Cookies, salad dressings, breads and salsas are among the foods every day individuals have turned in to successful food companies. Launching a food manufacturing business requires planning to find a marketable niche product that can gain a loyal local or regional audience. Successful entrepreneurs who start food companies keep striving to satisfy customers for the sake of building a repeat business that is profitable.
1.Develop an idea, such as turning a family recipe into a food business. Develop a niche product that can to appeal to a specific target market’s need such as tasty foods for diabetics. Conduct market research. “Food businesses should conduct market research to get input on packaging, pricing, and how a niche product may penetrate a market crowded by brand names,” said Jim Cooper of Conscientia Research. “Start-up companies should treat obtaining market information as a cost of doing business and an integral part of planning a go-to-market strategy.”
2.Select ingredients, choose where to buy ingredients and then get a tax exemption to buy food wholesale. Enroll in an accredited program, such as the Food Safety Institute of America, to get licensed for handling food. Purchase a minimum $1 million liability insurance (See References).
3.Contact a food scientist through Ift.org to create a nutritional label and provide regulatory input. Ask a food scientist the types of new food products they have researched and the problems with startup food companies and products they have witnessed.
4.Rent space in a licensed commercial kitchen to mix the initial ingredients for sale at local farmers’ markets. Make arrangements with a co-packer if “there is no available in-house equipment or expertise” when larger amounts of the food product are needed for distribution states an online article from the Contract Packaging Association titled “Why Select a Contract Packager?”
5.Sell initial batches at farmers’ markets to gauge customer reaction. “I started selling at the Silverlake Farmers’ Market,” said Melissa Marks, founder of Sis Meliss Family Recipes. “I developed a base of loyal customers and discovered useful information about my salad dressings such as the benefits to those with diabetes.” Adjust the tastes as feedback is solicited.
6.Start wider distribution through local vendor programs of nationally or regionally recognized chains and restaurants. Obtain state certifications, such as becoming a certified women-owned business, certified small business or certified minority-owned business to open doors at corporations or entities, such as the armed services that may buy in large volumes.
Things Needed
- Business idea
- Market research
- Ingredients listing
- Wholesale status
- Food handler license
- Food scientist
- Nutrition label
Tips
- Make local sales first to determine if consumers like the flavors.
- Look at the colors and shapes of packages containing specific types of foods.
Warning
- Popular sales locally will not automatically translate in to sales nationally because tastes may be differ from region to region.
