Cuadro, Debra

CM370
Final Project
4/30/19

OVERVIEW

The Vegan Nest Café is a local plant-based restaurant in Worcester, Massachusetts. Open since

November 2017, The Vegan Nest is a family-owned café specializing in non-GMO, vegan

cuisine made from locally-sourced ingredients. They pride themselves on serving food “locally

and organically sourced and made with love.”

Menu items include smoothies and fresh-squeezed beverages, a selection of breakfast

items that are available to order all day, salads, sandwiches, and special lunch plates featuring

plant-based meats and vegan “cheeses.” They also offer catering.

The owners want to maintain a fresh, homemade element to their food; therefore, many

items are prepared from scratch in-house. The atmosphere is relaxed and laid back. The owners

maintain that The Vegan Nest’s business philosophy is based on biblical principles which

include good stewardship of the planet, caring for our bodies by living a healthy lifestyle, and

being a good neighbor by giving back to the community.

Since its inception, The Vegan Nest has participated in the annual Worcester VegFest, as

well spearheaded or collaborated with community programs such as wellness classes and drives

to assist low-income single mothers; health education classes on living a natural, healthy,

holistic, and compassionate lifestyle; and the newest endeavor—coordinating a community

plant-based food pantry.

As evidenced by the increased turnout at the annual VegFest held in Worcester each

spring, veganism or adopting a plant-based diets is being more accepted in the area. According

to Happy Cow, a popular and reputable national directory for vegan and vegetarian restaurants,

Worcester has 10 vegan/vegetarian-friendly restaurants

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(www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/massachusetts/worcester). The Vegan Nest is one of

two restaurants on the Happy Cow list that primarily offers American cuisine. The Vegan Nest is

also unique in that it offers an all-day breakfast that includes vegan waffles, pancakes, gluten-

free/vegan crepes, French toast, and bagels with vegan cream cheese.

The Vegan Nest is located near the DCU Center in downtown Worcester and is open

Sunday-Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.; and Friday, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Being relatively new to Worcester and a small family-operated restaurant, The Vegan

Nest does not have a large budget for promotion and advertising. Using social media, word of

mouth (WOM) promotion from loyal customers, obtaining exposure from their community-

minded endeavors via news outlets, as well as appearances at food festivals, etc. will the primary

means of advertising and promotion for The Vegan Nest.

TARGET MARKET

The target market for The Vegan Nest includes: (1) vegans and vegetarians; (2) people who are

meat-eaters but are open to eating plant-based food; (3) people who want to help the

environment by reducing meat consumption; (4) people who are into holistic living, and want to

eat organically without GMOs, etc.; (5) people who support local businesses, organic farming,

and socially responsible businesses; (6) people who support sustainable practices; (7) people who

work in downtown Worcester and want to eat healthier.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Strengths
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• Knowledgeable about cooking and plant-based lifestyles

• Community-minded

• Loyal customer base

• Good location for healthy-minded lunch and early-dinner crowd working downtown

• Good social media presence on Facebook

Weaknesses

• Very small budget for promotion

• Hours not conducive for the weekend crowd, or people attending late-night or weekend

events at DCU who want a healthy option before or after an event

• Small staff—no budget to hire someone to stay on top of promotion.

• Inconsistent branding identity

Opportunities

• Providing American-style, comfort food that is healthier and compassionate

• Classes for people who are exploring plant-based eating for compassionate reasons and

need direction

• Reach out to local organic farms, orchards, etc.

Threats

• Husband/wife team tries to manage it all, as well as their two small children, so time (or

lack of time) is a threat.

• Keeping costs low while maintaining food quality

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• Due to family constraints and religious beliefs, there is limited room for expansion in

hours to include weekends

• Local competition from other vegan restaurants, as well as non-vegan restaurants offering

vegan options on their menus.

MARKETING GOALS AND STRATEGY

#1: Increase number of new customers who visit The Vegan Nest

The Vegan Nest wants to increase awareness about their restaurant in Worcester and

draw new customers into the restaurant. Participation in events, both food expos and community

events that include space for food vendors, is a good start. The Vegan Nest can distribute flyers

and measure success in reaching this population by using QR codes or coupons on the flyers

distributed.

Generating publicity via their community endeavors is another option for creating

awareness because some of what they do could be incorporated into a news item or personal

interest news story. Developing a press release may be helpful to invite the press to an event The

Vegan Nest is holding that is community oriented and/or helpful to a particular segment of the

population.

Training the staff to recognize and welcome returning customers, as well as new

customers is important—especially to a small restaurant. In recognizing new customers, the

server/cashier can ask (in a warm, friendly way) if this is the customer’s first time coming to The

Vegan Nest, and then follow up with a casual: “So, how did you hear about us?” Servers/cashiers

can make a quick notation (after the customer has left) on a paper with a list of viable options
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(e.g. recommendation from a friend, news report, flyer, etc.) to help record how new customers

are hearing about the restaurant.

A survey could also be created with a link to the survey printed on the customer’s receipt.

The survey is another helpful way to receive customer contact information and provide another

point of contact. The cashier/server would point out that people who complete the survey

receive a 10% discount on their next meal (a deadline of two weeks could be placed on the offer

to encourage customers to repeat their visit sooner).

#2: Maintain and build on loyal customer base and increase WOM opportunities

People who have eaten at The Vegan Nest rave about the food on social media and in

reviews on sites such as Happy Cow. Using their Facebook page (which currently has over

2,600 followers), Twitter, and Instagram, The Vegan Nest can advertise drawings, classes,

specials, deals, new menu items, etc. Engaging with their followers is also important, so it is

imperative that The Vegan Nest replies to questions, provides feedback and other positive

interaction with their customers. Doing this will also reinforce the home-style, friendly,

community image they want to create.

The restaurant has a blog that is underused but could be a means to keep the restaurant in

the forefront of their customers’ minds. Inviting customers to leave a business card for

drawings, discounts, coupons, etc. can help provide contacts to generate an email list to send a

link to blog updates, as well as another way to send loyalty coupons, birthday discounts, etc.

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Utilizing online reviews (aka word of mouth) is another way The Vegan Nest can connect

with customers. Review sites such as Happy Cow, Yelp, and TripAdvisor should be regularly

checked and responded to in a timely manner.

ADVERTISING EXAMPLES

#1: Sales Promotion Flyer to be distributed as people are headed to the DCU Center for an

event.

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#2: Internet Advertising (Facebook post)

Enjoy a Happy Hour that leaves your

body and mind refreshed and…well,
HAPPY! ½ priced vegan smoothies,
fresh juices, and decaffeinated herbal
coffees are waiting for you! Mon.-
Thurs. 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Locally and
organically sourced & made with love!

#3: Direct Marketing (Customer Loyalty Birthday Card) to send to customers who provided

their birthdate via a survey, in-restaurant drawing, etc.