SOUP BUSINESS

bizzyb

Hi everyone,

My sister makes the most amazing soup's i have ever tasted all our friends and family do talk about it.Could something so simple be turned into a profitable business?I would love to help her out but would not no where to start as i no notting about food business.

Nehaxak

Could always just start off small at first, approach maybe a couple of the smaller shops with deli/hot food counters and ask them if they'd be interested in buying soup directly from her - which of course she'd have to deliver to them ready made every day.

She'll need to ask about quantities required and organise not just the cooking but the storage and delivery of same.

Soup is a grand thing to be selling as there's no great requirement to keep it hot until you're serving and it's fine stored when cold.

Used to work as a Chef a long time ago and was in charge every day for making the soup for the restaurant. If I remember rightly, a 100 litre tub of French Onion soup for instance, would last only a day, maybe 2 during the week - before I'd have to make more.

So just be aware that large quantities may be required that she'll have to provide, but that's a good thing.

If it kicks off enough and she finds people like her soup, maybe look to also invest in a small shop that opens every day only for the lunchtime rush (Camden Street in Dublin would be a perfect place, or near the IFSC) where all she does is sell soup in a large covered takeaway disposable container.
Properly stored and cared for, soup will also last a couple of days with no problems but even at that, she could probably give what's left to Simon charity and write the costs of same off on her tax as a charitable donation rather than a loss if she has to dispose of it (maybe, not sure on that one).

Nothing better than a hot fresh homemade soup on a cold lunchtime...

bizzyb

Thank you for your reply.Im afraid we live in a small town in ther mid-west a long way from dublin,but not to far from galway city.
When dealing with food is there certs that need to be put in place before trading?

Nehaxak

bizzyb wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.Im afraid we live in a small town in ther mid-west a long way from dublin,but not to far from galway city.
When dealing with food is there certs that need to be put in place before trading?

Automatically assumed you were from Dublin, sorry about that, my fault

Can only speak as a past Chef, far as I know there were food safety standard and procedures to adhere too and inspections of the restaurant and kitchens etc., were regularly carried out, at least every 2 months.

I'm not sure if that or how that might apply to a small home business but I'm almost sure it certainly does if operating a food business in a premises.

Worth checking things out with the FSAI via their website http://www.fsai.ie/home.html or giving them a call directly during the week if info can't be found there.

Nehaxak

Actually, here you go, direct link on their website with better info...

http://www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/starting_business.html

Factsheet for starting a food business in the home...

http://www.fsai.ie/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=10117

bizzyb

Thanks a million!

YellowSheep

bizzyb wrote: »

Hi everyone,

My sister makes the most amazing soup's i have ever tasted all our friends and family do talk about it.Could something so simple be turned into a profitable business?I would love to help her out but would not no where to start as i no notting about food business.

If you still interested how to start this give me a PM as it is not as easy as the posts provided. Its not only HACCP, but all about pricing and costing of product. If you want we can take one product and do a step by step product launch, free of charge of course. I had a huge production kitchen once and know this inside out.

Cheers Oliver

Bandara

Soup can easily be vaccum packed after being made and stored for quite a long time in a fridge.

If you vac pack it in 5ltr pouches it will fit nicely into a soup kettle and can be used for 2 consecutive days.

Pricing wise you'll need to be charging your buyer no more than 75c per portion max in my opinion.

As an aside soup is extremely easy to make. And their is always a problem with selling different varities, I've lost count of the number of times I tried to sell something as simple as Tomato and Basil soup when all the public wanted was boring veg soup one day after the next.

In Dublin you can try different varieties, but outside it Veg or Chicken soup is the king.

fatboypee

I often considered something similar as both my daughter and wife are amazing bakers. What put me off was the regulations around food and preparation for sale and the possible consequences of food poisoning etc..

However, I did hear that in our area, Shannon Development have recently completed a set of units someplace near (not 100% sure of the location) that they rent out to small businesses for a very good rent. These places are fully equipped and certified for food prep and catering, taking away a hell of alot of hurdles of doing something like this and if I were serious now, I'd definitely look into that.

FBP.