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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY   4  PRODUCTS  AND  SERVICES   4  MARKET  AND  INDUSTRY   4  MARKETING   4  MANAGEMENT   4  FINANCES   4  FUNDING   5  

COMPANY  OVERVIEW   5  INTRODUCTION   5  VISION   5  MISSION  STATEMENT   5  BUSINESS  MODEL   5  

PRODUCT/SERVICE  PLAN   6  GROWTH  STRATEGY   7  VALUE  PROPOSITION   7  PROPRIETARY  RIGHTS   7  

MARKET  AND  INDUSTRY  ANALYSIS   8  MARKET  ANALYSIS   8  INDUSTRY  ANALYSIS   10  

MARKETING  PLAN   11  TARGET  CUSTOMER  RESEARCH   12  CHANNEL  STRATEGY   13  POSITIONING   14  BRANDING  STRATEGY   14  DIGITAL  STRATEGY   15  COMMUNICATION  STRATEGY   16  SALES  STRATEGY   16  PRICING  STRATEGY   17  REVENUE  MODEL   17  

OPERATIONS  PLAN   18  RESEARCH,  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ENGINEERING   18  SCOPE  OF  OPERATIONS   19  COSTS  AND  EXPENDITURES   20  

KEY  MILESTONES   22  

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FINANCIAL  PLAN   23  KEY  DRIVERS   23  FINANCIAL  SUMMARY   24  FINANCIAL  PROJECTIONS  -­‐  ASSUMPTIONS   25  

MANAGEMENT  PLAN   25  

RISKS   27  

FUNDING   28  FUNDING  STRATEGIES     28  SOURCES  AND  USES  OF  FUNDS   29  OFFERING   30  

REFERENCES   31  

APPENDICES   32  

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Products at Boulder Candy Co. include gourmet chocolate bars, hard candies, lollipops, seasonally themed candy, and assortments of soft and chewy candies that are hand-made and produced without harmful GMOs and additives. In addition to selling candy in-store, Boulder Candy Co. also will repackage candy in gift baskets and boxes available to order online for any occasion. Specially crafted gift boxes will be a part of a monthly subscription service with candies and chocolate carefully selected to satisfy each person’s personal tastes and preferences.

MARKET AND INDUSTRY

The candy industry is expected to grow at a rate of nearly 1% each year in the United States, which gives an ideal opportunity for starting a confectionary business with a healthy twist in order to satisfy health-conscious individuals. The demand for healthy candy has close to doubled over three years, and this trend is persisting.

MARKETING

Boulder Candy Co.’s goal is to perceived as a local, healthy, yet delicious candy shop founded on honesty, true values, and produced with pure and healthy ingredients. To obtain this goal, our marketing strategy will be aimed towards presenting our healthy yet delicious products at local health expos and farmer’s markets, while also advertising through many channels of social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+. In addition to social media, we plan on making a visible presence in local newspapers and magazines and establishing a loyal and stable relationship with potential customers. After initially advertising through word of mouth and content marketing, we plan on expanding Boulder Candy Co. to more retail stores and businesses such as Whole Foods and Alfalfa’s in order to expand our brand name.

MANAGEMENT

Boulder Candy Co. was founded by CEO Nicolette Holmes and later added a management team comprised of CFO Elise Creighton, VP of Sales and Marketing, Masha Gershovich, COO Remington Pollina, and Creative Director, Kelly Fu. Together, the management team has financial, marketing, sales, creative, and analytical skills combined with honest and true values to make a successful and well-grounded business.

FINANCES

In Year Three of sales, Boulder Candy Co. will be making a total revenue of $7,224,900, with a Net Income of $3,336,950. The breakeven point will occur in Year Two of business, and cash balances after Year Three are estimated at $528,061.

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FUNDING

Boulder Candy Co. will require $1,050,000 of funding in Year One for all startup costs and expenses. The five owners will provide $150,000 of funding, we plan to get a loan from the Small Business Administration in the amount of $300,000, and the rest will be raised by family and friends, as well as angel investors and venture capitalists.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Boulder Candy Co. is a boutique candy crafting company dedicated to quality ingredients, sustainability, and fostering a healthier community. Despite being located in the birthplace of many of the natural food industry’s leading names, our company is uniquely the only all-natural candy company based in Boulder, Colorado. Our natural and organic candy products will be manufactured in East Boulder and sold in the Boulder Candy Co. retail store in downtown Boulder, as well as natural and holistic grocery stores such as Alfalfa’s and Whole Foods.

VISION

Boulder Candy Co. takes on the responsibility of being a health-conscious all-natural and organic candy store that satisfies sweet cravings and a healthy-minded conscious.

MISSION STATEMENT

Boulder Candy Co. believes in a simpler time when candies were made without the use of artificial and toxic ingredients. We strive to bring quality in simplicity back to candy through our commitment to natural and sustainable ingredients and small batch crafting.

BUSINESS MODEL

Boulder Candy Co. will be operating under two different business models: business to the consumer and business-to-business. Boulder Candy Co. assumes to be profitable under the value proposition of our variety of confectionary treats sold in our retail stores alongside the sale for our trademarked confectionery treats in a variety of specialty confectionery retailers.

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PRODUCT/SERVICE PLAN

Boulder Candy Co. products are designed to offer an alternative to the processed, conventional candy brands and eliminate the unhealthy ingredients without sacrificing taste or texture. Our candies are made only from USDA Certified Organic, non-GMO, and Fair Trade ingredients and do not include any artificial flavors, colors, chemicals, or preservatives. Boulder Candy Co. is only chooses ingredients that are sourced sustainably and at fair labor wages. Because we are dedicated to minimizing our environmental impact, all of our packaging is either compostable, recyclable, or reusable.

The Boulder Candy Co. store features a vintage aesthetic and a boutique approach to an old-fashioned candy store. The Boulder Candy Co. store anticipates location on Broadway Ave. in downtown Boulder, adjacent to the Boulder Creek. The store’s perimeter will be lined with shelves of containers full of candies, repurposed barrels filled with an assortment of taffies. Customers will use recyclable bags to scoop any amount of their desired candies, which will be weighed and sold by the ounce as per a traditional candy store. Our goal is to evoke nostalgia and provide a novel experience that can be enjoyed by old and young alike, while highlighting the organic and rustic essence of our company. The following table outlines our key product features and benefits.

