Use la "Tabla de beneficios" para averiguar qué tiene cubierto

Through extensive research and restaurant interviews, a market analysis was conducted to categorize the snail market in the following way. The following is a summary of all the pertinent information about the customer market and snail industry.

4.1.1 Customer Market

The potential customer market for Higher Ground Farm are higher class restaurants in the Worcester-Boston Area with the mission of purchasing locally grown food and upholding uniqueness in their industry. The following list is the customer profile that was created from Higher Ground Farm’s Business Model Canvas and further developed through the restaurant interviews:

● Tourist/Local ● Eclectic Menu

● Identify with the local food movement ● Price Range

● Size of restaurant

Ten restaurants were interviewed and asked the same questions, each having its own brand, with the concluding question evaluating their interest in snails. A list of the interviewed restaurants, including their location, and what their interest in snails is can be found in Table 5.

Restaurant/Restaurant Group Location Interest in Snails?

deadhorse hill Worcester, MA Yes

The Sole/VIA/111 Chophouse Worcester, MA Yes

The Bancroft Boston, MA No

The Hourly Boston, MA Yes, already serve snails

Garden Fresh Worcester, MA No

Asta Boston, MA Yes, already serve snails

Figs and Pigs Worcester, MA No

The Boynton Worcester, MA No

Armsby Abby Worcester, MA Yes

The Niche Hospitality Group Worcester, MA Yes

Table 5 Interviewed Restaurants’' Snail Interests

HGF strives to main an eco-friendly self-sustainable farm. HGF helps preserve the local and small-scale farmland through its operations. This factor aids to the involvement in the local food movement. At our interviews, chefs and owners were asked if it mattered who they purchased their food from and many said yes. Many of the restaurants that were interviewed cared about the ethics behind the production of the products. For example, the Worcester restaurant, Armsby Abbey, said “How things are grown is very important, nutritional content is really important. We know who they are, what they’re farming practices are, soil, different vegetables.” Another Worcester restaurant, deadhorse hill said, “We make an effort to find the best ingredients but also to find local ingredients, so when chef has a day off, he's driving around the farms and talking to farmers, and doing all that kinds of stuff.”

Cuisine in many of the restaurants are influenced by what is fresh, new food trends in the industry, and their effects on the environment and community. There are always food trends that influence the dishes at these restaurants; many dishes come and go as trends change. The Sole

Proprietor stated, when asked about snails, “Who knows, these things all have renaissance. What goes around comes around.” Many of the restaurants interviewed stated that they strive to be creative with their dishes to enhance their own style and uniqueness of platters. The Worcester restaurant, the Sole Proprietor, stated that, “the main motivation is wanting to do something and to create a new item.” HGF would strive to customize the snails to fit the restaurant through the unique breeding process of snails. When breeding snails, Mr. Stoddard would be able to change the diets of a batch so they can meet the specific flavors a customer wants or asks for. This type of customization will allow the restaurants to fit the foods they serve and please their customers.

Lastly, restaurants expressed a concern about being environmentally conscious. Armsby Abbey, stated, “... we try to keep [carbon footprint] as minimal as possible. We want to find the best products, finding locally is our biggest concern. It's not like it is here where we get the best ingredients and try to find something as close to home as possible.” This is important to note because it assures that HGF’s motivation to maintain an environmentally efficient business. This quality in HGF will be another future selling point for the business.

While conducting these interviews, it was clear that many of the values and key selling points of HGF are in line with their potential customers’ needs. Over half of the restaurants were interested in purchasing snails, and even if they were not, many had correlating views on the importance of purchasing locally grown food, and being environmentally conscious.

4.1.2 Snail Industry

Over the years the snail industry has expanded from popular European countries to the United States. As time has evolved, different sectors of the world have created various customs for cooking and preparing the snails. This makes this industry very unique and uncommon in the food industry.

4.1.2.1 Demand and Competitors

Although this may be a low demand industry, HGF could focus in specialization in the customer market. This kind of industry gives a business a lot of potential for growth because there are less competitors. With less competitors in the area, HGF can become one of the main distributors of snails in the United States. Many customers that do purchase snails, import canned snails from France. There is not a fresh snail farm in the Boston and Worcester area for potential customers to purchase from. The closest farm restaurants can purchase snails from is a farm in Long Island, NY. This is not a convenient location for those that want fresh snails instead of canned snails. Canned snails do not align with the request of freshness from the restaurants.

4.1.2.2 Local Food Trends

The local food movement has had a heavy influence in the restaurant industry. This movement is a fast growing trend. The movement has countless environmental, community, and health benefits. People are now more willing to eat new alternatives that not only benefit their health but also help their community. Snails could be labeled as an exotic food but if willing to try it, there are many health benefits in the food. Snails’ main competitor in the restaurant industry is the traditional protein and high nutritional sources. The traditional options are chicken, beef, and fish. Table 6 shows a nutritional comparison between snails and the traditional meat choices.

Snails Chicken Beef Fish

100-gram serving (3.5oz) 100-gram serving (3.5oz) 100-gram serving (3.5oz) 100-gram serving (3.5oz)

90 Calories 110 calories 288 calories 240 calories 16.5 grams of protein 29.55 grams of protein 26.33 grams of protein 19 grams of protein 3.5 mg of iron 1.33 mg of iron 44.55 mg of iron 0.3 mg of iron 1.4 grams of fat 7.72 grams of fat 19.54 grams of fat 14.53 grams of fat

Table 6 Comparison of Protein Alternatives

4.1.2.3 Barriers

When entering any industry there are barriers that can obstruct the path. A few barriers that HGF could encounter are limited transportation, halt to the demand of snails, and the proper breeding process of snails. As stated in section 2.2.1.3a Permits, there are many permits and regulations related to this organism. A limited transportation system could occur due to a possible conflict in the regulations for the transportation of live snails. This could be conquered by staying up to date with all permits and regulations. Next, in any industry there is the fear of zero demand for the product. This can be maintained by the continuation of networking, outreach, and quality of product for the restaurants. And lastly, from our first meeting with Mr. Stoddard at HGF, he expressed one of his main concerns was how to begin the breeding process of snails on a rooftop farm in New England. Snails have a very specific breeding temperature that can be hard to manage

without the proper equipment. The ideal temperatures for snails are between 55o_{F and 75}o_F, making it difficult to farm on a rooftop.

4.1.3 Key Connections

Just like any business, having partners can make life much easier on owners, shareholders, and workers within the business. For Mr. Stoddard’s case, finding a connection like “Lettuce Be Local” or “Massachusetts Restaurant Association” can help him with distributing his produce across the state and even across New England. These partners open doorways to help him network with restaurants as well as other farmers in the area that share the same philosophy.