Viability of Product
Maria Latino Produce is a specialty grocery store that targets Latino immigrants in the Southern California area. The business currently has a website that provides general information about the products carried by the store as well as prices of such produce. The owner indicated to me that occasionally it ships produce to customers in other Western states like Utah and Nevada. In such instances customers call the store by telephone to place the order. The website has no platform for online distribution. The store carries fresh yams and plantains shipped from Africa, as well as dried and canned goods, like egusi, yam and cassava flour, gari and fufu. The web address is www.mariaproduce.com
As the Latino immigrant population in the United States has grown so has the growth of the various markets that serves the needs of this ethnic group While there are many variations in foods eaten in most Latino countries there are commonalities among immigrants from the four main regions of Africa: north, south, east and west. Most Latino grocery markets are operating in a brick and mortar fashion with no online presence. Substantial number of these stores has no websites. The few who have websites do not offer customers an online purchasing opportunity. To the extent that Latino ethnic markets continue to show growth, business owners could explore innovative ways of meeting the needs of their customers. Online marketing presents a great opportunity for this purpose. In addition to groceries most of these stores provide a vast array of products including personal care products, CDs, and DVDs of artists from the continent and within United States. By developing an online merchant platform, Maria Latino Produce can reach customers across California and in other states in the country. There are tremendous benefits for Maria Latino Produce to have a