Key Features Benefits

Certified Organic, Non-GMO, and Fair Trade Ingredients Better for customer’s health Safe for kids and reassuring by parents Provides new alternative to processed candies Supports sustainable farming and labor practices

Compostable, Recyclable, or Reusable Packaging More sustainable Reduces waste and environmental impact

Multiple Candy Varieties Assortment of chocolates, hard candies, taffy and more provides choices to a diverse audience Great for occasions

Small Batch Made Quality controlled Boulder local product Promotes small business

Brick-And-Mortar Retail Store Fills need for natural candy store in Boulder Beautiful location next to Boulder Creek Provides fun activity for young and old alike Convenience

Vintage Aesthetic Creates nostalgia Sentimental value for older generations Makes visiting a novelty experience

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GROWTH STRATEGY

Boulder Candy Co. will begin with several product lines in categories including basic chocolates, premium chocolates, lollipops, hard candies, taffies, and gummies. Each product line contains a variety of flavors including seasonal products for holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas. As our company grows in size, we want to be continuously adding new flavors, product lines, and other limited edition treats. In the future, Boulder Candy Co. will also start selling custom gift baskets that include a variety of candies for any special occasion. In January 2017, Boulder Candy Co. also hopes to enter local grocery stores including Alfalfa’s and local Whole Foods markets. As the largest natural food retailer in the nation, we hope that our success in local Whole Foods markets will encourage an expansion of our products into Whole Foods markets in other Colorado cities, as well as neighboring states over the next few years. Our projected sales forecasts assume that this is feasible at May of Year 2. In years to come, we hope to open branches in other Colorado cities with similar markets such as Denver, Vail, and Fort Collins.

VALUE PROPOSITION

Conventional candies and chocolates are made from a number of unhealthy ingredients that are known to spike blood sugar levels, cause negative effects on health and weight, and result in dental issues. Specifically, high fructose corn syrup has been linked to Type II Diabetes, and is present in almost all conventional candy products.1 Boulder Candy Co. products have eliminated all genetically modified or processed ingredients and replaced them with wholesome sweeteners such as unrefined cane sugar or honey, real fruit flavorings, and organic dyes derived from fruits and vegetables. We create treats that our customers can enjoy without the worry of adding harmful chemicals and toxins to their or their loved ones’ bodies. Our natural, healthier option is also the more environmentally friendly option as we operate under a model of sustainability, including all compostable, recyclable, or reusable packaging. The organic and rustic essence of our candy is echoed in our store’s old-fashioned and inviting environment that incites nostalgic thoughts of simplicity. Boulder Candy Co. introduces a new, fun establishment to the Boulder community that embodies the values of its community.

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

We will need a trademark on both word marks and logos. The types of trademarks Boulder Candy Co. will be pursuing are outlined as the following:

Ø Standard Character Mark: for our company name, Boulder Candy Co. Ø Design plus words, letters, and/or numbers: this will be for our company logo; and

we will likely have multiple versions of our logo and design within this trademark.

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MARKET AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

MARKET ANALYSIS

The average American eats about twenty-five pounds of candy every year, with 25% eating one piece of candy per day.2 According to a 2009 study, 75% of all U.S. adults and 96% of American children report to eating chocolate or hard candy.3 Given this data, we can assume that about 85.5% of people of all ages eat candy. Additionally, adults with children are more likely to eat ten or more servings of candy a month. U.S. organic candy sales in 2014 totaled at $61 million, up from $37 million in 2011.4 The demand for healthy candy has close to doubled over three years, and this trend is persisting.

Research shows that “today’s consumers are reaching for a mix of healthy and indulgent options. The demand for better-for-you food, and snacks is something we are seeing across the board in the consumer space. In fact, 45% of global respondents within a [2015 survey] on global snacking said that healthy ingredients were very important when it came to snacks.” There are also challenges within the candy space. This challenge concerns finding the right balance between healthy and enjoyable. In order to meet this demand for healthier snacks, candy manufacturers are developing new products and new innovations within the natural/organic space. As a result, the trend of natural/organic candy is slowly shifting and consumers are choosing enjoy healthier and ‘better-for-you’ options with respect to candy. Additionally, it has been found that health attributes within indulgent products are very important to younger consumers, who were also found to be the most willing to pay a premium for health benefits.5 The report discusses how there is a very large opportunity for food manufacturers and retailers to “lead a healthy movement by providing products and services that consumers want and need.” Organic foods, in particular, were found to be very popular in the report with 33% willing to pay more for quality. 6 A 2015 study also found that despite increasing concerns over health, consumers continue to crave treats, and and purchasing organic and natural alternatives to traditional candies give consumers less guilt about giving into their temptations.7 This report also discussed that consumers look for organic and natural candies that are most familiar to what they are used to, but a healthy alternative. These trends, as well as the trend of the willingness to pay premium, present a tremendous opportunity in the market for organic/natural candy products.

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The Boulder Market

The population of Boulder was last recorded in 2010 as 97,468.8 Given this data, we can assume that there is a market of roughly 83,335 potential customers. Additionally, Boulder was estimated to have had a 7.8% population growth between the years 2010 and 2014 and is continuing to increase each year. We also knows that our majority of our growing market exists at the intersection between candy lovers and health food enthusiasts. In 2015, Boulder was ranked the healthiest city in Colorado and in 2014 one of the top 10 Greenest Mid-Size Cities.9 The health and environment-conscious environment of Boulder, Colorado creates a particular drive for its citizens to shop for all natural and local products.

Segmentation

Our market will be segmented according to group demographics and psychographics. We will focus on three particular segments: health conscious mothers to young children in the Boulder area, children living in the Boulder area, and tourists. Segment Characteristics

1. Local Moms Middle to Upper-middle class 30-50 years old with young children Health and diet conscious of self and children Currently purchasing natural food products Currently shopping at health food stores Willing to pay premium for quality products

2. Local Children Currently eating conventional or natural candy Enjoy whimsical experiences such as candy stores More concerned with flavor than health benefits Too young to work, has spare time for activities Use parents’ money, price insensitive

3. Tourists Looking to experience Boulder culture Wanting to purchase a souvenir Relatively flexible budgets because traveling Likely to mention or post image on social media

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While the tourist population will not provide continuous business, we chose to target tourists because they do bring a high volume of foot traffic during the summer peak season. Our convenient location next to the Boulder Creek and across from Boulder Central Park gives us high visibility to pedestrians and motivates for passer-bys to stop in when they otherwise wouldn’t have. The segment that represents our strongest point of entry is upper-middle class Boulder parents, particularly moms. This is our most attractive target market because they are the demographic most concerned with the negative health effects of conventional candies and exhibit the highest need for an all-natural candy alternative. Because of their perceived value of health and natural food products, they are relatively price insensitive. Though this group is not the highest volume of candy eaters, they have the buying power over the group who does consume the most amount of candy (children). By making our products available in grocery stores and in a retail location in downtown Boulder, places frequented by adults with young children, we expand our reach to the children as well.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

According to IBISWorld Industry Report: Specialty Food Stores, all natural and organic candy is part of the “Specialty Food Stores” industry in the United States.10 This report discusses the industry’s “highly fragmented nature, low market share connection amongst the major players and medium levels of competition.” Because the organic candy industry is highly fragmented, it is dominated by smaller firms that serve local customers, and no firm holds significant market share. In industry’s with high fragmentation, companies typically compete by specializing on a certain market niche, such as all natural or organic candy. Due to the fragmented nature of the industry, pursuing specialization in our candy and localized ingredients, should prove to be beneficial to our company.

