REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

MARKET ASSESSMENT FOR A CO-PACKING/CO-MANUFACTURING FACILITY

General Information

Project Objective: Market Assessment for a Co-Packing/Co-Manufacturing Facility in Montgomery County, MD

Issuing Organization: The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation

RFP Issued: July 24, 2018

Due Date for Proposals: August 17, 2018

Contact for Further Information:

Christy Blake, Business Development Manager

Email: christy@thinkmoco.com

Phone: 240-641-6709

Organizational Background

The mission of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is to foster business growth and expansion in Montgomery County, MD. Organized as a 501(c)(3), and funded by Montgomery County, Maryland. The MCEDC is the official public-private economic development organization for the County.

Summary of Ask

The MCEDC acknowledges the importance of enhancing local supply chain infrastructure to grow and retain emerging food and beverage businesses. Montgomery County has produced several national food and beverage brands including Honest Tea, CAVA, Sunniva Super Coffee, and Dress It Up Dressing. As these and other brands have grown, they have required resources and infrastructure outside of the County to scale their production. Currently, less than a quarter of the County's local food and beverage supply chain spending stays in the County. To capture more supply chain spending locally and strengthen business retention, MCEDC is seeking the support of an external subject matter expert to conduct a regional market demand analysis for a product co-packing/co-manufacturing facility.

Market Demand Analysis Scope

The external subject matter expert will need to develop a scope of work, and a plan for execution, to address to the following research questions:

• Primary Question: What is the regional market demand (current and projected) for a co-packing/co-manufacturing facility?
  The response should be quantitative and qualitative to understand demand with regard, but not limited to the following parameters:
  • o Types of products being produced by the regional market
  • o Volume of production per food and beverage industry segment relative to the regional market
  • o Geographic distribution of companies within the regional market; identification of clusters
• Secondary Questions to support the primary question:
  • o What are the existing co-packing/co-manufacturing facilities within the regional market? What types of products do they support? What size companies do they support?
  • o Are there service or product gaps in the regional market that a proposed facility could address?

Proposal Parameters

Proposals should only address the market demand analysis for a co-packing/co-manufacturing facility. (MCEDC is NOT collecting proposals regarding the design or development of a co-packing/co-manufacturing facility). Proposals should assume the following parameters:

• The regional market is defined as a 70-mile radius around Rockville, MD, which includes much of the Greater Washington-Baltimore region in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia
• MCEDC will provide a list of stakeholders for research interviews
• Final deliverable will be a written report available for the review of MCEDC, County government agencies, other MCEDC partners, and the public

Required Proposal Elements and Evaluation

Proposals submitted to MCEDC in response to this RFP need to include the following elements:

• Scope of Work
  • o Market demand analysis scope of work addressing the identified research questions outlined above
• Timeline and Budget
  • o Detailed project timeline which aligns with the general timeline listed below. The budget must be within a reasonable cost and must support the scope of work. All costs must be itemized. If any component of the project will be outsourced to a third party, the proposal must clearly state the name of the party, justification for outsourcing, and costs.
• Qualifications
  • o A summary of experience performing quantitative and qualitative market demand analyses (not to exceed 3 pages). Confirmation of the ability to attend and facilitate meetings in Rockville and other locations in the regional market as needed.
• Project References
  • o Two customer references from comparable projects, including the company name, type of organization, contact name, contact job title, address, email, phone number, and brief project description for that reference.
• MCEDC will evaluate all proposals based on the following:
• Overall Proposal Suitability: How well does the proposed scope address the research questions?
• Experience: How relevant is the prior experience described in the proposal to the current scope?
• Quality of References: How do previous customers describe performance on prior projects?
• Value and Costs: How reasonable are the costs listed in the proposal? Do they efficiently and adequately address the research questions?

Proposal Timeline