Are you about starting an ice block making business? If YES, here is a complete sample ice block making business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Africa has a teeming population that is faced supply electricity problems which has forced many to use ice blocks to preserve their food and drinks. This demand for ice blocks not only from households but from caterers and traders has created a business opportunity for any enterprising entrepreneur.
Aside from the electricity supply problems, a large portion of Africa lies on the earth’s equator and also falls within the tropical climate region, which makes for these parts to face more heat than when compared to other temperate regions in the world.
This hot weather is also another reason why many people often need to take something that is chilled in order to not only rehydrate their bodies but also feel refreshed as well.
A Sample Ice Block Making Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
The terrible electricity supply situation in Africa means that in many countries, less than 20 percent of the population has a connection to the main grid; this situation is not any better in the rural areas, as less than 5 percent of the population in these areas are connected to the main power grid.
This terrible electricity situation is one of the main reasons why the ice block business is booming and has become a lucrative business for entrepreneurs that are willing to go into it.
The cost of manufacturing ice blocks requires the ice block maker, electricity, water and nylon or plastic bag. A 10kg of block of ice will be able to preserve drinks for at most 2 days for a family with domestic needs, while it will help a drink vendor easily sell off his or her stock without having to buy block for at least the two days in question.
A good ice block making machine that is of a little size can churn out 20 blocks in six hours and can go for an average of 3 production cycle a day, and with average prices of those blocks pegged at N100 in the southwestern states, one can easily turn a tidy profit monthly.
Anyone going into this business can pick a niche of ice blocks he or she intends to go into or go into all at once depending on the capacity. Several types of ice blocks that can be produced in Nigeria include ice tube, ice block, ice cube and cracked ice.
This business is a very hygienic one and due to that it is necessary that one source for clean water that is drinkable, such as water that is filtered, purified, distilled, from natural springs or water that is bottled. Asides water, the facility to be used is also very important for the growth of the business.
2. Executive Summary
Sam’s Ice Block Ventures is a standard ice block making business that is not only fully registered but also licensed as well here in Egbeda – Lagos, Nigeria. Before starting our business, we have secured all the necessary permits and licensing from the Lagos State Government.
We are in business to offer various services to all our customers in and around Egbeda. This means that we will be involved in wholesale and retail of ice blocks, cooling services, sell ice block making machines and even help in maintaining or repairing these machines for our various customers.
Our vision is to ensure that we are well known in and around Egbeda for our various services and to be the preferred brand for many.
We intend to run a transparent business that is ethics inclined and that’s due to the fact that we are customer centric as we place a high value on our customers and are ready to go the extra mile to ensure that our customers’ expectations are not only met but exceeded.
We intend to treat all our loyal customers well by ensuring that we offer them discounts during certain times and periods, this will allow them to remain loyal to us and also help refer others to us as well. We intend to build a solid business structure and are willing to go the extra mile in ensuring that we get only competent and hardworking staff to work in our company.
We have laid down procedures and structures, therefore only those who clearly align with our vision and philosophy and understand how to take our business from where we are to where we intend it to be, will be chosen to work for our company.
We will ensure that we inculcate the habit of best practices amongst our employees. Also, to keep our employees happy and also productive, we intend to ensure that we not only create an environment that is conducive for them but that we will pay them well and also ensure that they have great welfare packages better than what their counterparts in similar startups such as ours are having.
Our facility is one that is also easily accessible for our employees and is one that will not be inconvenient for them to get to every morning.
Finally, Sam’s Ice Block Ventures is fully owned and managed by Mr. Sam Adeyanju who has more than 10 years experience in this business and will bring his business expertise to bear. Mr. Sam’s wealth of experience will also ensure that we attain the heights we intend to and that we are able to compete favorably against our competitors.
3. Our Products and Services
Sam’s Ice Block Making Ventures is a standard business that is fully registered in Nigeria in order to not only make profit but to close the gap created by lack of electricity supply which the Nigerian government hasn’t been able to solve.
We will be retailing ice blocks and also selling wholesale and also perform other services so as to have multiple sources of income and have a solid bottom line that will boost and sustain our business. Therefore the products and services that we will make available to our customers are;
- Wholesale and retail of ice blocks of all sizes
- Cooling services
- Sale of ice block machines
- Repair of ice block machines
- Advisory services
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to ensure that we fill in the gap left by lack of electricity supply and ensure that we are always able to meet the demands of our customers without fail, here in Egbeda – Lagos.
