PASTA GALA

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1.0 Executive Summary

Pasta Gala will be the leading pasta restaurant in India, with a rapidly developing consumer
brand and growing customer base in the food industry. The signature line of innovative,
premium, pasta dishes and clams in sauce. Pasta Gala also serves distinct salads, desserts,
and beverages.

Pasta Gala will reinvent the pasta experience for individuals, families, and take out customers
with discretionary income by selling high quality, innovative products at a reasonable price,
designing tasteful, convenient locations, and providing industry-benchmark customer service.

In order to grow at a rate consistent with our objectives, Pasta Gala is offering an variety of
services and will use different customers as a investors in to Pasta Gala to make the service at
loyal benchmark.

2.0 Situation Analysis

Pasta Gala is entering in to the operations from this year. To give the competition with the
other chain of restaurants the marketing will play an major part in the survival at the top and
in profitability. The store will have an extensive offering of pastas. The basic market need is to
offer individuals, families, and take out customers fresh, creative, attractive, pasta dishes,
salads and desserts. Pasta gala uses homemade pasta, fresh vegetables, and premium meats
and cheeses.

2.1 Market Summary

Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta possess good information about the market and knows a great deal
about the common attributes of our most prized and loyal customers. Sigmund's Gourmet
Pasta will leverage this information to better understand who is served, their specific needs,
and how Sigmund's can better communicate with them.

Target Markets
Market Analysis
Market Analysis
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Potential Customers Growth CAGR
Individuals 8% 12,457 13,454 14,530 15,692 16,947 8.00%
Families 9% 8,974 9,782 10,662 11,622 12,668 9.00%
Take out 10% 24,574 27,031 29,734 32,707 35,978 10.00%
Total 9.27% 46,005 50,267 54,926 60,021 65,593 9.27%

2.1.1 Market Demographics

The profile for Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta's customer consists of the following geographic,
demographic, and behavior factors:

Geographics

• Our immediate geographic target is the city of Eugene with a population of

130,00.
• A 15 mile geographic area is in need of our services.
• The total targeted population is estimated at 46,000.

Demographics

• Male and female.

• Ages 25-50, this is the segment that makes up 53% of the Eugene market
according to the Eugene Chamber of Commerce.
 • Young professionals who work close to the location.
• Yuppies.
• Have attended college and/or graduate school.
• An income over $40,000.
• Eat out several times a week.
• Tend to patronize higher quality restaurants.
• Are cognizant about their health.

Behavior Factors

• Enjoy a high quality meal without the mess of making it themselves.

• When ordering, health concerns in regard to foods are taken into account.
• There is value attributed to the appearance or presentation of food.

2.1.2 Market Needs

Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta is providing its customers with a wide selection of high-quality pasta
dishes and salads that are unique and pleasing in presentation, offer a wide selection of health
conscious choices, and utilizes top-shelf ingredients. Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta seeks to fulfill
the following benefits that are important to their customers.

• Selection. A wide choice of pasta and salad options.

• Accessibility. The patron can gain access to the restaurant with minimal
waits and can choose the option of dine in or take out.
• Customer service. The patron will be impressed with the level of attention
that they receive.
• Competitive pricing. All products/services will be competitively priced
relative to comparable high-end pasta/Italian restaurants.

2.1.3 Market Trends

The market trend for restaurants is headed toward a more sophisticated customer. The
restaurant patron today relative to yesterday is more sophisticated in a number of different
ways.

• Food quality. The preference for high-quality ingredients is increasing as

customers are learning to appreciate the qualitative differences.
• Presentation/appearance. As presentation of an element of the culinary
experience becomes more pervasive, patrons are learning to appreciate this
aspect of the industry.
• Health consciousness. As Americans in general are more cognizant of their
health, evidenced by the increase in individuals exercising and health club
memberships, patrons are requesting more healthy alternatives when they
eat out. They recognize that an entree can be quite tasty, and reasonably
good for you.
• Selection. People are demanding a larger selection of foods, they are no
longer accepting a limited menu.
The reason for this trend is that within the last couple of years the restaurant offerings have
increased, providing customers with new choices. Restaurant patrons no longer need to accept
a limited number of options. With more choices, patrons have become more sophisticated.
This trend is intuitive as you can observe a more sophisticated restaurant patron in larger city
markets such as Seattle, Portland or New York where there are more choices available.

Market Forecast

2.1.4 Market Growth

In 1999, the global pasta market reached $8 billion dollars. Pasta sales are estimated to grow
by at least 10% for the next few years. This growth can be attributed to several different
factors. The first factor is an appreciation for health conscious food. While not all pasta is
"good for you," particularly the cream based sauces, pasta can be very tasty yet health
conscious at the same time. Pasta is seen as a healthy food because of its high percentage of
carbohydrates relative to fat.

