Shawn Is a Chef Who Has Been Working at a Local

Shawn is a chef who has been working at a local French restaurant. He has finally saved enough money and secured additional external financing to open his own restaurant. He decided to specialize in plant-based food with choices that include veggie burgers, salads, smoothie bowls, soups, and pasta. He is confident his skills will lend themselves to crafting desirable products that will garner a lot of support and interest from his community. Currently, there are no restaurants that are solely plant-based in his area. He would like to open a brick-and-mortar store in the next six months, and he is fully aware that much work must be done before that. As part of his planning, he enlisted the help of a business manager, Chris. The first step of their analysis will be to identify factors that shape this industry and to use this information to create a unique and well-developed strategy. Chris would like to sit down with Shawn and discuss these items together before proceeding. With this in mind, please answer the following questions.
a. What would an appropriate element of each of Porter's Five Forces that this new restaurant business is likely to encounter be?
b. Is the company using a cost leadership or product differentiation strategy, and what is the difference between these strategies?
c. If you were helping Chris and Shawn develop a strategy, what advice would you give them, and are there any additional considerations they should be aware of?