Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Executive Summary
Tinto, the Story of a Flying Pig, or, How the Dream Began:
A dream is something you aspire to&something that seems so easy, yet intangible. A dream is something that combines all elements that you christen the perfect blend of wonderful things that will make your world and everyone elses a more beautiful and promising place to exist. This perfect blend is a beautiful place to bring people together, a sanctuary of purity, hope, fear, and an enjoyable reality. Well, thats our dream, and how we began to conceptualize Tinto.
Tinto is the culmination of two dreams two women, both working as inner-city school counselors. It is the reality of our end of the day processing over a glass of wine, and the vision of better things to come. It is a business of our own, a place to fundraise and raise awareness. It is that creation of a moment in time we hope our customers never forget, and return to relive. Tinto is to us, simply, a creation of our passion, blended with our desire for wholeness, peace, love and joy. It is a culmination of two worlds, two women, and a project we thought would happen when pigs fly. We know now that it is time to take flight.
Tinto will be a full-service wine bar, tasting place and retail seller. Our wine selection will consist of hand-picked wines that meet only the highest expectation and quality of value. Our service will be intimate, with a true interest in our customers palate and being, providing an atmosphere of welcome and intrigue&a place to meet old and new friends, and a place to feel the ease of contentment of comfort.
Both managers/owners will be on the floor most nights to ensure that customer service is no less than excellent, and meets the high expectations that are at the basis for our business. Staff members that are hired into the Tinto family will be well trained and expected to serve and work as a part of the Tinto family, representing the business respectfully, in a professional manner that extends a pleasant blend of good cheer and knowledgeable service. This confident aura and pleasant acceptance will be a most welcoming factor in our establishment. We shall pursue that this ambience extends itself to any person who finds themselves in the mood to enter our establishment.
Our wine selection will be delineated in a way that customers can easily interpret type, body, sugar content, primary flavors, and personality. Customers can keep track of their selections if they so choose, noting their likes and dislikes. This will be a good way for our customers to track their tastes and also to help them to select a bottle from our retail area that they might want to take home.
Tinto will feature community outreach such as our monthly specials that benefit a selected charity. We will also sponsor local academic institutes in various ways that are meaningful to the lives and children and their families in the community. We will inform the community of Tinto endeavors with a monthly newsletter of events that have occurred and are to come, also engaging the community in our purpose of social activism and local business entrepreneurial ship, combining with the welcome and relaxation that Tinto provides as a community business.
Partners Wendy and Susan graduates of the University of California Masters in Business Administration Both women have been working with children in families in inner-city schools for over seven years in an effort to support children of poverty, families afflicted by gang affiliation, domestic violence, drug abuse, and sexual and physical abuse. Wendy and Susan both have experience working in the restaurant industry for many years. Both have been involved in customer service, working directly with people, and initiating programs and change for many years. With a passion for wine, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Wendy and Susan will combine their strengths and passion to enhance community and business in South Park, San Diego. Our model customer service, incredibly welcoming and warm atmosphere, effective and interesting advertising combined with word of mouth advertising, and efforts to include and build community will prove Tinto a successful entrepreneurial endeavor full of intelligence and passion.
Mission Statement
Tinto Wine bar, or Tinto, is a corporation built on the realization of a dream. It is an endeavor created by heart and soul that aims to mesh the diversity and passions of the South Park community, and create a space where integrity and comfort reign. What does this mean? How does a wine bar enrich a community or mesh the passion of others along with ones own passion? Why would this be desirable to others?
Our endeavor is aimed at creating an experience for our customers is something that we personally have searched for in the city of San Diego on a regular basis. It is a combination of our favorite places to dine and spend time, including our own homes, weekend getaways, and favorite dog walks. It is a place that combines that special feeling of weightlessness and contentment all at once. Tinto is a place away from home that equally invites your nose, palate, heart, and mind. Tinto will envelope all of your senses, from a sense of serenity revealing itself in the welcoming atmosphere and décor, to the excitement of a new taste you encounter, and the possibility of bringing home a bottle to enjoy with friends.
