Plan de negocios para la creación una empresa de producción de snacks saludables, dirigido a la población infantil en edad escolar entre 6 y 14 años en las localidades de Usaquén, Suba y Engativá

Abstract

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. The problem is global and is progressively affecting many low- and middle-income countries, especially in urban areas. The root cause of childhood overweight and obesity is directly influenced by the imbalance between caloric intake and expenditure. The global increase in childhood overweight and obesity is attributable to several factors, such as: Unhealthy consumption habits, through foods high in sugar and fat, but low in vitamins, minerals and fiber, consumption of snacks with high sodium content, mainly from packaged foods (snacks). Obese children are more likely to develop a number of health problems in their adulthood. Among them: heart disease; insulin resistance (often an early sign of impending diabetes), among other heart conditions. The consumption of packaged foods in school-age children is influenced by the practicality of these, the high volume and alternatives on the market and the lack of knowledge from parents on the damage to health that it generates. This idea came up in order to provide a business plan to launch a healthy snack company, under the lyophilization process of fruits, offering an alternative to consumption for school-age children, and in turn represents an opportunity to take part of the snack market in Colombia. Lyophilization of fruits is a sublimation process in which a snack can be achieved with excellent organoleptic characteristics and rich in nutrients, which is as attractive as the most seen snacks for children. The business plan corresponds to a quantitative approach, the type of research is non-experimental, cross-sectional, to determine the market size, the locations of Usaquén, Suba and Engativá of the City of Bogotá were selected, the survey data from parents of school-age children and statistical data from the last census in the city of Bogotá, as well as some references from organizations, such as, DANE. The results obtained after carrying out the financial model of the business plan indicates that it is feasible to create a company to manufacture healthy snacks based on lyophilized fruit. Keywords: Childhood obesity, packaged foods, snacks, lyophilization