- In order for us to achieve our vision, we will ensure that we get a quality ice block making machine and also employ capable hands that will allow us not only meet the expectations of our clients but create a distinction of our business from that of our competitors.
Our Business Structure
We at Sam’s Ice Block Ventures are set to become a leading ice block making business here in Egbeda as well as all around its environs and to achieve this, it is vital that we build a solid business structure that will allow us start and run our business with as few hitches as possible and also allow us achieve our goals and objectives.
In building a workforce for our business, we will focus on those that understand customer excellence and also the vision that we stand for as a company. Those we will employ must have knowledge of how to work efficiently and how ice block businesses work so that they could help build our business from the start to the level we intend.
Because we will be running an ice block making business that will not be the conventional type that others are running, we will be employing more workers to our business that will be given various positions and tasks. This means that we will not only hire salespeople to sell these ice blocks, we will need those with mechanical knowledge that know how to identify genuine ice block machines but can repair them as well.
Therefore, Sam’s Ice Block Ventures will employ the following people to handle the different responsibilities from its various tasks;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Human Resource and Admin Manager
- Store manager
- Accountant/Cashier
- Ice block machine repair and maintenance manager
- Front Desk Officer
- Distribution and Delivery Driver
- Marketing and Sales Team
- Cleaner
- Security Guard
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer
- In charge of creating the organization’s vision, policies and directions and ensuring its effective implementation
- Responsible for creating the organizational budget
- Meets and negotiates with high level clients in order to secure deals on behalf of the company
- Provides counsel, coaching and also disciplining of key staffs all in a bid to achieve organizational goals
Human Resource and Admin Manager
- In charge of recruiting, selecting and carrying out orientation of new employees in order to get them attuned to the organization
- Conducts staff induction or new members
- In charge of employee welfare and other incentives
- Ensures the smooth running of the company administration-wise
Store manager
- In charge of interacting with customers and ensuring that they make a purchase
- Ensures that ice blocks in supply is in conjunction with the requirements of the management
- Ensures that the store is always kept clean at all times and carries out light repairs on defects when necessary on behalf of the organization
Accountant/Cashier
- In charge of preparing financial reports, statements and budgets for the organization
- Monitors cash inflow and outflow and ensures that they are well documented
- Develops financial policies and also administers payroll on behalf of the organization
Ice block machine repair and maintenance manager
- Carries out repairs and maintenance services on company’s ice block making machines
- Repairs ice block machines for clients on behalf of the organization
- Handles any other duty as assigned by the human resources manager
Front Desk Officer
- In charge of attending to enquiries and orders from clients
- Receives customers’ complaints and ensures that it is promptly attended to
- Have an updated and accurate customer database on behalf of the organization
Distribution and Delivery Driver
- Drives and maintains the company’s delivery and distribution vans
- Ensures that ice blocks are delivered at the right destination
- Drives safely at all times and obeys all traffic regulations
Marketing and Sales Team
- Conducts a market survey in order to determine new target markets for the organization
- Drafts an effective marketing strategy to bring in revenue for the organization
- Carries one-on-one marketing and achieve sales revenue on behalf of the organization
Cleaner
- Cleans the premises and ensures that it is kept clean at all times
- Ensures that the cleaning supplies are always in stock
- Carries out other duties as might be determined by the Human Resources Manager
Security Guard
- Ensures that the facility and outside premises is secured at all times
- Gives security tips to staffs of the organization from time to time
- Handles any other duties as might be assigned by the Human Resources Manager
6. SWOT Analysis
Before starting an ice block business or any business for that matter, one has to understand the business concept in order to determine if the business is worth going into.
Because we intend to run a standard ice block making machine business, we have hired the services of a reputable business consultant here in Egbeda – Lagos, who not only understands the kind of business we are going into but also the area which we intend operating from to look critically at our business and help us determine how we are likely to make it here.
