A few years ago, pasta was considered a cheap product for the preparation of simple and affordable dishes of everyday diet. Moreover, their benefits were called into question by supporters of a healthy and dietary diet. The myth about the dangers of pasta for a figure seemed a completely natural and obvious fact, and therefore, those who watched their forms tried less often to include them in their menu.
In recent years, the attitude to this product has changed dramatically, including due to a closer acquaintance of our citizens with European cuisine. It turned out that pasta can become the basis of truly healthy, delicious and even low-calorie dishes. Today this product is in demand by all categories of citizens, and the new premium segment that has appeared allows making pasta production quite an interesting and profitable business. The competition in the elite segment is lower, and the demand for the products of this group is quite high and is growing every year. That is why now is the ideal time to "get into the stream" and open your own business for the production of high quality pasta.
Business Plan Content: Key Organizational Points
Pasta consumes everything from children who serve them for lunch in kindergartens and schools, and ending with business people having dinner with this dish in restaurants. In this regard, a quality-built production will certainly find its niche and will be provided with demand in the food market.
Those who decide to connect their activities with pasta and make it a profitable occupation need to decide on a number of important issues. To do this, you need to draw up a business plan for pasta production, and this article is designed to help with this. The main points to be determined:
- Consumers and distribution channels of finished products.
- Types and technology of pasta production.
- The need for resources, including raw materials, to organize the production process.
- Equipment for the production workshop.
- Feasibility study of the pasta business, including investment, profitability and profitability.
The production of pasta as a business today is a pretty attractive occupation that can provide a good profit for the owner. Having solved the main issues regarding the opening of our own production enterprise, we can proceed directly to its actual implementation. We begin to study them by identifying the main consumer of future pasta.
Target consumers and methods of selling pasta
It is very important to clearly determine for whom the products of your workshop or factory will be manufactured. Consumers will be found in any segment, but the premium segment is the most profitable and profitable. At a fairly low cost of products (including the highest class), the cost of finished products is several times higher than the price of pasta of economy and middle class. The stake here is not on quantity, but on quality, which allows you to increase profits by setting higher prices.
At the same time, in the elite segment (as in all others) there are several options for the sale of products:
- direct sale to retail supermarket chains and grocery stores;
- wholesale to large distributors;
- delivery to restaurants, cafes (HoReCa sector);
- supply to the municipal sector, i.e. budgetary organizations (suitable for economy and middle class products).
Conducting an analysis of consumer demand in your region, as well as competitors already playing in this market, will help determine the choice of a segment and sales channels.
Pasta production: types
There is a fairly wide range of pasta varieties that can be produced within any selected segment. They differ in the type of flour (the first, category "B", and the highest - for category "A"), in shape and length. In addition, the variety of pasta depends on the composition and nutritional value. There are types of pasta:
- threadlike (cobweb, thin or ordinary vermicelli);
- ribbon-like (smooth, corrugated noodles, with wavy edges);
- tubular (feathers, horns, etc.);
- curly (different shapes).
There are also pasta with various flavors and natural dyes, nests and skeins, backfill for first courses, instant noodles. The use of various production technologies makes it possible to obtain such diverse types of pasta. Recently, one of the most popular, especially in the premium segment, is the vacuum technology. It allows you to improve consumer properties pasta and get a more transparent finished product (glassy) that does not undergo sticking and does not boil during cooking.
Raw materials for the production of pasta: primary and secondary
Depending on the type of pasta, raw materials of various qualities are used, as well as additional ingredients. Premium flour is the main raw material for the production of pasta in the middle and elite segments. It must meet certain characteristics:
- gluten content - 28% or more;
- humidity - not more than 15%;
- enriched with vitamins if necessary (PP, B1, B2).
Water is the second important component. It should be safe in chemical composition, have a pleasant taste.
Minor Production Products
In addition, for the production of certain types of products, additional ingredients are used: eggs and egg powder, dairy and vegetable products (in particular, natural juices), food colors (beta-carotene, tartrazine, etc.).
Also, surfactants are used in the production, allowing to preserve the quality and external properties of pasta for a long time, to prevent their adhesion and digestion. These nuances must be taken into account when organizing your own pasta production.
It is important to determine the supply chains of raw materials, especially flour, in order to receive it in a timely and appropriate quality. Today, there are grain holdings of large producers created to optimize raw materials supplies, including controlling logistics processes and preventing failures. Joining them can increase the profitability of production and provide production with affordable high-quality raw materials.