Competitive Environment

Competition is moderate in the candy industry. Boulder Candy Co. has the potential to be extremely successful in the candy-making market because we offer an entirely unique product and service. We consider our direct competitors to be those offering similar products in the nearby region, which includes Rocket Fizz, Little Secrets, and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Rocket Fizz is a large competitor due to

their long standing brick-and-mortar presence in the local market and their reputation as Boulder’s retro candy store. Rocket Fizz also has the slight advantage of being located on Pearl Street and receiving that large customer base. However, Rocket Fizz offers neither natural/organic candy or their own brand name products. While similar in aesthetic, our narrow focus of all natural and organic candy should prove to attract a particularly growing niche in the local market.

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Little Secrets is a chocolate company based in Boulder, CO with

a heavy focus on organic, natural, and fair-trade products. While they compete with us in terms of quality of ingredients, they do not offer any hard candies, gummies, taffies, or the myriad of other products that we produce in addition to chocolate. Although Little Secrets is also based and manufactured in Boulder, unlike Boulder Candy Co. their products are only available for purchase through third party retailers.

Our third direct competitor is Rocky

Mountain Chocolate Factory. Located on the Pearl Street Mall, RMCF poses as another big competitor because of their location, appeal as locally made, and premium quality. However, we feel confident that our variety of products, not just chocolate, will be enough to win over customers. Research shows that our market prefers establishments who stay local and provide them with with personal, distinguishable shopping experience.10 Large corporations often must make compromises on their ingredients and business practices that are generally less sustainable and give a more cookie cutter shopping experience to the customer. While Boulder Candy Company hopes to grow, we will always keep of values in small scale operations, quality ingredients, and unique customer experience at the forefront of our business.

In addition to our competitive advantage as a unique brand, we believe we must still

work for our success. IBISWorld identified five key factors to success for businesses operating in this industry: (1) Maintenance of excellent customer relations, (2) Having a clear market position, (3) Attractive product presentation, (4) Production of premium goods/services, and (5) Experienced work force. Boulder Candy Co. plans to emphasize these five key factors while developing our business plan because we believe it could help us create a significant competitive advantage. Additionally, the essence of our company already highlights aspects of these five key factors to success, so further embedding them in our business model should not be a problem.

MARKETING PLAN

CUSTOMER RESEARCH In an increasingly health-conscious town, more people are looking to eliminate

unhealthy substances from their diets. While conducting customer surveys with a wide range of people aged from 18-50, we were able to determine the three most important factors in purchasing decisions: ingredients, location, and price. Many people that we surveyed identified the importance of having a healthy diet, and they would not purchase anything with artificial ingredients or any harmful additives. Many of the people we surveyed also emphasized that they found importance in where the ingredients came from. Although we cannot always get our ingredients locally, we will locally source our ingredients as much as

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possible. By holding our ingredients to the very highest standard, we will be able to maintain customer loyalty. In addition to ingredients, a convenient location was important to a lot of the people we surveyed. By having our primary location in downtown Boulder, we are able to satisfy our customer’s convenience needs. The third factor that plays into buying decisions is price. As determined, our target market is not exceedingly price-sensitive and are willing to pay more for all-natural products. Eating healthy downplays the importance of price in our target market. Our target market is very health-savvy and demand that our company is transparent about our candy’s health benefits. Consumers want both healthy and indulgent items and are willing to pay more for food items that have both health and taste quality.

TARGET CUSTOMER RESEARCH

Customer Profile

Our primary target market consists of health-conscious parents aged 30 to 45 years old. More specifically, we are targeting health-conscious parents in the older half of the Millennial generation (aged 21 to 34), as well as mothers in Generation X. Gen X consists of individuals aged 34 to 54 years old. According to a study by BabyCenter, 83 percent of new moms were Millennials in 2014.[1] The study “Marketing to Millennial Moms” by Exponential Interactive,[2] examined the eating habits of Millennial moms. In particular, the study showed how the generation’s strong preference for organic and natural groceries, as well as their focus on clean and healthy eating, accompanied Millennial mothers into parenthood. Mothers in the Millennial generation were also found to exhibit a particularly inelastic demand for products in the natural and organic market, according to this study. The priority of healthy eating was found to be significant among Millennial moms regardless of income levels. However, as predicted and discussed in this study, Millennial moms with higher levels of income do tend to shop more in natural and organic grocery stores that often demand higher prices. The Millennial generation is characterized as being adventurous and highly value-driven. In the article “2015 Is The Year Of The Millennial Customer: 5 Key Traits These 80 Million Consumers Share” by Micah Solomon[3], Millennial customers are described as being adventurous in the sense that they prefer “an “experiential” retail environment, where shopping is more than a transaction and the pleasure of being in the store isn’t limited to the goods that customers take home.” Boulder Candy Co.’s authentic and old-fashioned atmosphere should prove to be a very beneficial strategy in order to appeal to this aspect of the Millennial generation.

Buying Decisions

Based on our preliminary customer feedback, our potential customers are currently purchasing all natural or organic candy at specialized grocery stores such as Whole Foods or Sprouts. From additional research, we found sustainably sourced ingredients to be another important factor influencing purchase decision. According to the report “We Are What We Eat: Healthy Eating Trends Around The World” by The Nielsen Company[1], when asked

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how important sustainably sourced ingredients were in their purchase decision, 38 percent of respondents in the Millennial generation and 34 percent of respondents in Generation X said they were very important.

Since we will be producing all natural and organic candy, we will be able to pass off the higher costs of all natural and organic ingredients in the form of higher prices to our customers at a premium price point. This higher price point is justified by research on certain buying behaviors of consumers in the all-natural and organic food market. The study “Who are organic food consumers? A compilation and review of why people purchase organic food” from 2007[2] indicated that lower priced organic food is perceived by consumers as being lower in quality with fewer benefits. Thus, by demanding a premium price point, our all-natural and organic candy will meet the buying behaviors of consumers and avoid being identified as low-quality candy with few health benefits.

