Starting a business is one of the most exciting things that anyone can do in their adult life. Running a business can really allow you to try to do things your way which may be the most effective method. During the 2020 and 2021 pandemic, it gave people more time to do hobbies and discover their new talents or passions, one popular one being food. Thousands of people took the plunge and begin their businesses, and one of these would include food-related businesses.
If you go onto social media such as TikTok, you’ll be met with plenty of online food-related businesses from bakeries, strawberry-dipped chocolate, and so much more. Long were the days where people needed to have a storefront in order to create their food business, it’s not easier than ever thanks to the web. If you’re looking to create your very own food business then this is the post for you.
Find out what your niche is
When it comes to any business, regardless of whether it’s in the food industry or not, you need to have a niche. Having a niche will allow you to excel at what you do best, this is going to be what you’re known for. Plus, this is going to help you figure out who your target audience is. When it comes to a business, it’s best to not go broad. Think about cafes or your favorite restaurants, they tend to have a specified niche as well. If you’re wanting to sell chocolate bars, then why also add pickles to the mix? You want to have a solid foundation and having a niche is going to help you get there.
What are you good at?
If you’re wanting to become a baker and sell luxury donuts then you need to be good at making them, right? The word for food businesses, especially online ones, the word travels fast. You want to make sure you do a great job at what you’re doing. Businesses take a lot of time and money as an investment and in order to ensure that your business is a success, you need to know that this is something you’re great at. It’s also important to know that you’ll also continue improving over time as well.
Market research
If you already know what you’re wanting to make and sell for your business then it’s best to test out its viability. Is there a market in your area for this product? Is there a market at all for this product? If you’re bringing a product into a saturated market then how can you make your product and your business differ from all the rest? Sometimes within markets, there are untapped niches or even a sub-audience, is this something that you can reach? Other questions to ask yourself would be:
- Will you be shipping or will there be pickup?
- If you plan to ship, how far can your product be shipped?
- What’s in your product?
- Are there any legalities for your products?
- What’s the shelf life or fragility?
- Will it require refrigeration?
- There may be a lot of questions to ask yourself, but they need to be answered.
- The products used for your business
Regardless of whether your business will ship the product or will allow pick/drop off, the products for the product need to be kept in mind. If you’re making and selling multiple products, then what is going to go into the product? How will you buy the ingredients needed? Where can you buy these ingredients? Something else to keep in mind would be food safe packaging. No matter the food you’re making, there still needs to be packaging. Do you plan to have your branding on the packaging?
Website
Having a good website is important, and this is something that many business owners still neglect to do. Having your own website is easier now more than ever thanks to websites such as Shopify and WordPress. You could alternatively hire something such as a web design, but more small business owners tend to find themselves being able to navigate building their website by themselves.
Marketing
Even before you completely begin launching your business, it’s important to strategize how you’re going to market yourself. The first thing that you should begin doing once you decide your product and niche would be your brand. It’s best to understand that branding is more than just a logo or slogan, this represents who you are and it represents the business in its entirety. When it comes to your brand, think about who your audience is and the way you’d like to approach them. Your brand needs to relate to you, your product, and your target audience.