How to Start Organic Food Market Business
Food is a basic necessity of life because everyone eats and so an organic food market business is a highly profitable venture. Organic foods are completely natural and they are free from harmful toxins or chemicals that are lethal to the body. In lay man’s terms “Organic foods are fresh food or natural food; Organic food comprises of fruits such as: oranges, bananas, apple, papaya, lemon, pineapple and many more and Organic food also comprises of vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, kale, cabbage and many more.
Organic food business also involves selling animals like fish, beef and many more and it is very paramount that the animal health should be taken into consideration. Animals should be adequately taken care of by giving them high quality organic feed and proper rearing conditions for specific species, no medical substances should be administered to them unless specified by a medical professional. One of the greatest reasons why people eat organic food is because of its health benefits to the body. Doctors usually recommend organic food to their patients because it helps their body system to heal fast. Organic food gives vitamins and nutrients to the body that sustains the body as the popular adage says “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. The retail organic food market is an emerging trend and it is growing by 20% every year.
Health Benefits of Organic Food
Organic food when consumed enhances the human body in a tremendous way and the following are the benefits:
- It boost the body metabolism
- It helps in digestion
- It has anti-ageing benefits
- It gives the body essential vitamins and nutrients
- It aids weight loss process.
- It regulate the body
- It boost the body immune system
- Organic foods are rich in antioxidants which detoxify the liver from harmful toxins in non-organic food.
ORGANIC FOOD MARKET BUSINESS
A wise man or woman will invest in organic market business because the demand for organic food is increasing day by day. People want to live a healthy lifestyle to avoid sickness and excessive weight gain so they are willing to spend on anything that will make them healthy. Globally there is an increase in the number of organic grocery store and also most farmers are farming organic food, there is a very high tendency that this business venture will grow rapidly in the future.
Organic Food Store Business Plan
A business plan is the roadmap of any business. Write an elaborate business plan for your organic food market business. There are varieties of organic products and so you have to specify the product you want to sell in your business plan .In addition, estimate the amount of capital you need for your business and draft it in your business plan and also the promotion strategy you want to use for your business. Your business plan should have objective, Mission and Vision.
Have a Business Objective
It is very essential to have a business objective and to have strategies on how you can meet this objective. Below is a sample of objective for every organic for store business:
- To sell and market a specific or every type of organic food, whole food, food supplement that is demanded by your customers.
- To provide quality sales service and products at a fair price
- To achieve net profit in one year, increasing by two, by containing costs and meeting sales goals
- To establish thriving sales relationship with bulk purchaser who markets your products in other words referral market.
- To deliver excellent sale services to consumers
Once you have your business objective, at the end of every year evaluate your objective and see whether you have achieved them or not, if you have not achieved them then discover why and implement them in a better way.
Business Vision
Vision is also known as forecasting your business. The vision of every good organic food business is to provide a one- stop location for accessing high quality, nutritional, flavorful organic food, whole food, supplement, fresh fruits and vegetables in a conducive and desirable environment at the best price.
Location
Organic food market business is not about products but location, you may want a location that is very conducive and accessible. A great location may not guarantee success but a bad location will almost always guarantee failure. A good location should have degree of security, access to public transport and adequate parking. The best location combines visibility, affordability and lease terms you can live with. A departmental store is more successful in newly developed areas. The location is your selling point because a location with high point of sales results to high foot traffic. Finding the right location for your store is very crucial; location is a paramount factor to this business.This article is about organic market business, there are different points of sales in the market. You can sell in an open market, supermarket or specialized grocery store. You can also sell in a grocery store that is located in an open market. E-commerce is another selling platform though it is an online selling platform. Since it is a market business you may have to decide on setting up a market stall with other traders or a market store. You should set up your market store or stall in an area where people are well aware of organic food and are ready to spend on it. You should make ensure that there are not too many competitors in the area. Setting up an organic food store in a market can be very competitive because there may be market laws that specify that all organic traders should situate their stalls or store in a designated area, in such scenario, you have to stand out as an organic food market vendor. One of the ways you can stand out is by packaging your products in a beautiful manner to attract customers.
