Make detailed notes on the following aspects:

The impact of PESTEL and other external trends on the snack industry.

The competitive landscape surrounding Boho Bars.

The strengths and resources of Boho Bars, which give it a competitive edge.

The decision Haney is considering, along with the pros and cons of each alternative she is weighing.answer based on the information givenHaney$$s partner, an electrician in London, Ontario, supported her career pivot. Haney and her partner had taken a very traditional life path up to this point. Haney had graduated from university in $2007$ with a degree in psychology and had proceeded to secure increasingly higher$-$level positions in her chosen career. Prior to starting the business, she had been working in a role that provided a pension, benefits, and financial security. She and her partner got married, bought a home, and started saving for their future. Although this career change was the biggest risk either had taken at this point in their lives, they did not have any children and saw an opportunity to create a dynamic professional foundation for their future. They knew that it would likely take a few years of investment before they could expect a return.

BOHO BARS CONTEXT: ENERGY BARS AND WHOLE FOODS DIETS

Energy bars were supplemental bars intended to provide consumers with quick food energy. Most bars contained added protein and were marketed as a functional food$\mathrm{.}1$ The Canadian energy bar market was

$1$ Functional food was a term used to describe foods that provided more than basic nutrition and were intended to have positive impacts on health and reduce the risk of disease.

$2$

valued at CA$$152\mathrm{.}54$ million in $2019,$ an increase of $4\mathrm{.}97$ per cent over $2018.$ Canadians$$ desire to achieve a healthier lifestyle was a growing trend. The Canadian health and wellness market was expected to reach US$$20\mathrm{.}6$ billion by $2022,$ and naturally healthy products represented the largest segment of this market.

Increased awareness of nutrition supported the popularity of the whole foods diet, which included eating mainly foods that were as close to their natural form as possible. Health experts believed that eating more whole foods improved health and prevented disease by increasing the intake of nutrients, good fats, fibre, and whole grains$\mathrm{.}6$ Haney herself ate a whole foods diet due to its health benefits, and she worked hard to create a whole food energy bar that tasted good. She initially sourced her ingredients from grocery stores, but after several years, she switched to using wholesale ingredient suppliers. Boho Bars produced its products in a rented commercial kitchen to meet food and safety regulations.

BOHO BARS HISTORY

In $2015,$ when Haney was going on a multi$-$day business trip and needed to pack snacks, she had been disappointed to find only highly processed, high$-$sugar energy bars at the grocery store. She decided that, instead of compromising on what to take, she would buy the ingredients and make her own baked goods for the trip. Haney shared her creations with her colleagues, who encouraged her to produce and sell them.

Haney listened to her colleagues$$ advice and began producing large batches of energy bars, which she sold at local farmers$$ markets. The feedback for her products was overwhelmingly positive, and in December

$2015,$ Boho Bars launched out of Haney$$s kitchen as an order$-$only business. She decided to make it a fulltime venture in late $2015.$

In four years, Haney had scaled the farmers$$ market bakery into a national six$-$figure energy bar business that supplied over $300$ retailers, including major grocery store chains, across Canada$\mathrm{.}8$ Five per cent of her revenue came from online sales from customers who had previously purchased in stores and wanted to buy in bulk. In $2019,$ the bars were featured in the swag bags given to celebrities and industry VIPs at the Juno Awards, an annual entertainment award show in Canada.

Navigating the food industry presented many challenges, and Haney worked hard to learn everything she could about packaging, distribution, regulation, and production. In $2018,$ she employed six bakers, who worked out of a production facility located in Old East Village in London, Ontario. Haney financed the business through a personal line of credit, grants, and personal funds. Her marketing efforts were primarily through business$-$to$-$business $($B$2$B$)$ sales efforts. Haney drove to health food stores, specialty boutique stores, and grocery stores in two different cities every week to promote her products and negotiate distribution opportunities.

$3$

BOHO BARS CUSTOMER GROUPS

There were three distinct customer groups: retailers, direct to consumers, and distributors. Haney had primarily focused on retailers and had found great success in getting her products sold at locations across Canada. Retailers$$small and large sized grocery and health food stores that purchased products at least on