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

Day (Irish soda bread, shamrock cookies, and anything green), Easter (put together baskets with pastel-colored candy and cookies), Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations, and graduation cakes.

      4.4c Summer

      Summer is the time for fresh fruit and farmers’ markets; Canada Day celebrations (red and white); Fourth of July celebrations (anything red, white, and blue); and picnic or backyard barbecues where handheld foods (brownies and cookies) are great options.

      4.4d Fall

      Think of “harvest” for fall. Mixing together different kinds of produce in your muffins and sweet breads makes for great sellers. Add apples and pears to your products, and for Halloween, use pumpkin to flavor your baked goods.

      4.5 Fashionable foods

      There’s always something new and trendy with foods. Look regularly at food magazines and keep an eye on the covers of consumer magazines. Watch the Food Network. Skim new cookbook titles and read newspaper food columns. Get a subscription to Modern Baking or a similar trade magazine, and visit Internet food sites and online bakeries. The websites for some of these are listed in the Resources section.

      4.6 Gift packages

      People are always looking for gifts, and food is often the choice since it’s “one size fits all.” Any of your food items can be placed in trays, tins, baskets, and boxes for a special look. Section 2.3 in Chapter 7 has packaging suggestions, and sections 2.8, 2.9 and 2.10 in Chapter 9 have numerous ideas for marketing your gift packages.

      5. The “New” Catering

      The catering industry has been undergoing a change. In the past it was considered a full-service business and included menu development, event planning, extensive equipment, and numerous employees. Complete meals were prepared in a licensed kitchen facility, then transported to another location for consumption.

      The concept of catering now incorporates an abbreviated form. A self-described caterer can exclude the full-service side and provide only the preparation of take-out type foods and meal parts. This is often called home meal replacement (HMR), a term used in the supermarket industry. These days, customers might say they need a caterer when they simply want someone to prepare a tray of muffins, sandwiches, or desserts.

      When checking with your local health department or licensing agency, make sure you understand the terminology. Laws for the traditional catering license are often different from a license for cooking and baking, so it’s up to you to understand what the difference is where you live. In my locality, the home kitchen is never acceptable for catering but can be approved for home baking, with restrictions on meat and dairy products. My inspector was very strict in that I’m not allowed to “cater” in my home kitchen, but with a baking permit I’m allowed to prepare certain meals or meal parts. For example, preparing a vegan meal or some vegetarian meals is acceptable. I’m just not allowed to use the word “cater.”

      With prepared foods continuing to hold a large market share, the business opportunities are extraordinary. Regardless of our economic times, offices always order food for meetings, and working adults favor dinners-to-go or meal parts. If you bake traditional breakfast fare (e.g., muffins, sweet breads, coffee cakes), you might be able to advertise breakfast catering. Items you don’t make, such as Danish pastries or bagels, might be sold along with cream cheese, fruit, and juices. Hot beverages can be made on-site. If you have an ethnic specialty or make health-oriented foods that are low-calorie, allergy-free, vegetarian, or vegan, you can cater these items.

      If you decide that this line of business is for you but your home kitchen cannot be licensed, read Chapter 1, section 2., about renting space. If a full catering business is your goal, begin here and see how you like the work. Self-Counsel Press has a book, Start & Run a Catering Business, that could help you start your own catering business if you decide it’s right for you.

      The following is a brief list of menu items, many of which you probably prepare at home for family meals. This kind of catered food does not need to be fancy. Most customers are more interested in food that tastes good (with familiar flavors) rather than cuisine that sounds exotic.

      • Canapés, crudités, hors d’oeuvres: Most of these items are miniature versions of traditional foods. Add as many local and seasonal items as available.

      • Soups, stews, chili: 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.