Tinto will realize this goal by offering customers an opportunity to feel the South Park neighborhood ambience through wine and local charm. Customers will explore a world of comfort and accessibility through reasonably priced wine, imported bottles of beer, and various food selections such as cheese boards, cold cuts, and desserts purchased from local shops. Our intent is to include other local businesses in our daily sales exchanges as much as possible. For example, local butchers such as the Linkery, artisan cheese shops such as Venissimo, bakeries such as Sweet Cheeks, and a non-profit local womens organization that makes and sells gourmet foods as a way to escape poverty and re-enter the work force, are all possible partners with Tinto in a symbiotic exchange to support each other and local business owners in San Diego.
Most importantly, our wine selection will embody hand-picked bottles from around the world that reflect the managers expectations for quality, taste, and affordability. Our wine selection will be accessible both by the glass or bottle in the shop, or retail. An unparalleled service to customers will be a priority, as will the desire to enhance the taste and desire for wine.
Overall, Tinto will strive for the unique blend of customer affability and community cohesiveness in an exciting experience centrally focused on wine enhanced by social comfort, interaction, and acceptance. Affordability, customer loyalty, and unique experiential atmosphere only strengthen the vitality and success of Tinto in South Park, San Diego.
Products and Services
Wine and Beer
Tinto will offer hand-picked wines from a variety of countries that meet the Owners expectations of quality and value. Although the wine inventory will be fluid based on availability and experience, the focus will be on glasses of or near $7.50. Wine will be offered in-store by the taste, flight, glass and bottle. In addition, bottles may be purchased for off-premises consumption. Wine flights will be offered based on season and stock as well as a build-your-own flight that will be available at times. All wines in the store can be opened for a glass. In addition to wine offerings, a limited menu of premium beers will be offered by the bottle at an average price of $6 for those customers who are not persuaded to indulge in the staffs passion for wine.
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Tinto will serve prepared gourmet foods to compliment the wines being served, but will not feature a full-service kitchen. Tinto will partner with neighborhood catering businesses that will provide food items to be kept in short-term refrigerated storage in the store. Among the items initially planned for sale are: cheese plates, cured meat plates, olives, nuts, fresh and dried fruits, prepared spreads such as hummus or cheese spreads, crackers, breads, chocolates and individual cakes and tarts. In addition, Tinto will offer bottled water, and a small assortment of premium soda by the bottle.
Miscellaneous Merchandise
Tinto will offer miscellaneous merchandise for sale as a means of keeping with the mission of increasing the role of wine in the culture of the neighborhood as well as complimenting core sales with high margin impulse items. Logo T-shirts, hats, glasses and other wine-related items may be presented for sale in the store.
Events
Themed wine tastings, wine classes, and excursions to local wineries will be offered on a regular basis and open to the public. In addition, Tinto will solicit private parties and tastings to be hosted at the store. This will benefit the community as Tinto will offer a unique experience for a private parties and public events where the consumer will have not only an attractive atmosphere for socializing, but an opportunity to team build together in a common and enjoyable learning experience.
Customer Service
Customer service at Tinto will prove to be our greatest selling point. In researching market competition, customer service albeit generally friendly, did not meet the warm, inviting expectations of the Owners. At Tinto, one of the Owners or the General Manager will be on the floor at all times to shrare their expertise and extend a hearty welcome to ensure that each customer has a truly quality experience regardless of their history with wine. In the future of Tinto as servers are hired to assist, each will be trained to ensure the staffs wine knowledge meets the Owners minimum standards. In addition to the knowledge and passion that the owners and staff will emanate, the store will display extensive information regarding wine varietals and regions to assist customers in understanding, identifying with and becoming self-sufficient in comparing and selecting wines from around the world.
