Talking about snacks, perhaps chips are one of everyone's favorite snacks. Of course, chips are not something new that not many people are familiar with.

Simply put, chips are a type of snack that is very popular with many people regardless of age. You could say that everyone from small children to adults really like chip snacks.

Seeing such a large market share has made many people start to get involved in the chips business. By now, perhaps you are also aware that there are many chip products that are sold freely in stalls, minimarkets and even large supermarkets.

Who doesn't like chips? Chips are a type of snack that is popular with many people, from children to adults. Entrepreneurial Friends would agree that chip products have many fans, right? This simple snack is very suitable to eat when relaxing, such as watching television or while studying, because it tastes delicious and doesn't fill you up easily. Apart from that, if stored in a closed container, the chip product will last a long time and can be consumed at any time.

The variety of chip products on the market is very diverse. The most common chips that many people know are cassava and banana chips. This is because we can easily find cassava and banana plants in various regions in Indonesia. On the other hand, cassava and bananas will rot easily if not processed, even if they have been stored properly.

It could be said that chip products are an innovative way of processing food to extend the expiration date. With a long expiration date, people's consumption patterns are formed to buy chips products repeatedly or buy them in large quantities and store them for snacks at home. The public's tendency to repurchase shows that chip products have a wide market share. This makes chip products a promising business idea to run. So, are Entrepreneur Friends interested in starting a chip product business?

Chip Product Trends in 2021

Friends of Entrepreneurs, even before the pandemic started, the trend for chip products was considered to have never been devoid of interest. Especially during a pandemic like now, people tend to spend time at home and have more time to relax. To overcome boredom due to working from home or school from home, people tend to consume snacks. For more details, we can see trends in chip products from search results via Google Trends in the 2021 search year.

Figure 1

The graphic image above shows search interest with the keyword “Chips” over the last twelve months using the Google search page. The numbers on the left side of the graph represent search interest based on the highest points in the chart for a specific region and time. A value of 100 indicates the term is at the peak of popularity. A value of 50 indicates moderate popularity. A value of 0 indicates there is not enough data available for that term. Based on the graphic image above, it can be concluded that traffic for the keyword “Chips” tends to be high and stable because the graph shows the average search number is above 50.

So, what are the search trends for the keyword or term “Chips” in the last five years?

Figure 2

The graph above shows that the search trend for the keyword “Chips” in the last five years has increased significantly every year and fluctuates slightly at certain times. If Entrepreneurial Friends look at each year's highest graph, we can conclude that the highest search time for the keyword “Chips” is during the month of Ramadan and before Eid al-Fitr. Apart from that, the graph above shows that the trend for chip products experienced a very significant increase when the pandemic started in 2020.

To be more specific, we can search for trends with more specific keywords, namely “Selling Chips”. The results we get are shown in Figure 3, below:

Figure 3

For search results for the keyword “Selling Chips”, the graph shown in Figure 3 fluctuates more but remains in the high category. If analyzed more carefully by looking at the timeline of the highest points in the graph, it shows that customers tend to search with the keyword “Selling Chips” when certain events occur, such as holidays or national holidays. Even so, the highest points in the search graph for the keyword “Selling Chips” are still quite prominent when compared to the lowest points in the graph.

Based on an analysis of the search results for these two keywords in the last twelve months and five years, in general it can be concluded that the trend for chip products from 2017 to 2021 is quite high and has a lot of interest, especially at certain moments such as before Eid al-Fitr. This makes chip products a quite promising business opportunity.

SWOT analysis

Entrepreneur Friends: To see opportunities in a business in detail, we need to carry out a SWOT analysis as a consideration to determine the overall business strategy. SWOT analysis helps business actors to estimate the condition of a particular business or business based on strengths , weaknesses , opportunities and threats . The following is a SWOT analysis of chips products in general:

1. Strengths

Doing the chip product business has the advantage that chip products can be innovated in terms of types and variants. The various types and variations of chip products can be an added value for our business. If Entrepreneurial Friends are creative enough and can sell unique chip products, customers will be interested in buying our products.

2. Weaknesses

Competition for chip products is quite tight, which will increase the risk of the product not being sold. Chip products may be able to last for quite a long time if they are packaged using the right method, but if they are over-produced it will increase the risk of loss because the product stock will not be sold out.

3. Opportunities

Chip products have a wide market share, thereby increasing the opportunity to gain market share with potential customers. With product and service innovation, as well as the right business strategy, you will maximize opportunities to enter the market.

4. Threats

Tight market competition is a challenge in itself if Entrepreneurial Friends want to do chip product business. The right business strategy is needed to face these challenges.

To get a more accurate SWOT analysis, Friends of Entrepreneurs need to determine the type and variant of chip products they will sell. However, before that, Entrepreneurial Friends can carry out detailed market research to get an overview of market conditions and competition in the chips product business.

Market Research

Entrepreneurial Friends, surveys or market research are carried out to see how the market responds to the products we are selling, who our competitors are in this business and what they offer. Market research is something that must be done, especially if Entrepreneurial Friends do not have knowledge about the market conditions of an industry. Market research also aims to reduce business risks that may occur in the future. Market research can be done in two ways, namely online and offline research.

