1. +
Tre Amici – Premium Olive Oil Products
A transition year enterprise project by Matthieu
Longmore, Matthew Freda & Charlie Marshall
St. Andrews College, Booterstown, Co. Dublin
2. + Executive Summary
• “Tre Amici” meaning “Three Friends” is our product brand
• Tre Amici produces premium extra virgin olive oil and chilli oil
products in attractive packaging
• Tre Amici was founded and run by St. Andrews TY year students
Matthew Freda, Charlie Marshall & Matthieu Longmore
• The business has so far made a profit of €669.24 (expected
€1,276.00 by May 2014)
• From the profit Tre Amici has donated €275.00 to the St. Andrews
Uganda project (Total donations expected to be €520.00 by May
2014)
• 108 bottles of our oil have been sold so far
• Our oil has been sold at fairs, over the internet and to friends and
family
• All of our packaging was sourced and bought in Ireland
• We produced brochures and leaflets to help raise the profile of
our product and our brand
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
3. + Tre Amici – The Team
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
Tre$Amici$
Ma+hew$Freda$
Opera2ons$
Charlie$Marshall$
Sales$&$Marke2ng$
Ma+hieu$Longmore$
Finance$
All of our team contributed in all aspects of running the business. We all got involved in
developing the product, ordering bottles and caps, producing the oils and in sales and
marketing. However, each of us took responsibility for one area based on our individual skills
and interests. We found this approach useful as it made sure that we had someone to take the
lead in each area but at the same time we all got a chance to try out different areas and to
improve our skills. For example Charlie Marshall is a great at selling and we all learned a lot
from him about how to approach people and how to sell well. This way we all learned and
improved.
Our business was a cash business and we were raising money for charity so we knew it would
be very important to keep detailed records of all cash received and all money given to charity.
4. +The Business Idea
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
The business idea came from a trip made to an olive farm in France on holidays last
year. We came up with the idea of creating Chilli Oil because we wanted to make
something that was unique and because we love Chilli Oil with our pizzas. We got
inspired by our TY creative cookery course and the recipe from our favourite
Pizzeria – Regazzi’s in Dalkey.
We did some market research to see if people would be interested in this product.
We spoke to 20 people including friends, family and teachers and 19 people said
that they would be interested buying the product.
We wanted to create a product that we could sell not only to students but also to
adults and friends as we thought this would be the best way to make the most sales.
Our business idea is based on buying a lot of oil cheaply, making a nice product by
blending Chillies and presenting the product in very nice packaging for a higher
price.
We also decided that we wanted to donate 30% of our sales income to our School
Charity Uganda appeal – So far we have raised €275 for the Uganda appeal.
5. +Sales & Marketing
Pricing
We used market research to understand how much people would pay for our products. From
each sale we wanted to give money to charity so we had to take that into consideration when
choosing a correct price for our products. Idealy we wanted to sell our chili oil for between €8
and €10. Our market research showed us that people would be willing to pay €8.50.We decided
from each sale of chili oil we would donate €2.50 to charity so that we could keep €6 cover costs
and generate a profit.
Packaging
It was important that our product was attractive so we researched where we could buy different
types of bottles.We also needed special lock-tight caps with built in pourer so that the oil could
be poured easily.We found an Irish company online and were able to buy our bottles for 36c
each and the caps for 10c each with delivery of 11c per bottle.We were given a loan by our
parents of €90 to invest in stock of olive oil, bottles and caps and we repaid this from our first
batch of sales.
Promotion
We used posters and leaflets to promote the business to try and increase sales.We set up an
email address tre.amici@hotmail.com so that people could order online.The leaflets and posters
contained information about our products as well as our email adress so that people could make
orders and get information about the charity we were donating money to.We also provided
bread for tasting on the days of our sales events so that people could taste our oil before they
bought it.
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
6. +Sales & Marketing (continued)
Sales
Our sales approach was :
1. Outdoor events and fairs (St. Andrews Winter Fair & Blackrock tennis club Christmas fair)
2. School friends and their parents
3. Teachers
4. Friends and families
5. Sales in our local community
For the two events we prepared 55 bottles of oil. 35 Chili oil bottles and 20 Olive oil bottles and
sold out both times.When we sold out we took advance orders and deliverd these sales from our
next batch of production.
Market Risk
We were able to sell all of the product we produced.We had no competiton so we did not have to
reduce this price at any stage to try and beat comepetitors. Our first batches sold very easily
and very quickly.We had to regularly step up production to make sure we kept up with all our
orders and kept customers satisfied.
Brand
We wanted to create a brand which would go well with the product and describe us and our
business.We are three friends and we thought the Italian for three friends “Tre Amici” would
give the product a good name.
Tre Amici Business Plan – February 2014
7. +
Our product is made from Spanish
high quality extra virgin olive oil.
Our Chilli Oil is blended with high
quality fresh chillies.
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
We sourced all of our bottles, tops
and labels from Irish manufacturers
and ordered them over the internet.
The Product
In order to infuse the Olive oil with
the chilli taste, the oil had to be
heated and the chillies added and
the oil cooled before bottling.
We bought and used special
equipment to allow us to transfer the
finished oil to the bottles.
8. + Financial Highlights
Project so far
! Total Sales – 108 bottles
! Total Sales Revenue - €873.00
! Funds raised for St. Andrews Uganda project - €275.00
! Profit before Uganda donation - €669.24
! Profit after Uganda donation - €414.24
Projected May 2014
! Expected Sales – 200 bottles
! Expected Sales Revenue - €1,650.00
! Expected funds raised for St. Andrews Uganda project - €520.00
! Expected Profit before Uganda donation - €1,276.00
! Expected Profit after Uganda donation- €776.00
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
11. + Conclusion
People
Working in a group was beneficial as it taught how to work together as a team. Although we did
not have many conflicts we debated over the price of our oil.To resolve the conflict we spoke to
potential customers and did market research and agreed the price together.
Skills
We leanred important sales skills throughout this process.We also learned new cooking skills
which contributed towards our Gaisce award.We encountered a problem when on one occasions
we overcooked the olive oil which meant we had to throw it out.To resolve this problem we were
a lot more careful whilst cooking the oil after this incident.
Interest
The most interesting part of this project for us was the sales.We all learned a lot about how to
sell, the need to be passionate about your product, how to engage with people and get them
interested, making eye contact when speaking. Selling at the winter fair was a highlighted as it
kick started our sales and gave us confidence that we had a good product.
Business
Working at Tre Amici has helped us learn a lot about business. About creating a brand, how to
set prices, developing a product, working in a team, how to sell to people and how to write a
business plan.
Tre Amici Business Plan - February 2014
