Start & Run a Home-Based Food Business. Mimi Shotland Fix

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СКАЧАТЬ You can make seasonal vegetable stews, cold summer soups, or any number of things that need a spoon. It’s best to deliver soups and stews hot, but it’s not always possible to do so. If foods need reheating, use microwavable containers.

      • Salads: There are a variety of salads you can make, including pasta salad, mixed seasonal fruit, bean, and classic green. Make sure you give customers a choice between at least two different dressings. You could also provide small rolls or biscuits to accompany each serving.

      • Sandwiches: If you don’t make bread, use bakery bread from another business. Try to avoid factory produced sliced breads. Avoiding these reinforces the idea that you are a homemade food business. Create boxed or bag lunches for meetings and gatherings of any type.

      • Strudels and stuffed breads: Savory fillings rolled up in pastry or bread doughs are unusual variations to the typical sandwich; they also work well as dinner entrées. The fillings can be as simple as slices of cheese and vegetables, but in this unusual form, these products seem special.

      • Desserts: In addition to any items from your product line, offer seasonal fresh fruit bowls; fruit trifles; or gooey, sticky, and messy foods not typically offered by businesses. A variety is always good to have — people like to have choice.

      For all your menu items, it’s your responsibility to think about what the customers need to fully enjoy your service. Envision what happens once they have your food. Do the provisions need reheating? Are serving utensils necessary? What about condiments or plates? The purpose of “catering” is to cater to the customer’s basic needs and then go the extra mile. Provide a garbage bag for the customer’s convenience.

      Provide a handout with written instructions, details about your menu, and an expression of thanks for the business. Call the customer a few days later and ask if everything was okay. Following up with a phone call shows you go the extra mile and encourages future business.

      6. Things to Consider before You Decide on a Product Niche

      By now you should have a list of product possibilities. Keep these products in mind when you read through Chapter 9 about where to find customers. Every food niche has pros and cons, so it’s important to select the best fit for your interests, lifestyle, and goals. Before you settle on your product line, there are some miscellaneous issues to consider which might not be obvious to those without a background in the food industry. None of the following issues are insurmountable, but they are issues you might need to address.

      6.1 Foods that are labor intensive

      When you look at different products and particular recipes, always think about how much work it is to create and if the potential result is worth it. For a brief time I created jelly-roll style cakes and hated making every single fussy one. At one time I briefly considered baking angel food cakes, but I hated separating yolks and whites and finding something to do with the leftover yolks. Unless you really love to work with fussy foods, think about all the implications when you read recipes.

      Yeast breads are labor intensive, need a long rise and bake time, and take up a lot of space in your oven. Artisan breads made from a sourdough starter are even more time-consuming. Both kinds of breads need a dedicated approach, so if you choose foods in this category, price your products so that you’ll make money.

      Fine-quality chocolate needs tempering, which is a special handling process. Learn about this technique before deciding on candy, dipped items, or chocolate-covered cakes and pastries. Investigate the faux (dipping) chocolates, which are of a different quality but are easier to handle.

      6.2 Consider the shelf life

      Shelf life refers to how long a product can sit on the shelf and still be considered fresh. There is a public misconception about what it means to be “fresh” and “day old.” Every product has its own shelf life and every recipe is different, so you’ll need to do some testing.

      As a general rule, long shelf-life items are granolas, biscotti, fruitcakes, most candies, and preserved or canned fruits and vegetables. Many people make long shelf-life items and stockpile their wares until the selling season arrives.

      Short shelf-life items include breakfast pastries, fresh fruit pies, and recipes that state, “best eaten when warm.”

      6.3 Copyright issues on character cake pans

      Be aware of copyright fees on licensed character cake pans. Chatacter cake pans are pans shaped like known figures in popular culture such as Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, etc. These pans are meant for personal use only, not for selling the cakes you make with them. Even retail bakeries are under restrictions and must pay huge royalty fees for using them. Companies owning these copyrights are protective and will pursue individuals for copyright infringement.

      If you are interested in selling character cakes, I suggest you create your own character design or use shaped, novelty cake pans not restricted by copyright. To know which pans are restricted, visit the Wilton website and view the shaped pans section. The restricted pans will state, “For home use only.”

      6.4 Limit your products in the beginning

      When you’re just starting your business, it’s best to limit the number of products you sell. If you have one thing that you already make very well, start by capitalizing on that. Until you have more experience, this will help you concentrate on learning the business. Especially if you’re doing it part time to supplement your income, start with a small number (e.g., two or three at the most); if you’re aiming for a full-scale business, try starting with fewer items and add on slowly as you get a sense of how much you can handle and what products sell better. If you produce fewer items, you will naturally limit the number of different ingredients, packaging materials, and labels you’ll need.

      If you want to offer variety, make a line extension. A line extension is a slight variation on what you already produce. Sugar cookies can become snickerdoodles by adding a cinnamon and sugar topping, or a plain muffin batter can yield both blueberry and chocolate chip muffins. Even plain pickles with the addition of spices can help you offer several choices. Providing choice for the customer is also a good sales tool. The customer asks, “Which one do I want?” which encourages a more positive thought process than, “Do I want this or not?”

      Don’t discard an idea because it seems too simple. Everyone makes impulse purchases for items that are convenient or that they don’t make for themselves, such as coffee and Rice Krispies® bars.

      7. Create a Signature Product

      A signature product is something you make that no on else does. It can take a few years for your signature product to get recognition, but you can generate steady business with a product uniquely yours. If you already have a secret recipe, dress it up so that it looks and tastes different than everyone else’s. Or look around in cookbooks and magazines, and search the Internet for ideas. The trick is to take an idea and make it your own. Even if you have always been better at copying than creating, ask for suggestions from friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors, and experiment from there.

      With no competition for your product, you can charge more and encourage repeat specialty orders. Ideally, your signature product would be a must-have for certain occasions — perhaps a Pink Champagne Cake for Mother’s Day, a specialty Breakfast Bread Basket СКАЧАТЬ