Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02880667 2015-01-30
Specification
This model relates to the convenience food system. It is healthy meal kits in
a "box" delivered directly to the
consumer.
Take n' Bake takes prewashed, precut and prepared ingredients directly to the
consumer in a box. At the same
time it involves the consumer in the meal assembly process by providing
simplified instructions that guides
consumers through a process of preparing a series of healthy meals that meet
nutritional standards. It does so in
a timely, casual way that takes away the sense that cooking is a chore, and
meal preparation is time consuming
and daunting.
It will help build confidence in the kitchen by involving consumers in a
simplified process as opposed to the
reliance on fully prepared meals or meals that require very minimal skill. The
goal being that consumers will
progressively see how easy preparing a healthy home cooked traditional meal
can be, empowering consumers to
continue the process on their own as they feel equipped with the skills to do
so.
Take n' Bake builds on the concept of batch cooking and the benefits this
model provides in terms of meal
planning and the resulting benefit of this on time and finances.
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The Nature
This system will improve on the existing convenience food system that has
consumers relying on eating away
from home at fast food outlets and reliance on ready-made and convenience
foods/meals. The problem with
this approach is four-fold:
1) Shift to Convenience and Fast Foods = Poor Nutritional Value and Poor
Health Outcomes
Busy lifestyles and time-scarcity have resulted in a shift away from
traditional family meals towards
convenience foods. Unfortunately the result is a reliance on picking up ready-
made and convenience meals or
stops at fast food chains, meals that are high in dietary fat, calories and
sodium and low in fruits, vegetables,
fibre, calcium and iron. Some evidence does exist demonstrating a relationship
between decreased use of
traditional or basic food preparation skills, increased consumption of pre-
prepared, packaged and convenience
foods and dietary quality. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/child-
enfant/cfps-acc-synthes-eng.php#fnb9.
Given that children consume on average 25% of their daily calories at fast-
food and other restaurants, the
nutritional quality of those meals is important. 97% of the children's
restaurant meals studied by the Center for
Science in the Public Interest did not meet the expert nutrition standards for
children's meals
(https://cspinet.org/new/pdf/cspi-kids-meals-2013.pdf).
Many supermarkets carry prepared meals or kits for families on the go.
However, often these are not full meal
kits and they require the consumer to make some decisions on what to add to
complete the meal. Consumers
want direction and help in their decision making.
2) Change in Family Meal Dynamics - Eating away from Home and Inferior
Learning Opportunities?
The family meal can be an opportune time for socialization and role modeling
of manners and healthful eating
habits. You could argue that families are still eating together when they are
on the go at malls and fast food
restaurants. But to what extent do these fast food and restaurant meals
constitute family meals?
From http://www.vanierinstitute.ca/include/get.php?nodeid=739:
The common elements of food and family are still there, but what may be
missing are some of the
symbolic and culturally meaningful dimensions of the home-based family meal
(the loving and
responsible role of the provider), some of the cultural learning
opportunities, and the structure that
family meal-times bring to the day (a reliable and safe refuge from the public
sphere, and a reminder of
family unity and guarantor of stability).
3) Tackling Obesity and Family Health ¨ Benefits of Family Meals at Home
No one can argue the statistics that obesity rates in Canada and across the
world are on the rise. Current
research shows consuming meals as a family can lead to healthier weight
status, better nutritional intake, and a
reduction of risky behaviors. According to The National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University, kids and teens who share family dinners three or more
times per week:
= Are less likely to be overweight
= Are more likely to eat healthy food
= Perform better academically
= Are less likely to engage in risky behaviors (drugs, alcohol, sexual
activity)
= Have better relationships with their parents
CA 02880667 2015-01-30
It is suggested that children and adolescents who share family meals three or
more times per week are more
likely to be in a normal weight range and have healthier dietary and eating
patterns than those don't (American
Academy of Pediatrics).
4) Decline in Food Preparation Skills ¨ a Dying Art/Skill
Over the past several decades, a change in cooking and food preparation skills
has been observed and this could
have an influence on the health of Canadians, presently and in the future.
This transition in cooking and food
preparation skills involves the increased use of pre-prepared, packaged and
convenience foods, which require
fewer and/or different skills than what is often referred to as traditional or
from scratch cooking. From:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/child-enfant/cfps-acc-synthes-eng.php
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The Inventive Idea
Take n' Bake is the basic essentials for the assembly of a series of
traditional nutritious family meals in a box
delivered to the consumer.
