Alfresco LLC is a startup business based in Managua, Nicaragua. The aim of Alfresco is to help create healthy nutrition habits in Central America’s homes by providing fresh, organic, high quality products with no sugar added and free of lactose and gluten. The salad dressing industry in Nicaragua is relatively mature and it’s characterized by a medium level of fragmentation. However, organic salad dressings are currently inexistent, therefore, this would be a disruption in the lifecycle of the industry. Moreover, since there are no competitors in the organic segment, there is a market gap that has not been covered yet; that is exactly the segment that Alfresco will target. An initial investment of $4,362 is required to start the business. As shown in the financial section, we forecast to recover the investment in year 3. One important risk is the fact that there are a lot of substitutes for salad dressings. However, the busy consumers’ lifestyle backed with the heavy advertising efforts and the high quality of our product, will help us overcome this obstacle and succeed in the industry. Overall, we believe that there is a big opportunity in this industry and we expect to break even before the forecasted time.

有機食品現今已成為全球的新興飲食風潮。消費者獲取有機相關資訊的管道之一便是媒體，然卻少有研究討論之。本研究作為一初探研究，欲得知媒體在有機風潮時興的過程中扮演了何種角色。研究問題包括：文本如何再現有機食品樣貌？主要的型態為何？除此之外，本研究亦想進一步得知不同媒體文本的詮釋手法是否有所不同？不同之處又為何？最後，由於有機食品從引進至今歷經了長約十年的時間，這期間無論是新聞形式或內容都可能有所變化，本研究亦想探知在這十年間新聞的形式或內容是否有所變化？ 為了回答上述問題，本研究使用內容分析輔以框架分析的方式，分析了《聯合報》、《中國時報》以及《民生報》約11年間（1995-2006）的相關新聞。本研究結果顯示，有機食品新聞多為「純淨新聞」，且主要出現於「地方/都會」版面，各報及各時期的分佈皆同；「活動或商品優惠」則為有機新聞最主要之主題；新聞消息來源部分，無論是三家報紙或有機食品發展各時期，消息來源引用比例最高的皆為「食品業者」，且遠超過其他消息來源的發言比例。 新聞框架方面，「個人身心價值」則佔了絕大多數的新聞比例，各報及各時期的新聞框架排序則略有不同；最後，在新聞語氣的運用部分，「有機市場概況」、「有機食品資訊」、「活動或商品優惠」以及「個案抗病經驗」等主題的報導多使用正面語氣，其他語氣偏低；然「有機品制度」及「食品安全」等主題的報導語氣較為平均，雖然以中立/混合語氣為主、但肯定及否定語氣亦皆佔了不少比重。 整體而言，有機新聞在這十年間持續增加，反映出有機食品受到社會重視的現象，有機新聞呈現出與地方經濟生活難以分割的特性，則或可成為促進社區發展的推手。然有機食品新聞因處理了較多消費性議題，文本呈現較為一般新聞鬆散而可能有廣告化的疑慮，新聞從業人員則可能更需小心謹慎地處理這類議題。

影響俄國民眾購買有機食品的因素之研究 / The aim of this paper is to explore consumers’ attitudes and identify factors influencing willingness to pay within the context of Russian organic food market. The Theory of Planned Behavior informs the research framework and the hypotheses are tested via hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The survey was distributed online and a total sample of 231 questionnaires was used for this study. The findings indicate that health concerns, knowledge of organic food and trust in organic food claims are all important predictors of consumers’ attitudes, as well as willingness to pay a premium price for organic food, while environment-consciousness appears to be unimportant in contrast to findings from previous research. Additionally, subjective norms are also found to have a strong influence on willingness to pay premium price for organic products.

This business plan is focused on the feasibility of establishing My Chef in the Honduran market as a meal option for individuals who are too busy to cook and/or want the convenience of healthy food options delivered right to their office or home. The health food industry is an industry which has seen a lot of growth in the current years and it is starting to take off in Honduras. Even though we would not be the first movers, we are aware that we offer a unique selling proposition where we are not only focused on the meals but we understand the importance that support and a community play on individuals’ decision to continue a healthy lifestyle. The meal plan delivery service has taken off around the world in places such as The United States, Canada, Spain, and England. We intend to replicate this success in Honduras by assisting people in making healthier choices. From the research done we are confident that My Chef will be a successful option for individuals interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well as those who do not have the time to cook.