Meera Bhogal, founder of healthy food brand Meera’s Made from Scratch shares her top tips for those looking to start their own food business.
Like many in the food business, Meera’s Made from Scratch started out with me making my own herbal teas and turmeric mixture for friends and sharing recipes about how to cook foods and what nutrients were in foods we eat! It all stemmed from there- as a menopause expert, I had clients asking me to make them certain meals or help them source food so my business has grown organically. Today I’m sharing my top tips for starting your own food business.
4 Top Tips For Starting Your Own Food Business
Ask your potential customers
My whole business began from people requesting foods and, even now, the products we launch tend to be ones our customers ask me to adapt for their dietary needs. Don’t be afraid to listen to what your audience needs and use it to guide your business.
Know the legalities
There’s a few things you have to have in place: food hygiene certificate; inspection by local authority and having to follow legislation on labeling and allergens. You also have to keep records in accordance with Better Food Safer Business guidance. For those making organic foods like we do, products can only be labeled organic if they meet a threshold of the number of ingredients to be organic.
Stick to a schedule
Sticking to a schedule has really helped us in our business. We activate nuts and seeds on Thursday, get products with shelf life ready, place supply orders and check stock. Then on Monday we collate orders, fill in all operations sheets – which we created- then the kitchen starts to cook and prep. The office then starts to get the logistics of orders ready and packaging. Wednesday’s is national deliveries whilst Thursday is our local deliveries day. Remember it’s not just about making the food but all of the admin-paperwork, deliveries, customer enquiries-that come with it!
Use a photographer regularly
With food products, photography is key to showcase your new products as buying food is a very visual process. We have a photographer come in to do a product shoot and recipe shoot so we create new recipes and products monthly and get these photographed.
Meera Bhogal helps people to understand how food can nourish our body and mind to support optimal health, using a holistic approach via her website, products and services Meera’s Made From Scratch.