Got a great idea for a food business but not sure how to get started? Find out what to consider, and how to make it happen with our practical 8-step guide to sucessfully launching a food business.
Are you a passionate entrepreneur with an innovative idea for a restaurant, a skilled baker ready to take your talents to the next level, or someone with dreams of hitting the road with a food truck, offering your vibrant street food creations to people anywhere? Starting a new food business can be an exhilarating adventure, but it can also be a daunting journey filled with unexpected challenges and bureaucratic hurdles that require a combination of business expertise and determination to overcome.
Well, it turns out that now might be a great time to take the plunge. Research shows that the food service industry is projected to grow from $2,646.99 billion in 2023 to $5,423.59 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.79% during the forecast period.
But the idea of starting up your own F&B business may seem daunting, especially when the outlook for start-ups is bleak. Research shows that as many as 90% of new restaurants fail. What's more, restauranteurs and other hospitality business owners have voiced their concerns lately about the affect of the rising cost of labor, energy and inflation on produce on the market. These rising overheads are making for a very challenging market, even for seasoned professionals to navigate.
In the world of business, there is never a perfect time to start. Even in ideal conditions, a business may not survive. However, some of the most successful businesses have emerged from challenging circumstances and economic hardship. It's logical, really. If a business can thrive during tough times, it demonstrates resilience and the ability to overcome future difficulties. So, don't wait for the perfect moment. Take the leap and give your business every chance at success.
So to help you get started, we’ve pulled together an 8-step beginner’s guide, with insider tips to give you a head start.
The first thing you’ll want to do before making any investment is do your research, diligently. Spend a few weeks (or even months) getting a deeper understanding of the broader food service landscape, your customer target, latest trends, and competitors, and start writing a business plan for your investors. Think of it as exploring your 4C’s: customer, consumer, channel, and context.
For this, you’ll want to:
Once you have your business plan in place, go out into the world – and test it. Find some of your target customers and ask them for their thoughts and impressions. This could be as simple as polling a handful of people off the street to a full-blown market research study.
Now it’s time to sort your finances. However not everyone who wants to start a restaurant has the personal funding to do so. In fact, most don’t.
Thankfully, there are lots of other ways that you can find funding for your new venture:
Just remember that it’s likely to take years before you turn your first profit, and money will be tight at first. So think about starting small (with a strategy to scale up) and choose your business partners wisely, because they’ll be around for a good while.
You know what they say: “location, location, location”. Well, as it turns out, that’s not always the case. The location you choose for your establishment will depend on several factors, and unless you’re relying heavily on foot traffic, you don’t necessarily need to be in the hottest new retail location.
Here are a few factors you’ll want to consider:
Once you have a venue, it’s time to start working on the layout and design your space.
Of course, this will depend on the type of establishment you’re running, but typically restaurants dedicate about 45-60% of their space to the dining area, about 35% to the kitchen area and the remainder to storage and office space.
Think carefully about the layout of your kitchen and dining areas, and make sure there’s a smooth flow between the two. Prep space is also critical, so make sure your chefs have enough room to plate, garnish, and decorate their dishes.
This might also be the right time to think about what technology will be required in your food business, be it the POS system, kiosks, tablets, or audiovidual elements that contribute to the atmosphere as well as promoting specific products, technology must integrate within the design of your space.
And most importantly: don’t cut corners in your dining area. This is the stage of the show – literally where all of the magic happens – so finding the right ambiance and decor to make your customers feel welcome is critical to success.
As a restaurateur, you’ll be working with several different suppliers – from furnishings to POS systems, bar equipment, kitchen appliances, and of course, food. Make your wish list, scope out your short and long-term budget, and go on the hunt for your partners. But remember that while you don’t want to cut corners when it comes to quality, over-priced suppliers can minimize your margins and run your business into the ground. So make sure to negotiate, hard.
But where do you start looking? Try going to wholesale retailers, local farmer’s markets, F&B conventions, ask for recommendations from fellow restaurateurs, or just do a simple Google search.
You’ll be looking for a trustworthy supplier, who has a good track record of providing quality products and a roster of successful partnerships. For food suppliers, be sure to about their delivery schedules and food safety management practices. And go local – they usually offer fresher ingredients whilst also being better for the planet.
When it comes to regulations, every country, county, and city is different. But make sure that you check in with your local regulatory office, and consider getting legal counsel to make sure you adhere to all of your local health & safety codes and food regulations. Another important license is an alcohol license if you plan on serving alcoholic drinks at your eatery.
Just be aware that some licenses can take months to acquire, so make sure to get started on this process well before opening day.
First, think about what staff you need to hire for your restaurant type. Based on the scale of your restaurant, this may include HR managers, purchasing experts, accountants, marketing & sales managers, chefs and sommeliers, waiters, hosts, bartenders, and cleaning and dish-washing staff. Make sure to hire enough staff for each job, and anticipate shift planning and back-ups in case of illnesses and vacations.
Look for candidates with sufficient experience and a successful track record, who are quick on their feet, can multi-task, and are efficient. All of your employees should work well under pressure, and customer-facing staff should have exceptional social skills.
And when it comes to hiring staff, you can never be too careful – so do your due diligence. Make sure to do background checks, conduct several face-to-face interviews, and call their references.
Before opening your restaurant, you’ll want to do a fair amount of advertising to alert your local community that there’s a new eatery on the block.
And while word of mouth is still the best form of publicity, here are a few other ways you might like to consider announcing your new venture:
And with that, we leave you with one last tip for success: work hard, don’t give up, and be prepared to break the mould. The measure of success is ultimately found in the bottom line, however it's important to measure, track and review performance across a range of metrics to continuarlly reassess and tweak your business model as you go.
Starting any new venture will be a challenge and most likely an uphill battle, but in the end, nothing tastes sweeter than victory.