Food - almost a gold mine for entrepreneurs of all stripes, as the demand for them almost never falls. Of course, for a stable profit, the production of smoked meats should be carefully organized. Much depends on the administrative side in this matter, and therefore we will consider a fairly simple but informative business plan, as well as provide basic information about this production.
Why smoked meats?
The cost of high-quality and natural food is almost constantly growing, and therefore you do not have to worry about the poor profitability of production. In addition, historically in our country, agricultural enterprises rarely operate on a full-cycle basis. Simply put, they only grow animals or poultry, preferring to sell finished products to processors.
In short, if there is a pig farm or a poultry farm nearby, you will be provided with plenty of raw materials. However, it is better to focus on poultry farms, since the terms of reproduction are much shorter there, and the finished raw materials will be supplied constantly.
Pork (especially from small farms) will only come seasonally. Thus, your production of smoked meats will greatly depend on the specifics of this particular livestock industry.
Do not forget that high-quality smoked products are stored for a long time, without requiring as much freezing equipment as in the case of frozen meat. Of course, such delicacies with your hands will tear off all local retail chains.
Another huge advantage is that the market for smoked products is not oversaturated, and the number of eminent players on it can even be counted on the fingers. Thus, the production of smoked meats is a great idea for developing your own business.
Production Technology and Equipment
First you have to decide what kind of raw materials you need to use. For example, the same wings are slightly cheaper than the hips, and diverge no worse. Accordingly, smoking them is very profitable. The situation with pork is slightly less obvious: of course, smoked ribs are excellent at buying, but the bacon, which is made using this technology, is in no less demand.
Decide whether you will purchase raw materials in an already refined form or prefer to buy animals by live weight. In the first case, you do not have to install a bunch of additional equipment, which will save you a lot of money. If you don’t particularly delve into the situation, then such a production of smoked meats seems more profitable.
If you look at the situation more broadly, then a cleaned beaten bird is several times more expensive than unbroken carcasses. So, if you want to organize a large production with a wide range of products, you still have to go to these expenses.
For novice entrepreneurs, an intermediate option can be advised when a certain amount is included in the cost of production, which will allow at least some of the funds necessary to purchase the required equipment to be accumulated.
Note that when plucking the bird on its own, a bunch of by-products are formed. There is currently a fairly steady demand for the same feather, not to mention offal.Smoked even chicken stomachs go off with a bang, so over time you will seriously win money.
Approximate Technical Information
Consider both types of production, so that you better navigate the future needs of your own business. So, if you need to buy uncleaned carcasses of beaten birds, you can not do without buying a special machine to clean them from the pen. Remember that the technology of smoking meat in production provides for the maximum possible purification of raw materials.
The “scientific” name for such equipment is a plumage removal machine. Its cost is from 100 thousand rubles.
Judging by foreign catalogs, then similar equipment is sold there for about 2.5-3 thousand dollars. The best copies reach 150 thousand rubles.
An equally important unit is designed to clean the legs of a slaughtered bird. This equipment can be purchased for about 120-130 thousand rubles.
Gutting and other processing steps
At the next stage, the stomachs are removed from the birds, their washing is performed. All necessary equipment can be purchased for about 230-250 thousand rubles. We recommend buying multifunctional equipment, as it is more compact and cheaper.
In case you decide to sell a fully cut bird, you will need a cuticle remover. Its cost is also about 100 thousand rubles, or three thousand dollars.
Next comes the machine for cutting paws, the cost of which is also slightly more than 100 thousand rubles. Foreign manufacturers sell it for about 2800 euros. But the fully automatic line for cutting and processing carcasses will cost you more than 3 million rubles.
Note that this equipment will have to be bought even if your production is aimed at using already gutted carcasses.
Smokehouses
Only after complete cleaning can the products be sent to the smokehouse. Their assortment is huge, but the main difference is the maximum possible volume of simultaneously loaded raw materials. However, far from any technology of smoking meat in production involves maximum load volumes. The fact is that this is fraught with poor processing of raw materials.
If we talk about domestic producers, then in their assortment there are smokehouses with a load of 50 kg to one ton of meat. Moreover, a 50 kg unit will cost you about 60 thousand rubles, while the cost of the largest smokehouse is in the range of 550-600 thousand.
