THE PRODUCT LINE I WOULD LAUNCH IF I STARTED A FOOD BUSINESS TODAY!
Acidified Foods Such as Sauces Are a Tough Way To Start in Food Processing
After a couple decades in food processing and marketing, what would I do differently, if I started a serious food business today…
Let’s go back to 2002, when no one had heard the term “Cottage Foods” as if it were a “thing.”
First, let me describe what we did do. Instead of what I would do today.
At the time, Sandy and I were committed to bringing a barbecue sauce to market. You can read our story here.
Execution of this sauce opportunity came about due to the purchase of a co-packing processing plant by the University of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. They planned to create a food business startup incubator.
At the center of what became the UI Food Technology Center was an acidified foods processing system. At its heart was a 75-gallon steam kettle with a two-way agitator, complemented by a semi-automatic filler, and other relevant commercial and semi-commercial processing accessories and equipment.
Together with Sandy’s successful repping business – calling on 150+ small retailers interested in gift and gourmet items — fate pulled us head-first into food processing and companion wholesaling.
Due to our established small retailer market, we leap-frogged immediately past anything that would look like cottage foods today.
Although the public interest in specialty foods was growing back then, it was NOTHING like it is today. Unique, local, gourmet foods hysteria – especially for “cottage foods” – is taking over. I’ve rarely seen anything like it.
So. We started in the sauce business. But making acidified (wet) foods offers many challenges:
Processing in a hot, sweaty facility is HARD work.
Mostly NOT cottage food eligible
Serious microbial food safety issues, advanced training required.
Stiff rental costs for inspected facility and suitable equipment
Cases of product are HEAVY to work with and transport.
Glass jars/bottles and closures are expensive.
Because the products are heavy, shipping is exorbitant.
Because the products are mostly glass, breakage in shipping is common, and causes all sorts of problems.
Packing and shipping supplies (e.g. boxes, Styrofoam peanuts, air pillows) are costly, and create garbage/recycling issues.
So, keeping all this in mind, would I do it differently? We had a lot of fun, and created a lifestyle income for a long time.
What are the options?
I LOVE baking – and seem to always find an old favorite or new recipe under development in my kitchen – but I treat this as a hobby, for personal culinary pleasure.
However, I wanted to get rich, not just create a lifestyle. Baking is mostly a lifestyle business, very hard to get scale without a dedicated facility and lots of labor.
Back in those days, significant income growth in a food business came largely from wholesaling, and that is still the primary path. In addition, today online marketing tools allow you to create million$ with just a retail site (and lots of ecommerce know-how!)
Combined with the short shelf-life of baked goods, labor intensity, and very limited options for selling bakery items to retailers (who mostly have established relationships with BIG brands) I chose to opt out of oven work.
Don’t get me wrong. Baked goodies (especially in today’s fresh, food-loving culture) are one of the best options for a rewarding part-time, or full-time, lifestyle enterprise. Few options can beat it.
But for me, the guy with 7-figures dancing in his head, there needs to be a better, faster way to wealth.
So, what would I do? And what do I recommend you lean into, especially if you are a baker?
Let’s talk dry ingredient products for just a moment.
Baking mixes, soup mixes, dessert mixes, breakfast mixes, beverage mixes, seasonings, bean varieties, dry pastas, flavoring powders. So many choices.
And if I did do breakfast, baking, or dessert mixes, then anything I cook or bake just needs to be enough quantity to offer as samples (i.e. very small batches).
So, if I started over, I see a line of dry mixes that solves a problem or targets a health niche (e.g. gluten, low carb, vegan, dairy-free, or combination). Or a flavor/indulgence niche (e.g. blueberry, cinnamon, chocolate); or a brandable humor niche (e.g. erotic, backwoods, rich bitch, political party).
Because my wife is gluten intolerant, one option is gluten free blends. E.g. mixes for pizza crusts, pancakes, tortillas, cakes and cookies.
Since I am diabetic, I lean toward paleo/low carb using honey powder or coconut palm sugar for sweeteners. My lead idea is to develop a line of chocolate low carb goodies, e.g. instant and complete pudding, hot cocoa, and rich cakes.
Also, I live near the Palouse Prairie in north centeral Idaho, one of the top lentil and split pea growing centers on the planet…dry soup mixes anyone?
(PS I am planning this new food line in 2025, and will offer it up as a “look over my shoulder” training program so you can follow me step by step. You will watch as I launch, build, and market a line from scratch.)
With dry mixes, you can start with 30-cent standup pouches (various sizes and colors) as packaging. Add in a hand-held heat sealer for under $200.
You can print labels on a laser printer, or use a do-your-own label service such Maestro at ONLINE LABELS. Or pay for short-run labels (which I don’t recommend for a startup… every time you change a size or ingredient, the labels head for the garbage.)
So, with dry mixes (compared to acidified foods like sauces):
Cheaper packaging
Cheaper processing
Lighter weight (no heavy glassware) for handling
Cheaper to ship
Breakage in transit unlikely (exception, customer opening package with a box cutter, sigh)
Product becomes it’s own packing material
Food security issues limited mostly to rodents and insects
Fits well with low-hazard cottage food eligibility
Biggest annoyance is powders in the air
A decent semi-commercial acidified food kitchen done right, with new equipment, pushes a quarter million dollar$. Mostly due to the cost of equipment, primarily a steam kettle with bells and whistles.
For a fully equipped semi-commercial dry mix facility, investment well under $100 grand is easily doable. Plus the facility requirements are much less, so easier to clean, and to build or use.
When designing dry mixes, you also have the choice of “just add (wet)” ingredients, or “complete” mixes and add water. You really can get just about any wet ingredient in powdered or dried form (e.g. eggs, dairy, peanut butter, avocado, fats.)
In fact, offering both options doubles your market, in a way, depending on the customer’s lifestyle and convenience preferences.
Also remember that if you bake, adding dry mixes to your offerings doubles or triples your marketing base. Since the products are shelf stable, buyers may hold them for months, instead of eaten in the next few days.
AND, no more baking… and get the same price in most cases.
FWIW.
Blessings,
Mal Dell
The MONETIZATION CHEF
”Cooking Up Success for Foodies!”