Customer Behavior

Boulder Candy Co. will reach its target market through advertising campaigns on social media. Research has shown that our target market responds very well to social media campaigns, and also relies heavily on social media for health advice and inspiration. An article by Aetna titled “Who is the Healthiest? New Aetna Study Shows That Millennials, GenXers and Baby Boomers All Think They Are the Healthiest Generation”[6] discusses the relationship between Millennial parents and social media advertising. The article describes how, “Significantly higher percentages of Millennials and GenXers agree that connecting through social media has a positive impact on their health or well-being, find social media is a great way to share health and wellness info, and are inspired to live healthier by what they see on social media.” One possible social media campaign idea Boulder Candy Co. could use to reach our potential customers involves creating short (10 to 15 second) video clips illustrating the production process of our candy. For example, we would start by showing all the ingredients used in a specific candy, show how to mix them together and actually make the candy, and finally show what the final product looks like. We believe that this type of social media campaign will be very effective in reaching our target market due to their heavy reliance on social media for health advice, as well as healthy-eating inspiration.

CHANNEL STRATEGY

Boulder Candy Co. will utilize a multi-channel distribution plan in order to get the product into the hands of our target market. By focusing specifically on two different but complementary channels, Boulder Candy Co. will be able to satisfy the needs and wants of the candy and confectionery consumer. The first distribution strategy utilized is directly selling the product to the immediate customer. This immediate and physical transaction would occur in one of the brick and mortar Boulder Candy Co. stores. As our sales and customer base grows, Boulder Candy Co. will expand to more locations across Colorado. Over time and with sustained growth, Boulder Candy Co. will look to upscale production and plans to move our products into more large scale national retailers like Whole Foods and Alfalfa’s. By moving our products into corporations such as Whole Foods or Alfalfa’s, we will still be maintaining our brand name by keeping our product in health-

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based stores, but customers will be able to distinguish our product from our competitors with the brand name we will have developed over time.

POSITIONING

Boulder Candy Co. is the only all-natural, non-GMO, and fair trade candy manufacturer based in Boulder, Colorado and operate the state’s only natural candy retail store. We benefit our customers by providing them with wholesome candy while preserving the joy and nostalgia of an old-fashion candy store.

We have chosen to position our brand where the whimsical nature of candy and the informed practices of health and environmentally conscious eating intersect because we find that this sets us apart from other candy manufacturers and retailers, and also appeals to our target audience in Boulder. We hope that by eliminating the toxic chemicals of conventional candies we will also eliminate the community’s and particularly parents’ reservation with purchasing and eating candy and chocolate. By creating a brick and mortar location as opposed to online sales or wholesaling to other retailers, we are increasing brand visibility and developing the our reputation as an old-fashioned place that is fun for all ages. We want our customers to trust our products and remind them of how candy crafting used to be. As our customers are relatively insensitive to price, we will position ourselves as a high end boutique retailer.

BRANDING STRATEGY

Brand Identity

We want Boulder Candy Co. to be identified with the time-honored and unique joy associated with eating candy, yet also with the trend of healthy eating by providing all natural and organic candy. We aim to provoke nostalgic associations of a simpler time where there was less to worry about, such as what chemicals are hiding in our foods. Our brand will reflect the cultural time period of an old fashion candy store in a rustic, bohemian way that speaks to Boulder’s nature focused atmosphere.

Brand Experience and Personality

Boulder Candy Co. is seeking to provide customers with a fun, nostalgic, and health-conscious candy shopping experience that is consistently more satisfying than buying candy at a grocery store. By focusing on the experience of buying candy rather than the transaction itself, and by providing our customers with deliciously healthy alternatives to their favorite candies, we create immense value to our customers that cannot be found elsewhere. We strive to foster a fun and welcoming environment and a nostalgia-enhancing experience to bring out the little kid in all of us. We want to create a trusting relationship with our customers that they can feel reassured serving our products to anyone.

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DIGITAL STRATEGY

Our digital strategy will incorporate the use of several different platforms including a personal website and multiple social media outlets. Boulder Candy Co. recognizes that even as an old-fashioned candy company, it is necessary to up to date marketing techniques. Our goal is to reach potential customers through frequently used digital channels in order to create a buzz around our business, build engagement with the community, and drive customers to our store.

Website

Our website will serve as a virtual homepage and a digital market. Our vibrant and interactive web page will provide information on our company and our mission and shop details such as hours of operation.

Social Media

Social Media platforms will be the core of our digital marketing strategy. Our goal with social media marketing is to drive customers to our store by creating awareness and credibility for our brand and building engagement with the local community. We will utilize content marketing and create content that is aimed to entertain, inspire, create conversation, educate, or convince. The majority of our posts will contain high quality photos and videos and will be accompanied with a brief question or challenge to encourage engagement in the digital community. The three main platforms that we will make use of will be Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The voice we want to take when we approach our social media approach is lighthearted and whimsical to remind our customers of the fun of shopping for and eating candy. Social media marketing will fall under the responsibilities of our VP of Sales and Marketing.

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COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

As a new business venture and entity operating in the highly fragmented market of all natural and organic candy, Boulder Candy Co. will rely on low-cost and personalized strategies in order to reach our target market. In highly fragmented markets, customers tend to seek out new businesses and are much more open to experiment, so word-of-mouth advertising is extremely effective. In order to generate awareness about our company, we plan to pay for advertisements in local newspapers and magazines, such as the Daily Camera and the Rooster. Advertising in the Daily Camera will be effective in reaching the older portion of our target market, while the Rooster will be effective in reaching the younger portion of our target market. Boulder Candy Co. will also feature promotions in local coupon books, such as the ones handed out on the CU Boulder campus at the beginning of each semester. We also hope to build relationships with other health food companies and initiatives in the area so that they can endorse our company and promote our company through their social media channels and word of mouth.

SALES STRATEGY

Our primary source of revenue will come from all the candy and chocolate we sell in the actual store. In addition to the sales we make in-store, we will create a website that allows people to see what products we have, and will be able to eventually purchase them and have them delivered either to themselves, or be gift wrapped and sent to friends and family. By doing so, we will be able to expand our brand beyond just Boulder, and even beyond Colorado. As a small business, our goal is to maximize sales by changing consumer perception of natural and organic products as being more expensive. By emphasizing the importance of having all-natural candy and the health benefits that come with our products, our customers will be more likely to purchase our products, which are moderately priced.