Another variable that is contributing to market growth is an increase in the number of hours
our demographic is working. Over the last five years the number of hours spent at work of our
archetype customer has significantly increased. As the number of work hours increases, there
is a high correlation of people that eat out at restaurants. This is intuitively explained by the
fact that with a limited number of hours available each day, people have less time to prepare
their meals and eating out is one way to maximize their time.

Target Market Growth

2.2 SWOT Analysis

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company,
and describes the opportunities and threats facing Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta.

2.2.1 Strengths

• Strong relationships with vendors that offer high-quality ingredients and

fast/frequent delivery schedules.
• Excellent staff who are highly trained and very customer attentive.
• Great retail space that is bright, hip, clean, and located in an upscale mall,
suburban neighborhood, or urban retail district.
• High customer loyalty among repeat customers.
• High-quality food offerings that exceed competitors offerings in quality,
presentation, and price.

2.2.2 Weaknesses

• Sigmund's name lacks brand equity.

• A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness.
• The struggle to continually appear to be cutting edge.

2.2.3 Opportunities

• Growing market with a significant percentage of the target market still not
aware that Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta exists.
• Increasing sales opportunities in take out business.
• The ability to spread overhead over multiple revenue centers. Sigmund's will
be able to spread the management overhead costs among the multiple stores,
decreasing the fixed costs per store.
2.2.4 Threats

• Competition from local restaurants that respond to Sigmund's Gourmet

Pasta's superior offerings.
• Gourmet pasta restaurant chains found in other markets coming to Eugene.
• A slump in the economy reducing customer's disposable income spent on
eating out.

2.3 Competition

National Competition

• Pastabilities: offers consumers their choice of noodles, sauces, and

ingredients, allowing the customer to assemble their dish as they wish. Food
quality is average.
• PastaFresh: has a limited selection but the dishes are assembled with high-
quality ingredients. The price point is high, but the food is quite good.
• Pasta Works: offers pasta that is reasonably fresh, reasonably innovative
and at a lower price point. The company was sold a few years ago, and
consequently the direction of management has been stagnant lately and has
resulted in excessive employee turnover.
• Perfect Pasta: has medium-priced pasta dishes that use average
ingredients, no creativity, and less than average store atmosphere. Sigmund's
is not sure how this company has been able to grow in size as their whole
product is mediocre at best.

Local Competition

• Restaurant A: This is an upscale Italian restaurant that has a limited

selection of pasta dishes. Although the selection is limited and pricey, the
dishes are quite good.
• Restaurant B: An Italian restaurant with a decent pasta selection, however
quality is inconsistent.
• Restaurant C: An upscale restaurant with a large wine selection and good
salads. Everything else is mediocre at best and over-priced. Service can often
be poor.

Growth and Share Analysis

Growth and Share

Competitor Price Growth Rate Market Share

Restaurant A $16 7% 15%
Restaurant B $12 6% 11%
Restaurant C $14 7% 13%
Average $14.00 6.50% 13.00%
Total $42.00 19.50% 39.00%

Competitor by Growth and Share

2.4 Service Offering

Sigmund's has created gourmet pastas and salads that are differentiated and superior to
competitors. Customers can taste the quality and freshness of the product in every bite. The
following are characteristics of the product:

1. Sigmund's dough for the pasta is made with Italian semolina flour.
2. Cheeses are all imported.
3. Vegetables are organic and fresh with three shipments a week.
4. Meats are all top-shelf varieties, organic when possible.

At Sigmund's, food is not a product, the experience of dining is a service. Sigmund's prides
themselves on providing service that is on par with fine dining. This is accomplished through
an extensive training program and only hiring experienced employees.

At a Glance--The Protype Sigmund's Store:

• Location: an upscale mall, suburban neighborhood, or urban retail district.

• Design: bright, hip, and clean.
• Size: 1,200-1,700 square feet.
• Employees: six to seven full time.
• Seating: 35-45.
• Types of transactions: 80% dine in, 20% take out.

2.5 Keys to Success

Location, Location, Location.

Sigmund's site selection criteria are critical to success. Arthur Johnson, former VP Real Estate,
Starbucks, helped us identify the following site selection criteria:

• Daytime and evening populations.

• Shopping patterns.
• Car counts.
• Household income levels.

2.6 Critical Issues

Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta is still in the speculative stage as a retail restaurant. Its critical
issues are:

• Continue to take a modest fiscal approach; expand at a reasonable rate, not

for the sake of expansion in itself, but because it is economically wise to.
Continue to build brand awareness which will drive customers to existing
stores as well as ease the marketing efforts of future stores.

