How to Take Your Food Business to the Next Level in 2020
It's a new year and a new decade – fulfill your entrepreneurial dreams and take your food business to the next level. With a few strategic investments in time and money, exponential growth is right around the corner. Half of surveyed Commercial Kitchen Factories Austin clients aim to increase sales in 2020 while others will focus on refining systems, recipes, and customer relationships. Whether you prep farm-to-table meal deliveries or create awesome empanadas, small business owners must constantly make improvements.
“First, consider the goals of your business and talk with your customers,” says CKFA client and Prep To Your Door founder, Faiez Rana. “Then, decide if this is the right time to expand. Be sure to communicate with your team – everyone needs to be on the same page, and motivated to achieve your goals. Some businesses get in trouble by growing too much, too fast. Others fail to recognize their clients' or team’s barriers and opportunities because they don’t bother asking (or listening!).” Prep To Your Door makes organic farm-to-table prepared meals delivered to your doorstep. PTYD has grown 362% over the last 12 months (YOY) and anticipates similar growth in 2020.
Competition in the Austin food scene is tight, but these investments will take your food business to the next level.
Get More Efficient…and Sell
Employees are your greatest asset and biggest expense. Provide training and work closely with staff to ensure they maintain quality, increase speed, and contribute to your team’s goals. Document everything you teach and turn it into a manual to save time and improve consistency with your next hire. Having efficient employees frees you up to sell more.
Your time is worth more than you think. Spend your time on things that enhance your business and, eventually, improve revenue. Invest in things that give you more time and let go of things that don’t really matter. Have you every spent (wasted!) an hour trying to save ten dollars? Let that stuff go. Use that time to do more sales.
Groceries are expensive. Shop around to find the best prices. But be careful – you are not really saving money if you spend excess time shopping… or waste gas (and more time) to drive across town for a great deal on cilantro. Create a detailed shopping list and delegate that to employees. You can focus on making more sales.
Sales is often misunderstood. Entrepreneurs have seemingly good reasons to avoid sales: they don’t have time, they don’t have enough staff to fulfill new orders, they can’t afford growth (really!), or they already sent a prospect email but didn’t get a response. Get aggressive, get organized, and attack sales (follow up!). And learn a few new things by reading this eye-opening eight-minute sales article from HubSpot.
Invest in a Commercial Kitchen
Now that your business is more efficient, increase production. Renting quality kitchen space allows you to take food production to the next level. It’s less expensive and less risky than owning your own kitchen. Your food business benefits in many ways:
Affordability – Building out a kitchen space is expensive and difficult. If you build out a leased space, you will lose most of that investment when you eventually move out – you can really only take your equipment and small wares. Other things like a ventilation hood, specialty walls and ceiling panels, and electrical and plumbing will be left behind. And buying your own building is prohibitively expensive for most people.
Less Risk – Taking on a lease and building your own kitchen is not only expensive, but it’s also risky. You’ll be locked into a lease, along with your construction loan. A good commercial kitchen space will offer a way to opt-out of your contract after 45 days without the need to buy-out the rest of your agreement.
Fully Licensed Kitchen Space – As the lessor of this space, you don’t have to worry over the headaches of repairs, licensing, building codes, OSHA requirements, and more. Your commercial kitchen landlord has that pleasure, so you and your team can focus on what's essential – cooking.
Commercial Grade Culinary Equipment – Commercial-grade facilities are not just more efficient for high production, but they are licensed for food service providers to prepare and store food. So, you're not only more efficient with food prep, but also law-abiding. Win-win.
Ample, Safe Food Storage – In commissary kitchens, the space for dry and cold food storage is a huge benefit. This allows you to buy in bulk and scale production.
Trash and Grease Disposal – Texas law requires proper disposal of waste, grey water, and grease. A commercial kitchen is equipped and ready to handle all of these needs.
Frequent Professional Cleaning – It’s rare, but find a shared kitchen that invests in deep cleaning at least five times per week. Sure, you’re still responsible for cleaning your own space after every use, but gunk can build up where you least expect in a commissary. Surprisingly, most commercial kitchens do not make this investment.
Community and Networking – You will make allies and learn from others in a shared kitchen. And there’s a good chance you’ll pick up a few clients.
Although many commercial kitchen spaces offer similar products, there are also multi-functional kitchen spaces that provide additional amenities, such as space for meetings, demos, and more. Ensure your kitchen treats you kindly and is committed to quality customer service.
You’ve Got This
This new year presents new beginnings and new opportunities. We hope this is your year to take it to the next level - and shine! We are always here to discuss not just your kitchen needs, but your growing business needs as well. Reach out to chat at any time.
About Commercial Kitchen Factories Austin
Commercial Kitchen Factories Austin provides nearly 8,000 square feet of shared commissary space across three locations. Central Texas’ innovative and successful culinary entrepreneurs grow their businesses with access to a clean facility with professional equipment and exemplary customer service. Learn more at KitchenFactories.com.