Food services are rightfully considered one of the most promising in business, because the need for food is one of the first human needs, and it will satisfy it, regardless of other factors and situations. Therefore, the idea of a business based on providing food to the population is always relevant and can be a good start. One of the directions is the creation of ready-made salads, they are quite in demand among the common population and especially among office workers who need cheap and simple food that you can eat at your lunch break.
The market situation is such that in any large city there are already companies that are engaged in the production and sale of ready-made salads. In small towns, it is often not always possible to find such an offer, and a ready-made salad is inherently a perishable product, the optimal shelf life is up to 36 hours, after which the product must be removed from sale. In this regard, the company can operate only within a small territory, transportation to other settlements not only increases the cost of production, but also takes a lot of time, which is critical in this case. But even in a big city, where more than one competitor is already working, there is a chance to take its place in the market. After all, the consumer needs a sufficient assortment of products, and not every company offers a large menu, moreover, most manufacturers produce 5-10 positions, and some even less.
Of course, it is impossible to reach all consumers with such a proposal, although a significant part of people prefer the classic salads that every self-respecting company has in production. However, a novice can get a competitive advantage in many ways, the easiest way is to reduce prices, at least for the first time, while there is a need to enter the market. An important indicator is the quality of salads, it is not always possible to find a really tasty product, which at the same time is safe for health. The manufacturer can add preservatives to their salads to increase the shelf life, but they are not always harmful to the end user.
You should also take into account the fact that the emergence of a new player is complicated by the need to obtain a large number of permits from government bodies, moreover, afterwards it is necessary to undergo constant checks by regulatory organizations. All this applies to an entrepreneur who has already entered the market and is trying to develop, but not everyone knows how to cope with difficulties, and the provision of catering services is still not the easiest thing. Therefore, having studied the market and the positions of competitors, you can find the optimal path for your development, while sometimes you can even coexist with other manufacturers in the same territory, offering, for example, a completely different menu and thus attracting completely different consumers.
To get started, you need to register as a business entity. If you plan to open an enterprise with a small volume of production, the owner of which will be only the businessman himself, then he can, for ease of registration and reduce his costs, become an individual entrepreneur. The advantage of this form and in the simple reporting procedure, the individual entrepreneur can manage the revenue, he is deprived of the need to pay his own wages, as happens within the legal entity. But if there is still a need to register a legal entity, then it is better to choose the form of a limited liability company. Both IP and LLC have the right to use a simplified taxation system, transferring to the state’s benefit no more than 6% of revenues or 15% of operating profit. This activity falls under the definition (OKPD 2) 56.29 Other nutrition services, although other classifiers may be selected depending on the format of their activities.
However, after registration, some difficulties begin, because to open your own company, which is engaged in the production of food products, you need to get more than one permit. In fact, the company must undergo compliance with sanitary standards, this request should be addressed to the local office of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare. The entire food industry today takes into account the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union, but in the case of working with only one salad, you can do with a notification to the regulatory authorities about the opening of its production. There are also technical specifications (TU) for salads, but there are no state standards, and they must be taken into account when creating products. Products undergo examination, and here it is better to initially create a menu completely, including dishes that are not planned to be made at first, but in the long term. This is necessary in order to get a general opinion on all products and not to undergo repeated examination.
Next, you need to get a sanitary-epidemiological permit, which is issued only if the enterprise meets all the norms and rules. This includes all the natural requirements for maintaining cleanliness, carrying out deratization and disinfection measures, but requirements for the separation of technical zones can also be put forward. That is, the kitchen itself, the refrigerator, the washing unit and other rooms should be divided among themselves. It is necessary to find a company that will be involved in waste collection and, of course, it is necessary to ensure complete fire safety. Only an organization that meets all the requirements can receive all permits and legally engage in its activities.
An entrepreneur also needs to think about taking labor protection measures, because employees and entrepreneurs involved in the food production industry are checked especially carefully. And finally, it should be noted that each region of this country may have its own requirements for regulatory bodies, sometimes significantly different from general ones. Therefore, the best solution to this issue is to contact the local regulatory authorities as soon as possible and immediately collect all the information about the requirements and conditions.
You can also contact specialized companies that provide assistance in obtaining this or that document, but in this case you need to rely on additional expenses. This issue is perhaps the most important at the stage of organization, without its decision to engage in its activities will not work, sooner or later a company that operates illegally will be discovered, and the entrepreneur in the most favorable case will get off with a large fine.
The following is a search for a place for your production. Here you need to look for a place that is convenient for the subsequent distribution of finished products to points of sale. Some entrepreneurs open some semblance of a canteen, starting a small production in a mass gathering place and selling salads directly at retail, but this format of work has some drawbacks, the most important of which is the lack of development and a knowingly small number of consumers. That is, this option is suitable only for those who want to engage in small production. Salads are usually sold in bulk to retailers. Thus, the entrepreneur himself determines the place where it will be convenient for him to work, and then deliver the goods, many start such a business almost at home, erecting production facilities on their own site.
However, it is unlikely that it will be possible to work only in the kitchen, in this case there will be no main thing - large volumes of production, and competitors will easily bypass the entrepreneur. This format of work, when a businessman and his family make salads and take them to the shops, may be relevant only in some small cities, but in general he has already outlived himself.
