Theo’s Eatery

Theo's Eatery

Providing market research expertise

CHALLENGE

Theo’s Eatery, an Italian and Greek-style casual dining restaurant in Orillia, Ont., had patrons regularly asking to buy its house salad dressings. After such popularity, the family-owned restaurant sought to discover if their crowd-pleasing Greek and Caesar dressings had the potential for commercialization. Not having the in-house resources for market research, the restaurant engaged with the Business & Commercialization Solutions team at Niagara College’s Research & Innovation division to discover if they had a marketable hit on their hands.

 SOLUTION

The research team, consisting of students and staff, conducted a market research feasibility study in order to understand the market and determine whether commercializing the dressings was a smart move. They investigated current consumer food trends, buying habits, social media activity, and conducted a competitive analysis. They identified potential consumer markets and researched possible distributions channels for the product. The research team also provided recommendations for branding and promotional efforts and developed a sales kit to be used for business-to-business or business-to-consumer meetings.

Funding: Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) through its College Voucher for Technology Adoption (CVTA) program.

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