Specialty Foods

Startup Costs: $2,000 - $10,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Franchises Available? No
Online Operation? Yes

When people go grocery shopping, they want not just a can of soup but something special. In an age when very few have the time to stay home and bake cookies, put up preserves or pickles, or spend hours over that simmering pot of soup or spaghetti sauce, most of us scan the supermarket shelves for take-home goodness. So if you're renowned among family and friends for your famous chili or killer brownies or champagne jelly, then the specialty foods business might be your piece of pie. Specialty foods can range from salad dressing to chocolate sauce to fragrant breads. If you can make it, you can sell it--provided you know how. The specialty foods business is more about marketing than cooking, getting your product on the shelves and then off again into customers' shopping carts. The advantages to this business are that it's creative and challenging, and if you believe in your product, it can be extremely rewarding. Besides the ability to whip up a mean soufflé or sorbet, you'll need a working knowledge of safe food-handling practices, health regulations and product liability laws. A flair for food packaging is also a must--nobody's going to buy your delightful danishes if they look dumpy.

The Market

210

Needed Equipment

210