The room itself may be of different sizes, but it directly affects the possible volume of production. The best option is to rent a canteen that is no longer working, possibly from the Soviet era, because in this case premises that were originally designed for food production and divided among themselves according to all the rules will be transferred to the disposal. But for large volumes of production, a sufficiently large workshop will be required, which can occupy more than 100 square meters, on this territory several tons of salads can be produced monthly, and it is precisely these sales volumes that can make such a business highly profitable.
You also need to allocate space for the warehouse complex, but first of all, the warehouse is needed for raw materials, but not for finished products, you need to immediately deliver it to retail outlets, only in this case you can achieve a quick turnover of your funds. Delaying finished products at the warehouse leads to costs, so you also need to take care of organizing your own fleet of vehicles, because not every retailer will be able to pick up goods directly from the factory. Moreover, not a single retailer, except perhaps a very large one, would like to cooperate with a company that cannot supply him with products on its own. Therefore, the territory of its complex can occupy a plot of several hundred square meters, and for the organization of such production it will be necessary to allocate several million rubles. Of course, a small production can be opened for a couple of hundred thousand rubles, but in this case it is supposed to use mainly manual labor, which affects the volume of delivered products.
In this regard, today complete lines for the production of ready-made salads have already been developed. They represent a few machines that perform almost all processes - from peeling vegetables and cooking and frying to slicing and mixing, followed by placement in the intended container. The cost of such a line can vary greatly depending on the configuration, the calculated loads and the manufacturer, the most expensive are European cars, the Chinese and Russian devices are the cheapest, and the difference for similar full products can be several times. The manufacturer usually supports the possibility of individual selection of the complete set of the line, so that you can assemble devices that are necessary only for their own production. However, it should be borne in mind that the production line is almost always assembled only on order, which means that it takes time to manufacture, deliver and install it. The cost of such equipment starts at about 100 thousand rubles per machine; washing baths and some other auxiliary devices are cheaper.
Separately, refrigeration equipment is purchased, a room is allocated a considerable size for a refrigerated warehouse, and it should be located in close proximity to production. Refrigeration equipment is also purchased in your own truck, where goods will be transported to retail outlets. It is better to start the purchase of equipment only after information on the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor and other inspection bodies has been received, because then only those machines that meet these requirements can be assembled. As a result, the cost of the line itself, its transportation and installation will cost several hundred thousand rubles or even millions, the amount varies depending on the configuration, so sometimes it is possible to save, but for large volumes and a normal assortment range, a significant amount of investment is required.
The next question is personnel. Typically, an enterprise in a given industry, despite its apparent complexity, does not employ too many people. If the process is automated, then only a few operators are needed who monitor the equipment, load raw materials and control the process. Manual labor is usually minimal here, although there are machines that work only with cleaned or heat-treated products. However, if home production is opened, where all the equipment is a food processor, knives and other kitchen utensils, then many people may be required to quickly create the right amount of salads.
We must not forget that all employees who take part directly in the production process, that is, deal with vegetables and other products, must have sanitary books and work only in a special form. Hygiene is above all.
Drivers for transport will be needed. The remaining employees are engaged in administrative and organizational work, special attention should be paid to sales representatives who will find new points of sale of products and promote it among traders. However, the entrepreneur himself will almost certainly deal with all these issues at first, because at first there should not be too many products, which means that it is not difficult to cope with such work alone.
All other business processes that are not related to profit-making by the organization should be outsourced. This is the already mentioned labor protection, bookkeeping, ensuring safety and security, garbage collection and cleaning of the territory and premises. You will almost certainly have to collaborate with a large number of third-party organizations, but this significantly reduces costs.
Usually in such a business, the product reaches the final consumer, bypassing only one intermediary. That is, the manufacturer passes the product to the retailer, and the end consumers are already buying salads from him. Sometimes a wholesale intermediary is added to this chain who works with retail, acquiring a large batch of goods from the manufacturer. As already noted, it is usually not advisable to engage in retail sales independently, that is, the manufacturer must find enough partners. They will even become ordinary grocery stores in which ordinary people often buy familiar and simple salads.
If the point is not far from large offices or just in business districts, then a significant part of the office workers will buy salads at their breaks, this applies to those who can not afford lunch in a cafe or restaurant. You can even try to go out to the canteens at enterprises and even entrepreneurs who offer hot lunches right in the office. If they do not have any salads on the menu, then you can agree on cooperation.
But where it almost certainly will not be possible to go is to large retail chains. Typically, such large players have long been producing salads on their own, in hypermarkets and even the kitchen is organized immediately, which allows customers to purchase the freshest product. However, even in this case, the distribution network is sufficient to sell all its products without experiencing serious problems due to the inability to cooperate with hypermarkets.
It should also be noted that in this business a certain percentage of products sold will be returned, because a rare outlet will agree to suffer losses due to unsold products due to the short shelf life of the products. Sometimes this figure can reach 10%.
The profitability of large-scale production is about 10-15%, the payback period can reach up to 2-3 years. Home production, if it turned out to be relevant, usually pays for itself in a few months, and profitability is several times greater, but there are no prospects if you do not invest serious funds in development. Such a business can be expanded due to the subsequent creation of ready meals, which you can simply warm up and get already meat dishes with a side dish. But this is a little more complicated production.
Matthias Laudanum (c) www.clogicsecure.com - A portal to small business business plans and guides08/18/2019