Customers
Tintos customers are from a broad spectrum of demographics across generations, professions, genders, and ethnic backgrounds. However, there are a few general guidelines that can be applied to define the Tinto customer:
-
Of legal drinking age (21+)
-
At least occasional consumer of alcoholic beverages
-
Earns middle class income and up
-
Has attained some level of post-secondary education
-
Enjoys food and dining experiences
-
Enjoys public socializing
-
Enjoys leisure time and activities
San Diego is an extremely well-suited environment for this type of customer as it is a diverse and growing city experiencing a revitalization of commercial and residential growth, adding to a customer base already rich with target demographics. San Diego is home to multiple military installations, universities, a thriving tourism industry, maritime operations, and state government.
Marketing Plan
Niche
Tinto will provide a relaxing yet stimulating sanctuary for people of all demographics to unwind and enjoy a glass of wine at their leisure. In addition, Tintos wine education offerings will engage and enlighten the community through understanding and experiencing the positive influences of wine. These assets will make an impact on the community and will likely keep community members coming back for more.
Message
At Tinto Wine Bar we will dismiss any notion that the passion of wine is connected to pretension. We genuinely care about wine and each of our customers experience with wine. The owners of Tinto believe that wine consumption is intended to be a fun and relaxing cultural experience, therefore our atmosphere will be as comfortable as home yet stimulating to the senses.
Word of Mouth Advertising
The owners of Tinto have an extensive network of friends and associates in a variety of industries in the San Diego area. Through this network, Tinto will receive a significant amount of pre-opening and opening buzz. Our methods of communication with our word of mouth network will include: email updates of progress as opening night nears, invitation to join a preferred customer list, invitations to host private events, and a grand opening invitation.
Local News Article
Tinto will solicit the San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego Reader, San Diego Magazine and a multitude of local websites, newstations and magazines to write stories about emergence of the local wine culture.
Paid Advertising
Tinto will have its website up and running two months prior to opening. To ensure various internet search engines will point potential customers to Tintos website, multiple rounds of testing will occur. Tinto will look to advertise in the local publications listed above as well as the University of San Diego periodical and a multitude of local websites such as signonsandiego.com. Flyers will be distributed and posted throughout the community.
Grand Opening Event
Tinto will hold a grand opening night inviting friends, family and the public from around the country, but focusing on the local San Diego area. This event will feature free food, wine and live music. The goal of opening night is to generate enthusiasm for Tinto by providing an exciting and enjoyable evening to mingle, meet the Owners, become acquainted with products, sign up for our email list and get a sense for what Tinto is all about.
Promotional Budget
The following bullets describe the categories and associated budgets for the initial promotional expense to get the business up and running. The advertising budget for ongoing operations is included in the operating expenses line item found in the financial plan.
-
Paid Advertising
-
Website
-
Newspaper/Magazine Ads
-
Flyers
-
Grand Opening Event
Economics
Market trends
Currently trends in the market reveal an increased trend in the United States wine market and consumption per capita. Economically, the wine market experienced a milestone year in 2006 in the United States, exceeding 250 million cases for the first time ever. Adult per capita also set a record high, soaring from 1 plus gallons consumed to over two and one half gallons, complementing an increased consumption run of 13 years in a gaining market for wine sales. Historically, the U.S. wine market belies measured decade-long ups and downs, surging in the 1970s, only to falter in the 1980s, and rise again in the mid 1990s that continues through 2008. The outlook for the expansion of the U.S. wine market looks to be extremely positive.
When revisiting the interest of table wine in the United states from 1960, one may assert that consumption has been on the rise, and that the estimated sales of table wine will only continue to increase as medical studies continue to verify the health benefits of wine. Consumption and driving the increased consumption of wine drinkers age 61 and up. Between 2005 and 2008, San Diego wine drinking trends indicate that the demand for wine went up due to increased exposure of youths to wine drinking. At the3 age of 21 plus, a person was allowed to drink alcohol. This plus other reasons were very instrumental for the growth of sales for wines and beers. Discotheques, decent clubs, bashes or parties plus other events were warmly welcomed in San Diego during this period. All generation types were involved in drinking, hence was not a big issue so long as one was aged 21 plus (Small, Couturier & Godfrey, 2011).