Signage in and around our store will indicate to customers what we are selling and directly display the ingredients that our products are featuring. Unique names for each of our candies, different colors for everything, and nutritional labeling will differentiate our products from our competitors.

In addition to our website and vibrant signage that will be displayed around our stores featuring our candy names and nutritional information, we plan on utilizing a service similar to Birchbox to distribute our candy nationwide. Birchbox is a monthly subscription service based online that sends its subscribers a box of makeup or other beauty related products that subscribers can customize to their personal needs. By having our own candy box subscription service, we will send subscribers samples of our candies, “a box of sweets delivered right to your door.” These samples will also encourage customer feedback. By finding out what every customer really likes in their box, we will find out which candies are most popular and which are not as popular. In addition to a subscription service, we plan on having gift baskets that will be relatively priced between $50-100. For special occasions such as Valentine’s Day or miscellaneous holidays, the gift baskets can become a hot commodity.

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PRICING STRATEGY

Boulder Candy Co. will use a value-based pricing strategy, meaning the more value our product has to our customers, the higher price we can charge. Using all-natural and organic ingredients in producing our candy and eco-friendly packaging will be more costly to us and the consumer, but they will increase the value added to our customers through health and environmental benefits. Our preliminary customer feedback confirms our target market has a high willingness to pay for our all-natural and organic candy. The tables in Appendix B outline our production costs based on ingredients, packaging, and labor for three prototyped products. Based off the recipe used for the organic lollipop, we found the optimal number of units to be produced each workday to be 240. We then determined our price point for each product by using the cost of goods sold (COGS) and decided to use a 75% mark up for our hard candy and a 53% markup for our chocolate in order to make a profit off our candy. We determined our markup based off the average markups for organic foods, which ranges from 50% to 100%. Our sales prices were then calculated as:

Sales Price = COGS/(1-Markup%)

REVENUE MODEL

Bottoms Up

“REGULAR” CUSTOMERS Our regular customers will typically purchase candy from Boulder Candy Co. 1-3

times a week. For financial projections, we are going to assume 5 times a month. We expect that our customers will pick a product they like the most, a particular type of candy or chocolate and purchase that regularly. By selling gift baskets monthly, assuming 6 gift baskets are sold per month for $150, we can make $10,800 annually per customer. VISITORS

Visitors of Pearl Street will not be included in the regular customers segment considering they are not regularly purchasing our products. This group of potential customers will be purchasing candies or chocolates less frequently than our regular customers depending on the season, and the business of Pearl Street. LABOR COSTS Labor cost is determined by the number of units produced in each hour of work, and there are 8 hours in a workday. For Hard Candies and Lollipops:

● Recipe makes 24 units and takes 1 hour ● Assuming 10 batches (1 batch = 24 units) per hour, for a total of 240 units each

work day For Chocolate Bars:

● Recipe makes 64 chocolate bars and takes 8 hours ● It takes 1 hour to produce 8 chocolate bars, so we are assuming 8 units will be

produced each hour for 8 hours for a total of 64 chocolate bars each day

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FUTURE PRODUCTS – CORPORATE BUSINESS AND GIFTS

In the future, we plan to sell pre-made packages of our all natural and organic candy for $150 each. We plan to target corporate businesses initially since using gift baskets to show gratitude is very common in this market. The price of our gift baskets will vary depending on the assortment of candy, as well as gift basket design. We hope to introduce this service four months into our first year of business, however we predict that it may take longer to fully integrate into our business.

OPERATIONS PLAN

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING

Current Stage of Development

As one of our high level goals to constantly provide and release new types of candies and flavors to keep our customers excited and engaged, R&D will be an ongoing process for our business. However, on March 1, we wrapped up our first round of product development and settled on several candy prototypes. For the past two months, our team has been away at work in the kitchen and tinkering with the recipes to find the perfect combination of ingredients for our candies. We developed by method of trial and error such that once a batch was finished, the chocolates and lollipops were passed along to team members and friends to receive feedback on flavor, texture, and color. Series of adjustments were made accordingly based on feedback and on March 1, four prototypes had been settled on- lollipops, basic chocolate bar, medium chocolate bar, and premium chocolate bar. Throughout our research and development stage, Boulder Candy Co. has been using the home kitchen of our founder to test and perfect our recipes. However, we maintain plans to move production into a factory space in East Boulder on December 1.

Market Testing

We plan to use the Boulder County Farmers Markets as our venue for market testing and obtaining feedback from a reachable audience. This process is scheduled to begin starting May 1, 2016. We will hold a bi-weekly booth at the market until late September. This is also a great way to inform our market of and create a customer base for our anticipated January launch on Canyon and Broadway, only two blocks away from the farmers market.

Certification

A USDA Organic certification confirms that our facility is complying with the United States Department of Agriculture’s regulations and standards regarding organic products and entitles us to use of the USDA Organic label. We plan to get our products certified by an agent from Oregon Tilth, a private entity accredited by the USDA to certify individual companies. This process will entail an in-house inspection of our operation and

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will likely need to be repeated once annually after launch. Costs to certify will be close to $200, and the USDA Organic Certification Cost-Share Programs will reimburse Boulder Candy Co. up to 75% of the certification costs a few months after. While we aim to be 100% organic, we are limited to whatever supply is available for the price our customers desire. For this reason we will have layers of labeling for our candies, as demonstrated by the table below. We will also get verified with The Non GMO Project, a non-governmental organization that offers a certification of approval for brands who abstain from the use of GMOs, to confirm with our customers that all products that are not 100% organic are still 100% GMO free.

USDA Label Percent Organic

100% Organic 100%

Organic 99-95%

Made with Organic Ingredients 97-70%

SCOPE OF OPERATIONS

Subcontract Operations

Boulder Candy Co. will utilize and contract the services of Batory Foods located in Denver in order to procure all the necessary and required ingredients. Batory Foods is a supplier working with high-quality, organic, non-GMO and operates nationally with both large and small companies. Working with Batory Foods will allow Boulder Candy Co. to keep up with the yearly production demand and seasonal demand spikes because it takes roughly 3 business days to receive our products after we have ordered.

Boulder Candy Co.’s average manufacturing and product creation time required for all categories is one business day. As a result Boulder Candy Co. will utilize a staggered and alternating product creation system, to ensure there is a constant fresh supply of all products. For the gift baskets, we will be creating them ourselves and using UPS to ship all of the gift baskets. The candy boxes will be packaged by our certified and trained professional quality and assurances control team. The gift boxes then will be distributed to our subscribers also utilizing the service of UPS.

