Mission Secondary students in an entrepreneurship and marketing course designed, marketed and sold a product to the school community in the lead up to Christmas break.
The students identified the advantage of their built-in market (the school) for selling reusable masks. They created unique designs in order to appeal to that market, using the school’s logos and Christmas themes. The students sourced and packaged the products themselves, and even created ad copy.
The class is tasked with “learning about business by doing business,” said Diana Purser, the class teacher.
“The students recognized that the necessity of mask wearing during the pandemic presented a unique opportunity to have some fun, and do some good in an otherwise rather bleak time,” she said.
The students did market research and administered surveys to assess the viability of their product among potential customers, along with their branding and pricing decisions.
They felt strongly about corporate social responsibility, and chose to source the masks from a local entrepreneur rather than using less-expensive method like Amazon, according to Purser.
“As a result, our margins were smaller than they otherwise could have been, but we felt strongly about honouring the triple bottom line: ‘People, Profit, Planet,’” she said. “A local business owner earned money during financially uncertain times, the products didn’t have to be shipped from half a world away, and we still turned an honest profit.”
The proceeds were donated to the Starfish Backpack program, which provides weekend meals to students who rely on school breakfast and lunch programs.