In the US, wine consumption between 2005 and 2008 was remarkable. Consumption increased overtaking the demand for beer and spirits. The baby boomers aged between 47 and 65 were instrumental to the rise of wine consumption in the US with researches showing that one in every four bottles of wine consumed in the US is consumed by the baby boomers. The generational trends show that 6 % of the millennial aged between 17 to 34, that is about 70 million were drinking wine daily in the US, 26 % drunk it several times a week and 19 % drunk it once a week. The generation X aged between 35 and 46 and they accounted to 44 million people were also instrumental to the rise of wine consumption. 62 per cent of generation x were core wine drinkers, an increase from 41 per cent the previous years.
Those aged 65 years and above, the then largest proportion of the daily wine drinkers also facilitated the increased wine consumption. Of all the generation trends, the millennial and the generation X segments were the core drivers who enhanced the growth of the wine market. Another instrumental factor that facilitated the growth of the wine consumption was consumer direct and the social media. Through the media, people got to see or gather information about a certain brand of wine using the internet. Through the direct purchasing habits, the consumer the sellers had typical tasting rooms where the consumers would enter and taste wines giving reasons why they would or wouldnt buy the manufactured wines. The use of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and You tube facilitated the growth (Brostrom & Brostrom, 2009).
The consumption of wine in the United States is currently holding at an all time high in reference to per capita consumption. In comparison to other countries, however, wine sales measures far less. If we compare the US with other countries for example the Uruguay, France, Italy and the UK, the US lags behind. There are reasons as to why the US lags behind which include; the historical perception of wine in the US market, the high cost of wine domestically in the US and the Neo prohibitionist sentiments in much of the US. Before the US became a major producer of wine, it used to import only two kinds of wine namely the French wine and the Italian wine which were expensive. The domestic wines were of poor quality.
The other countries used to produce wine locally and their prices were affordable everyday wines hence managed to beat the US in terms of sales. The second reason was because the US domestically produced wines were very expensive. In Australia, the wine production techniques coupled with an oversupply of grapes made it easy for the country to do well in the market and led to competitive pricing. The third reason or factor that makes the other countries to beat US in terms of wine sales is that wine consumption in most of the Midwest. The concentration of wine markets in the US is only centered major markets because of nice restaurants, more hotels tourists among many others. There are some places in the US you will find that people hardly drink alcohol of any kind and this affects the market of wine (American brewers review, (n.d.).
The demographic of the South Park area within a one to five mile radius of the business address is 60.05% ages between 21 years and 64 years.
Barriers to Market Entry
Current research shows that interest and patronage to Tinto will be substantiated, though there are a few possible barriers to entry in the market we are targeting. Relatively high rent costs and limited availability of retail space in the targeted areas and in San Diego countywide may prove difficult for the proposed location.
A second concern lies in obtaining a proper license for been and wine sales in the city of San Diego. Businesses zoned for alcohol sales as the primary source of revenue versus revenue from food, or through purchasing an existing license are more difficult to obtain in the city of San Diego due to the current stance of the city Chief of Police and the number of alcohol related incidents. Alcohol related incidents have been numerous, therefore taking police force off of patrol in residential areas.
Interaction with the Food and Beverage Administration of San Diego must be according to law, and licensing procedures must be adhered to properly. In order to acquire the necessary licensing and documentation in order to correctly and accurately move forward with this endeavor, we have been seeking consult from lawyers and friends involved in the management and ownership of local clubs and restaurants. Our mentors in this arena have proved incredibly helpful and immensely knowledgeable in regards to our efforts and have given us accurate and obtainable information necessary to move forward. It is our desire to operate our business legally and most diligently, and in the manner of an establishment that provides a community with a model of not only local pride, but countywide excellence, as well.
Other Barriers
-
High capital costs
-
High marketing costs
-
Consumer acceptance and brand
We will overcome these barriers by providing high quality service, reasonable prices, and local enthusiasm. Our market may be affected by changes in the housing market, a drop in the local economy.
Market Risks
Current trends in local economy show that even though the housing market and real estate ventures are decreasing in strength, many people are still investing in them. This may significantly affect the sales and profit of the company as disposable and discretionary funds become more limited for customers on a regular basis. Recreational activities, including socializing at local establishments, may feel the threat of local and nation wide economic downturns.
