New Food Business Startup Checklist

Want to start a food business? 1.    Business and Marketing Plan. Preliminarily, even just brainstorming ideas on paper to create a basic foundation is a good start. Unless you are planning on getting an SBA loan or funding from Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, etc. then you don’t have to have a formally completed business plan to get started. A business plan is great to put your ideas and vision on paper, but most of the time it will be pretty fluid during the first year or two – so don’t waste too much time stressing about it. Now, if you are seeking outside funding/financing to launch your business, then you will certainly need a solid, polished food business plan . 2.    Establish business name. You can have a corporate name such as “Your Name Foods Incorporated” and a different brand name (or names) such as “XYZ Sweets” for your products. Setting up your business name this way is a good idea if you plan on introducing brand extensions at a later time that are completely different from your first line (i.e. you start with a line of salsas and sauces but then introduce a different line of baked goods a year later). A good example of this is Bodine Specialty Foods (corporate name) who produces several lines, including their “RC Buck’s” line, their “Cocktail Dancers” line, and their “Memphis Mojo” line, just to name a few. It is strongly suggested to trademark your business and (and eventually product/brand names), which can be done online here: www.uspto.gov 3.    Business filing (Sole-proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, etc). Before filing, you will need to register for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) which can be done online at the IRS website here. It is then advised to consult with a CPA to determine best option for your business structure and state in which you conduct business. Your CPA can do the filing for you, but you can also do it on your own (and save some money in the process) at sites like www.incfile.com once the filing status has been chosen. 4.    Manufacturing: Self or Co-pack? It is recommended to make this decision as early as possible. This can be one of the most difficult and frustrating parts of launching a food product. •    Self-manufacturing: will you be building/customizing your own facility, renting a commercial kitchen, or using a shared commercial kitchen? Your facility will need to comply with health standards and will need inspection from the local health department. •    Using a co-packer: a co-packer (contract packaging company) is a company that will produce your product for you in large quantities for a fee. Most co-packers produce their own line of branded products, but aren’t operating at full capacity – so they also produce other products to maximize their production facilities’ efficiency. Consider different production obstacles your products may encounter (i.e. products with meat and dairy will require USDA certified facilities, not just FDA certified). It is always preferable to find a local co-packer within a reasonable driving distance for testing and quality control purposes. Co-packers provide a great advantage when getting started as they typically have a food-scientist/technologist on staff that can help you with your recipe and regulatory issues (shelf-stability, compliance, etc). *Get help understanding the ‘ins and outs’ of manufacturing food products . 4a. Product liability insurance. You will need to get product liability insurance to protect your business. This can be attained from most insurance companies with most policies offering coverage in the $500k-$2MM range. 5.    Logo and Branding. This is the face of your business/products, and must be done with great consideration and planning. Your logo and brand should be something that can implemented with consistency throughout all literatures and sales channels such as your packaging/labeling, letterhead, business cards, sales materials, order forms, and website. Get help with food logo design and food branding . 6.    Packaging/Labeling: if using the services of a co-packer, they will likely have many resources for bottling/packaging to fit your needs. If you plan using a non-standard package/bottle/jar, make sure you check with the co-packer to see if they can fill that type of container. Some co-packers offer nutritional label & ingredient statement analysis services, but most of the time you will need to take your recipe to a 3rd party labeling company. LabelCalc is our preferred provider of nutritional labeling and ingredient statement labeling services. In addition to the nutritional/ingredient labeling, it is recommended to attain UPC codes for each of your SKUs. There are a number of resources available online for UPC codes, and surprisingly, the process and turn-around time is quite simple, quick, and reasonably priced. Once you have your nutritional/ingredient statement labels and UPC labels, you will need to find a company that help with your food label design. 7.    Website , Sales Materials Business Cards, etc 8.    Time to Market and Sell! http://www.gourmetbusinesssolutions.com/new-food-business-services-51?task=view