Marketing Strategy

3.0 Marketing Strategy

Sigmund's advertising budget is very limited, so the advertising program is simple. Sigmund's
will do direct mail, banner ads, and inserts, with inserts in the Register Guard likely to be the
most successful of the campaigns.

Lastly, Sigmund's will leverage personal relationships to get an articles of Sigmund's in the
Register Guard. Previous friends who have had their restaurant featured in the Register Guard
has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was published in the RG.

3.1 Mission

Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta's mission is to provide the customer the finest pasta meal and
dining experience. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this
maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our
customers.

3.2 Marketing Objectives

1. Maintain positive, steady, growth each month.

2. Generate at least $40,000 in sales per month.
3. Experience an increase in new customers who are turned into long-term
customers.
4. Realize a growth strategy of one store per year.
3.3 Financial Objectives

1. A double-digit growth rate for each future year.

2. Reduce the overhead per store through disciplined growth.
3. Continue to decrease the variable costs associated with food production.

3.4 Target Marketing

The market can be segmented into three target populations:

• Individuals: people that dine in by themselves.

• Families: a group of people, either friends or a group of nuclear relatives
dining together.
• Take out: people that prefer to eat Sigmund's food in their home or at a
different location than the actual restaurant.

The Sigmund's customer are hungry individuals between the ages of 25 and 50, making up
53% of Eugene (Eugene Chamber of Commerce). Age is not the most defined demographic of
this customer base; all age groups enjoy pasta. The most defined characteristic of the target
market is income. Gourmet pasta stores have been very successful in high rent, mixed-use
urban areas, such as Northwest 23rd in Portland. These areas have a large day and night
population consisting of business people and families who have household disposable incomes
over $40,000.

Combining several key demographic factors, Sigmund's arrives at a profile of the primary
customer as follows:

• Sophisticated families who live nearby.

• Young professionals who work close to the location.
• Shoppers who patronize the high rent stores.

3.5 Positioning

Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta will position itself as a reasonably priced, upscale, gourmet pasta
restaurant. Eugene consumers who appreciate high-quality food will recognize the value and
unique offerings of Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta. Patrons will be both single as well as families,
ages 25-50.

Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta positioning will leverage their competitive edge:

• Product. The product will have the freshest ingredients including homemade
pasta, imported cheeses, organic vegetables, and top-shelf meats. The
product will also be developed to enhance presentation, everything will be
aesthetically pleasing.
• Service. Customer service will be the priority. All employees will ensure that
the customers are having the most pleasant dining experience. All employees
 will go through an extensive training program and only experienced people
will be hired.

By offering a superior product, coupled with superior service, Sigmund's will excel relative to
the competition.

3.6 Strategy Pyramids

The single objective is to position Sigmund's as the premier gourmet pasta restaurant in the
Eugene, OR area, commanding a majority of the market share within five years. The
marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services
offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals.

The message that Sigmund's will seek to communicate is that Sigmund's offers the freshest,
most creative, health conscious, reasonably priced, gourmet pasta in Eugene. This message
will be communicated through a variety of methods. The first will be direct mail. The direct
mail campaign will be a way to communicate directly with the consumer. Sigmund's will also
use banner ads and inserts in the Register Guard. This will be particularly effective because
the Register Guard is a popular local paper that is consulted when people are looking for
things to do in Eugene.

The last method for communicating Sigmund's message is through a grassroots PR campaign.
This campaign will leverage personal relationships with people on staff of the Register Guard
to get a couple of articles written about Sigmund's. One will be from the business point of
view, talking about the opening of the restaurant and the people behind the venture. This is
likely to be run in the business section. The second article will be a food review. In speaking
with many different retailers and restauranteurs, significant increases of traffic followed
articles in the Register Guard. Because of this level of effectiveness and low/zero cost,
Sigmund's will work hard to get press in the Register Guard.

3.7 Marketing Mix

Sigmund's marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution,

advertising and promotion, and customer service.

• Pricing. Sigmund's pricing scheme is that the product cost is 45% of the total
retail price.
• Distribution. Sigmund's food will be distributed through a take out model
where customers can call in their order and come to the restaurant to pick it
up, come into the restaurant, place the take out order and wait for it to be
completed, or come in and dine at the restaurant.
• Advertising and Promotion. The most successful advertising will be banner
ads and inserts in the Register Guard as well as a PR campaign of
informational articles and reviews also within the Register Guard.
• Customer Service. Obsessive customer attention is the mantra. Sigmund's
philosophy is that whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy
must occur, even at the expense of short-term profits. In the long term, this
 investment will pay off with a fiercly loyal customer base who is extremely
vocal to their friends with referrals.

