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Acknowledgements This book could never have been written without the help of everyone at the Bowl of Heaven in Mountain View, and it’s co-founder, Brandon Beazer. I would also like to thank the amazing teachers at Freestyle Academy; Matt Taylor, Leslie Parkinson, Jason Greco, and Leo Florendo. Last but not least, Aava Salehi, my partner, who has been supportive throughout the interview process, and filming, and editing of the accompanying documentary.
Thank You.
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Table Of Contents Preface - 7 Introduction - 8 Chapter One - 11 Chapter Two - 14 Chapter Three - 18 Author Bio - 20 Work Cited - 23
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Preface
s a seventh grader, I started a small business with a group of classmates for a year-long school project. This process included a business plan, marketing strategies, and culminated in a pitch to a board of investors. My experience with entrepreneurship, although limited, gave me a unique and helpful perspective during interviews. Understanding an entire franchise has it’s obvious difficulties, as I wrote this book, I learned new things about running a small business and the many challenges that entrepreneurs face daily. riting has always been a challenge for me, mostly because words don’t come easily, especially when i’m not particularly interested in a topic. However, this paper has been a great exception. Throughout the writing process, I became even more interested in the economics and logistics of running a business. Conducting the research and writing of this book has given me a new appreciation for local and small businesses, my hope is that you, the reader, can take away a better understanding of succesful entrepreneurship.
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Introduction
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hen it comes to food, we all have our guilty pleasures, and whether or not we share it with others is often a tough decision indeed. However when it comes to Brandon Beazers food addiction, there was no looking back once he had made up his mind to share his newfound love of Açai bowls with his local community. tatistically, California is the one of the most unfavorable economies to start a business in and in recent years, most entrepreneurs have found it detrimental to their businesses. California was ranked by Chief Executive online magazine as one of the top three worst states for business. According to them, “Its top, marginal tax rate of 33 percent is the third-highest tax rate in the industrialized world, behind only Denmark and France” (Donlon, J.P. “Best and Worst States For Business”). owl of Heaven however, not only was a successful start-up in Los Angeles, but has created a thriving chain up the west coast. Founded in August of 2010, Bowl of Heaven has surpassed the expectations of not only its owners but most financial forecasters in California. The combination of Brandon Beazers dream for the restaurant and Dan McCormicks entrepreneurial skills let their business prosper. he fundamental question that many health food stores now have to answer is how to market to a new culture of people with specific diets coming form all different walks of life. Bowl of Heavens success lies in their versatility and wide appeal which can be easily marketed.
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heir exotic fruits and attractive products catch the interest of the consumers and most importantly, their taste buds. The co-founder himself stated in an interview that their mission in a community is “to let everyone know that eating healthy isn’t something that should taste bad, it should taste good. And it should be something that you want to be addicted to� (Beazer, Brandon).
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Chapter One
is first bite most likely consisted of some combination of strawberry, açai, and granola but from then on Bran-
don Beazer would sim- Oahu, Hawaii, was lifeply call it heaven in a changing for him and bowl, or “Bowl of Heav- his family. en”. Beazer’s first bite in that small shack on the north shore of
Bowl Of Heaven all started back in 2005 when I went to school on the North Shore of Oahu, there was a little shack across from Shark’s cove that one of my roommates took me to, and it was called Caba Roots. When the first bowl came out to me, I was like holy cow this is huge, and I was kinda shocked and I was like seriously, I’m gonna eat this thing with like fruit at the bottom, loaded with bananas, granola, and honey, I was kinda like “okay…” and i took my first bite and within that first bite, I was immediately addicted, and within like ten minutes I realized I had finished the bowl and I didn’t feel bogged down, I didn’t feel gross, I felt good. It was from then on, I wanted to have them all the time and to bring it to California. -Brandon Beazer, Co-Founder of Bowl Of Heaven
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owl of Heaven’s founders made sure to create a safe and welcoming place for both the people of their community and their employees. Customers are extremely loyal because the staff always makes the customers happiness their main priority. “Bowlistas” at Bowl of Heaven are taught how to balance the taste of a bowl while simultaneously taking into account the toppings aesthetic. Not only are employees considerate of their
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customers, but every Bowlista is inherently compassionate to their c owo rk ers. In
