Eden's Bowl, Inc. (III)

One research area that has fascinated me for many years is the idea of market efficiency, and the ability to improve efficiency through technology.

The foundation of this research stream is in marketing science and supply chain management.

Through a great deal of experience in business, I have learned that there are only two ways to price a product, 1) cost plus a profit and 2) what the market can bear.

It is amazing how many times in business folks forget these two simple ideas.

I know of a case (from many years ago) at my former company, Welch's, Inc., where a sales manager priced grape concentrate for the industrial market based on cost plus and neglected to check the market price, which proved to be significantly higher (more than 10%). In a single afternoon, a shrewd broker (acting as a dealer) purchased the grape concentrate from Welch's and immediately resold same day for a $100,000 profit. In fairness, the manager was under a great deal of pressure from senior management to sell the product to make specific short-term goals.

It is these types of situations that give new meaning to the age-old phrase "big fish lives in murky water."

Given these ideas, I have been intrigued with Eden's Bowl, Inc. Without disclosing confidential details, the company seeks to improve the market efficiency for fruits and vegetables through new technology, a new business model, and an innovative business process. I think that with what the company has proposed combined with my ideas originating from research with various USDA groups dating to April 2007, the market efficiency of fruits and vegetables can be improved to near optimum. Though there are few reliable quantitative studies, I think the current case for many regions of the US is sub optimal.

Improved market efficiency should benefit both growers and buyers, and consumers.

I sincerely hope that Eden's Bowl, Inc. becomes a reality and that it is successful for all parties concerned.