Starting a Homemade Pasta Business
The first thing to know if you are starting a home pasta making business is the basic process of making fresh pasta. This type of pasta is made with fresh ingredients and has a shorter shelf life compared to dried or commercially made pasta.
Making fresh pasta is better because the business owner can tailor it to the needs and demands of the consumer in terms of shape, size, color, and flavor of the finished product.
Here are some suggested steps to start a home pasta making business, categorized as: start-up, regulatory compliance, and marketing.
initial stage
• Create and perfect your own recipe that you think will sell and it will turn out the same every time you make it. Have your family and friends try them out and ask their opinions.
• As with any business, when you are starting a home pasta making business, prepare a business plan that contains the business goals and projections that you have set for yourself. This will guide you in the actual running of the business and will help you assess whether the business is running well or not.
• Buy your ingredients and supplies like bags and packing supplies. Decide how you plan to package your homemade pasta. You can pack it in a freezer-safe bag where consumers can freeze, refrigerate, or eat it right away. It could also come in cellophane bags. You can search online for bulk suppliers for these items. You’ll save money and help create a consistent, professional appearance. Design your own labels on your computer and print them out or you can have a professional designer create them for you and order your labels in bulk. Be sure to include cooking and serving instructions on the labels.
• Purchase equipment you don’t already have to make preparing large batches of your recipes much faster and easier.
• Determine a wholesale price list for all your products. Consider all the costs you will incur in producing your homemade pasta, such as ingredients, facility cost, packaging, and labor cost. This should be written up in the form of a spreadsheet that would include the retail and wholesale prices for each of your products. This information will be useful to your future retailers because it will show proof of the profit they will make if they sell your homemade pasta in their stores.
Normative compliance
• Since you will be starting a home pasta making business and producing a food product, you should contact your state and local health departments to inquire about permit and licensing requirements.
• Make sure you can sell products that are produced in your home kitchen because different states have different laws regarding homemade food products. This information is available online at your state Department of Health website or you can request a copy. Try to check local zoning laws if you are allowed to operate a business from your home. As of 2010, only 13 states allow home cooking businesses to operate and they are: Alabama, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Utah. Therefore, it is important that you review these before starting your business.
• Most states allow the sale of homemade food products at farmers markets and flea markets without the necessary state licensing and inspection. They only allow the sale of these products in these places. Before starting a home pasta making business and deciding to sell your products in these locations, make sure your state does not have any labeling requirements, such as this label, for example, “Made in a home kitchen and not inspected by (insert state) Department of Agriculture.” The label should state the name of the product and the ingredients used and check your state’s household laws for household labeling requirements.
• Most home cooking operations are sole proprietorships or partnerships. If you plan to make your business a source of livelihood, a DBA (Doing Business As) license would be the best route if you will be naming your business. As of 2011, the registration fee is between $25 and $35. However, DBA registration is not required if your business name contains your legal name. Your state may also have other food processing licensing regulations that are peculiar to your home pasta making business.
Marketing
• Your main competitor in the homemade pasta business is commercial pasta. Therefore, it is not a good idea to compete with these manufacturers in supermarkets and grocery stores because this is not the proper way to sell their products. You need to do the traditional and tried and tested marketing strategies to attract your customers, such as billboards and handing out flyers. Make your business known in your community by handing out samples of pasta dishes with your fresh pasta or give them away for free at gatherings or community gatherings. It’s also good to customize fresh pasta during these events to meet the individual needs of customers. If you enjoy making healthy pasta, you can try selling your products at local health stores.
• Other possible places to sell your produce are local farmers’ markets, craft fairs, and flea markets. Many people like the taste of homemade products, such as fresh pasta, but simply don’t have the time to prepare them themselves. You can give them that homemade flavor they are looking for. During holidays and special occasions, many people love to give local and homemade food products as gifts.
• You can also market your food products by creating your own brochures, catalogs and price lists and offering your products at outlets that sell local products. Create a list of target retailers in your community with the name and contact information of the person in charge of purchasing.
• Try to ask if your local Italian restaurants buy pre-made pasta, as this could be a potential joint venture between your business and their restaurants.
• The Internet is also a good place to present your products on a national scale. If possible, you could create your own website to help your business grow.
I hope these steps help you start a home pasta making business.