healthy business, John Mossman specified the theory by stating “happy employees tend to be productive ones”. It seems likely that any successful manager can thank their e mploy ees for the work they do. At Bowl of Heaven, not only did those first few employees help to establish a casual and friendly atmosphere, they helped a local startup an article for the become the growing Denver Post describ- franchise it is today. ing key aspects of a
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Chapter Two
ealth conscious people include a wide variety of palettes. And the different categories and subcategories of vegetarians, pescaterians, and vegans make them difficult terms to define. There are varying degrees of each one, and it depends on the severity of the individuals beliefs regarding the morality of meat. In an article about the rising popularity of veganism, a 2009 survey conducted by a
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non profit called the Vegetarian Resource Group, a poll was taken and it claimed that “about one percent of Americans are vegan, roughly a third of the people who reported being vegetarians. A separate survey released last year [2008] by the same group found a similar breakdown for Americans aged 8 to 18” (qtd. in “Vegan Diets Become More Popular”). This makes marketing to one specific group difficult, so in order to skip the stress of con-
forming to only one groups eating habits, Bowl of Heaven keeps their bowls basic in ingredients and easily customizable to any passionately pickyeaters. owl of Heaven thrives on it’s wide market and products that appeal to all kinds of eaters, not just the uber-health conscious that California is so well known for. There are many chain restaurants that have come to Mountain View in the last de-
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cade. Some local favorites, such as The Counter, Pizza My Heart, Chipotle, and In-N-Out have assimilated so well into the local food culture that they’re at a high demand, especially among high schoolers. But when it comes to healthier options, that market is lost to high prices which naturally pushes younger consumers to the cheaper, less healthy food.
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owever, on average, the citizens in both Mountain View and it’s neighboring city, Los Altos, have rising incomes allowing their children certain liberties such as indulging in more expensive food. This gives Bowl Of Heaven’s potential market a youthful base in addition to the health conscious parents and gym aficionados that have already caught on to the acai bowl trend. Bo Ahio, the manager of Bowl of Heavens Mountain View location specified their market
“We’re trying to market to an overall category of people, were going out to jujitsu clubs, sports clubs, … any type of sport related function.
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Chapter Three
n addition to their widely marketable product, Bowl of Heavens success can also be attributed to their location. There are many factors that go into choosing a location for a new Bowl of Heaven. The Mountain View location was chosen after a long legal process of accepting the franchise and then surveying nearby businesses and recording demographics. “Before they actually decided this location, they sat in the parking lot for a good week, watch-
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ing the flow of how many people were coming in, how many people were going into city sports, how many people were coming off the freeways in the morning...” (Ahio, Bo). The overall interest in health and fitness of people in the area is also taken into account. Nicole Frehsee of Food & Wine, a world-renowned culinary magazine, listed San Francisco as the second healthiest city in America. ecause of it’s common health food enthusiasts,
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the Bay Area was a logical choice for Bowl Of Heaven’s expansion outside of the Los Angeles area. And it’s owners’ dreams for the company have only grown. With their second location in the Bay Area already under construction and close to finished, and plans on three more locations nearby, Bowl Of Heaven’s mission, “To delight, nourish, and satisfy customers to create trust“ (Lee, Sam, Owner) is well under way. The second site is only 20 minutes from Moun-
tain View in Fremont, the site is predicted to open sometime in 2016. Along with a new location in the East Bay, Bowl of Heaven plans on investing in a truck so to expand their marketing. The truck will most likely be stationed at high school football games, base-
ball games, sponsored runs, and any other large sports events to further their access to the younger market and promote the company with potential customers.
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Conclusion
he experience of having a front row seat to watch the expansion of Bowl Of Heaven has been incredibly interesting and truly worthwhile. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to interview and connect with people in my community that have an effect on the future of business in Mountain View and beyond.
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Work Cited Ahio, Bo. Personal interview. 25 March 2015. Beazer, Brandon. Personal interview. 27 February 2015. Donlon, J.P. “Best and Worst States For Business”.
Chief Executive. Chief Executive Magazine.
7 August, 2014.
Lee, Sam. Personal interview. 27 February 2015. Mossman, John. “Employee-Friendly Workplace Culture a Key
to Company Success”. Denverpost. The Denver Post.
21, April, 2013
Nicole Frehsee. “America’s Healthiest Cities to Visit”. Food &
Wine. Time Inc.
“Vegan Diets Become More Popular, More Mainstream”.
cbsnews. CBS Interactive Inc. 5 January 2011.
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