Quite expensive are the samples of such equipment, equipped with freezing equipment, for the operational cooling of finished smoked meats. So, the simplest thermal smoke chambers for small businesses at 50 kg in this case will cost more than 100 thousand rubles.
You can save on manufacturing technology. There are stainless steel models, and there are those in which only work surfaces are made of it. Of course, smokehouses, for the production of which only stainless steel was used, will cost more. However, it’s easier to care for them, and they have a longer service life.
But you shouldn’t pay much attention to this: as a rule, manufacturers are responsible for protecting workspaces, and therefore even combined cameras have good longevity.
This is especially true when the smoking of chicken in the smokehouse is carried out on fuel from hardwood.
We advise you to pay attention to those smokehouses that are equipped with automatic sinks for finished products. Firstly, they allow you to produce products of better quality.
Secondly, the difference in cost (when compared with conventional equipment) is not so big: for large smokehouses it is about 60 thousand rubles, while a machine with a 50 kg hopper equipped with a sink can be bought only 10 thousand more than its own less functional counterpart.
Smoking technology
And now briefly consider the process of smoking. There are two technologies: hot and cold smoked.The preparatory processes are the same: carcasses are cleaned and gutted, washed, and then placed in salting baths. Of course, when buying ready-made carcasses, they only need to be salted. The concentration of salt and spices depends on the selected specifications and the specific recipe. After that, the meat is smoked.
If you practice cold smoking, then the process will take at least three days. The temperature of the smoke does not exceed 25 degrees Celsius. The resulting products are distinguished by excellent taste and very long shelf life.
With hot smoking, the temperature of the smoke in some cases approaches 70-80 degrees Celsius. The product is ready in three to four hours. As a rule, shelf life is short. However, if you decide to organize a small production in the garage, then this technology is optimal (less cost).
Organizational matters
In the case of smoked meats, various regulatory documents play a special role. And here the peculiarities of the domestic food product market are manifested: since there is still no single Federal Law (which has recently replaced GOST) with products of this type, each entrepreneur must independently develop specifications for smoked products.
However, you can produce smoked meats according to TI (technological instructions). This will add credibility to you in the eyes of inspection bodies and consumers, since in this case the products are manufactured according to well-established regulations. Of course, in this case, smoking chicken in the smokehouse will come out more expensive, but the trust of customers will more than compensate for all losses.
You need to coordinate your creations with the local branch of Rospotrebnadzor and the Center for Standardization and Metrology.
How to develop them?
Here you have complete freedom of creativity: you can develop the rules yourself, but still it would be better to contact a specialized company. Please note that when using the original recipe from the manufacturer from whom you purchased equipment for the production of smoked meats, you can buy the appropriate technical specifications from him.
SES requirements
The premise must comply with SanPiN 2.3.6.1079-01 "Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for public catering organizations, the manufacture and turnover of food products and food raw materials in them." What does it mean?
This means that the workshop must be equipped with the following types of utilities: supply of electricity, hot and cold water, normal sewage system. Mandatory ventilation system.
If you are working with frozen raw materials, then you have to fulfill several other requirements. In particular, freezers must be equipped with drains for liquids, and also located away from the production room itself. In addition, in the case of the purchase of already beaten and non-gutted birds, each technological step should also be carried out in a separate workshop.
If climate allows and layout of the territory then smoke systems can generally be located in the open, protecting from rainfall with conventional canopies.
Staff
It is estimated that an enterprise producing up to six tons of smoked meat per day requires approximately eight workers. Be sure to have for every (!) Working scheme of a food technologist. All chicken smoking technologies require an accurate dosage of the necessary components, so you cannot trust all this to simple employees.
All other employees may not be qualified. The payroll is calculated based on the average wage in the region. Do not forget that today up to 34% is spent on payments to social funds.
Profitability
Oddly enough, but profitability is very difficult to assess. The product range is very large, and its cost varies greatly.It is believed that the average profitability of the production of smoked meats is within 25%. If you have a reliable market, and you make some smoked guinea fowl, then the profitability of the business can exceed 250-300%.
