03-04-2015, 06:56 PM
I know a bit but have never brought a product to the marketplace from inception.
Many people start out by selling the item at farmer's markets and local coffee shops and cafes. It will give you a good idea about what your production time and actual costs may be. Will also give you an idea about interest and how much you can really charge vs what you think you can charge.
The local laws will vary about selling food items made at home so be sure to look into health laws.
There are MANY private label food packaging and manufacturing companies out there. Some do manufacturing and packaging and distribution and some only handle one or two of those things.
Your recipe for mass production will be different than what you make for small batch release.
To adhere with food safety labeling regulations (again, these vary) you may have to have your product sent to a lab for analysis and this can be very costly.
Your costs for raw materials will obviously vary in small batch vs big batch. If you find a special ingredient that you deem key to your production, make sure your supplier can handle the business.
Getting "shelf space" in a big supermarket chain is a tough business. Again, there are companies that specialize in this. If you have a local grocery store, start there. See if you can take the manager out for a cup of coffee and pick his/her brain. Some Whole Foods give opportunities to local merchants. You might want to explore that option as well.
This is a local company that has a product in national distribution now. The company they partnered with is on their website
http://www.kimandscotts.com/about/our-story/
Here's a story about another local company, SkinnyPop
http://www.ta.com/News/SkinnyPop-Press-Release.aspx
I'm sure I'll think of other things but these came to mind quickly.
DM
Many people start out by selling the item at farmer's markets and local coffee shops and cafes. It will give you a good idea about what your production time and actual costs may be. Will also give you an idea about interest and how much you can really charge vs what you think you can charge.
The local laws will vary about selling food items made at home so be sure to look into health laws.
There are MANY private label food packaging and manufacturing companies out there. Some do manufacturing and packaging and distribution and some only handle one or two of those things.
Your recipe for mass production will be different than what you make for small batch release.
To adhere with food safety labeling regulations (again, these vary) you may have to have your product sent to a lab for analysis and this can be very costly.
Your costs for raw materials will obviously vary in small batch vs big batch. If you find a special ingredient that you deem key to your production, make sure your supplier can handle the business.
Getting "shelf space" in a big supermarket chain is a tough business. Again, there are companies that specialize in this. If you have a local grocery store, start there. See if you can take the manager out for a cup of coffee and pick his/her brain. Some Whole Foods give opportunities to local merchants. You might want to explore that option as well.
This is a local company that has a product in national distribution now. The company they partnered with is on their website
http://www.kimandscotts.com/about/our-story/
Here's a story about another local company, SkinnyPop
http://www.ta.com/News/SkinnyPop-Press-Release.aspx
I'm sure I'll think of other things but these came to mind quickly.
DM