Whether you have an extraordinary family recipe, or an innovative idea for a food product that you think others might enjoy, you need to take some steps before launching your business into the market. Here are 5 crucial points you need to know this in order to make it a reality:
1. Test your product
Maybe your idea is very creative, or your recipe tastes great, but it doesn't mean you can sell it profitably. You’ll need to do the necessary work of market testing.
Get to know your target market, what type of consumers will buy your product. Take a look around your competition, what the prices are in your marketplace, and where competing products are being sold.
And test your recipe, this can be something informal such as selling it at a street fair or farmer’s market. It's great to meet and greet customers, and see their reaction to it, in-person, allowing them to provide valuable feedback.
2. Costs
No matter which path you choose for your food product launching, local distribution or major national chains, you need to work out the cost that is going to be involved with getting your new product to market – as well as the operating costs that will take place when the product is available.
It’s important to consider all the costs that go into making any delicious food product. The cost of production for your item per unit, as well as wholesale, also the suggested retail price, labor costs, facility costs, marketing costs, and don’t forget the insurance costs.
For example, if you’re making gluten free cookies, you will need to buy ingredients and packaging, print up labels, rent a space for production and storage of the finished product and more. Altogether, these expenses can add up.
3. Be aware of State’s regulations
Learn about food regulations in your state. Regulations vary by state, and you may be required to obtain specific permits, such as a food enterprise license, or to rent a commercial kitchen to produce your food. However, if you are making your product in a home kitchen, you may be exempt from some regulations. Before you begin manufacturing your product for selling in stores, familiarize yourself with which rules will apply to you.
You can learn more about the State Retail and Food Service Codes and Regulations by State in the FDA’s website.
Remember you can count on the expertise of food consultants to guide you through every step, explain to you all the regulations and help you decide the best path for your business.
4. Shelf-life is a biggie!
Once your idea takes off, you will need to know the shelf-life of your product in order to include a ̈Best By ̈ date, or ̈Sell Before ̈ date on your packaging (depending on your product).
The shelf-life of your product will be affected depending on the manufacturing process, ingredients and packaging solutions. Keeping this in mind in the early stages of product development will eliminate this roadblock in the future when you are ready to produce and sell your products. This will also help you plan your production schedule and minimize loss.
You’ll need a certified Food Testing laboratory to conduct these tests, it’s a good thing to invest in shelf life testing, the more you know about your product the easier it will be to sell. Just have your final packaging ready before these tests, it’s important to send the samples in the final package to get the most accurate results.
Don’t worry, Roybal Food Consulting can help you with this and all the steps, from sending samples to our lab, to helping you understand the results, we are here to help you.
5. Food Labeling, a must!
In today’s market, it’s essential to address regulatory issues associated with food labeling and the manufacturing process. Become familiar with USDA and FDA guidelines concerning the production and sales of food, including safety and sanitation regulations, choosing appropriate packaging and how to properly label food products.
Have the Nutritional Information for your product even before you begin producing it! If you plan on selling your product at a retail store in the future, or even starting off at a Farmer ‘s Market, you want to be ready when a potential buyer is interested in your product. No matter where you produce your product, it will need a label that fully complies with the FDA labeling guidelines.
You might be interested in knowing about: Are restaurants required to provide nutritional information?
Having this ahead of time will ensure that you are ready to take the next leap into being a successful food manufacturer and save you time and energy down on the road.
Breaking through in an already saturated marketplace is no small task, and can be filled with many ups and downs, research and continual research and development. We totally understand and we are here to help!
At Roybal Food Consulting, we are dedicated to helping businesses and entrepreneurs bring exciting new food products to market. Schedule your free consultation now and make your food business grow.
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