Question about selling jerky

[danielb]

Seems anytime you talk about starting any kind of business the default reply is don't do it. If you do someone will sue you etc.

You are a builder right? Builders get sued all the time. That doesn't mean you quit. You just cover your butt.

Same thing with this business. Just do it by the book and cover your butt.

There is risk in anything you do. But you can't let that stop you. At least check into it if it's something you really want to do. You may find the hoops make it not worth the effort but you may also find it's not that big of a deal.

I say go for it.

 

[txharleyrdr]

Selling in bars may work if the management doesn't mind. The problem with that is if they sell food or snacks they may not appreciate you taking potential business from them. If your jerky is a bit spicy you might win them over by pointing out their customers will drink more beer to off-set the spicy taste.

You might try automotive shops and even gyms. Lean beef is a good source of protein that lots of people working out like. The auto service industry is full of people who frequently don't have time or opportunity to leave for a snack. You will likely find that people will swarm to purchase a good jerky product but then won't buy any for a while so having several places you only visit a couple of times a month is a good idea.

Good luck and remember that without the proper permits and set up you will be selling a "black market" product.

 

[jax13]

Things are obviously different in the US compared to here in the UK but there was a couple of people over here went onto the dragons den TV show looking for an investment to turn their jerky business into a nationwide chain.

The one I'm thinking of failed to get the investment however the exposure alone gave them the ability to sell to a bigger market and I've seen then at country fairs and the like a couple of times.

More recently, a brand called texts joes went on and secured an investment so it is clear there is a marketable product and in the states, the jerky business is massive compared to across here!

I am in the process of setting up a marmalade brand and aside from eho approval (local health debt.) I need to liase with trading standards for my packaging and a food lab for shelf life advice etc. on my products.

All in all, the outlay isn't huge if you know how to go about it and are looking at small one man operations.

I would say it is well worth doing things legitimately to cover yourself fully from anyone who sees fit to drag you to court and with the proper approval insurance fees shouldn't be too bad. You say you aim to do a couple of weeks worth at a time but if you changed tack slightly and went for a supply rather than sale business you could have your product in the bars all the time, not just a Friday night for half an hour, convenience stores, hardware stores, gun / hunting and fishing stores etc. You may find there is a big market for it so get out there with your product and speak to business owners and potential stockists and give them a sample bag. If they like it, and are keen to stock it then you know that any financial outlay will have some degree of security.

You will find its got g to be one extreme or the other... No interest and not viable or high interest and worth doing properly.

Good luck!

 

[wade]

I started a thread specifically on this topic yesterday. I am trying to encourage people from here who have started selling their produce to share how they went about it with others.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/158207/turning-your-hobby-into-a-business#post_1139771

 

[wade]

... I am in the process of setting up a marmalade brand and aside from eho approval (local health debt.) I need to liase with trading standards for my packaging and a food lab for shelf life advice etc. on my products.

All in all, the outlay isn't huge if you know how to go about it and are looking at small one man operations.

I would say it is well worth doing things legitimately to cover yourself fully from anyone who sees fit to drag you to court and with the proper approval insurance fees shouldn't be too bad. You say you aim to do a couple of weeks worth at a time but if you changed tack slightly and went for a supply rather than sale business you could have your product in the bars all the time, not just a Friday night for half an hour, convenience stores, hardware stores, gun / hunting and fishing stores etc. You may find there is a big market for it so get out there with your product and speak to business owners and potential stockists and give them a sample bag. If they like it, and are keen to stock it then you know that any financial outlay will have some degree of security.

Unless you are going to go beyond giving it away to friends then it is essential that you do things properly from the start. If not then the litigation potential is vary scary. As Jax points out the outlay in the UK is not huge - especially if you are registering as a Sole Trader. I set myself up as a Limited Company - mainly so that I can recover tax on equipment purchases - but whichever way you do it talk to the EHO/FSA before you start. I have found that they will go out of their way to help you - it is in their professional interest to do so.

You really also need to go on a recognised food safety course too in order to show a minimum level of training/competence in the safe handling of food. The one day certificate (Level 2) is really the minimum if you are preparing low risk foods (jam, chutney, smoked cheese etc.) however the "supervising food safety" level 3 courses are recommended if you are preparing any of the higher risk foods (fresh/smoked meats/fish or cured meat products) - although these take considerably longer and are more expensive.

Start small and grow with your local market. Until you have demonstrated that other people actually do like what you produce (and importantly will pay for it) then avoid over committing your resources. Seasonal diversity is always a good idea too.

You will also be expected to have laboratory shelf life testing and nutritional analysis done, however I found that this was a lot easier and cheaper to do than I was expecting.

 

[bigwheel]

Ok not to be a bad influence on folks but I am still stuck in the outlaw phase of the hobby. I am an old retired guy with plenty of free time and not much hope of squeezing out big bucks on frivolous law suits. Might could stand a stern warning or a small fine for the first offense if the law dogs show up..but .I seem to selling all I can make at a once a week beer joint stop. The guys at the 2nd beer joint are getting antsy. Aint had none left for them in two weeks now.  My goal is to make enough to cover the bar tab(s) marketing budget on that... and buy some version of round. That stuff is fixing to get crazy high priced if it aint bad enough already. Anyway there should be some time left for repentance a little farther down the road. Hopefully. I been giving them lushes 3.5 oz for five bucks..but its fixing to drop to 3. That is the only way I can figure out how to use five buck a pound meat and sell it for five bucks. What am I missing here? Thanks.

 

[jax13]

My pricing structure for the marmalade (different product, same principle) is to work out the cost price per unit - including fuel, packaging, labelling etc. Then work out the time taken including time spent selling /delivering.

Put a price on your time per hour, multiply by time taken, divide it by number of salable products per session and you have your true cost price. I did this with 3 different sized jars as bottling time, cost of packing goods and number of units altered.

If your current selling price is below this figure then it is not a viable product in its current time form, if it's over then you are onto a good earner.

 

[bigwheel]

Well I done tried to explain I am retired and my time aint worth much of anything cept if I can keep occurpied it might prevent my Little Bride from joining Alice kramden on the moon. Surely this aint normal. I aint good at math. Thanks.