Fruitcake Project
Because of COSIFE, 90 fifth graders imagined owning and operating their own businesses. With Fruitcake Incorporated, COSIFE taught three area middle school classes that anyone, no matter what age, can make an impact in the business world-- with a little hard work.
Children are typically consumers, but this project put the students on the other side of the counter. Fruitcake Inc. is a competition between three area middle schools to see who can most effectively implement entrepreneurial principles.
Each 5th grade class began by choosing a CEO, CFO, and COO for their business. These new leaders named their company and helped their classmates design a label, set the product price and choose a location to market their cakes. Each executive also advocated a slogan. For example, one class said, "You’ve tried the rest, now try the best!"
Equipped with financial and marketing skills, the fifth graders from each of the schools travelled to the College of the Ozarks’ Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen to experience the manufacturing process. After mixing batter and decorating fruitcakes, the new entrepreneurs assembled, boxed, and packaged the finished product.
Three different media channels publicized SIFE and the fruitcake project. A local NBC affiliate, KY3, featured the new startups during several segments. (Show video) The Vacation Channel in Branson placed our project on the "Kids Connection" show. And KRZK, a local radio station, interviewed one executive from each business. With the three different media outlets and numerous newspaper articles, students took advantage of the opportunity to market their product and inform the public about their new business.
At the beginning of the project, each student invested $1 in their business. The winning class sold 100 fruitcakes and received a 1,000 percent return on their investment. (Show income statements). The principle of social responsibility was also a major component of the project.
Each class contributed a percentage of their sales to charities and the remaining fruitcakes were donated to local nursing homes. Through what she learned from COSIFE, the CEO from Blue Eye gave the proceeds from her personal lemonade stand to her classes’ contribution fund. As a result of the project, COSIFE found the students showed a 62 percent learning gain on the pre-and post-tests of basic business concepts.
