Brick Lane

​

In April, Professor Mary Long’s spring Advanced Marketing Management course concluded with a final project focused on Bricklane Curry, a Pace SBDC small business client. Business Advisor Susan Gluck had initially introduced Sati Sharma, the business owner, to Professor Long. Bricklane has restaurants located in Manhattan’s East Village and in New Jersey. Sati is initiating a Queens cloud kitchen and delivery business model, and was the beneficiary of the research, analysis, and final presentations provided by the students in the marketing course.

 

Sati’s Pace SBDC business advisor, Susan, had previously attained market research for Bricklane to help Sati get clearer about his new expansion into delivery-only sales. The student project aimed to help Sati explore further, survey target audiences, and test three different menu formats that he intends to market from the cloud kitchen, including Curry, Biryani, and Fish and Chips. Through various methods, students were able to investigate the competition and target consumers, and provide valuable insights to the business owner.

 

In Professor Long's words, "Having students do work for an SBDC client is a valuable experience and supports Lubin's focus on putting theory into practice. Students have the opportunity to put all of their business skills and street smarts to work in coming up with recommendations to attract customers and grow the business. For Brick Lane Curry, this included primary and secondary research to access the competition and target market. Plus, students had the real-life pressure of presenting their research and plans to the client."

 

The students had a unique opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts they had learned in the classroom to a real-world scenario, allowing them to hone their skills and gain practical experience. In turn, Bricklane Curry benefits from the insight and recommendations provided by the students, giving the business owner a better understanding of the market and how to attract customers.

 

Overall, the project was a success for both the students and business owner. We hope to see more such projects in future, bringing academia and industry closer together to benefit all parties involved.