Week 6 Pitch
[Slide 1] Hi I'm Sam and this is Georgia, Sarah, Ashley, and Wairata.
We’re The Feline Food Loop and we’re revolutionising the current wasteful system of buying cat food.
1.6 million New Zealanders own at least one cat. If even a quarter of these cats are fed one single serve meal a day, this would send 146 million pieces of non-biodegradable waste to landfill each year! This is not sustainable.
[Slide 2] We’ve spoken to a number of eco-conscious Wellington cat owners and there is a clear trend of people wanting a more sustainable alternative to plastic or aluminium packaging.
Our business will provide reusable jars of wet cat food for people to purchase at organic food stores, and offer a monetary rebate or discount on the next purchase when the jars are returned. [Slide 3] This closed loop 'deposit return' system is a process designed to financially incentivise people to return empty packaging so it can be reused - adding value to something that is normally perceived as a means to an end.
We have chosen to package the cat food in glass jars as when it is reused multiple times it is far more sustainable than reprocessing recycled aluminium or plastic. Our jars would be sealed with resealable aluminium lids embossed with a brand logo and the flavour of the meal. To avoid plastic labels, cardboard tags held around the neck of the jar with twine would inform customers of additional information.
We’re The Feline Food Loop and we’re revolutionising the current wasteful system of buying cat food.
1.6 million New Zealanders own at least one cat. If even a quarter of these cats are fed one single serve meal a day, this would send 146 million pieces of non-biodegradable waste to landfill each year! This is not sustainable.
[Slide 2] We’ve spoken to a number of eco-conscious Wellington cat owners and there is a clear trend of people wanting a more sustainable alternative to plastic or aluminium packaging.
Our business will provide reusable jars of wet cat food for people to purchase at organic food stores, and offer a monetary rebate or discount on the next purchase when the jars are returned. [Slide 3] This closed loop 'deposit return' system is a process designed to financially incentivise people to return empty packaging so it can be reused - adding value to something that is normally perceived as a means to an end.
We have chosen to package the cat food in glass jars as when it is reused multiple times it is far more sustainable than reprocessing recycled aluminium or plastic. Our jars would be sealed with resealable aluminium lids embossed with a brand logo and the flavour of the meal. To avoid plastic labels, cardboard tags held around the neck of the jar with twine would inform customers of additional information.
An insight we gained from conversations with our target customer was that people prefer to buy single serve sachets or cans as their cats like fresh food and flavour variety. We would offer wet food in an 85 gram single serve jar and a larger 350 gram jar for customers with multiple cats.
There is a large eco-friendly customer base in Wellington, with people keen to cut down on their plastic waste. When we consulted cat owners with our proposed system, 66% of people asked thought it was a great idea and were willing to pay a higher cost for their first purchase.
We are interested in partnering with boutique New Zealand pet food producer 'Ziwi' to supply us with the wet cat food. Ziwi’s recipes consist of 95% fresh meat and 5% essential vitamins and minerals. These natural ingredients are sourced from humane, ethical and sustainably managed local farms, which will appeal to our target audience and add to our eco-friendly story.
We would also require a partnership with Commonsense Organics to provide the sale space, a system in their store for returned jars, the labour, and the customers! Commonsense Organics in Wellington City have a similar system with soup where customers bring their own container to be filled at the store, so we are confident our cat food system is viable.
The Feline Food Loop, 'Delicious Taste - None Of The Waste' - revolutionising wasteful systems one cat's dinner at a time!
Other Requirements:
There is a large eco-friendly customer base in Wellington, with people keen to cut down on their plastic waste. When we consulted cat owners with our proposed system, 66% of people asked thought it was a great idea and were willing to pay a higher cost for their first purchase.
We are interested in partnering with boutique New Zealand pet food producer 'Ziwi' to supply us with the wet cat food. Ziwi’s recipes consist of 95% fresh meat and 5% essential vitamins and minerals. These natural ingredients are sourced from humane, ethical and sustainably managed local farms, which will appeal to our target audience and add to our eco-friendly story.
We would also require a partnership with Commonsense Organics to provide the sale space, a system in their store for returned jars, the labour, and the customers! Commonsense Organics in Wellington City have a similar system with soup where customers bring their own container to be filled at the store, so we are confident our cat food system is viable.
If the system was proven to work in a pilot at Wellington City Commonsense Organics and took off with customers, we would increase the scale by replicating the system in other organic supermarkets across New Zealand.
[Slide 4] The outgoing costs of our system will be: initial purchase of glass jars and aluminium lids, embossing the lids with brand information, cardboard tags and twine, transporting the jars between store and pet food supplier, the sanitation system, and hire costs of space and labour in Commonsense Organics.
We are currently in communication with Commonsense Organics, Ziwi pet food, and O-I New Zealand Glass to work out the finer details surrounding costs. Once we have this information we will be able to determine how much we will need to charge for our jars of cat food to make our business economically viable. We know we will need investment up front to help us purchase the initial materials and the sanitation system.
[Slide 4] The outgoing costs of our system will be: initial purchase of glass jars and aluminium lids, embossing the lids with brand information, cardboard tags and twine, transporting the jars between store and pet food supplier, the sanitation system, and hire costs of space and labour in Commonsense Organics.
We are currently in communication with Commonsense Organics, Ziwi pet food, and O-I New Zealand Glass to work out the finer details surrounding costs. Once we have this information we will be able to determine how much we will need to charge for our jars of cat food to make our business economically viable. We know we will need investment up front to help us purchase the initial materials and the sanitation system.
The Feline Food Loop, 'Delicious Taste - None Of The Waste' - revolutionising wasteful systems one cat's dinner at a time!
Other Requirements:
- 1-4 Slide Presentation (Have a pdf ready as back up).
- Printed draft one pager for your assessing panel to refer to.
- Upload pdf version to Dropbox or Google Drive (TBD) for reference.