Where to start?!

[Samcharleexoxo]

Hi All,

So I'm wanting to start a business pick and mix pouches and letterbox boxes. I won't be manufacturing, just repackaging.
I have NO idea where to start.

I wondering if anyone to point me in the right direction as there isn't a lot of information online regarding pick and mix.

Packaging: I want to find pouches and letterbox boxes.
Pricing: How do I price it up when not all the packages will have the same sweets?

I know I will need to complete a food hygiene course and also look into insurance.

I will mostly be advertising on social media. Facebook and Instagram.

Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[mattk]

The first thing to do is work out if there is a profit to be made. How much can you buy sweets for wholesale, what is the packaging costs, how much will postage be and what are your other costs (advertising etc.)?

Then, how much can you sell them for?

Calculate how many boxes you need to sell to make £100, £200 and £500 per day. Can you realistically sell that many to make it worth your while?

Secondly, I've just done a search on Facebook marketplace and there are 30 ads for pick 'n' mix in my local town. How are you going to get your adverts to stand out against the competition?

It seems like an extremely crowded market, with the main differentiating factor being cost, which isn't great for your profitability.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Why not work backwards

Get to work on projections putting in first the numbers that you know, then guessing* the ones you don't to find your break-even point, and set prices from there?

Just to be clear 'advertising on social media' isn't a marketing strategy - and marketing is where your business will stand or fall.

*guessing is a great start point - you then need to go back & refine your guesses multipe times

 

[Paul Norman]

Sourcing the packaging will be the easiest bit of all. There are many packaging supply companies online, like packagingproductsonline.co.uk. I use a couple to source the range of items I need.

Likewise, buying the contents.

Your big challenge here is making sure you understand the financials. In simple terms, how much is this going to make?

You will need to understand the food hygiene, thingie. Your local authority probably runs a simple course to get a food hygiene certificate - at least County Durham does!

 

[Mr D]

Pricing - you figure out what your costs are per unit. Can be different for different sizes and different contents.
For instance you may have an average of 30 sweets in a box. Base costs on that....

And then factor in an amount for profit.

Factor in such things as your waste collection costs, your items that become out of date and need destroying, your damaged items, your items lost in the post etc.

Common mistake is to price based on what other people charge. If this doesn't cover your total costs then you are making a loss from the start.
Base price on your costs plus an amount for profit.

The packaging and the contents will be the easy problems to solve, you will have considerable choice.

 

[WaveJumper]

Defiantly run your numbers, and then run them again my son had a pick and mix business albeit 'static' and in a very busy shopping centre its was a lot of work for a very small return.

 

[Victoria Hazel]

In order to start your specific business you need to do research of your competitors and what they are doing in terms of packaging, pricing, position and type of marketing strategy. Later you find a supplier that would provide you good quality materials for cheaper price. Plan your business name and logo. Later check the entire cost and arrange your pricing accordingly but make sure if you would like to have it lower then your competitors, the same level or higher. Later you can either create your own website or use social media for advertising depending on your mood. Hope the info was useful