Take n' Bake aims to build and improve on the meal assembly store model. The
concept of meal assembly
stores began to appear in the U.S. in the early 2000s as a response to the
convenience and health needs of
consumers. These stores are a facility that provides the space and materials
to prepare a set number of dinners.
The customer pre-orders the dishes he or she wants from the menu provided by
the store and schedules a one- or
two-hour session. The facility will do all of the preparation work for the
customer. Each station in the store
will have all the necessary ingredients and equipment. According to Consumer
Trend Report (June 2010,
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), the meal prep store concept satisfies two
key consumer demands of
suburban working moms: health and convenience. They also offer a quick and
easy way for consumers to
provide nutritious meals for themselves and their family, while giving them
the satisfaction that they have partly
prepared the food themselves. This concept is relatively new in Canada.
Take n' Bake model takes the meal assembly store to the consumer as opposed to
the consumer coming to the
meal assembly facility.
The benefits of this model as opposed to the store-front model include:
Transportation to store
This model can break down many barriers to the consumer including
transportation. For some consumers, a
meal assembly store may be a distance away and the time and distance to travel
may be a barrier. For some
consumers, they may not own a vehicle or have means to transport themselves to
the meal assembly store. This
model breaks down that barrier with the delivery system and the geographic
satellite delivery sites.
Satisfy Consumer Desire for Leisure Time while Balancing Desire for Health and
Preparing Healthy Meals
This approach allows for a fun, casual and comfortable familiar environment
for consumers while preparing
healthy family meals. This model allows for consumers to assemble the meals
with their family in their home,
involving their children in the process in their own kitchen. As the Vanier
Institute report stated the home
provides "a reliable and safe refuge from the public sphere, and a reminder of
family unity and guarantor of
stability". The meal assembly process can be made a family affair. Families
can anxiously await the arrival of
their Take n' Bake box and the unity the meal assembly process grants the
family.
When you cook with your kids, you are setting them up for a healthier future.
The majority of Ontario families
don't cook together, yet when children are welcomed into the kitchen, research
shows they are more likely to
try new foods, eat better and build the confidence they need to prepare
healthy meals and snacks for themselves
now and when they are older.
Client can also choose to arrange a home party with family, friends and
coworkers in a pleasurable way,
enjoying a glass of wine while preparing meals for their families ¨ in their
own homes.
Ensures Optimal Nutrition
Consumers desire healthy meals for their family. In a search for nutritional
information on items available
through some Meal Assembly Companys it appeared some meals lacked complete
nutritional information
available on Nutrition Facts panels and some of the meals were higher in
sodium or fat and lower in fibre than
what is desirable for the consumer.
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Take n' Bake is owned and operated by a Registered Dietitian. All meals will
meet specific nutrition standards.
These standards have been modeled after the standards set for the Ontario
school environment via public policy.
They will also aim to incorporate vegetables in unique ways.
Exponential Growth
Taking a look at the scheduling calendar for a typical mal assembly store, one
commercial space has 4 to 5
available time slots in a day to serve the public, 5 to 6 days of the week.
The spacing of time slots enables the
facility to clean up and restock. My estimate is that each time slot may be
able to accommodate a certain
number of clients due to space and rotation through stations). If we assume 5
to 6 clients per time slot this can
serve approximately 120 to 180 people per week.
With a commercial space designed to support home food assembly, multiple
families can be reached. If for
example the same number of people accessed the service (i.e. 120-180
people/week) the reach would range
from 120-180, to upward to 720 to greater than 1000 if using the home party
model. This would have an impact
on a greater number of people in the community, expanding the influence of
Take n' Bake.
Recruit multiple people to share the vision and work as part of the team =
Greater Outreach
Take n' Bake would recruit people to sign on as Consultants. The consultant
would promote the Take n' Bake
boxes in a geographic region and direct their clients to the ordering and
payment system.
Consultants will be enticed to join as it offers minimal financial investment
comparable to a franchise or
independent meal assembly business. Consultants would make a percentage off of
every box sold. Their time,
passion and energy are their greatest investment. This would serve as a great
home-based part-time business
opportunity for interested partners.
