PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

We are ready to take our business to the next level. Presently we only exist in two markets but it’s time to grow! Our company requires some assistance in assessing our customer landscape, competition, relevancy, and plausibility outside of our current markets, Canada and the USA. We want to learn more about customer’s expectations and behaviors in the UK. It is important for us to stay up to date on industry standards to ensure that we research new locations fully and completely before choosing to enter. We have some ideas of where we would like to go in the UK, but we need to make sure that we consider all available options before making a decision. If we feel it is a Go, our goal would be to set up a distribution hub (contract a fulfillment center) that we would ship our products to for distribution across the UK with our ecommerce Shopify site as the cart.

KEY PROJECT ACTIVITES:

Our specific need is an outline of our Cheese Making Kit's expansion opportunities through location analysis. This report should include answers to the following questions:

1. Most of our Cheese-Making kits (four of our current five) require a high quality milk to be purchased along with our Kit. 4L of Milk for every batch you make. The definition of high quality for us means less processed. Raw milk is the best, non-homogenized whole milk is next best, and homogenized whole milk is third best. All of these are fresh milks. Ultra-high temperature, or UHT, milk is ultra-pasteurized milk and will not work for making cheese. Similarly, milk that has been processed more, like ultrafiltration, additives in the milk, and skimming the milk all contribute to changing the milks properties and making it less viable for cheese making. Considering this information, does the UK sell Fresh milk that is viable for Cheese-Making?
2. Is there interest in Cheese Making? Is there a relatively well sized DIY community or interest in cooking at home? Would enough people be interested in buying our kits for themselves or as gift for a fellow UK member to make our product viable?
3. What are the legalities of getting our product into the UK? We are somewhat considered a food item, but most of our kit is shelf stable and cheese-making equipment and supplies. Looking at what comes in our kits, what are the legal protocol or requirements for crossing the border into the UK?
4. What is involved in adhering to tax laws when selling an ecommerce product in the UK? If our products are manufactured in Canada and then shipped to the UK, are we part of the free trade agreement with the UK?
5. Does the UK have fulfillment centers that can accommodate our product? The culture packets in 3/5 of our kits need freezer storage. It is a very small amount of space. Our Canadian and US fulfillment centers just have a small chest freezer next to our inventory. Would a center in the UK work with us on this?

FINAL DELIVERABLE:

We are looking for a complete report that fully answers these questions, with each of these questions having their own section of the report. We have attached relevant source material for better understanding our products and business.

This report should be easy to follow, and clearly layout the pros and cons of the goal of expanding to the UK market.

If you require more detail about this assignment or more background, data, or direction, please email us at info@cheesemaker.ca or call Jeremy at 778-996-4336.

We are always looking to help move our projects forward. If there is any questions or requests for assistance we will respond within 24 hours. We also suggest that we have an initial meeting and follow-up meetings regularly to help keep the project on track in terms of speed and direction. We have been mentoring students for a few coop sessions and are happy to treat candidates as part of the Cheese Maker team.