I have some food products that I would like to make and sell to large food stores. how do I go about it?!
Answers: it is a vegan item, and is absolutely delish!!
Great idea.
You should first go about setting up a gimmick and a company logo and other things to make your product appealing and catchy.
Like all start-up businesses, you should patent your recipes and product design and other things.
Whole Foods is VERY open to having grassroots or small companies on their shelves. Trader Joe's is also very open to incorporating new products in, but as always they are very selective about what they stock. Trader Joe's also sometimes tries to sell things under a generic Trader Joe's label, but you can work that out with them. I know that an Indian convenience food company called TastyBite has an arrangement with Trader Joe's that their products are sold on their shelves but it has a Trader Joe's logo on it and not theirs. Many other companies are the same. You should not contact local but rather go for district managers or even higher up - local managers have little impact other than suggestion of products to people higher up on the chain.
You'd have to have an inspected business, and if you make over a certain amount of money off of your business you might need a seperate kitchen rather than work out of home.
There's health regulations, food safety regulations, etc. Everyone follows them - wedding caterers, bakers, ma and pa grocery stores. If you're making food for profit you need to be a registered business and have a license and have a health inspector come regularily...
It will take a lot of money and investment. You might want to try finding someone to invest in your business - my husband's friend wanted to start a bar once and he found an investor that put in close to $1,500,000 up front and helped sponsor the start of the business, and now the guy gets 15% of earnings of the bar and his investment paid off.
Most companies started out as tiny little things - everything from Spanx pantyhose to Amy's Kitchen vegetarian frozen meals. They all grew because of perserverance and a dedicated company founder that would not stop.
Just believe in yourself and keep sending product samples and information to different stores - if the health food stores don't bite, go for Albertson's or Safeway, who are beginning to stock organic and natural food and are beginning to lean towards the health-food market share too.
you can contact whole food and health food stores but to be quite honest it probably won't be successful because food stores are regulated and their vendors have to be as well. they're not allowed to buy from someone who makes things out of their home. but you can always try :-) you may have better luck trying to start a website and sell through there! once it takes off, maybe stores will be more open to it! best wishes
That is a great idea, but I believe you should start out by setting up a booth at your local farmers market on the weekend and if successful, branch out from there. There is this amazing Vegan Soul Food stand at my local market and because demand was so high, they are now opening a restaurant.
Good Luck whatever you decide.
I'm afraid the above answer is right. You would have to have a manufacturing site that has been inspected for cleanliness. A kitchen won't do. And not at least in the US the government is requiring HACCP plans for all manufacturers, so the food store would ask you for that too. It's almost impossible for a little guy to comply with the regulations. You might think you kitchen is clean and you know what you are doing but for the safety of the general food consuming public the government has many requirements. For example do you have specifications for all your incoming raw material, have you identified your critical control points, and are you using an approved micro testing lab? Sorry to be so discouraging but it's tough out there do try to do what your are trying to do.
If you were in a lesser developed country where there were fewer regulations you would have a better shot. Good Luck.
PhD Food Chemistry and Nutrition
at local gathering, free smaples of your food free and give out a your contact information. - also you have to have a website to promote your information, and you product.
I am web business analyst - if you ever have a question - web related - let me know. I will try to help as much as I can. And I will do it for free! I support the veg*n life.
edit - : by the way, what is your product? and can I try some?
good luck!
Find out if there is a community kitchen or kitchen incubater in your area -- this is an inspected and approved kitchen which people like you can rent by the hour or day. It is an outstanding thing for a new business like yours.