When coming up with the YiQi Asian Food Collective, we wanted to find a way to help one small business to recover. We realized, after a few hours of research, that this catering service could be a more beneficial and efficient means of helping multiple businesses. A few of our members had previously participated in Asian-led catering services through WeChat groups. These services were really helpful as students needing a convenient and affordable meal at home. Due to the effectiveness of such programs, we believed that similar systems, if refined for a broader audience and more widely marketed, could be equally, if not more, successful in combating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We learned much about the restaurant industry, the specificity in budgeting for such businesses, and creating marketing campaigns. We found that many long established restaurants had a limited online presence. While some businesses have reached out to international consumers, we aimed to market their food to a wider consumer base. Understanding the many facets of a restaurant’s business plan, encouraged us to investigate creative solutions.
Once we proposed the initial idea of the YiQi Asian Food Collective, we devised multiple marketing, operational, and financial plans, which we then worked on together to further refine.
Our greatest challenge was creating a budget that accounted for all of a typical restaurant’s expenses and revenues. We hoped to strike a balance between profitability for YiQi as well as affordability for small local restaurants. Creating a cohesive brand image, through logos, marketing material, and social media pages, was also a large focus in the creation of the company. Despite our short two week time frame, we still tried to pay attention to the small details that are necessary for a unified brand.
All four of us had never written a business plan and we are proud of working outside of our comfort zones. To develop a business that can be applied to a real world situation is really exciting. After participating in this challenge, several of our members have decided to take classes in marketing. Although all of us have different majors, we can all take the project management and problem-solving skills learned through this experience and leverage them in the future.
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