"It is with a heavy heart that we close are our doors for the last time today," Kathleen Mackintosh of Culinarium wrote on its blog last week on July 4th, 2010. "After much number crunching, soul searching and consultation, I have come to realize that we simply cannot continue. Our cashflow is at an all time low as we struggle with retail sales 50% below projection and attempt to chip away at our overwhelming debt. While we’ve had many successes and lots of great feedback from you our loyal and committed customers, we simply don’t serve a critical mass large enough to be economically sustainable."
Even if this Ontario business, which served local and organic foods, didn't make it in the long run, what may arise from this for social entrepreneurs is several learnings. And maybe one of those is when, why and how to say "fini."
Contact Information
Culinarium website
Culinarium on Facebook
Culinarium on Twitter
Closing Organic Food Stores
Culinarium Wrote a Piece on How and Why Economic Sustainability Failed
Trend Themes
1. Sustainable Food Retail - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop a new model for economically sustainable organic food stores.
2. Social Entrepreneurship - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Learn from failed businesses like Culinarium to improve and create successful social enterprises.
3. Cashflow Management - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create innovative solutions and strategies to help small businesses manage cashflow and overcome financial challenges.
Industry Implications
1. Organic Food Retail - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore new ways to make organic food more accessible and affordable for a larger customer base.
2. Social Enterprise - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop new business models that combine social and environmental impact with long-term financial sustainability.
3. Financial Services - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Provide innovative financial solutions tailored to the specific needs and challenges of small businesses in the retail sector.