Executive Summary

This is your chance to grab the attention of the reader in the most concise and informational summary you can muster. Never let
this run over one page long. Also, do not write this portion until after you have done everything else, all research, all numbers
crunched and the entire packet completed. Since this business is fairly new, the executive summary will not be as detailed (with
financial growth, charts and graphs) as it would if it were already well-established.

Our mission is to provide a healthy and sustainable food option for our consumers. As an organic and GMO-conscious
business that practices zero-waste policies, we not only feed our customers we educate them. Yampa Valley Naturals was
founded in 2012 by Maya Stone and Joseph Yebcavich. We are a home based business seeking a permanent commercial
location for retail and wholesale purposes. Our products are organic treats such as breads, granolas, jams and mushrooms
that serve the population of the Yampa Valley and beyond. We are Colorado Proud certified, part of the Main Street Chamber
of Commerce and have all necessary permits to operate legally within Routt County.
The founders of YVN have years of experience in running successful businesses, overcoming difficult obstacles and advocating
for the organic and GMO-free food scene. Combined, Maya and Joseph have 10 years of mushroom growing, bread baking
and retail experience. Maya served on the city council in VA for sustainable food committee and Joseph is a representative of
the sustainability council in Steamboat Springs, CO.
We are prepared to invest 50% of the total needed start-up funds. They are seeking the final 50% of funding to meet our
financial goals from Mountain West Bank and interested angel investors. There is also a Kickstarter campaign active to aid us
in this process. We foresee Yampa Valley Naturals becoming a staple in the Steamboat Springs community; to educate the
public about the importance of local and organic food; to provide cost effective healthy food options; and to develop partner
programs with Colorado Mountain College to enrich the Sustainability program and further the local food goals of the valley.

I. General Company Description

This section reviews your companys goals, objectives, and philosophy, as well as goes over what the industry is like.

Company Goals and Objectives

Goals:
o To be the leading organic and GMO-free food producer in Colorado
o To have a store front with prepared food and products and food-to-order
o To educate consumers about the current and future state of the food industry, plants and their health
benefits and
Objectives:
To obtain GMO-free certification
To obtain USDA 100% organic certification
To have three full-time employees with salary and benefits
To encourage local food swapping
Business Philosophy:
Sustainable, Local and Organic is our motto.
Sustainable, because its important to reduce our footprint on the fragile environment by
recycling, reusing and repurposing.
Local, because stimulating the local economy is good for you, good for me and good for
the other members of your community. It creates a healthy atmosphere for thriving business and happy people.
Organic, because eating products that are pesticide and preservative free is crucial to
your health.
The phrase is also an acronym for SLO food which is a movement to counter the ever-so-popular fast food world we live in.
SLO food encompasses not only how your food is grown and where you buy it, but where and how you enjoy it, too. SLO food
intends to remind people to just slow down. Food is meant to be enjoyed as a cultural event not as just a means to survival.

Industry Description
The food industry is forever growing, changing and adapting to the demands of the consumer. In recent years there has been
an exponential growth in the organic food market. Consumers are becoming more aware of what they are ingesting and how
important it is to choose preservative free and pesticide free products. The organic industry is on the rise as sale trends show
for 2012. According to the Nutrition Business Journal, organic food sales in the United States have increased from
approximately $11 billion in 2004 to an estimated $27 billion in 2012. Furthermore, according to the USDA Economic
Research Service, organic food products are still gaining ground in conventional supermarkets as well as natural foods
markets, and organic sales accounted for more than 3.5 percent of total U.S. food sales in 2012. We anticipate this positive
growth to continue in coming years.

II. Products and Services

Describe in depth your products or services in this part of the business proposal. Dont be afraid to go into even further detail
than our example below shows, based on your specific industry. Include advantages and disadvantages you have over the
competition.

Description of Products/Services
We produce and package organic products for wholesale, retail, and foodservice. These products include but are not limited
to:
Granola
Granola Bars
Trail Mix
Fruit Butters
 Herbs (Fresh/Dried)
Mushrooms (Fresh/Dried)
Pastries
Cookies
Muffins
Cereals
Nut Butters
Artisan Breads

Competitive Advantages/Disadvantages
Yampa Valley Naturals has a distinct advantage as a local organic foods producer. We dedicate a tremendous amount of time
to research to ensure the best organic, GMO-free ingredients in all of our products. While not every product we sell is 100%
organic and 100% GMO-free we strive to be. This sets us apart from our competitors as no other business in town produces
sustainable, local and organic packaged food.
Living in the Yampa Valley can have its setbacks in the agriculture and product creation sector due to our rather remote and
high-altitude location. Obtaining certain ingredients is already problematic but we need to again dramatically narrow our
search to meet our high standards of organic and GMO-free ingredients.