Secure a location
You may negotiate concessions with the landlord if you are taking the space on rent and you are also required to sign a lease agreement. The concessions may be regarding interior designs costs, which may include painting infrastructure and maintenance. You also have to apply for necessary building permit and would want to take the hell of an interior designer. Use the service of a interior designer to help with the aesthetics of the store. A beautifully designed store brings back customers.
Registration and Permits
You have to register your business. A business that handles preparation and sale of food requires a permit from the health department. Certificate is very mandatory for Organic Food to ensure that the production and handling of products are according to the specified standard as required by the law. Certification of products creates trust in organic labeling and promotes fair marketing and competition in a market place. It is also very important for you to get your organic store certified officially by the Organic Trade Association. File for an employer identification number, or EIN. Decide on the business structure you want toadopt such as sole proprietorship, partnership, Limited Liability Company. It is very essential that you open a business bank account under the name of your business.
Every business needs capital and as a new business venture you will a lot of money to establish your business. There are different ways to source for capital, for instance if you have a business plan it will be very easy for you to get a loan from the bank. Investors, government grants and Bank loans are different means you can use to fund your business. Setting up an organic market business is an expensive venture because organic foods are more expensive than conventional food, if you have enough personal savings you can use it to fund your business. Start small and as the business expands you can invest more capital into it.
Decide what you want to sell
There are varieties of organic products so it is left for you to decide what you want to sell. Research your locality to discover the organic product they love to consume, this will help you to decide the products you will be selling. You may need to hire distributors that will help you deliver your products. In addition, make researchabout the price of the products you want to sell.
Sourcing for Supplies
Concentrate on sourcing your organic food. It is always better to get material from certified suppliers. Organic foods are fresh or natural foods, organic foods can be gotten from the farm, you can contract farmers and enter into an agreement with them to always make supplies for you, As your business expands you may have to start farming organic products. For instance, you can acquire a piece of land and plant different fruits and vegetables, in this scenario; you are the supplier and the seller. It is very essential to get fresh products because a consumer of organic foods loves it fresh.
Materials or Equipments needed for Organic Food Store Business
- Grocery Store
- Food Shelves
- Containers
- Refrigerator
- LAN lines
- Utilities
- Equipment
- Furniture
- Stationeries
Fix a reasonable price
Research the price and set up a universally accepted price for your organic food. If you set up a low price, your sales volume will be high but your business will not maximize profit and if you set up a high price you will drive away price sensitive customers. Hence, you must set up an appropriate price for your products. In addition, put a price tag on your products.
Every business needs people to run it. You need staff for the following functions: delivery, sales, marketing, finance and purchase. The capacity of your business determines the number of staff you will require for this business. You can also use a Point of Sale Software and ATM for financial operations; hire a credible Accountant that will help you run the day to day affairs of your business.
Educate your staff on organics and naturals to make your efforts feel authentic to your customers. Staff training is a key part to marketing strategy because your staff will educate customers about the benefit of organics in the body.
Management of your Organic Food Business
The first management strategy is in the appearance of your store or stall. Arrange your organic products beautifully in the shelves and you can also place them in the baskets. Make customize shopping bags or baskets that customers can package these products when the purchase them. For your business to afloat, you must maintain optimal quality of your products and you must be adaptive to customer’s preferences. If your store is big enough, you may have to install a CCTV Camera to control theft and you must have a good control over supply chain. Maintain an excellent hygiene practice for your business; a properly cleaned store can entice customers while a dirty store can drive them away.
Promotion of Organic Food Market Business
There are different ways to promote your organic food store business and they are: Offline Marketing and Online Marketing.
Offline Marketing
- Local Newspapers: Newspaper Is a print form of advertising that is published daily, write an article in a renown Newspaper about the benefits of organic food and the advertise your product there. A lot of people read newspapers daily to get the latest updates and Newspaper is a remarkable advertising outlet.
- Word of Mouth: Our Mouths may be small but it is a very great marketing agent. Unlike many advertising outlets where you have to pay money to advertise your product, this outlet is free and easy and all you have to do is to speak. Tell someone that will tell someone. Tell friends and families that will also tell other friends and family. Inform your customers about the benefits of natural products or organics to the body.
