The fashion for healthy eating has long swept America and Europe. In our country, this direction is just beginning to "spread its wings." Many of our citizens have the impression that almost all stores sell only low-quality products with “chemistry” and preservatives.
In this regard, the niche for the sale of healthy and wholesome food is open. So why not think about how to open a healthy food store, and not calculate the costs and profitability of the store?
Business concept
In the initial stages, the store may have a small assortment. The only thing the company must strictly adhere to is the sale of really high-quality and healthy food.
It is imperative to comply with sanitary and hygiene regulations, the quality of all products must be confirmed by genuine quality certificates. After the expiration date of the products they are subject to disposal as soon as possible.
There is also the practice of discounts on goods whose expiration date is coming to an end. Of course, in this way all the products will not be sold, however, some part of it will still be sold, which will significantly reduce the losses from disposal.
The assortment of the outlet can consist of a large number of items, as well as of any one type of food. For example, it can be a healthy diet for children or a store of dairy products, meat, etc.
How to attract buyers?
Best of all, when your customers will become "walking advertising". For example, a consumer is looking for fresh meat and stumbles on your shop. As a result, having tasted the taste of pork or beef from your store, he will come for meat again and again, bringing with him new customers.
Naturally, be prepared for the fact that profit does not initially flow in your pocket; you still need to earn a reputation. Often word of mouth It works much better than professional advertising.
Before you open a healthy food store, be prepared for the fact that you have to suffer losses, because you will have to constantly get rid of perishable goods.
What foods are organic?
In order to be able to classify products as organic, they must necessarily meet the following parameters:
- do not contain GMOs and their derivatives;
- in their composition there are no dyes, preservatives, thickeners, flavorings and stabilizers;
- they are manufactured without the use of harmful technologies (chemical preservation, ultrasonic treatment, atomic fission, gasification, radiation treatment, etc.);
- do not contain raw materials that are grown using pesticides, hormones, chemical fertilizers, growth stimulants, or raw materials that are grown near industrial centers.
Natural fashion
Now in many large cities of Russia and the CIS, points are increasingly appearing where it is possible to purchase bio-products or healthy food for children. Most buyers of such products are solvent customers who care about their health, but are not able to buy products from Europe.
Entrepreneurs of organic food stores claim that most often people buy from them such finished products as cheeses, eggs, cottage cheese and vegetables. They rarely buy grain and cereals at such points of sale.
Start-up capital and issue of premises
To organize a business on food, you need to first think about the location of the store. Depending on its location at the same prices, area and assortment, the store’s revenue may differ by 2-3 times. To open a store, on average, you need at least 15 thousand dollars.
A trading shop, which is located on the outskirts of an old residential area and away from the road, sells on average 3 times less goods than a similar store located near the metro and public transport.
The point of sale, which will be located in the housing estate, will approximately bring $ 2,000 a day in profit, and the store, which is located on a pedestrian trail near the stops, will bring twice as much.
A store needs an area of at least 110-130 sq. M, of which retail space need to allocate 70-90 sq.m. All appropriate communications should also be provided in the room: sewage, heating, electricity. According to the most approximate estimates, the rental of premises together with utility bills per month will be about 1.5 thousand dollars per sq.m.
Healthy food delivery
In addition, in order to increase profits, you can offer your customers a service such as the delivery of diet food. This type of business is still considered an innovation. You can buy products in the village and deliver them to wealthy people for a set fee.
You can generally do purely delivery of healthy and diet food. This has significant advantages - you do not need to rent a large room, but confine yourself to a warehouse for short-term storage of products. A product supplier will need to conclude a supply contract.
In order for customers to order products from you, it is best to create an online store. Thus, you can both advertise your company and make the order of diet food even more accessible for your customers.
Equipment
Before opening a health food store, in addition to the premises, you still need to purchase equipment. At a minimum, you need to purchase such a set of equipment:
- two refrigerated display cases;
- freezer (one or two);
- counters and racks;
- scales;
- knives and cutting boards.
To save a little, buy a used equipment. In general, new equipment will cost 7-8 thousand dollars, and for used devices you can allocate half as much - about 4 thousand dollars.
Workers
If you are a newbie in retail, you should hire a qualified manager with the relevant experience. At first, you can pay him the established salary, later, when the store begins to bring stable profits, it is advised to add 2–2.5% of the proceeds to its rate.
Such a person should know the assortment of products well, be able to optimize the activities of the point of sale, negotiate with suppliers, and also know the other nuances of such a business. Finding such a specialist is not easy. If you are seriously thinking about how to open a healthy food store, then you need to approach the choice of a manager very seriously. Indeed, there are often cases when such workers rob their owners or carry out a variety of frauds.
In addition to the manager, you also need to recruit about 7-8 people. It is important that they undergo a physical examination and have sanitary books. The staff also needs to be constantly monitored personally. If someone is caught stealing, it’s better to immediately arrange a demonstration dismissal so that others are not tempted by such illegal acts.
Healthy food restaurant
You can go another way - to organize not a store, but a diet restaurant. Such an institution is best opened in the city center. It is here that most of the people who prefer only healthy food, follow diets or fasting.
The interior of the restaurant is also desirable to do in an ecological style, without any frills.The area of the premises for a start can be small, over time, if the business develops, it can be expanded (for example, rent additional space or be completed).
Do not set affordable prices in the restaurant, especially if such an institution is located in a small town. The menu of the institution should include not only products without chemicals, but also dishes prepared without harmful broths, boiled, steamed, without preservatives, but at the same time tasty and low-calorie. You can also prepare menus for recovering and losing weight.
A good option would also be to deliver diet food from your restaurant to your home. For this, marketers recommend developing their own packaging. To control products at all stages and increase your income, you can organize your own farm. That is, to grow organic fruits and vegetables in your garden and vegetable garden.
Selling healthy nutrition for children
Entrepreneurs who want to engage in such activities should understand that when it comes to children, this is a huge responsibility. Experts say that such a store should be opened next to kindergartens or playgrounds, as well as in the city center. The most popular products are: cereals, baby juices and mixtures, mashed potatoes and others.
It is very important to carefully monitor the expiration dates of the goods and choose only proven brands. For the role of the seller, a woman of 30 is best suited, who herself has children, because she can, based on her experience, give young mothers advice on choosing a diet for the baby.
Business flaws
Specialists often complain about the seasonality of the business. The demand for healthy food has been increasing several times since September. In winter, jam and juices are very popular. In autumn, many pre-order 30-50 kg of organic melons, watermelons and other berries, vegetables and fruits. Our society has the opinion that environmental products are very expensive, but there are also products that the middle class can afford.
Food, of course, will always be in demand, so making money on this is quite realistic. If you decide to promote a direction such as the sale of organic products, then your investment will return very quickly. Having organized a business selling organic products or a dietary cafe and finding good suppliers, you can hope for a profitability of 40% or more.
