- Did you know that the global market for condiments, sauces, dressings and seasonings is forecast to reach US$77.8 billion by the year 2017? This is spurred by growing demand for provocative, flavorful, and healthier food accompaniments.
- Did you know that the market for sauces, dressings and condiments in the UK increased at a compound annual growth rate of 4.9% between 2004-2009?
- Did you know that in UK only consumers spend up to £13 Million each week on condiments?
- Did you know that the wet cooking sauces category led the sauces, dressings and condiments market in the UK, accounting for share of 38.7%?
Basically What is a Condiment?
A condiment is a sauce, or seasoning added to food to impart a particular flavour or to complement the dish. Often pungent in flavour and therefore added in fairly small quantities, popular condiments include salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, olive oil, vinegar and sugar.
Why Condiments, Sauces, Dressings or Seasonings?
Condiments, sauces, dressings and seasoning are now an integral part of cooing for a long time. Additionally, rising popularity of convenience foods and fascination of ethnic cuisine, plus increasing health consciousness and the resultant growth in usage of condiments to spice up the bland health foods, are also proving to be major factors driving demand for condiments, sauces, dressings , and seasonings.
11 Little Known Steps You Must Follow To Start Up A Condiment Business.
Warning: You have to understand that as of 2007 the long life product has been in decline in sales but chilled product sales had increased by 18% between 2007 – 2008 and that number keeps on rising.
1. What’s Your Story?
- Why do you want to want to develop your own condiment? What have you identified that caused you to look around for a solution?
- Who is going to use your product? What’s on the market at the moment?
- How will your product differ from those already in the market?
- Understand really your market (Are you going for premium end / middle /low)?
- Allocate enough time her to start and articulate your idea. This should be between 3 – 12 months.
- This will help you to construct your business plan.
2. Understand Your Margin
- the costs of producing your product
- the costs of marketing your product
- the cost of distributing your product
- How do you want your product to look like?
- What impact do you want it to have on consumers?
- What Image do you want it to have?
- Identify a talented marketing person who will be working on your marketing strategies.
- Identify events such as food fairs, trade fairs to go to so that people might know about your product
- Start identify ways to educate your consumers about your new product.
3. Understand Your Finance
Condiment’s industry demands cash in hand. You will hardly get anything done before you pay someone and don’t expect to be paid immediately especially from big supermarket chains.
You should start identifying where you will be getting the capital to start up and the cash to keep you going in the first year. Being a risky industry and very competitive, please don’t leave it late to start looking for funds in the early stages.
4. Come Up With Your Unique Recipe
From the research that you have come up with, this is the time to make your recipes variations
5. Testing Your Product
With your recipes done, you now want to test your product. The best thing to do is to give it to your family members, friends and acquaintances and ask them what they think about the product.
Once they have tested the product, it will be ideal now to let the general public also do the testing.
6. Identifying A Name
How are you going to name your product? Do some brainstorming exercise, ask the general public what they think about names that you have come up. Always make sure that you involve people that are you are targeting.
7. Work On Your Brand
If you are not good at designing, you must do a research and identify brand designers companies that can help you within your limited budget.
8. Identifying A Manufacturing Company
Once you have your recipes and your product is branded, you are now ready to hunt for manufacturing companies that create sauces in bulk. This is not an easy task at all therefore you have to allocate enough time here to do an extensive research on manufacturing companies (understand how they work, their terms and conditions requirements)
It is also a good thing to identify who will be your suppliers and how you will work with them. Always be asking people questions; if one can not help you always ask if they know anyone who can do a good job of what you are looking.
9. Getting Your Product To The Supermarket
Warning!! Buyers are hardly impressed. They want to see a product well finished not a prototype.
On the 4 Th April 2012 BBC One broadcasted a programme known as BBC Apprentice during that week, they had a task of coming up with condiment business. One team had arranged to meet the buyers and on the day of meeting the buyers, something went wrong while they were preparing the sample. With much enthusiasm certain team members who have much confidence for themselves decided that they can still negotiate a deal with the buyers without having a product. To the dismay of the buyers who confirmed that in their history it was the first time they have seen a group that is looking a deal without a product. Make sure your product is ready and well packaged before meeting the buyers. You only get one chance with them if any.
The supermarket wants to see a finished product, the challenge is with the manufacturing company, designers who will not do you one unit. These manufactures do bulk but you can not think of doing bulk production before you hear from the supermarket. Therefore you have to come up with a deal that will not cause to stock product that you have no buyers.
It is also ideal to start making arrangement with the supermarket as soon as the product is being manufactured. Don’t leave it late to start booking the appointment with buyers in the supermarket because it takes long to get that appointment.
10. Marketing Strategies
Using channels such as (in-store promotions, campaigns online, food magazines)
The video below is from Reggae Reggae Sauce teaching consumers how to use the sauce.
Create recipes (Give people opportunity to discuss how they can make recipes using your product)
11. Re-invest In Your Business
Identify ways you are going to get cash flow to re-invest into your business. Especially in the first months where you have taken the orders buy you haven’t been paid. You have to identify where that money to keep you going and redevelopment will come from.
Like I said in the introduction, this is a very lucrative business but at the same time very challenging to break into. The person who is going to succeed in this business, is the one who is going to come up with a condiment that is targeting a certain niche. Something new for particular people. So Do you have what it takes? Good luck.
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