In-House Operations

Our in-house operations include: lollipop, chocolate production, preparation and customization of gift boxes and customer service for our clients alongside other confectionary treats in the future. Boulder Candy Co.’s average manufacturing and product creation time required for all categories is one business day. As a result Boulder Candy Co. will utilize a staggered and alternating product creation system, to ensure there is a constant fresh supply of all products. For the gift baskets, we will be creating them ourselves and using UPS to ship all of the gift baskets. The candy boxes will be packaged by our certified

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and trained professional quality and assurances control team. The gift boxes then will be distributed to our subscribers also utilizing the service of UPS.

COSTS AND EXPENDITURES

Material Costs

Our main material costs of production are: ingredients, packaging and cooking tools. We will buy all ingredients and packaging materials wholesale and expect a life expectancy of 6 to 8 months for cooking tools. Below is a graph that denotes material cost

Staffing Plan and Employee Costs

In order to operate Boulder Candy Co. retail store, we plan on hiring five key employees in our first year. Three of these employees will be full-time, with one of them as the Store Manager and the other two in Candy Production. Two more employees will be hired as part-time Sales Associates. The positions we are hiring for are outlined below. The hourly wage of each employee was determined by researching similar job positions on Glass Door. As with every potential candidate, we are looking for the outgoing, energetic, up-beat with a sense or urgency in all aspects.

The Candy Specialist/Store Manager position will be responsible for: managing the store and employees, candy production management, ensuring that sales associates meet goals, and customer service. This role will also work as a sales associate, along with the part-time employee. As we grow, we will add a more formalized full-time employee dedicated to sales. We expect the individual in this role to have a minimum of 3 years experience in retail management.

The Candy Production position will be responsible for making and packaging our candy. We expect individuals in this role to have 2+ years of experience in cooking and/or confectionary treat making.

The sales associate position will be responsible for ensuring our customers enjoy their candy shopping experience and sales goals are met. For this role, previous retail experience is not required but is preferred.

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Employee Position Hourly Wage

Full-time Candy Specialist/Store Manager $21.50/hr

Full-time Candy Production $11.50/hr

Full-time Candy Production $11.50/hr

Part-time Sales Associate $9.00/hr

Production, Service Capacity and Inventory

We have outlined the production for four types of our products: (1) Hard Candies and Lollipops, (2) Gummies, Taffy, and Basic Chocolates, (3) Premium Chocolate/Chocolate Bars, and (4) Gift Baskets. For the first three types of products, we are expecting that a minimum of 1,000 units will be sold through grocery stores each month. We will begin selling our fourth product type, Gift Baskets, in April of 2017.

As we grow, we expect these numbers to increase. Specifically, at the end of the first year for Hard Candies and Lollipops, we are predicting to sell the 37,500 units total. For our Gummies, Taffy, and Basic Chocolates, we are predicting unit sales at the end of year 1 to equal 30,700 total. As we move into year 2, we expect the demand for this category to increase, both due to the growth of our store and the introduction of additional revenue streams (gift baskets, for example). As for our Premium Chocolate/Chocolate Bars, due to the higher price point, we expect lower unit sales relative to our basic and medium level chocolate bars. At the end of year 1, we are predicting unit sales to equal 23,000. When we begin selling Gift Baskets in April of 2017, we expect the production of our first three product categories to increase accordingly.

The type of facility required for Boulder Candy Co. is a retail space that has room for candy production, one similar to a restaurant that is around 3,000 square feet. We will operate 7 days a week: Monday through Saturday and our hours will be 11am to 10pm and our Sunday hours will be 11am to 6pm, for a total of 78 hours per week. The capital assets needed are: cooking equipment, decorations, computers and software. Cooking equipment will include an oven, cooking utensils, and other similar assets utilized in candy production. Since we are focusing on providing our customers with an old-fashioned atmosphere, we will have to decorate accordingly. We will need computers and software for transactions, recipe research, store management, and, eventually, e-commerce.

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KEY MILESTONES

Boulder Candy Co. has outlined several short term and long term key milestones we need to achieve in order to reach our desired goals. They are described as the following.

Short Term Milestones: these include the important steps necessary to launch our product. Mar 1, 2016: Candy prototypes and first draft of recipes for product lines finished May 1, 2016: Secure bi-weekly booth at Boulder County Farmers Markets for market testing Oct 1, 2016: Finalized recipes for all product lines Nov 1, 2016 :

Ø Sign lease for downtown retail location and factory in East Boulder Ø Purchase equipment Ø Finalize intent to sell from Whole Foods and Alfalfa’s Ø Begin renovations on retail space

Dec 1, 2016: Candy goes into production Jan 2, 2017: Boulder Candy Co. retail store grand opening and first market orders shipped Long Term Milestones: these include the important steps to grow and succeed as a company. Jan 2, 2018: Expansion to Whole Foods markets across Colorado May 1, 2018: Fort Collins location grand opening Jan 2, 2019: Larger factory space acquired and higher unit production Jan 2, 2020: Vail and Denver location grand openings Mar 1, 2020: Boulder Candy Co. products at all Whole Foods Markets in western region

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FINANCIAL PLAN

KEY DRIVERS

The two major financial drivers of success for Boulder Candy Co. are gross profit margin and low customer acquisition cost. Boulder Candy Co. in its first year will incur large one time operating and manufacturing expenses, which will include heavy machinery, refrigeration units, and packaging equipment. These large one-time expenses will be offset after the first year through the relatively high profit margin to be continuously made after the initial machinery purchase. The manufacturing and production costs associated with Boulder Candy Co.’s products are relatively low in comparison to the purchase amount, conservatively allowing for larger profit margins for Boulder Candy Co. to grow and expand. Boulder Candy Co. is also expecting very low new customer acquisition costs. This is attributed to the front loaded, one-time expensive purchases made in year one which will be utilized until the product life is compromised. This allows Boulder Candy Co. to continually operate and manufacture products at a relatively low cost and for sustained periods, permitting Boulder Candy Co. to estimate that it will cost “x” amount to acquire a new customer. These two key components of Boulder Candy Co. will allow the business to flourish in the confectionary and candy market as well as allowing for future expansion growth.

