Many of us in the last year have considered ditching the 9-5 life and finally pursuing our dream careers. We all know how hard the pandemic has been on us, and many of us as a result have tried to start our own venture to become financially stable in our own right.
Today we want to talk specifically about food businesses. Whether you decide to make and sell cakes to order, open a cafe, or a restaurant; there are some important things to consider. Here we have some of the considerations and tips to take on board for your food business this year.
Invest in good equipment
The first step to starting a food business is making sure you have the best quality equipment to use. It is so important for you to use the right equipment for your business such as a commercial oven, copper pans, and ceramic crockpots. Make sure you kit out your kitchen the right way and invest in the best quality because these items will last a lot longer and save you money in the long term.
Make food ahead of time
When running a food business most of us may think that fresh is the best and easiest to do – but a lot of the time prep work can be completed ahead of time or whole meals can be cooked at the start of the day. For example if you run a cafe and you have a soup of the day; you could feasibly make the soup the night before or in the morning and have it ready on hand for those who want to order it. Consider getting your ingredients in advance. Another thing that will make your cooking process easier is buying things in a larger quantity, such as bulk chia seeds and oats. It is a great way to save money and ensure a steady supply of healthy ingredients. Vegetables can be prepped and kept in the fridge, and a lot of meals such as chilli or curry can be frozen to help you stay on top of your timing. Don’t worry too much about freezing foods as long as you make everything yourself. It is simply more practical for you and will allow you to serve more people throughout the day and serve a wider array of meals.
Hire friendly staff
When running a cafe or a restaurant it is crucial that you hire staff who enjoy talking to people and who are friendly. There is nothing worse than going to a cafe and being served by someone who is rude, and it will sour the experience for many people. Make sure the people you hire are good at talking to people and soon your food business will gain a good reputation in the community and you’ll become a popular lunch spot.
Be creative
The best part about running a food business is the creativity. As someone passionate about cooking or baking, it is your job to be as creative as you can and allow yourself to enjoy your job. Play around with ingredients and try new specialities on your menu now and again; it will not only drum up interest but it will also allow you to really enjoy your work and put your own stamp on it.
Ensure smart pricing
One of the most challenging aspects of opening a food business is often working out what price to charge for your food. It is important to strike a balance between profit and value for money – and sometimes looking at other people and their pricing will be useful for a point of reference.
Use good packaging
If you will be creating and packaging foods such as cakes, sandwiches or other treats – it is important to find a good food grade packaging supplier. Packaging is an important part of your process and you must invest in food safe packaging to ensure the safety of your products when you sell it on.
Offer takeaways
It became apparent in 2020 just how important takeaways can be for the hospitality business and as a food business you should consider this as an option for your customers. Whether they come to collect food from you or you deliver; takeaways can really amp up your profits and help you to become more successful. It is important to offer a service like this because if anything such as the pandemic happens again you already have a plan in place to make money and stay in business.
Use freelance drivers
One helpful way to deliver your food is to join a freelance network such as Uber Eats and allow them to take deliveries for you. It is much cheaper than hiring your own delivery drivers and you will likely get more than orders due to the advertising on their site.
Get online.
Many food companies believe that their online presence is not important, especially if they are focusing on conquering the local market. However, this is simply not the case. In fact, your online presence is more important than ever – and can be used to generate hype around your food, build a loyal following, and can ultimately take your brand to the next level. This is due to the simple fact that your online presence – whether that be a social media page or a website – puts your business on the map. It also makes you appear more credible and trustworthy.
If you still aren’t convinced, just look at any of the small food businesses that have flourished after pictures of their food or their recipes have gone viral online. This kind of attention could give your business the push it needs to turn into a franchise. However, getting online in 2021 requires more than posting a few insta pics and hoping for the best – you need to find a way to make your socials work for you. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by working with a small business seo company that can do the hard work on your behalf – ensuring that you appear more often in Google searches & more.
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