Most people don’t think to bring a food product to market, in large part because they think it’s too difficult. But actually, it’s likely much easier than you might think. There are plenty of small-scale producers out there, and the good thing about being in the food industry is that it’s scalable. You can create a profitable business even if you’re only selling at an artisanal level, but you could also step up. There are plenty of success stories in the food industry world. In this blog, we’re going to look at some of the key things that you’ll need to keep in mind when trying to build your food product business.
Understand The Market
First of all, you’ll need to understand the market that you’re thinking of getting involved in. We say ‘the food industry,’ but that is, of course, highly varied and broad. You might be trying to sell hot sauce, jams, drinks, bread — it could be anything! Whatever it is, you’ll want to look at what’s already out there, how much they’re selling for, if there’s any space in the market, things like that. The presence of competition should not necessarily put you off, however — it could be a sign that those types of products are doing extremely well, such as the case with craft beer.
All Above Board
There will be plenty of rules and regulations that you need to follow if you’re bringing a food product to market. The food industry has tight rules, and you can understand why. If there’s one mistake, then people could get hurt, and nobody wants that. Before you dive too deep into your planning, make sure you have a solid grasp of everything you need to do to be on the right side of the law. This will include looking at production laws, what you need to include on the label, things like that.
From Idea to the Shelf
Taking your food product from the initial idea to the shelf is a process. At the very beginning is making sure that your product is good; would you want to buy it, for instance? Is it something that people will pay for? Let’s assume that it is. Now that you’ve got the product, you’ll need to think about getting it out into the world. You’ll need to work with a company that specialises in food and beverage packaging, in order to ensure that your product looks appealing to customers. You’ll also need to come up with a solid business plan, which will help you to figure out how much your product should cost.
Company Branding
Finally, you’ll want to think about your overall company branding. Your product can’t sell itself all on its own; you’ll need to build the marketing world around the product. This means having a website that is in line with the colours and style of your product, and which also offers useful information, such as recipe ideas, nutritional information, and other things that allow customers to get the best from your product.
(Cover Image Source: Pexels)