Scot
Salad Dressing Empire
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
So for example on of my favourite ideas that I came up with is cheese dippers. (the lunchbox pack style cheese & breadstick snacks)
I'll hit the idea first. I think this is way to niched down. I'm not sure how popular those are in the UK, but I don't think I've seen one of those cheese dipper packs outside of the ghetto dollar store since the mid 90's (in the US).
Beyond the popularity of that, its too niched down. The big trend right now is to take a common food and make plant based alternative.
Coffee creamer > Nut Pods nutpods Dairy Free Coffee Creamer - Whole30, Paleo, Keto, Vegan
Cheese > Daiya https://daiyafoods.com/
Beef Burger > Impossible Burger https://impossiblefoods.com/food/
You catch the drift. I would zoom out a bit and find a bigger or more common ingredient or snack that you can make a plant based version of. That way you can expand the brand with additional flavors or varieties.
i.e. Plant Based cheese cake
- plant based ricotta cheese cake
- plant based new york style cheese cake
- plant based cream cheese
- etc
Typical food product issues: It's a food product, which actually fills me with dread just thinking about it. Products going bad, Licences needed, Order fulfilment difficulties, Health & Safety concerns... I could go on.
First and foremost, before you even get close to scale, you'll need a food scientist. Food safety has very stringent regulations. I don't even know what the food governing body in the UK is, but the FDA in the US does not mess around. I have my copacker handle 100% of this.
Formulating and creating a plant based version of something that is not plant based is HARD. You'll have to get very creative with things like molecular gastronomy, using different gums and alternative proteins to make things work. Unless you're making something simple like a vegan cookie or protein bar, I'd highly suggest working with a food scientist from the beginning.
Funds: There's no getting around it, starting something like this with a budget like mine won't be easy...
It's hard to bootstrap food. If you can make it yourself in your own or commercial kitchen, this is really the only way to bootstrap. My products for example 100% cannot be made at home or by myself, because of the emulsification and special techniques involved. A minimum order for me is $10k per product.
I would check to see if your country has "cottage food laws". I have no clue if the UK does. Its essentially a law allowing you to home make food and sell it to people without having a commercial facility. In my state, Florida, the law is, if your gross revenue per year is less than $10,000 you can make food in your kitchen to sell it. Essentially, bake sale for your kids school is ok, but selling any significant amount at a farmers market is a quick way to a fine.
Seriously though, go read my Food Startup Guide I posted earlier. And possibly get an INSIDERS sub, because I have 15+ pages of starting a food business in the inside.