1. Online Research

Online research can be done in several ways, namely:

• Distribute online questionnaires,
• Ask friends and relatives directly via WhatsApp broadcast , search on Google,
• Online research via social media by checking trending hashtags, research via Google Trends, visiting the social media of nearby competitors to see what they offer, how competitors interact with their customers, and how their customers respond to products sold by competitors.

By conducting online research , it is hoped that Entrepreneurial Friends will be able to find out how tight the market competition is for a product. This can help Entrepreneur Friends to determine what kind of value-added will be added to the products we will sell.

2. Offline Research

For offline research , Entrepreneurial Friends can try buying chips products sold by competitors to assess the taste and quality of the products they sell, especially if they sell the same chip product variant as the variant we will sell.

Chips Business Strategy

Entrepreneurial Friends who currently want to start and get involved in the chips business, there are several strategies that need to be implemented so that the chips business grows rapidly, including:

1. Determine your entrepreneurial friend's business type

Determining the type of business for Entrepreneurial Friends is very important for determining the business strategy and steps to be taken. Will Sahabat Entrepreneur act as a manufacturer, or only as a distributor or reseller? For example, if Friends of Entrepreneurs wants to act as a producer, choose a supplier who provides fresh raw materials, because the taste and quality of food is determined by the freshness of the raw materials. Entrepreneurial Friends certainly don't want customers to complain because the taste and texture of the chips are bad, right?

Apart from that, if Sahabat Entrepreneur acts as a reseller or distributor, make sure that the supplier can provide quality products and has the ability to meet our product requests.

Friends of Entrepreneur's business type will also be a consideration for the business and marketing strategies that will be used to enter the chip product market and compete with competitors.

2. Determine Market Segmentation

Market segmentation is crucial before we start any business. To find out market segmentation, determine the target consumer market for our chips products based on several criteria such as age range, gender, occupation, place of residence, etc. In this way, we will find out who the main target market is for this business. Market segmentation is useful for determining product variants to be sold, branding, and determining selling prices.

Chip product market segmentation usually focuses on the age range of 10 to 30 years, with female gender. This is because children aged 10 years, teenagers and early adult women have a tendency to eat chips as a snack when relaxing. However, if Sahabat Wirausaha wants to have a more specific market segmentation, Sahabat Wirausaha innovates with chips product variants.

3. Alternative Business Ideas for Chips Products

After we determine the market segmentation, Entrepreneurial Friends can start looking for ideas for chip product variants to be sold. With current food technology, Friends of Entrepreneurship can process various food ingredients into chip products, such as fruit chips, non-fried chips, or chips that come from processed food waste, for example dragon fruit skin chips. Unique business product variants will bring special interest to some customer groups.

4. Consider Food Technology

In processing chip products, the use of food technology is something that should be considered in quality and quality control. Moreover, if the chip product variant that we sell must use certain food technology in processing raw materials into finished products. Also consider the costs that Entrepreneurial Friends might incur if you invest in this food technology.

5. Create a Brand and Logo

The next step that we can do is create a brand and logo for branding purposes. At this stage, we may have to adjust our branding concept to suit our market segmentation. This is expected to help increase brand awareness of our business.

6. Determine appropriate and attractive packaging

Choose packaging that is safe and can maintain food quality, and can be a tool for branding our products. Entrepreneurial Friends can choose plastic zipper packaging for chip products with an attractive design that reflects our brand.

7. Determine the initial capital and calculate the selling price

In calculating the initial capital budget, calculate what needs must be included in the initial capital calculation, including the costs incurred if you have to collaborate with raw material suppliers for the chips product business needs, or investment in food technology to support the production of chip products. Make sure the initial capital calculation is done as detailed as possible.

Then, in determining the selling price there are several factors that Entrepreneur Friends must consider, such as the cost of goods sold (HPP), the selling price on the market, the profit margin that we will take. This is done to determine when the plan is to return on investment.

8. Determine Business and Marketing Strategy

The right business and marketing strategy will help Friends of Entrepreneurs to enter the chips product market. In determining the business strategy to be used, we need to consider product variants, market segmentation and the type of business for Friends of Entrepreneurship. Especially in this digital marketing era , Entrepreneurial Friends must be smart in promoting through various digital platforms , such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, etc.

Entrepreneur friends can use social media to brand the products they offer, as well as encourage potential customers to make purchases. If Sahabat Entrepreneur acts as a producer, use promotions that emphasize the production process and product quality control, as well as the added value of the chips products that Sahabat Entrepreneur produces. Meanwhile, if Friends of Entrepreneurs acts as a reseller or distributor, use promotions that emphasize sales discounts or purchase promos in bundles.

For a more professional impression, Entrepreneur Friends can invest in creating a website for selling chip products. Apart from that, Entrepreneur Friends can consider selling online by registering as a merchant on Go Food, Grab Food, Shopee Food, Shopee, Facebook marketplace, or Instagram marketplace. That way, Friends of Entrepreneurship will be able to reach a wider market share.Source