- Billboard: Design a colourful billboard with pictures of fruits and vegetables and place it in front of your store, write a catchy word on it to drive foot traffic to your store. You can also write about the benefits of organics.
- Flyers, Banners, Posters: Design beautiful flyers and banner and give it to friends and families. Write out the health benefits of organic products versus non-organic product, your business address and contact. You can also use posters to market your product.
- Coupon: In marketing, a Coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. You can give out coupons to your customers especially customers that patronize you a lot; this will increase your business sales. You can mail your customers gift coupons for their birthdays and this will build your customer data base.
- Magazines: Magazines are periodicals and some are usually published on monthly basis. There are varieties of health magazines, publish an article on the numerous benefits of organic food but if the article is already published then book the back page or middle page and advertise your products there.
Online Marketing
Social Media: The social media is a great marketing outlet and so you must build a solid online presence. The social media comprises of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and whatapp, use these social media platforms to educate people on the benefits of organic food to the body and the dangers of not consuming them. In addition, educate them on the dangers of non-organic foods and the harmful toxins that are used to produce non-organic foods, Organic foods are rich with antioxidants that detoxify the liver. If they see the need of a healthy lifestyle, it will drive foot traffic to your business store.
Launch your own Website: Create an informative website for your organic food store business. Go for an online order system and social media optimization. Let your customers have food on their footstep.
Website and blogs: Use other business website and blogs to advertise your business. Make sure your business location is specified for potential customers to locate you. In addition you can also mark out your location on Google maps and people searching Google maps can find your business and locate you.
Benefit of Organic Food Market Business
It is highly profitable: Organic food market business is highly profitable because the demand for it is very high. People are very conscious of living a healthy lifestyle and are ready to do anything to achieve that. Fruits, vegetables, pulses, grains, honey and others are highly demanded globally, so a wise person will invest into this venture.
In addition, it is highly profitable because this business exponentially grows fast. You may start small as a result of the huge demand for organic products there is a high tendency that your business will expand in a short period of time and this will generate huge profit for your business. If you invest in this business venture you will not regret it because it will succeed if you manage it well.
Challenges of Organic Food Market Business
- Organic foods are expensive than Conventional food: Organic foods are very expensive and this will make the business an expensive venture to invest in. there are a lot of factors that make organic food business an expensive venture one of such is labour cost is too high. The venture is highly profitable but only people with enough capital can start the business.
- The Demand of Organic Foods Exceeds the Supply: Day in day out people are very conscious that they need to live a healthy lifestyle and so the demand of organic food is increasing daily but the supply is very low compared to the demand. One vital reason why organic foods are scarce a times is that organic food like fruits and vegetables are seasonal, For example in Nigeria, Mangoes are usually ripe and due for harvest from January to April and after this period it is very difficult to find mangoes around. Due to its seasonal nature, organic fruits and vegetables are not always available at certain time or period of the year and even if it is available, it will be very expensive because of scarcity.
- Marketing is difficult As a result of Limited Volume of Production.
One of the challenges of organic food store is limited production and this makes marketing it to potential consumer tedious. There are several factors that are responsible for limited production and they are: Pest and Diseases that affect crops and animals, post management harvest of organic food is expensive. To curtail this challenge, I will recommend organic food market sellers to go into agriculture and manage it efficiently so that there can be adequate supply of organic food in their store.
- E-commerce is a big Contender to Offline Market Store
We are in the digital age and a lot is happening, organic foods can be sold via e-commerce. People can sit in the comfort of their homes and order for organic food and it will be delivered to their door step. This is causing a very serious competition for offline organic food store. I will recommend an organic food vendor to sell both online and offline; just make sure the prices of the products are the same.
- Organic Foods are Perishable
Business is all about being fortunate or perhaps the grace of God. There are days you make huge sales and there are days sales are very low and so organic foods like fruits and vegetable are highly perishable and may start getting rotten if they are kept for a long period of time. If there is poor sales or low turnout of customers for a long period of time, this will make the products get spoilt and it will result to business loss.
Conclusion
Investing in an Organic food market business is putting your money in the right place because it is profitable provided it is done in the appropriate location, managed adequately and marketed well. Invest and you won’t regret it.