Business Plan for the Healthy Party For Kids, LLC (“HPK”)
ShareThisEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
25% of children between the ages of 6-12 in this country are obese. The rate of diabetes in young people has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Parents want their kids to eat healthy foods, understand the value of nutrition and get outdoors and use their imagination to play. And yet, when it comes to birthday parties, most of the things we’d like to teach our kids about healthy eating and living are thrown out the window, with cake, ice cream, cola and arcade games the norm.
Last year, nearly 10 million parents paid to have birthday parties out of their homes, spending a total of nearly three billion dollars. Our company targets the child party industry with parties that are healthy and fun, and that create or reinforce the message that big events in a child’s life don’t have to be accompanied by sugar highs.
Healthy Parties for Kids (“HPK”) is dedicated to offering fun and healthy parties for children between 1-14 years old. Our target market is parents with kids between in this age group, living within a 15-mile radius of downtown, and with a median income level of $45,000. We estimate that there are over 50,000 kids in our target age group and geography. To us, this means 50,000 opportunities to change the idea of what a birthday party is and what it can offer. Our mission is to plan and deliver nutritional and healthy parties for young people.
Parents recognize the importance of instilling healthy eating and playing activities in their children, but “make exceptions” for a birthday party. The problem is that the average child will attend almost 15 parties over course of a year, meaning “binge” days nearly about every three weeks (not including all the candy they eat for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Valentines and other days). In our customer surveys, over 90% of parents questioned said that they would like to offer a healthier alternative to the “cake and ice cream party” norm, but didn’t have the time to come up with an idea, make the food and supervise the party.
HPK provides convenience and peace of mind for parents, while entertaining their children with active and fun games and providing them with healthy and enjoyable foods and drinks. In less than ten minutes, parents can choose from a set of options on our website that allows them to customize their child’s party based on things like the ages of children, themes, budgets and activities. A few clicks and it’s done: HPK takes over, mailing invitations (and thank you cards later), buying and preparing treats, setting up and taking down decorations, leading kids through games and events, and explaining the importance of making nutrition and physical fitness a part of their everyday lives. Parents can rest easy, knowing that the planning and running of their child’s important day is in good hands. Mom and dad can spend their time enjoying the day and creating memories with their children.
Our research finds 17 companies active in party arrangement in our city. None of these companies focuses exclusively on children, and over half are geared towards weddings and office parties. Three companies that do regularly host birthday parties for children in our area – Charlie Cheese Pizza, Boingo Gym and Carl’s Bowling and Arcade – do a brisk business: our observations over a two month period indicate an average of seven parties a day on Saturday and Sunday, with average attendance of 14 people and an average total price of $425.
HPK’s owners conducted surveys of nearly 100 parents that used our competitors’ services for their child’s party and found that the following four things were the key decision criteria and are what we believe are the critical success factors for our business:
• Affordability: Parents are willing to spend between $15-$20 per child for a three-hour party
• Availability: It’s important that a weekend date near a child’s birthday or big event is available
• Familiarity: Parents know what to expect from a party at our established competitors; they have peace of mind knowing that staff are experienced in dealing with kids
• Safety and Fun: It is important that the party be held in a safe place, with safe activities, but also that he kids be entertained and enjoy themselves.
Parents indicated that the main things they didn’t like about parties at our competitors’:
• Routine and Rush: Parents feel that their kids are often “rushed out” of a party space in order to make way for the next party, and that there’s no individual attention (“it feels like a party factory, and no one knows or really cares about my kid”)
• Limited range of food and activities: Over half of all parents surveyed said that they were fed up with “another pizza and cake” party, or parties in which their kids had access to video games or simply ran around an indoor play area (something they felt wasn’t unique or “particularly special”)
Our company provides affordable, safe and fun parties for kids, with special attention devoted to each party and child. We offer a range of healthy foods and fun activities, and our staff engages with the children, using their names, talking about their favorite characters, and giving them quality time and attention. Most parties are held at the parents’ home or in public parks, and we encourage outdoor play and activity. With four founders and a large group of responsible and trained friends and helpers, we are able to offer up to three different parties in three locations at any given date and time, meaning that three kids with the same birthday, wanting parties around lunch time can all be accommodated -- something Boingo Gym can’t accommodate and that Charlie Cheese doesn’t manage well (three parties in the same large room means a chaotic mess of kids from different parties “getting lost” in the crowds).
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