Product
Our products and services from our customers point of view
Features and Benefits
Tinto will feature a widely varied and accessible wine list that entices even the most novices of wine connoisseurs. Our establishment is not about how much you know, but about how much you can enjoy and learn from the experience. We are interested only in opening up an enjoyable taste and product to people that may want to experience something enticing. We are as much about providing great wine at a great price as we are about providing an unequivocally comforting atmosphere and welcoming place to enjoy compatibility, conversation and relaxation.
The intimate atmosphere will boast a classic yet modern décor that is widely appealing to the senses, and that encourages comfort. Pricing will be a main factor in developing our wine list and weekly specials, encouraging customers to try different wines. The lack of pretense and the feeling of warmth that presides throughout the establishment will encourage even the most reluctant customer to come on in for a quiet and special moment.
Major products or services
Customer Demographics
-
Location: South Park, San Diego, California. 2226 Fern Street, 92102
-
Age: targeting 21 and up South Park highest population by age:
-
Gender: not required
-
Income level: median SD household 1/1/2007 income is $61,250.00
Business Demographics
-
Space Size: 1000 square feet
-
Building Type: Historical building in restoration phase. One of three buildings in process of restoration project name Firehouse No. 9
-
Zoning: liquor sales permitted wine/beer license and retail sales
Competition
Tinto will have several primary competitors represented by competing wine bars and premium wine shops in the area, as well as some secondary competitors represented by wine bars and premium wine shops outside of the vicinity, high-end and large-scale grocery chains (Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Albertsons/Vons/Ralphs) and big box merchandise stores carrying large inventories of premium wine (Costco/Cost Plus World Market). The primary wine bar competitors, as across the board competitors, are the focus of direct research conducted by the owners for traffic, quality of service and sales numbers. The local high-end wine stores will compete only in that they will carry similar wines for retail sale at competitive prices. Among the secondary competitors, the grocery and big box stores may carry some similar labels but will not offer the level of full service nor experience that Tinto offers. Although there are several wine bars and wine shops outside of the mid-city area that may offer similar service, they are not concerning due to their distance from Tintos core customer base.
Primary Competitors: South Park
-
Proprietors Reserve, 4711 34th Street, San Diego, CA 92116
-
Kensington Vine, 4191 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116
-
Vagabond, 2310 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92104
Secondary Competitors
Competitive Advantages
Tinto has several competitive advantages over our competition:
Product Variety
Tinto will encourage our customers to open and taste any bottle on our menu in keeping with the mission of increasing our communitys interest and appreciation of wine. In researching Tintos primary competitors, it was discovered that a number of wine bars push particular wine flights and discourage interested consumers from requesting glasses from the bottle menu. Wines will be selected from virtually every major wine region around the world that is suitable to the owners expectations of quality and value.
Price
The owners of Tinto embrace the truth that wines of excellent quality can be found at affordable glass and bottle prices, and this will be showcased through the selections we make available to our customers. In researching our direct competitors, a notable trend of four to eight reasonably priced glasses of wine exist on a list of twenty or more wines. At Tinto we believe that our customers will value experiencing more options for superb quality wines at a more competitive price than direct competitors provide.
Service
Tintos commitment to high quality customer service will stand out among all competitors. At least one of the owners will be on the floor at all times to share expertise and extend a warm, personal welcome to customers. It is of the utmost importance to the owners that all customers feel comfortable at Tinto, regardless of previous experience/knowledge of wine. After all, the goal is to ignite a passion for wine in the community.
Appearance and Feel
Tinto will draw in customers with a warm and comfortable feeling atmosphere that embodies an edge of sophistication. The owners believe strongly in the importance of creating an environment that is relaxing to the mind yet exciting to the senses. In researching local competitors, the owners found a general shortage of locations that offer the type of environment Tinto customers will embrace.
Table 1: Competitive Analysis (Estimated Importance to each, 1=critical; 5=not very important).