Deli business plan template

Executive Summary

Business Overview

Les Sandwiches de Sophie will be a deli located at 45 rue Écuyère in downtown Caen.

Our deli will offer classic French sandwiches, our own sandwich inventions, and a build-your-own-sandwich service, using the wide variety of ingredients available for sale.

The bread available will include baguette, wholemeal bread, and cereal bread. The loaves will be supplied by a local baker and our fresh, quality ingredients will be the main focus of our concept.

In addition to sandwiches, we will also offer salads, alcohol-free drinks and homemade pastries.

Our deli will provide quality food service to working professionals looking for a place to quickly grab lunch, passers-by doing their shopping or visiting the city, and customers of the 11 bars on Rue Écuyère.

Rue Écuyère is located in the heart of downtown, between Place Saint-Sauveur and Rue Saint-Pierre, two of Caen's most popular shopping areas.

The street is very busy, especially due to the many bars, shops and restaurants that attract students, passers-by, and tourists. Crowded on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings when student parties are in full swing, Rue Écuyère is a real city hotspot.

The deli will be a limited company with a capital of €8,000, managed by Sophie C. Thanks to a degree in Team and Quality Management and her 8 years of experience in the quality control team of a sandwich chain, Sophie has the skills required to operate a deli.

Market

French Market

In 2015, 2.26 billion sandwiches were sold in France, an increase of 3.2% over the previous year. In the same year, the market generated total sales of 7.77 billion euros.

According to snacking.fr, sandwiches make up the majority of types of food offered within the fast-food industry - with 42.5% of the types of food being in sandwich form.

Essential in the day-to-day lives of the French, it's impossible to visit a mini-market, deli, bakery, or supermarket without spotting a sandwich.

With an average price of €3.40 per sandwich, as indicated by a study conducted by Gira Conseil, it offers the perfect, budget-friendly lunch option.

There are 25,000 delis in France. With more than 50% of sandwiches sold within this type of establishment, they hold first place as the leading distributor within the sandwich market. Next come supermarkets and bakeries, with 24% and 17.5% market share respectively.

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According to a survey carried out by NPD Group in 2018, 60% of daily sandwich sales are made at lunchtime.

French people, who have an average of 31 minutes for lunch, want a relaxed lunch experience that allows them to combine three main criteria: a balanced, homemade, and meat-based meal.

Finding the ideal lunch location depends predominantly on proximity and quality. According to BFM Business, takeaway sales are nothing like they were ten years ago. People are increasingly willing to pay more for a quality sandwich than pick one just because it's cheap.

Local market

With a total of 108,000 inhabitants and 72,000 in employment, Caen has an affluent city centre.

For those working within more industrial areas, the presence of shopping centres gives them a wide range of restaurants to choose from.

The variety of lunch offers within the city itself depends on the neighbourhood. Residential areas are conducive to take-away lunches in bakeries, whilst the city centre offers a vast choice between fast food outlets, mini-markets, and restaurants.

Target market

Our market research enabled us to identify three customer segments:

• Employees in downtown Caen who are always on the look-out for new lunch places. Our deli will offer inside and outdoor seating for a moment's break from the office, which is ideal for employees working nearby.
• Passers-by, downtown shoppers and tourists, all of whom are likely to pass by the rue Écuyère, which joins the tramway, buses, and the town hall, as well as the Place Saint-Sauveur and the Abbaye aux Hommes, two of the city's main tourist attractions.
• The young people packing out the street bars on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, when parties are organised. We'll keep our deli open later over the weekend to offer a post-night-out meal for these customers.

Competition

We have identified 3 main competitors on Rue Écuyère. Two of the competitors are bakeries offering sandwiches, the third is a fast-food restaurant specialising in burgers.

Although we expect fairly strong competition from these establishments, we have several assets that should enable us to make our mark in the local market.

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We have both indoor and outdoor seating areas, a wider selection of sandwiches than our rival bakeries, and longer opening hours.

We will also be competing indirectly with:

• Bars that offer food
• Grocery stores selling sandwiches and ready meals
• Traditional restaurants
• Delivery platforms

While we do anticipate tough competition from these places, we believe that their food offerings are designed to meet different lunch opportunities than those targeted by our deli.

Nearby workers don't always have the time, or the budget, to eat lunch in a restaurant. They, therefore, tend to purchase a quick, cheap lunch every day and reserve restaurant bookings for special occasions. For this clientele, our deli is viewed as a higher quality alternative to the ready-made sandwiches and microwaveable meals sold in corner shops.

Passers-by doing their shopping are generally looking for a quick and budget-friendly lunch, especially when doing their shopping alone or if they're pressed for time.

Finally, young revellers of street bars may be tempted by the food offered by the bars they're drinking at. However, their prices are higher and their kitchens generally close earlier than ours, so we believe we can succeed in attracting a portion of their clientele, especially late at night.

Financial Highlights

We expect to be profitable in our first year of operation, during which we expect to achieve sales of €154,715 and EBITDA of €6,636 (and 4.29% of margin).

For the second year, we expect to grow by 1.30% to €156,720 in sales and €6,789 in EBITDA (and 4.33% of margin). The improvement in EBITDA margin is mainly due to a better absorption of fixed costs as a result of the increase in sales.

For the third year, we expect growth of 2.86%, with sales of €161,195 and EBITDA of €10,116 (and 6.28% of margin).

We expect positive cash generation over the entire plan. The cash flow generated by the business should enable us to cover loan repayments while maintaining sufficient flexibility to deal with unforeseen events.

Our Ask

The opening of our deli will require an initial investment of €47,000. 

Sophie C. has planned to contribute an amount of €22,000, i.e. 46.80% of the total amount, and we would like to obtain a loan to finance the remaining €25,000.

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