Food Business Trends And Ideas To Help You Be A Successful Entrepreneur In 2021!
The food business can be deemed evergreen! Demand in the food business never goes down. Though the hotel and tourism industries were affected during the pandemic, the food industry was quick to get back on track. A food business is also a viable option as an MSME enterprise because it is versatile and can be placed on either side of the business spectrum; it can either be a small, take-away only outlet or a full-fledged multi-cuisine restaurant with a dine-in option.
Whichever option you choose, you need to do a deep dive into the market research. You need to have a solid business plan before you start. A food business has to be set up in the right location with the right demography. In recent times, organic food and traditional foods have gained popularity and you can look into them too.
A food business also needs a considerable investment for the space, furniture, equipment and utilities. There are a number of MSME loans and business loans to help you set up your business. You can also check the start-up loans offered by some banks and NBFCs.
Since there is too much information out there, we thought of putting them into a concise format for your reference. Read on to learn the latest trend in the Food Business and what you need to run a successful business in 2021;
1. Chai Point with Snacks
Indians love their Chai. You can find a notable crowd at every tea point at any time of the day. Tea or coffee are highly in demand all day long, so you can be assured of customers continually. Add a little snack to it and you have a real winner. Morning times can start with some Vadas and Aloo Bondas. Evening times you can bring in some Bhajjis (potato or plantain fritters) and Onion Pakodas
The initial investment will go towards the business space which needs to have a small kitchen space to prepare the dishes; because both the beverages and snacks are preferred to be fresh and steaming hot. The rent will differ based on the location of your stall; a busy area will definitely be more expensive than a side lane in a less popular spot. Other regular expenses would be the ingredients for the food items. The items are basic dishes so don’t need any costly ingredients. It is less labor-intensive so you won’t need a large labor force either.
2. Home Baker & Pastry Chef
This profession has gained huge popularity; especially during this pandemic. Baking has always been considered a coveted profession that is not in everyone’s reach. Baking cakes and pizza were found to be harder than solving quantum physics. But thanks to the internet, many people have found a passion for baking and are monetising it too. The best thing about baking is, you don’t need a storefront or a large kitchen to make money. You can bake from the comfort of your own kitchen, with a large enough OTG, and mint money every day.
A good OTG of 50L capacity will do the job for you and the price for one from a leading brand is somewhere in the 30k to 50k range. The utensils and baking dishes are also affordable. You can start small by selling to your friends and relatives. Then you can expand to your neighbors. A birthday cake can fetch you anywhere from Rs.500 to Rs.2000, based on the flavor and design. All you may need is a lot of passion and practice to get your baking right.
3. Home-Made Food
Ah! Who doesn’t love homemade food? Mom-made food is God-made food! But with job opportunities in different cities, we all crave some tasty homemade food all the time. If you are a good cook and people have pointed more than many times that you should start a food business, then you should!
Social media has made it easy for us to connect with a lot of people in our neighborhood. You can leverage chat apps like Whatsapp and FB Messengers to form groups to inform about your food business. All updates are provided through these groups; the daily menu, price, time the food will be ready and so on. Customers can come and collect it at your place or, if you have the manpower, you can deliver it to their homes, at an additional cost ☺ As the adage goes, ‘One’s got to eat!’, as long as humans feel hunger, the food business will keep running.
4. Franchisee Of Popular Food Brands
Dominos, Subway, McD, KFC, Pizza Hut, Café Coffee Day, Starbucks, Cream Stone, Makers Of Milkshake; which are just some of the popular food outlets we all visit every month. With a number of shopping malls cropping up everywhere, more and more of these outlets are in demand. So you can look at franchisee options of these popular brands.
You need to invest a considerable amount of money for the initial franchise registration but the business is profitable due to the brand name that these companies have established for themselves. You can easily get MSME loans for the initial capital.
5. A High-End Café
While a tea point has a considerable customer base, so does a high-end café. College students and youngsters love to spend time with their friends at a café. It is a great meeting point for official meetups too. You may need to invest somewhere around Rs.10 lakhs to Rs.15 lakhs for the whole setup. Rent, electricity and utilities may be a considerable expense every month. You can get small business loans to start a café at a good location.
6. Food Truck
Ever since the move ‘Chef’ came out, many people have stood up and taken a chance with food trucks; they have found success too. Food trucks are fancy; they serve fresh food with a twist. You can taste some of the best dishes at the roadside food trucks. Food trucks allow you to showcase your culinary skills with less investment. You don’t have to have a great spread; They can sell some specialized menu items targeting a specific group of customers.
You can utilize a ‘Commercial Vehicle Loan’ to purchase a truck and get a ‘Business Loan’ to fund its modifications and additional fittings. Thay have to spend some time doing research and finding the right location for your food truck.
A food business is very profitable but a risky one. You have to ensure that you offer hygienic and tasty food if you want to sustain. Food business seldom needs advertisement as most marketing done as ‘word of mouth’. You need to fix the appropriate cost for the items so that your profit not affected. You also have to factor in inflation so that you can sustain yourself in the business.
