Second, we demonstrate social responsibility by purchasing our raw ingredients from select suppliers favoring fair trade and organic materials. We only work with suppliers and retailers who understand the importance of environmentally conscious and socially conscious business operations.
Third, we are committed to environmental ethics and contribute a minimum of one percent of our profits per year to select environmental organizations. We also manufacture our greeting cards in a facility that uses gray water, alternative power sources, and other cutting-edge green technologies. We waste almost nothing.
Strategic Direction:
With a cohesive and consistent set of values, our mission and vision for the company are clear. We will guide the organization into the future by remaining firmly committed to our core ethical beliefs. The way we run the company is a determining factor in the fulfillment of our mission. By hiring a creative, dynamic, and diverse workforce, we remain continually open to new ideas and ways of making the company better. Management will be structured so that each team member is fully empowered to come up with new ideas for cards and new ideas for marketing those cards. With a fun and democratic company culture, we can maximize our human resources. The passion we put into creating our cards will be more than evident in the finished product.
Addressing Customer Needs:
Anticipating and responding...
We will listen closely to what our retain partners have to say about how our products can and should be improved in order to sell more consistently. Whether the taste, the overall look and design, or the message of the cards needs to be changed, we will be willing to respond to consumer demands. Consumers with specific health concerns will be happy to know that we will be producing vegan cards, and allergen-free cards.
Competitive Advantage:
Our brand will signify environmental and social consciousness in ways that traditional paper card companies can never secure. We also establish ourselves apart from traditional cakes and other special occasion edibles because of the fact that edible greeting cards provide a niche service as hybrid gift/cards that are easier to purchase and less expensive than cakes. Yet just as cakes can be customized to suit the needs of the end-user, so can our edible greeting cards.
References
Greeting Card Association (n.d.). About the Industry. Retrieved online: http://www.greetingcard.org/AbouttheIndustry/tabid/58/Default.aspx
Grinning Planet (n.d.). Paper greeting cards. Retrieved online: https://secure-research-payment.com/beta/writer/writer_order_detail/index/A2028768
"Swallow Your Words: Edible Greeting Cards." CNN. Retrieved online: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/07/01/swallow-your-words-edible-greeting-cards/
