How to Start a Seasoning Business

Saturday, February 21, 2015

How to Start a Seasoning Business

Seasoning is the process of adding salt, herbs, or spices to food to enhance the flavor. Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". However, Larousse Gastronomique states that "to season and to flavor are not the same thing", insisting that seasoning includes a large or small amount of salt being added to a preparation. Salt may be used to draw out water, or to magnify a natural flavor of a food making it richer or more delicate, depending on the dish. This type of procedure is akin to curing. For instance, sea salt (a coarser-grained salt) is rubbed into chicken, lamb, and beef to tenderize the meat and improve flavor. Other seasonings like black pepper and basil transfer some of their flavor to the food. A well designed dish may combine seasonings that complement each other. In addition to the choice of herbs and seasoning, the timing of when flavors are added will affect the food that is being cooked. In some cultures, meat may be seasoned by pouring sauce over the dish at the table. A variety of seasoning techniques exist in various cultures.

Spices and dried herbs wrapped up in neat packages make cooking more convenient. Some people are a little confused on which herbs go with what foods or how to use a certain group of seasonings. For example, cumin and cilantro are mainstays of Mexican and Southwest dishes but many cooks unfamiliar with those cuisines don't know that. Your seasoning business helps them select the right spices and helps your bank account grow.

Things You'll Need

Seasoning Business Instruction:

Step 1

Research what licensing is required in your area. Mixing dried spices for seasoning packets may, or may not, require that your facilities be inspected and approved by the county or state health department. Get a business license and register the business name with the secretary of state's office. If you plan to sell the seasonings to the general public, rather than selling wholesale, you will need a reseller's license. The collected sales tax is remitted to the state. Some cities require that you get a separate business license from them as well.

Step 2

Convert your seasoning mix recipes to larger quantities. It's important you measure each ingredient. Customers will expect every package to be exactly the same. Determine the ideal size of a batch of seasonings. Some spices are heavier than others and will sink toward the bottom of the mixture while the lighter ones will float towards the top. A 5 gallon container may be too large to ensure all ingredients are properly mixed, while a 2 gallon bowl is ideal.

Step 3

Set up a work area where you will put together your seasonings, package and label the products. Determine if there is enough storage area for the bulk seasonings and to store the ready to sell packages.

Step 4

Set up vendor sources and suppliers. Base your decision on the quality of the product, delivery time, price and shipping costs. Also consider what the minimum purchase is. If you're on a tight budget you may want to do business with a vendor that has higher prices but only requires that you purchase $30 of products as opposed to a vendor with lower prices but with a minimum order of $100.

Step 5

Contact potential marketplaces such as arts and crafts shows, cookware shops and upscale grocers. Seasonings are lightweight, don't perish and don't require much packaging. Selling directly to the customer through a website is a viable option.

Step 6

Create marketing materials such as fliers, brochures and business cards. Consider putting together a recipe booklet with suggestions on how to use your spice packets. Consider giving demonstrations to clubs, associations and women's groups.

Tips & Warning:

Start with blends that are used in popular cuisines, such as Italian and Southwest. These have ready markets.

Try each of your blends in several of your own dishes to make sure the ingredients are in the right proportions.

Do your homework before you start your spice business. Know what your product will be, who your customers are, and how you will market.

Design labels that are attractive and memorable and include on the label how the customer can order more. The labels should be consistent across your product line so customers recognize that the products are yours.

If you're required to get special licenses, don't think you can slide under the radar because you're a small business. The penalties and fines can erase whatever profit you may have gained.

If you use a lot of hot pepper spices in your foods, cut down on the amount of hot spices in the recipe fro your packaged spice blend or make it clear

References

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Saturday, February 21, 2015