Starting a business during a pandemic is not impossible. As long as the intention is sincere and wholehearted, the dream of starting a business will definitely succeed.
One of the business ideas that can be tried in the midst of a pandemic is an online food business. Based on data records in the last 12 months from Google Trends Indonesia, searches for the keyword “online food business ideas” increased 200%. From this we can conclude that many people want to start an online food business during the pandemic.
The food business is indeed a very potential business. Given the endless demand for food. The food business has indeed become one of the businesses that has many enthusiasts because its management is very easy to do.
With a digital platform, it’s even easier if you want to start a culinary business. No need to open a shop or rent a place, you can do product marketing online. Given the ongoing pandemic, people are also likely to prefer to buy everything online. Very good business opportunity, right?
Tips for Starting an Online Food Business for Beginners
No need to worry if it’s your first time starting a food business, especially during the current pandemic. Here below are some tips ideas before starting an online food business for beginners that you can know.
Find ideas
For those of you who want to start a food business for the first time, you can look for some ideas that you can turn into a business.
After you find out what food business you want to run, then you have to think about the durability of your food or drink if you want to send it to distant customers. You have to make sure the packaging and food can hold up properly until it reaches its destination.
Find the target market
When you have found an idea for your business, the next step is to determine the target for your business.
Researching the target market can be done by reading trends on social media or browsing the internet. Not only that, you can also do a small survey to your closest relatives and friends about the business idea you want to implement. That way, you will have a clearer picture of who you want to target later when selling culinary products.
For example, foods such as fruit and vegetable salads tend to be enjoyed by young people who like to live a healthy life. If you have a food business like this, then you can sell it to communities that care about health such as fitness and the gym.
Targets that are planned and neatly arranged will make it easier. Another example, lunch catering. This lunch is suitable to be marketed to office workers who have limited time. The catering menu can also be adjusted to meet the nutritional needs of consumers on a daily basis so that consumers do not have to spend more time choosing healthy foods for them.
Define the supply chain of ingredients and their distribution
A food business is a business that has expiration dates and limits on what foods are fit for consumption. So, make sure the ingredients you supply are trusted sources that serve fresh ingredients.
When you find the best supplier, you don’t have to think about looking for another supplier in the long term.
In addition to the main supplier, make sure you also have a backup supplier. The goal, when suddenly a situation occurs where your main supplier runs out of stock, you already have other food ingredients without having to spend time looking for other suppliers.
Also make sure the selected supplier has a good and timely distribution system, so that the packaging can arrive in the best condition and quality
Decide where the food or beverage will be processed
When you decide to run a food or beverage business, you don’t need to rent a special place to sell it. What you have to pay attention to is where the food or beverage business will be produced. If you are going directly to processing, make sure the place for processing is adequate and hygienic. You can use production food thing from superground.com
If you want to rent a production site you have to make sure the rental place has a place that is not too far from the supplier.
Make a well-organized financial plan
Determine the source of capital and the amount you want to channel for the business to be run. Also set a monthly, 3-monthly, or yearly target that you will get from the online food business that you run.
By having a structured and planned target, it will be easier to determine a sales strategy. That way, your business finances will not be in disarray.
Those are some tips for starting an online food business for beginners along with some food business recommendations that you can try. If later your business has grown and is big, it is not impossible that you can grow by selling offline. Congratulations on starting your business!