Macaroni production process: technology and equipment
The specific technology for the production of pasta depends on the type and formulation of the products. And the equipment is purchased taking into account the planned production volumes and assortment.
Stages of the production process
However, the main stages are reduced to the following processes:
- preparation of raw materials (sifting of flour and heating, mixing of different lots in order to improve quality indicators);
- preparation of the dough (loading flour with drinking water into the dough mixer, adding other components according to the recipe, kneading, evacuation);
- screw compaction and shaping;
- blowing with a built-in fan, cutting and laying out products on a tray;
- preliminary (on the press machine table) and final (in the drying cabinet) drying to a moisture index of 19%;
- exposure of pasta in a cardboard container to a moisture content of 13%;
- pasta examination (for condition, humidity, strength, digestibility, etc.);
- packaging using filling machines.
In addition, there are various nuances in the process. So, for example, the storage of flour can be carried out in bulk and bulk way (pouring into the hopper). The second is preferred, since it minimizes the loss of flour during the packaging process, minimizes the cost of sewing bags and reduces the use of manual labor.
Various drying methods are also used before packing. The use of hydrothermal technology can significantly shorten this process: due to special equipment, the finished product is rapidly cooled, followed immediately by the packing of pasta and their packaging.
Equipment for the organization of pasta production
The main costs in organizing the pasta business are related to the purchase of special equipment. The production of pasta requires the following items:
- semi-automatic or automatic line for the production of pasta (their productivity is approximately 100 kg and 500 kg per hour);
- matrix forms (their set depends on the assortment of pasta);
- filling and packaging machine.
The entire set of equipment required for production includes a flour sifter, a press, a drying line, conveyors, stabilizer bins (they are usually delivered complete with high-capacity lines).
The choice of specific types and models of equipment depends on the volume of production and the available budget. So, for packaging, you can purchase both automatic and semi-automatic equipment, and, if necessary, a whole line. The same applies to matrices and other devices. Among other things, you will need carts for transporting raw materials, racks for storing finished products, knife sharpening devices and more.
Key economic indicators related to the organization of pasta business
Pasta production can be both profitable and unprofitable. In the latter case, this is associated with the acquisition of expensive equipment in the manufacture of products or low cost, or not in great demand. That is why before starting the organization of production it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of this industry in your region, evaluate demand and competition in a particular segment, calculate costs, expected profit and profitability.
The cost of organizing the production of pasta
The minimum starting capital in order to start a pasta business is approximately 800 thousand - 1.5 million rubles. This amount includes the following expenses:
- the costs of acquiring a full set of production equipment (main article), as well as its delivery and installation, commissioning;
- rental of industrial and warehouse premises, utility bills;
- purchase of the necessary raw materials - depends on the volume of production;
- staff costs (salary, training);
- the costs of registering an enterprise and opening a current account;
- other expenses.
Of these, monthly payments include rent, expenses for the purchase of raw materials and staff, transportation costs, taxes and some others.
Production profitability
Moreover, the production of pasta pays off within a minimum of 15-18 months with the successful organization of the supply of raw materials and marketing of finished products. Of course, this largely depends on the profit received from the sale. In the premium segment, it will be much higher than average. At the same time, the costs, although higher, do not differ very much with the competent organization of the production process and the establishment of relations with reliable suppliers.
Sales revenue and net profit
If the production of pasta is carried out on equipment with a capacity of 150 kg / h, then with 50% load and a 12-hour shift (30 days per month), you can get about 27 thousand kilograms of finished products. Determine the planned price (wholesale) of each kilogram and get approximate revenue per month.
On average, it will amount to 600-800 thousand rubles, of which more than half will be used to cover monthly expenses: the purchase of raw materials, employees, rents and utilities, tax deductions, transportation costs, etc. On average, the net profitability of such an enterprise varies in the range 100-300 thousand rubles.
Summarizing
In this article, we examined the main issues associated with such a business as the production of pasta. We have highlighted the points regarding the selection of the segment and types of manufactured products, the definition of technology, raw materials and the equipment necessary for organizing the production process.
In conclusion, approximate data were provided on the required initial investments and monthly expenses, profitability and profitability of this type of production. We hope this information will be useful to you and will help you to properly approach each stage of organizing your own pasta business.