The business consultant will be making use of four attributes – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – in order to determine how likely our ice block making will succeed and compete favorably against its competitors. Below is a of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Sam’s Ice Block Ventures here in Egbeda – Lagos;
- Strengths
Our strength lies in the fact that we are located in an area that is densely populated and has less supply of electricity compared to other parts of Lagos, this will make our service a highly demandable one for traders, caterers, and domestic users.
Also, we are offering various services in addition to our core service, which makes us to stand out from our competitors who are not offering half of what we are.
We also have in our employ dedicated and committed staffs that have the experience are attuned to our corporate goals and objectives and are willing to work hard to ensure that we attain our corporate goals and objectives. Also, our excellent customer culture is already giving us a high ranking as we have a high retention of our clients compared to that of our competitors.
- Weaknesses
Our weakness stem from the fact that we are relatively new in the business and as such might not have the required finance and staff capability to be able to get as much customers as we like or be able to compete favorably against our neighbors.
- Opportunities
Egbeda is such a huge place in Lagos and so affords us enough opportunities especially as more people are yet to be aware of our core service as well as the additional services such as repair and maintenance of ice block making machines and cooling van services that we offer.
The high population figure here in Egbeda affords us the huge opportunities we will need to grow and expand our business.
- Threats
Like every other business, we face certain threats to our business as well. One major threat that we will face is the arrival of a major competitor in the same location where we are operating from and offering the same services that we will be offering our customers.
Another threat is a major economic downturn that will cause low patronage from all our customers and lead to low revenue. Also, we are likely to face threats from those who are not in our line of business but who have large refrigerators and can put on their generating sets in order to gain a few customers from our target market.
Also, if the power problem improves and remains steady, we would see a drop in patronage for our services. As a business we are used to any threats that might crop up and are fully ready to combat any threat that our business is likely to face with strategies of our own.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
Even though many people own their own refrigerators and fridges that are designed to cool their own drinks, these devices cannot however be carried by people anywhere they go and as such they have to buy from places where drinks are cool.
Most of these vendors who are everywhere buy these ice blocks and cool these drinks for their various customers. This means that the more people are out of their homes, the more they are likely to buy chilled water or drinks outside their homes and the more ice blocks are likely to be sold.
Asides from vendors, other people who also use ice blocks are caterers and those hosting an event that would then need to chill the drinks so that the various invited guests will have something cool and refreshing. Ice blocks offer these people a convenient way at cooling their drinks instead of using a fridge or refrigerator that would hardly serve the purpose.
8. Our Target Market
Even though we are located at a very strategic location here in Egbeda – Lagos, we still had to conduct a market research on who our customers are likely to be and how best we would draft the strategies that will allow us gain a huge share of the target market.
The market research allowed us to understand the characteristics of our target market and also know what they would be expecting from us.
Therefore, the following are those that we will be offering our services to and they are; pure water vendors, soft drink vendors, caterers, households, event hosts, ice block vendors and market traders (meat and fish traders). They are those we will concentrate in marketing our services to.
Our competitive advantage
Our aim of starting an ice block making business is to be able to fill in the gap caused by the lack of electricity supply and ensure that those who require cool drinks are able to get one in order to stay hydrated and also able to feel refreshed especially when they are out and about under the heat of the sun.
However, in conducting our market survey, we have found that we are not the only ice block making business here in Egbeda – Lagos, which means we are likely to face stiff competition in offering our services to the target market.
The feasibility study we conducted allowed us to thoroughly assess our competitors and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing their attributes also allowed us to be able to come up with certain competitive strategies that will be of huge advantage to us and allow us not only attract but retain a huge part o our customers.
The first competitive advantage we have is that we are offering more services than the average ice block making business. This means customers are more likely to patronize us because they know they will get more from us than they would from our competitors.
Also, we understand the value of our customers, which is why we are customer-centric and offer our customers the best care as compared to our competitors. We offer our customers incentives from time to time and also ensure that loyal customers get something from us especially when they refer others to us.
