And so today I encountered the owner of the juice bar I am about to do my consulting project on. Well, she doesn’t need any consulting and she made that rather clear. She seemed content with how far she had come and I suppose it’s a reflection of the amount of work needed in doing ur own business. But I am once again reminded that setting up a small business is no easy feat. And for that, I respect her.
Expertise. Some time in pursuing her degree in Australia, the owner (let’s call her J) studied design. She is the last of the present 3 owners to join. 65% of equity is owned by her god-parents. They are largely sleeping partners and come into the picture when losses are incurred or when exceptional profits are taken in. Armed with design abilities, she turned around an apparently unattractive shop-front into the colourful kiosk seen today. The kiosk, albeit small, looks pretty much like a fortress. With thick walls tiled with mosaic colours. The staff are dressed in orange polo tee and black pants. J herself wore the company tee shirt with a green skirt, her curls let down.
On having no competitors. Being a homegrown brand is her pride. And she is confident that it is in line with government initiatives for everyone to pursue a healthy lifestyle. In this aspect, the juice bar beats Bubble Tea, which comes across as a Taiwanese product and is not healthy. She, however, professes to be a fan. But quickly adds that where it comes to surviving, a juice bar would do better since people are becoming more conscious of their health.
Operations. She admits that she doesn’t even know how to cut a papaya nicely. This is especially important as the lunch crowd, which she affectionately calls “the office girls” are crazy about the nice packaging that the papaya comes in. It is obvious that the presentation of her cut fruits is very important since the juice bar located in the heart of the city and everyone is presumably looking out for nice outlook. Selling cut fruits was not the original idea of the business. However, in preparing the materials for juicing, she thought “might as well”. However, the costs of having this other ‘product line’ did not come cheap as she had to invest in a refrigerator that doubled up as a display case.
Inventory management. The nature of the fruits being perishable remains a perennial problem in the business. Retail space is expensive so she cannot afford to get a bigger place. The fruits spoil easily but demand is difficult to predict. All this leads to increment of her operating costs. This is on top of the $4000 she pays monthly to Marina Square.
Employment. “Giving hope” to the younger generation is something good that came out of employing them to help out. Their otherwise idle after-school time is taken up, keeping them out of trouble. They also learn a new skill. J also plans to send her staff for language courses, for example Japanese and Korean. This is after observing that many tourists are interested getting juices but due to the language barrier, they are limited to the conventional ‘orange ju’.
The future. Hopes are set on the government decentralizing the CBD, from the Shenton way area to Marina bay, inevitably leading to an increase in passers-by. However, it remains unseen as to whether if people walk by, they will actually stop to browse the numerous flavours, decide on one and pay the $2.50 to $3.50 for it.
Vision. J sees the juice bar securing a position that spells ‘quality, cleanliness and health’. Afterall, she understands perfectly that fruits are not exactly things that are difficult to obtain. In her words, “one orange and one blender. That’s all you need. You don’t have to come to my shop.” She also hopes that should anyone see her juice bar anywhere abroad, they will immediately feel safe, knowing that it is prepared with the highest of hygiene standards.
Expansion locally. For every cup, profit margins range from 100% to 150%. On average, she manages to sell 300 cups, ranging from 100 on weekdays and 600 on weekends. She wishes for a kiosk in the busy streets of Orchard Road. But she claims that rental can go up to $30,000 per month, making break even virtually impossible. Moreover, with the vast range of equipment, from juicers to blenders and refrigerators, the cost of a kiosk could be $40,000 to $80,000 (which is the cost of her most elaborate one in Marina Square).
Franchisees. She unabashedly mentioned that a handful of people have approached her to buy a franchise. However, she has put it off not knowing the pros and cons of doing it. She also didn’t know how she may exert control or help build the brand. Even though she currently has 2 franchisees, she hardly talked about them. She hopes to find out more about it.
Some personal thoughts.
Where the understanding of the business and its competitive edge is concerned, I find some controversies. I asked casually if the current Ministry of Environment rating was an “A” and she said yes. However, she quickly added that
she’d rather a “B”. I was really taken by surprise. But she explained saying that by getting a B, they bother you less. And that even some McDonald’s branches have B ratings. She further added that she does not like to patronize hawker stalls that have A ratings. I found that awfully puzzling because just minutes ago, she was so jubilant about the clean way her fruits and juices are prepared.
She was very proud that she single-handedly designed the kiosk. However, I found it slightly weird that the walls were so thick and the place was so cramped. It
didn’t project the clean, fresh image that was talked about. She mentioned that people could look in to see her staff do the preparation. However, I’m not sure if that was a good thing. The garbage was everywhere and there were 3 people in a space equivalent to 2 toilet cubicles.
While cleanliness and quality was supposed to be the source of competitive edge, where people would feel ‘safe’ when they see the juice bar’s logo, her staff were only equipped with very basic gloves. Their
hair was unkempt and tee shirts tucked out. I ordered a drink only to find the cup smeared with juices.
She mentioned that sales are very adversely affected on rainy days. She mentioned that being in an air-conditioned place also does nothing for the business. However, of her present 5 outlets,
none of them are outdoor.
