, Grand Cru Culinary Festival, WXN Top 100, and Christmas

III. With our expected turnover, we will comfortably be able to pay back this loan in 24 months

FINANCES

I. A 200 gram chocolate bar is our primary product

II. The cost of production is $3.50

III. We are selling these for $20.00

IV. We expect to sell 6,000 bars collectively in December and February, and 1,500 per month for the other ten months

V. Revenue will be $360,000 per year - costs ($42,000) = a net profit of $286,500 per year

VI. In 24 months, we will have a $573,000 profit, which gives you a 14.6% return on investment during this time

ROI

WORKING BUDGET

JEN ASHLEY RIANI NANDANA KATIE

“Indulge your love. Indulge your family.

Indulge.”

Thank you.