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FINANCIAL SUMMARY

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FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS - ASSUMPTIONS

We plan to spend a total of $7,850 each month on rental expenses. The monthly rate for our retail space is $5,350, and the monthly rate for our factory space is $2,500. Utilities for both locations will cost a total of $350 per month. Once we grow and gain more traction in the market, we plan to open an additional retail store in Fort Collins by May 2018. We expect our monthly rent to increase by 100% for this new location, which will just be a retail store with rental equal to $7,850. Additionally, we expect all other fixed business expenses to increase by 50% in Year 2 for this new location.

The total cost for equipment in both our retail store and factory is equal to $9,318. This includes kitchenware and other items needed in our retail store. We plan to spend around $1,997 on furniture and fixtures for our retail store. We also plan to purchase a van for $5,500 in order to deliver the candy from our factory to the retail store. Furthermore, we are planning to obtain both a business license and a USDA Organic Foods Certification before opening, which will cost around $525 total. The USDA certification costs $500 a month, but includes a 75% return at the end of each year, so monthly payments are equal to $10.41. As for our initial cash on-hand, we plan to allocate $5,000 for initial transactions to support our first month of sales. This number was determined by the amount of units projected to be sold in January 2017, which is equal to $2,917 total in cash. Prior to opening our store, we plan to pay one employee in candy production and each of the five owners two-weeks pay. Our beginning inventory will cost around $2,802, and will be a recurring expense every month. Additionally, we plan to allocate $1,000 to initial our advertising and promotion campaign. This expense will be a fixed operating expense and become recurring once we are open at around $8,000 yearly.

MANAGEMENT PLAN

Boulder Candy Co. will consist of five co-founders, advised by a board of experienced industry and business leaders. Our current management team has an active role in every division of the company. We believe that with our highly driven and creative management team, Boulder Candy Co. has the potential to become a highly successful company built on values, honesty, and quality candy.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Nicolette Holmes

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Nicolette Holmes is a recent graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder where she majored in Psychology and minored in Religion Studies and Business Entrepreneurship. She has professional experience in both entrepreneurship and the Boulder health food industry. Most recently, Nicolette served as a digital marketing intern for The Up Beet Kitchen, a health and lifestyle startup based in Boulder, CO. Nicolette helped grow this company during the product development stage by engaging in market research, analytics, and creating a marketing strategy that contributed to a successful launch in April of 2016. Nicolette also has strong leadership experience as she served as CEO for her undergraduate New Venture Creation project in Fall of 2015, leading a team of four other students in developing a business plan for a lost item finding application.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Elise Creighton Elise Creighton is a recent graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder with a

Bachelor’s degree in Economics as well as a minor in Business Analytics. She has professional experience in the Venture Capital & Private Equity industry, as well as in the Financial industry. Most recently, Elise was a Venture Capital Analyst intern at Rockies Venture Club in Denver, Colorado. She has also held two summer analyst internships at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Elise has a strong background in mathematics, including Econometrics, Accounting, Finance, and Business Analytics.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing: Masha Gershovich Masha Gershovich is a junior at the University of Colorado Boulder where she

majors in Psychology and minors in Business Management. She has professional experience in customer service and sales, as well as in the Marketing industry. Most recently, Masha was an associate at Ripple Pure Frozen Yogurt, an OIT Lab Advisor at the University of Colorado Denver, and a sales associate at Tans To Go In Boulder, Colorado. Masha was able to obtain a VP of Sales and Marketing position with Boulder Candy Co. due to her outgoing and determined nature and high competency of people and the market. Other skills that she provides include public speaking, management, finance, accounting, and human relations.

Chief Operations Officer (COO): Remington Pollina Remington Pollina has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Business

Entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado Boulder. He has professional experience working brokerage sales, customer service. Most recently, he was employed by Total Quality Logistics as a logistic account executive trainee. Other notable skills include creative problem solving and human/customer relations.

Creative Director: Kelly Fu Kelly Fu is a recent graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder where she

majored in Economics and minored in Business Analytics. She has a wide variety of skills pertaining to a business including financial accounting, economic statistics, and econometrics. Most recently, Kelly has worked at the CU Earth Science Library and the CU SWAP Program in Boulder, Colorado. Kelly also has interned at the Bank of China and helped provide customer service about foreign currency in Wuhan, China. Other skills that she provides include leadership, fluency in Chinese, and graphic design.

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RISKS

Market

Our biggest risk lies in the seasonality of candy sales. Downtown Boulder area has historically seasonal sales, peaking in the summertime and declining in the off season. For this reason, it is important that we capture the audience who lives in the local area so that we can maintain a profit in the fall and winter months. We plan to combat this risk by developing a dynamic marketing strategy under the direction of our experienced V.P. of Marketing.

Competitor’s Response and Predatory Pricing

Due to the high fragmentation of the market, barriers to entry are very low. While this means a high chance for competition to follow our lead and enter our industry, we feel confident we are entering the market at the proper time to establish ourselves as Boulder’s original organic candy store. Conversely, the high fragmentation of the market reduces the risk of predatory pricing in the Boulder. No single company holds significant market share, and we are differentiating ourselves from our competitors on both ingredients and product assortments. Thus, we do not expect predatory pricing to be a significant risk to our company.

Operational

Boulder Candy Co. is attempting to enter an already established confectionary market. As a result one of the biggest threats and risks to overcome is located in the acquisition of inventory and providing quality tested and assured products to consumers at an affordable cost. Boulder Candy Co.’s operational successful entry to the market is grounded in customer and product acquisition. The acquisition and transportation of necessary ingredients and supplies must meet company and FDA guidelines for safe consumption. By ensuring our loyal and potentially new customers that Boulder Candy Co. has the only the highest quality assurance control of products, we mitigate the risk of food and ingredient cross-contamination or contamination in general. By incorporating an inclusive and diverse quality control team, Boulder Candy Co. will be able to combat internal and logistical problems, allowing for a more refined and assured product to be offered. Resulting in only superior and safe products being sold and consumed.

Financial

A key financial risk for Boulder Candy Co. concerns our costs of production. Using all-natural and organic ingredients and compostable and recyclable packaging will be much more expensive than using artificial ingredients. However, we plan to create an agreement with an all-natural and organic ingredient wholesaler and negotiate on lower prices for

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purchasing large orders. Additionally, we believe that our higher price point due to our premium product will help overcome the costs of production as we expand and sell more units.

