The produce industry is a diverse and ever-changing one. There’s a real potential for fresh produce businesses to cater to individuals, stores, eateries, and other locations. This is an industry that has an impact on people’s day-to-day lives and is an exciting one to delve into. Let’s take a look at how you can kickstart your fresh produce business so that you too can be a part of this ever-changing industry.
Understand the Produce Industry
One of the first things you need to do is learn about the produce industry. Understand how it works and how the wholesale market can affect your profit margins and revenue growth. It’s thought that there will be an additional 9,500 produce businesses in this county in the next 5 years. This is all thanks to consumers’ buying power and how easy it is to enter into this industry.
Think About Your Niche
The next thing that you need to think about is your niche. Do you plan on delivering produce to your customers? Will you supply local coffee shops or restaurants? These are all things that you need to consider.
Please note, if you plan to supply coffee shops and restaurants you’ll need to guarantee that your produce is safe to eat. You will, therefore, need to understand the whole farm-to-table process. Will you plant the seeds yourself? Will you set up the drip irrigation kit? Will you take care of the produce as it grows? Will you wash it and package it up? If you cannot do both the growing and selling, you’ll need to hire a team to help you.
Know Your Target market
Know exactly who your target market is. If you want to grow organic crops, you’ll need to work in an area that suits this market. If you want to sell produce in a tourist destination, you should appeal to shoppers who want to shop somewhere new. Think about your target market and how you can give them what they’re looking for.
Set Some Objectives
Think about your goals and how you can build on your current successes. Be mindful that you can change your goals from time to time. Make a set of monthly, quarterly and annual goals so that you know what you want to achieve and when.
Create a Business Plan
It’s unlikely that you will get a business loan if you don’t have a business plan. Plans such as these give potential lenders the chance to learn more about you and your business. A plan should explain your business’s goals and strategies and how you plan to achieve them.
Work on Your Marketing Strategy
You need to market your business so that potential customers know who you are and what you do. They need to know what type of brand you are and how you can offer them something different. The good news is that you can market your business for a lot less money than you think. Thanks to the world of social media, you can potentially reach customers you may not have reached otherwise.
Use the above tips to help you get your feet on the first rung of the produce business ladder. With a lot of work on your part, you too could soon find yourself with a successful produce business that you’re proud of.
