Of course, many people dream of their own business. And experienced beekeepers and beekeepers often think about whether honey production can become a truly profitable business. What do you need to start your own business? What difficulties await on the path to success? Where to find buyers? These questions interest many.
Is a honey business profitable?
Of course, honey, like any other bee products, is very popular among the population. After all, everyone knows about the healing and beneficial properties of this delicacy. Therefore, the production of honey can be a really profitable business, especially if you approach it correctly.
After all, the process of creating, packaging and selling this miracle product is a complex matter. Yes, and start-up capital will need considerable. That is why, first of all, you need to draw up a competent business plan for the production of honey and take into account all possible difficulties.
We determine the way of doing business
Honey can be produced in two ways. You can start a business to get a product from scratch - in such cases, you will need considerable knowledge in beekeeping, or a person who is well versed in all the intricacies of beekeeping and is ready to work for you. Such production is much harder, but it also has a number of important advantages.
The second business option is the production of pre-packaged honey. This means that you will purchase the finished product from the beekeepers, deal with its bottling and packaging, as well as marketing.
Honey production from scratch: advantages and disadvantages
In fact, getting this sweet product from scratch is hard. First you need to find the territory under the apiary, purchase everything to create hives and care for insects, purchase at least 15–20 bee families. It will be necessary to take care of the presence of the necessary plants around the apiary.
Honey processing alone involves the stages of pumping, settling and blending. In addition, in winter, bees need careful care, which also needs to be taken into account. Accordingly, this way of doing business is more time-consuming and costly.
On the other hand, it has a number of important advantages. In particular, the net profit from the sale of honey will be much higher. In addition, you can earn on other beekeeping products, including wax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly, etc.
Packaged Honey Production
Of course, in order to independently produce honey, you need not only more starting capital, but also more time, special knowledge, skills and love for your business. Making honey from scratch is an extremely laborious process. That is why many novice businessmen decide to deal with the packaging of finished honey.
Of course, you have to buy raw materials from beekeepers, and at a relatively high price. The margin on the product, and, accordingly, the earnings will not be so great. But such a business has its advantages - for example, you will not need to create an apiary, monitor bees, study and improve the production process, etc.
What documents will be needed?
If you need your own honey bottling line, then you should prepare for some paperwork, as official documents and permits are still needed. First of all, you need to register with the tax service.Here you will be offered the choice of registering as an individual entrepreneur or creating a limited liability company (this option is better if you are opening a business with a partner or are going to expand and open new points over time).
In addition, it will be necessary to pass an inspection of the sanitary and epidemiological station (they will check not only the conditions of production, but also the quality of the product), as well as an inspection of the fire service. With the obtained permissions, it will be possible to send an application to the city council, where you will be issued a trade permit.
Premises for rent
Immediately it is worth noting that the room you have chosen should have constant access to water and electricity. The sizes depend on how large-scale your production will be and how much equipment you are going to purchase. At the initial stages, there will be a fairly small room for the spill of honey, as well as a separate warehouse for storing the finished product.
The location of the production in this case does not matter much - the main thing is that there is a road nearby and convenient access, since raw materials and ready honey need to be transported somehow. If you are going to open your own store here, next to the warehouse, then, of course, it is better to choose a building located in a busy part of the city.
What equipment will be needed to pack honey?
What is the process of packaging honey? At your facility they will dissolve honey, prepare containers, pour the product into containers, seal them, and pack, store and transport them. Of course, this will require a certain technique.
To begin with, it will be enough to create a small semi-automatic line. Equipment for the packaging of honey will cost about 150-200 thousand rubles. Such an automatic machine will produce no more than 1000 kilograms of the finished product, placing it in containers from 20 ml to 10 liters. To work with such equipment does not require any special knowledge or any special training. On the other hand, it is worth considering the maintenance costs of the machine.
Of course, as the number of consumers grows, production can be gradually expanded, changing equipment to more powerful.
Another important point is transportation. After all, it will be necessary to deliver raw materials to production, and ready packaged cans to deliver to customers. You will need your own roomy transport. On the other hand, at first you can use the services of transport companies.
How many employees need to be hired?
In this case, everything again depends on the size and method of your production. If you have your own apiary, then for sure you will need helpers, moreover experienced ones who understand the intricacies of beekeeping. For starters, 1-3 workers in an apiary will be enough.
In addition, it will be necessary to hire people to monitor the packaging equipment. In a small production, 2-5 employees will be enough. But the staff of large companies often consists of 10-50 employees. A novice entrepreneur should take into account the cost of wages - on average it will be 60-70 thousand rubles a month.
Determine the category of buyers
Of course, the sale of honey is the most important issue. After all, if you do not have enough buyers, then the profit will be minimal. And in this case, it’s worth considering which category of customers your product will be designed for.
For example, people of low and middle incomes will not be able to buy an expensive product. The cost of honey can be reduced by packaging. For example, if you use cheap plastic containers, your product will cost much less. In addition, it is better to pour honey in containers of small volume, for example 200-300 ml - this will be affordable for every customer.
On the other hand, for many customers, not only containers are important (for example, honey is most often poured into glass jars), but also the presence of a label that describes the composition of the product, the manufacturer, date of bottling, etc. Such a product, of course, will cost more. Therefore, you need to determine in advance the category of customers and purchase the necessary materials, agree on label printing, etc.
Where to buy the finished product?
If you decide to deal with the packaging of finished honey, bypassing the stages of its production, then you are probably interested in questions about where to get raw materials for production. In such cases, it is best to find several beekeepers who will sell honey at a relatively low cost. Of course, you can try to come to an agreement with large apiary farms, but, as a rule, they work with large wholesale companies that are able to purchase and sell honey in large quantities.
In any case, when developing a business plan, you should take into account the fact that the production of honey is a seasonal business and in winter you should not count on the supply of raw materials.
We open our own store
Of course, you can always find wholesale buyers, for example, agree with large supermarkets or shopping centers, deliver your goods to small shops in the city, arrange with cosmetic or pharmaceutical companies that also buy honey and beekeeping products. But these options are only suitable if you can satisfy the needs of your customers.
But there is another option - to open your own outlet. The business plan for a honey store should consider the cost of rent. You will need a counter and other furniture, as well as refrigerators for storage, etc. You should definitely take care of all this.
By the way, the store may be small. You can also rent a place in the city market, since it is there that the bulk of buyers are concentrated. It is advisable to offer your customers a choice of at least a few varieties of honey.
The business plan for selling honey can be supplemented. For example, if you have your own apiary, then you can add other products to the assortment of goods, in particular wax and propolis. In any case, one of the most important aspects of the honey business is the quality of the product - the only way you can build up a base of regular customers, and then gradually expand the company.
By the way, advertising will not hurt. For example, you can order several banners or signs in the city, from time to time arrange various promotions. You can create a system of discounts for regular customers, which, of course, will attract new customers who want to save money. A local newspaper ad will also help make the store more popular.