3.8 Marketing Research

During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held
to gain insight into a variety of patrons of restaurants. These focus groups provided useful
insight into the decisions, and decision making processes, of consumers.

An additional source of market research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a

suggestion card system. The suggestion card system has several statements that patrons are
asked to rate in terms of a given scale. There are also several open ended questions that allow
the customer to freely offer constructive criticism or praise. Sigmund's will work hard to
implement reasonable suggestions in order to improve their service offerings as well as show
their commitment to the customer that their suggestions are valued.

The last source of market research is competitive analysis/appreciation. Sigmund's will

continually patronize local restaurants for two reasons. The first is for competitive analysis,
providing Sigmund's with timely information regarding other restaurant's service offering. The
second reason is that local business owners, particularly restaurant owners, are often part of
an informal fraternal organization where they support each other's business.

Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts

4.0 Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts

This section will offer a financial overview of Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta as it relates to the
marketing activities. Sigmund's will address Break-even Analysis, sales forecasts, expense
forecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy.

4.1 Break-even Analysis

The Break-even Analysis indicates that $40,000 will be needed in monthly revenue to reach
the break-even point.

Break-even Analysis
Break-even Analysis
Break-even Analysis

Monthly Revenue Break-even $23,037

Assumptions:
Average Percent Variable Cost 45%
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $22,000

4.2 Sales Forecast

The first two months will be used to get the restaurant up and running. By month three things
will get busier. Sales will gradually increase with profitability being reached by by the
beginning of year two.

Sales Monthly
Sales Forecast
Sales Forecast
2001 2002 2003
Sales
Individuals $103,710 $262,527 $327,424
Families $150,304 $380,474 $474,528
Total Sales $254,014 $643,001 $801,952

Direct Cost of Sales 2001 2002 2003

Individuals $46,669 $118,137 $147,341
Families $67,637 $171,213 $213,538
Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $114,306 $289,350 $360,879

4.3 Expense Forecast

Marketing expenses are to be budgeted so that they are ramped up for months two through
four and then lower and plateau from month five to month 10. Restaurants typically have
increased business in the fall. This generally occurs because during the summer, when the
weather is nice and it does not get dark until late, people tend to eat out less. From months
10-12, the marketing costs will increase again.

Monthly Expense Budget

Marketing Expense Budget

Marketing Expense Budget
2001 2002 2003
Direct mail $5,267 $5,605 $5,421
Banner ads $11,704 $12,455 $12,047
Other $7,022 $7,473 $7,228
------------ ------------ ------------
Total Sales and Marketing
$23,993 $25,533 $24,696
Expenses
Percent of Sales 9.45% 3.97% 3.08%

Controls

5.0 Controls

The purpose of Sigmund's Gourmet Pasta's marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the
organization.

5.1 Implementation Milestones

The following milestones identify the key marketing programs. It is important to accomplish
each one on time, and on budget.

Milestones
Milestones

Advertising Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department

Marketing plan completion 1/1/2001 2/1/2001 $0 Kevin Department
Banner ad campaign #1 2/1/2001 4/1/2001 $3,754 Kevin Department
Banner ad campaign #2 10/1/2001 1/1/2002 $4,900 Kevin Department
Total Advertising Budget $8,654
PR Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Other $0
Other $0
Total PR Budget $0
Direct Marketing Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Direct mail campaign #1 2/1/2001 4/1/2001 $1,689 Kevin Department
Insert campaign #1 2/1/2001 4/1/2001 $2,252 Kevin Department
Direct mail campaign #2 10/1/2001 1/1/2002 $2,205 Kevin Department
Insert campaign #2 10/1/2001 1/1/2002 $2,940 Kevin Department
Total Direct Marketing Budget $9,086
Web Development Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Name me $0
Other $0
Total Web Development Budget $0
Other Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Name me $0
Other $0
Total Other Budget $0
Totals $17,740

5.2 Marketing Organization

Kevin Lewis, the owner, is primarily responsible for marketing activities. This is in addition to
his other responsibilities, and does depend on some outside resources for graphic design work,
and creativity.

5.3 Contingency Planning

Difficulties and risks:

• Problems generating visibility.

• Overly aggressive and debilitating actions by competitors.
• An entry into the Eugene market of an already existing, franchised gourmet
pasta restaurant.

Worst case risks may include:

• Determining that the business cannot support itself on an ongoing basis.

• Having to liquidate equipment or intellectual property to cover liabilities.