Finally, we employed dedicated and committed staffs that understand how best to run a business such as ours and how we can achieve our goals and objectives as a company. Our employees will be well taken care of as their welfare package will be amongst the best across similar startups such as ours in the industry. This will ensure that they put in their best and increase productivity for our business.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Sam’s Ice Block Ventures is a business that has been established with the intention of making profit in the ice block sector here in Nigeria and we will do all we can to ensure that we offer enough services that will generate enough revenue to boost and grow our bottom line as a company. Therefore, Sam’s Ice Block Ventures will therefore generate income by offering the following products and services;
- Wholesale and retail of ice blocks of all sizes
- Cooling services
- Sale of ice block machines
- Repair of ice block machines
- Advisory services
10. Sales Forecast
Due to the nature of the society we are in and the circumstances we have found ourselves, we have found that there will always be a demand for chilled drinks and ice block, which means there will always be a demand for our products that will then translate into revenue generation for our business.
Our strategic position here at Egbeda – Lagos has us well positioned to take over a huge section of the target market in the area where we will be located and has us quite optimistic and allow us meet our set target in order to generate enough revenue and even turn over a profit within our first year of business, thereby growing the business as well as our clientele base.
However, it should be noted that our sales projections were done after a critical examination of the industry as we needed to analyze our chances and know how we were likely to fare in this business. The sales projections were gotten based on information and accurate data gleaned from similar startups such as ours here in Egbeda as well as all over Lagos State.
Below therefore are the sales projections that was conducted for Sam’s Ice Block Ventures depending on several assumptions and data that was made available during the stated period;
- First Fiscal Year-: N980,000
- Second Fiscal Year-: N1,600,000
- Third Fiscal Year-: N3,000,000
N.B: It should be noted that the above projections were conducted based on what is obtainable in the industry as well as on certain assumptions, such as no competitor offering the same services arriving during the stated period, same state of lack of power supply and the downturn of the economy.
It shouldn’t be noted that should any of these factors change, there would be an increase or decrease in the figures projected above.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Marketing is very important for our business because not only will we generate the needed revenue that will grow and sustain our company, but it will also give us a chance to promote the image of our company well. It is to this effect that we have created a marketing budget to be able to cater to all the efforts that it will take to bring in more customers to our company.
We intend also to ensure that we draft marketing and sales strategy that will allow us to penetrate the target market and gain a huge share of customers to our business.
Building a loyal database of customers takes time and we are fully prepared to do so in less time that it will normally take as we intend to deploy conventional and unconventional means in getting the customers we would need for our business.
Asides our core service, we would be offering complimentary services as well which are cooling services and maintenance and repairs of ice block machines or assistance in procuring new machines for our customers. We have empowered our marketing and sales team to draft the necessary strategies that will see us attaining our corporate sales goals and objectives.
We have therefore adopted the following strategies that will ensure that we do not only attract customers but make sure that they become loyal and that a huge percentage of them are retained. Therefore, parts of the marketing and sales strategies that we intend to adopt for Sam’s Ice Block Ventures are;
- Ensure that we introduce our ice block making business to vendors, caterers and all the other stakeholders in the business here in Egbeda – Lagos
- Throw a party to launch our ice block making business in order to gain the attention of our target market and increase awareness for our business.
- Ensure that we place adverts in local newspapers and on three most popular radio and television stations listened to by our target market
- Use our social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as well as our official website to market our business
- Distribute attractive handbills and fliers in target locations and paste some at bus stops
- Place flexi banners around strategic points here in Egbeda and its environ
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Even though we intend offering several services that is far better than that of our competitors, we would still need to ensure that we improve on our publicity so that we could not only increase awareness for our business and also compete favorably against our competitors but we would also generate revenue that will boost our business and allow us to grow.
We might need to engage the services of a brand consultant who thoroughly understands the market to help us draft publicity strategies that would be beneficial to our business. Also, the publicity strategies will help communicate our brand positively to our target market. Some of the platforms which we intend to use to promote and advertise our ice block making business are;
- Position flexi banners at strategic locations so as to increase awareness for our brand and the services we offer
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas here at Egbeda
- Use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to promote and advertise our business
- Create an official website and use this to advertise our ice block making business
- Place adverts on local newspapers and on certain radio and television stations
- Ensure that our staff wear customized official tee-shirts when at the office or out at the field
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Deciding on what prices we would offer our products is very vital as we do not want to offer our customers prices that are too high and might cause them to patronize our competitors or prices that are too low that we would be running at a loss and therefore kill off our company completely.
There are several factors that we would consider when determining the prices for our products and they are; what our operating costs are, what our overheads are, what our competitors are offering and what the demand rate is.
