There are so many entrepreneurial opportunities available in your area that you never would have thought about such as manufacturing food from either your recipes or those of your neighbors. Many small business owners and farmers like to get their products to the local area through farmers markets or even food trucks, but the food first has to be manufactured and you can help with that after you do a bit of research and get the right certifications.
Research
When researching how to get a product idea to market, many entrepreneurs will become discouraged at the problem of scaling production up enough. By building a food manufacturing company in your area, you can work with local farmers and chefs to help develop their products as well as scaling them up for commercial sale. For instance, many food items will require a fluidizer, paddle or ribbon blender to mix the quantities needed for commercial batches to be made in a reasonable amount of time.
Through research you can determine how many potential clients you have in your local area as well as which pieces of equipment and certifications you will need. You can also find the right location to set up shop and which restaurants, farmers’ markets and grocery stores will be willing to sell the food items you manufacture and package.
Certifications
Most local, state and federal regulations involving the manufacture and sale of food involve you and your employees having food handling permits as well as having regular safety and cleanliness inspections. Depending on whether you are packaging the food for sale elsewhere or serving customers on-site, you may need to have your packages tested as well as different types of business licenses.
Opening a food manufacture plant in your local area can help local restaurants, farmers and home cooks bring their food ideas to market easier. You can have all of the equipment that they need to mix, package and market their ideas for everything from salad dressing to baby food.