Involving consultants has the potential for exponential growth. These people
can present the concept via
networking, recruit participants and sell the product line, and increase
exposure and sales exponentially. This
has the potential for serving more people in the community.
Shared overhead costs
What is required for Take n Bake is one commercial kitchen that acts as the
hub for preparation of the boxes.
From there what is required is a transport truck that delivers boxes across a
geographic region.
With the current meal assembly model, multiple meal assembly businesses may be
scattered over a geographic
region each paying their own rent and utilizing utilities individually. The
start-up costs of such a business can
pose a real barrier to entrepreneurs.
In this model, one commercial space could serve multiple
satellites/consultants as part of a larger team.
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Full Description of the Process (including Drawings)
See Appendix A
Centralized Coordinating/Distribution Centre:
This method of box delivery is similar to the Good Food Box program that runs
across regions in Ontario
delivering fresh fruit and vegetables in a box from a hub to various
satellites in a geographic region.
The centre will be responsible for.
= Develop all promotional material including website, promoting Take n'
Bake
= Developing recipes for collection and complete nutritional analysis
= Buying of all ingredients to support recipes in collection
= Storing of ingredients
= Cleaning, prepping and cooking of ingredients
= Assembling kits and boxes
= Coordinating delivery of boxes to satellite sites ¨ weekly, biweekly,
monthly options
= Developing content for Take n' Bake Cards (see below for details)
= Accepts inquiries and puts people in touch with consultant in their area
= Acts as consultant to clients on meal assembly via family or home party
model
= Develops Introductory workshop for consultants
= Develops online video demonstrations for website that support skill
building in the kitchen for clients
= Maintain quality assurance, work with Public Health Food Safety
Inspectors
= Business duties ¨ finances etc. , securing personal data
The Take n' Bake Box
= Each Take n' Bake box will contain:
o Small box: 6 kits which includes the ingredients for 6 different family
meals
o Large box: 12 kits which includes the ingredients for 12 different family
meals
= Each kit should provide 8-10 servings per meal for a 2 meals (depends on
size of family and how much
they eat).
= Each kit will include prepared ingredients that are cut, diced and
measured to exact portions needed for
the recipe. Each ingredient bag will be labeled with the name of the
ingredient.
= Each box will contain 6 Take n' Bake Cards, one for each meal/kit. The
card will include:
o Instructions on how to assemble the meal ¨ a step by step very user-
friendly process
o Cooking instructions
o Instructions for freezing
o Instructions for thawing and reheating
o Tips on how to get children in the household involved in the assembly
o Vegetable side dish ideas
o Complete nutritional information on the meal
Online System will maintain:
o Payments
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o Schedule of delivery
o Client information
o Client reward points
Consultants:
The Process for Consultant
= A consultant submits an application. Take n' Bake will be seeking
consultants who have an interest and
passion for food and nutrition and promoting healthy eating.
= If approved, the consultant must pay a deposit that will give them a
startup package (TBD)
= All consultants will be required to attend the following:
o Food Safety Training through local Public Health (paid by Consultant)
o An Introductory workshop via Take n' Bake staff
o Training on computer ordering system
= All consultants are required to:
o Follow process outlined by Take n' Bake (i.e. follow critical control
point/food safety
regulations and use appropriate control measures, use of email scripts, send
out client satisfaction
surveys, use of branded promotional material)
o Legal requirements will need to be investigated re: copyright of all
material and consultants will
need to sign off on appropriate documents
= There will be no minimal number of "sales" of boxes that a consultant
needs to meet. However, there
will be incentive for those that do meet certain milestones. This will entice
consultants to seek interested
people to order a box or host a party. There will also be a separate incentive
for consultants to promote
the business model to others and recruit them to become a consultant. TBD
= There will be a portion of a box sale that goes to the consultant. There
will also be a commission off
party model. This amount is yet to be determined.
= As the business grows, like other Networking Models, can look into
rewards for consultants for growing
their business
The Client
Process for Client:
= Client makes request for a box through Centre or a local consultant; they
are directed to the online
ordering and payment system
o Request Family Model or Home Party Model (see below for description)
o Request small or large box
o Request date of delivery from choices available for their geographic
region
CA 02880667 2015-01-30
o Note: may request a delivery at an added charge (this will suit those
well who have
transportation barriers)
o Make payment*
o Given a Client Number: this will enable tracking of orders, and issuing
of client rewards
= *Cost to consumer will be priced to market in order to be comparable.