In order to however attract more customers into patronizing our business, we intend to offer all our clients a discount on purchases for the first three months of operation. Even though this might cause us to run at a low margin, we are quite assured that we would not be running at a loss.
- Payment Options
Due to the fact that we would not be only offering basic services but will be offering additional services that will bring in diverse customers, we intend to have a payment option that will suit all our various clients. The payment options that we therefore will offer to our various clients at Sam’s Ice Block Ventures;
- Payment via cash
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
- Payment via Automated Teller Machines (ATM)
It should be noted that we carefully chose the above payment options in a bid to make it easier for our various clients and for us as well. We have made our bank account visible on our website especially for those who intend to pay before coming to our office to get the ice blocks.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
While generating the necessary capital for a business is vital, it is necessary that one understands what to use the capital for in the first place so that the money would not be spent anyhow before the business starts off. There is no fixed amount to start an ice block making business and as such one’s capital could be low or high depending on the scale of the business the entrepreneur intends starting up.
Even though there are several kinds of ice block making machines, one has to be careful to get the genuine one so that one does not end up buying a product that will continually need repairs which will in turn drain the revenue of the business.
Therefore, in order to start our ice block making business here in Egbeda – Lagos, there are certain requirements we need to fulfill and they are listed below;
- Total fee for registering a business venture in Lagos – Nigeria – N40,000
- Cost of hiring a business consultant – N30,000
- Obtaining of licenses, permits as well as for other legal expenses – N30,000
- Marketing promotion expenses for general activities as well as for grand opening of our ice block making business – N20,000
- Insurance coverage (general liability and workers’ compensation) – N10,000
- Cost of renting a facility for a year and carrying out renovations – N120,000
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees and payment of light and other utility bills) – N100,000
- Other start-up expenses stationery, phone and computers – N10,000
- Cost of start-up inventory (ice block making machine, preservation units) – N1,000,000
- Cost o purchasing a fairly used van – N650,000
- Cost of purchasing furniture – N10,000
- Cost of launching a website – N20,000
- Cost of throwing a small party – N20,000
- Miscellaneous – N50,000
From the above estimate, we would require the sum of N1,860,000 in order to successfully start and run our ice block making business here in Egbeda – Lagos State. It should be noted that the amount covers workers’ salaries, purchasing ice block making equipment, a van as well as renting a facility for use for at least a year.
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Sam’s Ice Block Business
Having the necessary capital to start a business is very important, because no matter how fantastic a business idea is, without the right funds, it remains just an idea; and it is only finance that can make the idea to become a reality. This is why having finance is very important, to start up the business and then to run the business without hitches.
Sam’s Ice Block Ventures is a business that is fully owned by Mr. Sam Adeyanju, which he intends handing over to his immediate family when it is time and so they do not seek to welcome any external investor into their business, which is why they have decided to source for capital from two sources.
The areas where they intend generating start-up capital from are;
- Generate part of the start-up capital from personal savings
- Source for soft loans from family members and friends
N.B: We were able to generate the sum of N1,860,000 with which to start our business. We got N1,600,000 from personal savings and a soft loan of N260,000 from family members and friends.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
Every business that is established needs several factors in order to remain sustainable and expand in future as it deems fit. The factors necessary for sustainability and expansion measures are building a solid business structure, conducting a thorough marketing and publicity strategy and also reinvesting back into the business.
Building a solid business structure is very important to us as a new business as we know that this will mean us having fewer hitches than we ordinarily should. We intend therefore to go the extra mile in ensuring that we get the best employees to work for our company.
The employees we will get are those that not only align with our corporate values and objectives but also understand how to take a business from where we are to where we intend to be. We will also ensure that we pay our employees better than other similar start-ups.
It is important that we generate enough revenue for our business that will allow us remain rock solid, which is why we have drafted effective marketing and publicity strategies that we will use in generating the needed revenue for our company and also create awareness as well.
This will allow us compete favorably against our competitors. Finally, we will ensure that we re-invest a part of our earnings back into the business. This action will allow us to have a strong bottom line and sustain our company as well as expand it.
Check List / Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Leasing of a facility and renovating the facility as well: In Progress
- Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants of cooking gas: In Progress
- Purchase of delivery truck: Completed