Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: corn
Practices
- Farm Business Management: marketing management, new enterprise development, value added
- Sustainable Communities: values-based supply chains
Proposal summary:
To increase access, affordability, and sale of three value added Indigenous non-GMO products produced PSPS to citizens of Pawnee, OK. By using existing resources from our university partnerships (mainly OSU and PNC) for oversight and guidance with a market plan for at least three value added products made from / by PSPS that result in increased awareness, access, and sales of PSPS products made from PSPS crops. Through taste testing, product strategy and sales projections PSPS can maximize future resources and availability to low income residents of Pawnee.
Through education and experience gained through this project, PSPS staff will have skillset needed to improve marketing of value-added products that bring affordable products to Pawnee citizens.
Oklahoma State University located approximately 36 miles from PSPS, and Pawnee Nation College, located less than a mile from PSPS, have been partnering for over five years and have offered classes and certification sessions that include: FSMA, MCCA, Master Gardener, Marketing and have promoted farmers markets in Pawnee, OK. Pawnee Nation College is registered as part of the Nebraska Indian Community College system, a 1994 Land Grant college. These activities / classes have generated interests from local American Indian students to continue studies in agriculture and have resulted in long-standing partnership and trust.
Ravi Jadeja, PHD associate professor at Oklahoma State University has taught classes offered through Pawnee Nation College and is familiar with PSPS. He has been instrumental a growing interest in agriculture studies by American Indians and will be the lead cooperator throughout the entire study. Dr. Jadeja will oversee a marketing design including taste testing and packaging of the project.
Project objectives from proposal:
With the help of Jadeja and Robert M. Kerr Food and Ag Products Center at Oklahoma State University, an economical
feasibility analysis of the newly developed products will be conducted. Briefly, a detailed market analysis will be conducted
to understand the demand, competition, consumer preferences, and pricing structure prevalent in the market for blue corn
based products. Subsequently, a comprehensive cost analysis will be undertaken, considering every expense incurred during the production, processing, packaging, labor, overheads, and logistics. The revenue model then will be meticulously drafted, incorporating the pricing strategy, sales projections, and revenue streams, balanced against the cost structures to
ascertain the profit margins. In addition, potential risks, including market fluctuations, operational disruptions, and
supply chain inconsistencies will be identified and evaluated for their probable impact on the economic stability of
the production. The resultant feasibility report, coupled with sensitivity and scenario analysis, will serve as
instrumental tool in gauging the economic viability and prospective success of intruding Pawnee blue corn products
into the market.
All ingredients will be sourced from the Pawnee Citizens and local grocery stores. Our experiments will be focused on
the development of at least three palatable and affordable blue corn products. We will investigate the recipes using Box-Behnken experimental design in response surface methodology. The resulting 21 samples will be subjected to sensory analysis using a trained panel. A 9 point hedonic scale sensory proforma will be utilized to collect the data.
The findings of the sensory analysis will be compared with the RSM theoretical responses and to further optimize the
identified recipes.
Once the optimization has been completed, we will focus on training PSPS volunteer and Pawnee citizens to produce such
products at their homes. Jadeja will provide training on safe food handling, good manufacturing practices, cottage
food law in Oklahoma (Oklahoma cottage food law allow citizens to produce non-meat containing products at home without licensing from the health department).