Question for a food business idea

[GLM1984]

Hi all,

I am considering how I launch a dessert brand and wondered if anyone has any advice from a food manufacturing background?

I have the recipes but do not want to go down the route of making the product in my home kitchen. I have heard about ghost kitchens but it's my understanding this would be renting a space only... My question is, are there manufacturers who would make the product for me based on the recipe provided? Then I can just box up the product with my own branded tubs etc.

The product in question is Ice cream so it's not something I can easily prepare or store at home in any quantity!

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

[Mark T Jones]

It would be fairly usual to outsource manufacturing- they should also help with compliance issues.

Obviously you will need to do your homework regarding the quality and consistency of their manufacturing.

Prior to that, you will need to do a lot of market research and prep. It's a relatively easy market to get a local foothold, and incredibly hard to go national!

 

[WaveJumper]

Interesting one, those who have been successful in the food market (certainly those Ive seen on telly) have all started in their kitchen. Great to take your idea and out source it but:

Where are are your potential customers
Samples for customers / buyers
How big is the the market, (huge) but there's plenty of players with a lot more money behind them
Storage of product
Transportation of product to your customers
Marketing your product

I agree with the above a lot of research is required and personally i would have thought some pretty deep pockets to get this off the ground

Could you work out some arrangement with a food manufacturer and licence the product in anyway, could give you a much quicker and easier route to market especially if they already have the contacts

 

[GLM1984]

I have done a lot of market research as my demographic is fairly niche in the grand scheme of this market. My biggest concern is as you say the production, storage and distribution. Being a frozen product makes it fraught with problems in this area, ideally a manufacturer who could handle this all would be ideal but I have no idea what the costs will look like!

 

[Mark T Jones]

I have done a lot of market research as my demographic is fairly niche in the grand scheme of this market. My biggest concern is as you say the production, storage and distribution. Being a frozen product makes it fraught with problems in this area, ideally a manufacturer who could handle this all would be ideal but I have no idea what the costs will look like!

The obvious answer here is to go out and ask some.

Before doing that, however, you need to be fairly clear oin your own mind as to what you are looking for in terms of:

Volumes, complexity and scope.

Scope being how much of the process they are taking on, from product formulation, compliance/labelling / storage / distribution etc.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Outsourcing production of ice cream should be relatively simple, however, the volumes you would need to commit to might initially be prohibitive for you, unless you speak to a small local shop/producer.