Project Meatball: The Business Case for a New Product Venture
Team: Chandan Dash, James Hollifield, Lindsay Schilleman / Fall 2016
Non-profit organizations and social enterprises working in the food and farm sector often seek to address multiple and sometimes competing missions: for example, supporting the economic viability of smaller-scale food producers, and increasing low-income residents access to healthy, locally-produced foods. The task of the “Project Meatball” team was to examine the business case for non-profit Working Landscapes (WL) to create a locally-sourced and manufactured meatball product, utilizing WL’s existing assets: a certified commercial kitchen, existing relationships with local small-scale beef and pork producers and a collaborating processor, and the availability of local workers. The team examined market and financial feasibility, created a spreadsheet tool for use by WL, and created a supply chain framework to be used by WL and others when examining future business ventures.