III. Marketing Plan

First, include a section on economics here. Because this is drastically different for every industry, we have not include an
example here. However, here are some of the questions you should seek to answer with your economics section:
What is the total size of your market?
Is there a current demand for your product?
What are the trends?
Is there growth opportunity?
Are there any barriers you face to being successful as a start-up?
Next, include a section about customers. Identify your targeted customers, their characteristics, and their geographic locations,
otherwise known as their demographics.

Customers
Our target customers range from young to old and they will primarily be residents of Routt County, CO. Our products cater to
the sweet tooth of kids, the health nut to the diabetic elderly. There is one important theme here and that is: S.L.O.
Our most popular customer groups will most likely be Steamboat Springs residents with at least a middle-range income.
Typically these customers will be eco-conscious or health-conscious citizens and could very well be in the education, health, or
food sector.
You should also include a section on your competitors. List major competitors by name in this section if possible.

Competition
Surprisingly, none. We have been unable to locate a company with similar values and/or products located in the Yampa
Valley. There are local farms that produce fresh herbs, but this is only a small portion of our entire product inventory. Insofar,
we have seen no signs of local gourmet mushroom farmers or any local organic foodservice companies. Restaurants in town
primarily carry big name organic foods in their shops and we intend to become the new local source for high-quality organic
products at the retail, wholesale and foodservice levels.
For a lot of Steamboat residents, locally produced foods are more appealing than ones produced from corporations. At a talk
held by the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council in April entitled: Local Foods, speakers asked the approximately 100 Routt
County citizens what their idea of local was. The results were impressive. More than 80% of the room considered local foods
to be produced only in Colorado. Out of that 80% almost half considered local to be only produced in the Western Slope area
which encompasses Steamboat Springs. These people are our target market and we have no true competitors at this moment.
How will you get the work out to customers? Include this information in the next section. You should include not just direct
promotional strategies, but also branding strategies and budget information.

Promotion
Currently we are relying heavily on word-of-mouth. Our business financial structure right now cannot hold as many clients
as we are receiving inquiries from which is why we are seeking a loan. Once we are able to aptly expand our operations we
intend to use local print media (newspaper, other publications), social media, email, flyers and our previous product exposure
at local businesses.
Yampa Valley Naturals is reserved, yet hip, organic and sustainable, small town gig. We like folk music, a good hike and nice
glass of wine, were not hippies but were considerate of our environment and those in it. We seek to portray a contemporary
and simultaneously back country feel with our products. They are sleek, yet cozy and familiar yet exotic. If we manage to
make our customers feel any of these then we are on the right track.

Promotional Budget
Monthly spending really depends on our sales. We anticipate approximately 1 shipment of paper a month, 1 shipment of
business cards every 6 months. Annually this equals $630 a year. Our prices are comparable to a bit higher than our
competitors. After much research we have realized that because our products are primarily made with organic, GMO-free and
local ingredients. We do not have any direct competitors in Steamboat Springs that produce and package their own organic
and local foods for sale.
We have already see our customers make their decision on the quality of our product over the price. We initially had
incredible affordable prices as we didnt understand our market yet. We have driven the prices up considerably and have
actually seen an increase in our sales.
V. Sales Forecast
Make sure that this information is extremely detailed and describes not just the projection, but details about why youre
predicting these sales and expenses. This part will be most scrutinized by anyone considering giving you money.

VI. Operational Plan

Explain the daily operation of the business, its location, equipment, people, processes, and surrounding environment.

Production
We are producing our products in our home kitchen currently. We intend on producing all products on site once we obtain a
certified commercial kitchen and retail space. We plan to keep a tight rein on inventory by implementing monthly inventory
checks and will adjust our methods on a regular basis accordingly.

Location
We started off as a cottage kitchen business working out of our home kitchen. We now operate out of a commercial kitchen in
town, use our home mailing address as our business location and our products are sold via events, farmers markets, third
party, and on our website.
Our ideal location is a small shop off of the main street. Oak Street, which runs parallel to Lincoln Ave. (the main road) has
great boutiques and unique shops that would be a great fit for us. There is ample street parking and rent is cheaper.

Legal Environment
Yampa Valley Naturals has already obtained a city sales tax license, a state sales tax license, a wholesale and retail
manufacturer license and insurance through Mountain West insurance agency. We have no trademarks and are unsure as to
zoning at this point as our location is still to be determined.

Personnel
Yampa Valley Naturals will be run by the founders, with a possibility of hiring one or two part-time employees depending
on business. We have factored in these salaries into our forecasts. If we do bring on employees there will be extensive training
required to ensure that our product quality and customer service is always consistent. Pay will begin at $12 an hour for part-
time employees. We will not offer health insurance.