Costs will aim to recoup food,
ingredient, overhead and supply costs while providing a net commission. A
portion of the payment will
be on the Take n' Bake Box.
= Pick up box at designated site within designated time (due to food
safety). Client can choose delivery
option for additional charge.
= Take home the box and store according to directions until read to
assemble
= Assemble according to directions
In addition to the Take n' Bake cards, clients will also receive the following
supportive resources:
= Each initial order to Take n' Bake will also receive a Freezer Basics
Information kit which includes
Freezer tips and a Freezer inventory sheet
= Tools to help clients create a supportive eating environment and how to
plan a weekly menu using the
meals they prepared.
= Each client will also receive a client satisfaction survey that they can
complete electronically
Description of Options for Client:
Family Option
This option is when a single family orders a box (small or large) and arranges
pick up at the appropriate location
in their geographic location as assigned by their consultant.
Home Party Option
There are groups of people who get together casually to batch cook. But batch
coking groups require a
motivated team leader who will gather the team together, organize what recipes
will be made, purchase the
food, clean and prepare the food and organize the space and stations. This can
be time consuming. Not to
mention knowledge of healthy meals and nutrition standards for meals may not
be a priority.
Take n' Bake makes the preparation easy for the host! For a home party kit,
the number of boxes will depend on
the number of clients in the party.
The Process for a Host
1. A host makes contact with a consultant to request a party date. This will
be done via an electronic online
booking and telephone scheduling for those consumers who may not have Internet
access. Time slots
will be available after work hours and on weekends to help fit into busy work
schedules. If a host
requires promotional material, the consultant will have postcards and email
scripts to help them.
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2. The consultant will send the host a link to a list of family-friendly meal
options and guests can rank the
options in order of preference. From there the consultant can notify the host
of guest's preference by
evaluating the meal choices.
3. Guests will confirm their attendance by submitting their payment for their
box (as a group they decide
on large or small). This will be done via an electronic payment method (see
above).
4. In the week leading up to the party the consultant will email the host to
remind them of the date and
time, the meal choices, and what they need to bring to the party. All the host
needs to do is have the
space set up for the party ¨ meaning make room for meal assembly (table cloth
on tables, clear clutter
off counter). The host may wish to have wine or coffee/tea and appetizers.
Music in the background
can help set the tone!
5. Prior to the party, the Centre will prepare the boxes. The consultant will
than pickup and transport the
food safely to the Host home.
6. The consultant will arrive prior to the party start time to help the host
set up stations, one for each meal
choice.
7. Each of the guests will rotate through each of the stations. At each
station an assembly process will be
set up and clearly outlined with name of ingredient and instructions on how
much to use in assembling
the meal. Guests can choose to omit an ingredient if they feel their family
would not savor it (e.g.
mushrooms)! The appropriate containers and packaging for freezing meals will
be set up as part of the
assembly.
8. Guests will place their finished meals into their own cooler to take home
to freeze for later use. Guests
will also be sent home with a Take n' Bake. All of this should take no more
than 10 minutes a meal!
9. The consultant sends an email afterwards to each participant with a link to
a client satisfaction survey.
Types of parties include but not limited to:
= Girls Night Out
=
= Baby Showers
= Get Well Soon (meal prep for someone recovering from an illness etc.)
= Corporate Team Building
= Kids Birthday parties
School Fundraising Model
Schools can arrange to partner with Take n' Bake as a fundraising opportunity.
A portion of the sale of each box
sold as part of the fundraising effort will go back to the school. Parents are
bombarded with requests to buy
chocolates, poinsettias, etc., things they don't want but they feel obliged to
buy to support the school. This
model will provide parents with a product they most definitely need and would
benefit from in supporting the
well-being of their family and in managing their time.
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Other Possibilities
Online web-based instructional videos
Subsidy for lower income families
Partnering with Good Food Box program
Partnering with local farmers to bring local food into concept
About the Meals
All the meals meet specific nutritional criteria. These criteria meet school
nutrition guidelines in Ontario.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/Appendi x 150.pdf
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