How do you verify demand for your product?

[Scott P]

I'm looking to make sure there is demand for a healthy fast food restaurant in my city ...

What is the best way to verify demand for this?

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

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[Ismail941]

The Word should be Test or Experiment, not Verify

Think like an Eagle Eye:

There is a reason that Eagle Eye is the strongest in the animal kingdom because with an eyesight has been estimated at 4 to 8 times stronger than that of the average human.

You must have some sort of Entrepreneur tendencies in your life (based on your current lifestyle, thinking style, environment etc) to test it out to by figuring it out.

 

[Rabby]

Don't take this as expert advice for the food business, though I have a small amount of experience with that space. But I think some things are more or less universal, so here goes...

Talk to people, cook recipes for people, see if you can get them talking to friends about it. Get a test group of consumers going as you make other plans for the location. Maybe you can even fund the testing by doing something that requires lower investment, like pop-up events, kiosk, food truck, food tasting meetup, etc. That way you can adapt to demand while you're developing your product, and planning your location.

Also, having feedback and a list of friendly consumers before you're $250,000 into it will give you the courage and motivation to keep moving.

I would not just "jump in" and make a food business (or any business) with no testing and verification. The idea that "everyone buys food" is dangerous because it is not specific enough... they buy food, but they might not buy your food at your price in your location. Engage people who represent part of your actual market -- location, socio-economics, interests, lifestyle. That should be possible in almost any business. Test, then invest... is that a good rhyme?

None of this is to say that I'm right; this is just how I've learned to think about business.

If I were testing a food product that's not on the market yet, I would look for venues and head for sites like meetup.com, eventbright.com, and some reasonable print/online advertising sources, and organize a food tasting. If you mean "healthy" the way I think you do, other health-oriented businesses like grocers, supplement shops, etc might host or co-sponsor a healthy food tasting event.

 

[Rabby]

Tagging @Scot since he's building a salad dressing empire, and might have insights on selling healthy food.

 

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[Rawseed]

Consider doing a pop-up restaurant to validate the idea.

Approach a breakfast/brunch restaurant and ask to use their restaurant for dinner.

You could also try a food truck.

 

[Kid]

Food truck or online preorders.

 

[Scot]

Thanks @Rabby


The cheapest and easiest way to do this is get a table at a farmers market. Check with the cottage food laws in your area and see what permits you need, if any, to run a small booth there. This is a great way to get feedback on your taste and presentation, as well as have real face to face conversations with customers.

If you can sell here, you know there's at least some demand. Then you can upgrade to a food truck if that's your desire. But I wouldn't start there.

 

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[Dan_Cardone]

You can rent food trucks.

Also, look to see if any healthy restaurants exist in cities of your size. If they do, and have been around for a while, then your idea likely has merit and you wont need to spend as much time "verifying"