In recent years, an increasing number of people consider starting their own business. Although reasons can be various, the most common is the desire to be one’s, own boss. And this is usually followed by the idea that t will allow us to organize our finances, time, and everything else better than when working for someone else. Good enough, isn’t it!?
We wanted to create a business of our own for a long time. It is not that we didn’t like working in music school. On the contrary, we enjoyed teaching kids to sing and play instruments, watching them mature as musicians, etc. But we wanted something different. Now, having heard that we are music teachers, you wouldn’t think that we would start a business that somehow connected to our profession. But, it was not like that at all! Given that we have Indian origins and we love Indian cuisine and cooking, we wanted to create an Indian food business.
Although this desire lived with us for years, we didn’t dare to go for it until last year. We knew that competition is very strong in this industry regardless of whether you are starting a top cereal brands business or something else! Our thoughts were always, “But there are hundreds of Indian, Pakistani, Nepali, etc., restaurants in this city! How on earth would we attract people?”! Of course, we were sure that we have something unique to offer. But the idea of quitting jobs and investing in a project like that just seems too audacious! But then the pandemic arrived and brought an overall sensation of insecurity! Nothing was sure anymore – not the health, or the job, home, etc. Finally, staying alive was also not certain. And as crazy as this may sound to some of you out there, one day over lunch break, we looked at each other thinking, “it’s now or never”!
The decision was there, so was the willingness! But we faced another problem! In this new pandemic world, whatever was the business, it had to be online! And we knew very little about doing business in general, let alone online. Plus, there was the matter of it being a food business at home. That meant that we have to deal with a whole set of rules different and stricter than for any other business. But, Elvis Presley’s song kept running in our minds, so we were determined to cross every obstacle.
We began researching everything we needed to know about the food business to start at home. We talked with every expert who wanted to listen. Finally, after gathering all advice and information on starting a food business, we embarked on the adventure of our dreams. Now it is essential to say that we, too are still beginners at this online food business. However, thanks to the advice we got, we believe we are doing pretty well. We know that many people don’t have the privilege to spend weeks searching for adequate information despite having food business ideas. That is why we chose to compile all the tips which helped us in this text and share them with you.
Take Time to Choose Your Niche
We know that you are aware that this is a highly competitive industry. However, we will say it again because it is vital you know that it is a wild world out there, now maybe more than ever. The thing is that lot of businesses closed, either temporarily or permanently. On the other hand, a food business will resist everything, because whatever is going on, people have to eat. We love to eat good food in general, but now it is also becoming even more critical because we are deprived of many other things that give us pleasure. Before you post a food business ready to open announcement on Instagram, make sure to answer these questions “What kind of food am I planning to sell?; How is it different than anything that already exists?”. Research the market and establish a unique selling point before you start anything else.
Check the Trends
Don’t think that people will be immediately running to you because you offer them the lamb curry that will make them mind travel to Agra. It is an attractive offer, though! But you have to follow the trends for the year! For example, there is a chance that many people will be more health-oriented n 2024 than they are usually. So it is like that there will be plenty of hungry clients who will look for delicious plant-based meals. You have to think in advance and be prepared for this. For example, a company called Beyond Meat did this with veganism. They assessed the perfect moment when veganism was on the rise and appeared with their selection of products that looked and tasted like meat, but were 100% vegan.
Laws and Permits
One of the trickiest things when it comes to food business checklist understands all the laws and regulations. You see, when you are starting some other business, you don’t have to worry about plenty of these things. If you are, for example, starting an online souvenir shop, no one is going to get sick if you make a mistake, right! However, mistakes involving food can send someone straight to a hospital bed. The complication comes from the fact that regulations can be very different from state to state. You have to check your local zoning rules for the exact rules, whether running an online food truck business or in a home business. In any case, you will have to make sure that your kitchen facilities pass the cleanliness requirements. It means that your professional kitchen is separated from the personal cooking space and that you don’t use the same utensils and gadgets.
Pick a Good Name
It may not seem like it, but choosing the best name is a big part of the process when you want to know how to start a food business. Here is the thing! Your name has to be catchy but simple to remember. It also needs to be unique. Let’s say that, same as us you want to start a food business with meals from your country of origin. The first that comes to your mind is to put the country in the name – something like Delicacies from South of France! But keep in mind that everyone who decided to open a French food business had the same idea. That means that there are already tens of restaurants with a name similar to that one! But if you make it something like Momma’s Favorite Tartiflette, that we are talking about something else! Before choosing the name for your business, check what already exists. Then try to create something new!
Pick the Equipment
Once you have worked out things for your small food business, you can get all the equipment you need. These things differ, depending on the type of food you will be making. However, some things are always useful, like pots and pans, blenders, knives, scales, and other measuring items, etc. Of course, you should use them exclusively in a professional kitchen. If you are selling things to stores, then you also need to purchase packaging materials. Some states have labeling laws. In that case, you need to have ingredient labels on your products.
Advertise Your Business
It is nearly impossible to have a good business without advertising it. And since the entire world is now on social networks, we believe it is safe to say that there isn’t a better place for it. One of the best social networks for advertising a food business is Instagram. It allows you to put a lot of pictures of your food online. Photos are something that will undeniably attract people. But we recommend that hire a good photographer who knows how to take pictures of food. Also, you can use Facebook and Twitter to share your photographs and communicate with potential consumers.
Make Use of Feedbacks
You can do everything in your power to run the best food business in the country! But nothing will speak of it as good as positive feedback you will receive once you start selling your products. So, try to politely ask people to leave feedback on the quality of your food. Once people give you positive feedback, ask them if you can post them on your pages. That way, they will serve as an endorsement!
Make Everything Legal
One thing is to follow all the sanitary and other laws and regulations. It is something else. It means that you should create a company, register it with IRS and open a bank account. Some people are tempted to use their tax number and bank account. It may seem like less fuss in the beginning, but the more your business grows and develops, the clearer it becomes that it is better to keep everything separate.
Conclusion
That’s all about starting a food business at home, friends! It may seem like a bit of a challenge compared to other businesses you could start at home. But if cooking is your passion and you are good at it, you will quickly realize that this initial fuss pays off in the long run. We hope this text helped you and that you enjoyed reading it as much as we did writing. Before we leave, we would like to hear from you. Are you planning to start a food business any time soon? What type of food would you like to sell? Do you have some tips for us?
He is a chef in the past and the editor of a print media about cooking till nowadays. Big fan of dieting, kitchen design, and everything related to it. After years of work in the culinary field, Malcolm writes very useful and interesting articles about the kitchen and has a lot of personal recipes that he would like to share.