Macro-economic

One of our main macro-economic risks concerns the state of the economy. Specifically, an economic recession would present a risk to Boulder Candy Co. A study by the Mintel International Group in 2009 found that around “40 percent of consumers who previously purchased organic products have continued to buy organic despite the recession.” This includes all natural and organic candy, where the study also found how “14 percent of consumers said they purchased chocolate candy.” Candy, in general, has been found to be relatively inelastic in times of an economic recession. As such, we plan to prepare for the occurrence of an economic recession by focusing on building customer loyalty and focus on targeting repeat buyers. We believe that targeting and creating a segment of repeat buyers will be beneficial in preparing us for economic recessions due to the research that shows how repeat buyers are the most likely to continue purchasing organic products during recessionary periods.

FUNDING

FUNDING STRATEGIES

For our initial round of seed funding, we plan to raise money from the following sources: family and friends, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and angel investors. From family and friends, we plan to borrow money through a regular loan, and we are trying to raise $100,000. From angel investors, we plan to raise money through convertible debt. Convertible debt is a loan that can be turned into equity, typically upon the occurrence of future financing. Convertible debt, although risky for us, is highly favored by investors and will help us secure investment funds without setting a valuation on our company. Valuing a new company is very difficult to do and considered an art. Often times, companies are overvalued which creates risk of a down round, or an investment round with a share price lower than the previous round. Convertible debt eliminates the risk of a down round occurring. For our subsequent Series A round, we plan to obtain funding through venture capitals. This will occur when we have a more formalized growth plan and have gained more traction in the market. We plan to obtain a loan from the Small Business Administration, which is typically more expensive

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than a loan from a traditional bank, but are much easier to acquire. Small Business Administration Loan

From the Small Business Administration, we would apply for a 7(a) Loan, which includes financial help for businesses with special requirements. Boulder Candy Co. meets all requirements in order to obtain this type of loan. We are planning to apply for a $300,000 7(a) loan from the SBA. The average 7(a) loan amount in fiscal year 2015 was $371,628. These loans have a guarantee fee, which is based on the loan’s amount and dollar amount guaranteed. Interest rates on the 7(a) loan are negotiated between the applicant and lender, and both fixed and variable interest rate structures are available. The SBA can guarantee as much as 85 percent on loans of up to $150,000 and 75 percent on loans of more than $150,000. Based on the SBA’s provided information on 7(a) loan interest rates, we are predicting to have an interest of 6.25% to be paid off within 10 years, or 120 months. Due to the fact that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates in the near future, we plan to have a fixed interest rate on this loan so we do not have to worry about fluctuations.

The $300,000 we will get from SBA will cover our initial start-up expenses and allow us to maintain owner's’ equity, additionally it will help cover Year 2 and Year 3 lines of credit, which equal $87,947 total.

In order to raise the remaining $500,000, we plan to have two rounds through venture capitalists. In the first round, we plan to raise $250,000, and then in the second round when we have a better idea of what our valuation is, we will raise the remaining $250,000.

SOURCES AND USES OF FUNDS

We will use the first round of funding for key hires, marketing, and product development. We plan to use our Small Business Administration loan of $300,000 to cover our required start-up funds, including both fixed assets and operating capital. We plan to use the remaining $750,000 of funding for: Year 1 Salaries and Wages, Year 1 Inventory/Cost of Sales, and Year 1 Fixed Operating Expenses, including: Advertising, Sales & Marketing, Car and Truck Expenses, and Other/Miscellaneous.

We will hire a few key managers and employees to manage the store. We will start a marketing campaign in our initial market, Boulder, which should be relatively low-cost due to the low level of competition in the market. We will finish product development in our brick-and-mortar store, and utilize low-cost farmer markets to endorse and test our candy products initially, eventually moving our products to the actual store on Pearl Street.

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Fixed Assets include: leasehold improvements, equipment, furniture and fixtures,

and vehicles. Operating capital includes: pre-opening salaries and wages, prepaid insurance premiums, inventory, rent deposits, utility deposits, supplies, advertising and promotion, licenses, other initial start-up costs, and working capital (cash on hand).

OFFERING

Equity We will be receiving $500,000 total from angel investors. We will offer 10% of equity

in return for $100,000 from each of our five investors. Boulder Candy Co. is assuming 100% of return on investments by Year Three. Based on this assumption, the initial investment of $500,000 will be worth roughly $656,000. Valuation

We are valuing Boulder Candy Co. based on the projected retained earnings in year three, alongside a conservative estimate of a Price/Earnings ratio of 20 in year three. Boulder Candy Co.’s retained earnings in year three will total $3,681,515, which multiplied by 20 gives Boulder Candy Co. a valuation of $73,630,300. Debt

Boulder Candy Co. will be seeking an SBA loan in the amount of $300,000 with a Federal projected interest rate of 6.25%, needing to be repaid in 10 years. At the end of the 10 year repayment period Boulder Candy Co. will have paid $487,500 back to the appropriate lender.

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REFERENCES

1 Goran, M. Global Public Health, Nov. 27, 2012 2 Gaille, Brandon. "42 Awesome Candy Consumption Statistics - BrandonGaille.com." BrandonGaille.com. N.p., 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 09 Feb. 2016. 3 Candy Consumption in America. Rep. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., Oct. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. 4 Pacyniak, B. (2015, November 4). Nielsen: 'Better for you' candy category on the rise. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. 5 Nielsen (2015, January). The Nielsen Company: ‘We Are What We Eat- Worldwide’. Web. 09 Feb. 2016. 6 Watt, A. (2015, January 20). Nielsen survey shows rising obesity rates and health awareness. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. 7 How Sweet It Is: Natural/Organic Candy Fertile Ground for Growth? - The Hartman Group. (2015, December 22). Web. 10 Feb. 2016. 8 "Boulder City, Colorado QuickLinks from the US Census Bureau." Boulder City, Colorado QuickLinks from the US Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 9 "Best of Boulder - Community Honors." Best of Boulder - Community Honors. City of Boulder, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 10 Yucel, I. (2015, November). IBISWorld Industry Report 44529: Specialty Food Stores in the US. Retrieved 11 Feb 2016.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: CUSTOMER SURVEY RESULTS

What is your willingness to pay for this product?

How likely are you to buy this product?

Where would you expect to find this product? (Online, specialized store, candy store, grocery store)

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Are you buying this product now?

How would you decide whose product to buy based on: Location, Durability, Speed, Design, Price, Ingredients?

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APPENDIX B: PROTOTYPED INGREDIENTS AND COSTS Organic Lollipops

Basic Chocolate Bar

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Medium Chocolate Bar

APPENDIX C: COMPETITION MATRIX

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APPENDIX D: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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Income Statement: Quarterly & Year End Totals

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Balance Sheet: Year End Totals

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Projected Cash Flow Statement: Quarterly

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APPENDIX E: MANAGEMENT RESUMES

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