What do you do if you want to start your own business in the Food & Beverage industry?

I would marry myself into an existing operation and learn it from bottom up. Find a Mentor that can guide you around the pit falls of F&B. You really want to "learn" hands on about the operations and financing is key for a sustainable food business. Budget 18 months and put that in the bank assume zero income. And the first 12 months is just new curious people not actual customers.

First off, if you’re a good chef, that doesn’t mean you should open a restaurant. That just means you can cook great dishes. Owning a restaurant is no different than owning any other business. Except for one critical detail - it has a very high failure rate. What I’m conveying is that you have to be better at business than you are at being a chef. So if you want to open a restaurant, make sure you understand the details of how to run a business. Hiring. Order cycles. Profit and Loss statements. Commercial food safety. Staffing and scheduling. Building construction or remodeling costs. Negotiating with suppliers. Etc.

Begin by researching the market and identifying potential gaps or opportunities. Understand your target audience, competitors, and industry trends. Develop a comprehensive business plan outlining your concept, target market, marketing strategy, financial projections, and operational plan.

Market study before going for a F&B project is most important, to study the need of people and their spending power is must to decide cuisine and pricing

Para iniciar tu propio negocio en Alimentos y Bebidas, sigue estos pasos: 1) Investiga el mercado para entender a tu audiencia y competencia. 2) Desarrolla un plan de negocio detallado. 3) Cumple con los requisitos legales y obtén los permisos necesarios. 4) Selecciona una ubicación estratégica y dise?a el espacio adecuadamente. 5) Crea un menú que refleje tu concepto y las tendencias del mercado. 6) Implementa una estrategia de marketing efectiva y desarrolla una identidad de marca distintiva. 7) Considera aspectos adicionales como gestión de inventario, contratación de personal y calidad del servicio.

This part is crucial. At Auden Hospitality we use a fly wheel process for new concepts and feasibility comes into the 'how' section. How can feasible is the plan, I always do this over five years and make sure you build in scenarios +\- that show what happens if you exceed plan or fall below plan so that you have comfort you can run a sustainable business at all times. Don't try and fudge the numbers to make your vision work, if the numbers don't work, iterate until they do. Finally, when you do your projections, make sure you create a cashflow study so that you are comfortable you have the right investment to sustain the business in the early days.

Your business plan should be your point of clarity for all your decisions. It will be your guide in those moments when you are not sure which direction to take! If you don't have clarity then you won't have a clear vision of what and why you are doing what you are doing!

If you find it difficult to be objective and detailed in writing a business plan, perhaps you can reach out to schools. They usually have research projects for students and through this way you can get a deep inside and other viewpoints without spending (too much) money and time.

Your business plan should outline your goals, target audience, marketing strategies, financial projections, and the overall structure of your business. This will serve as a roadmap for your business and will be useful when seeking funding or partnerships

Para iniciar tu propio negocio en Alimentos y Bebidas, sigue estos pasos clave: Investiga el mercado para entender a tu audiencia y competencia. Desarrolla un plan de negocio detallado. Cumple con los requisitos legales y obtén los permisos necesarios. Selecciona una ubicación estratégica y dise?a el espacio adecuadamente. Crea un menú que refleje tu concepto y las tendencias del mercado. Implementa una estrategia de marketing efectiva y desarrolla una identidad de marca distintiva. Considera aspectos adicionales como gestión de inventario, contratación de personal y calidad del servicio.

Starting a company is one thing, succeeding in the business is another. Don’t expect to figure things out overnight, but don’t wait any longer to start. Consider the paperwork you need to fill out like a paper thin wall. It’s the only barrier between you and entrepreneurship. Simplify your business plan, make a minimal personal investment and start trying to make money. There is no substitute for experience. Understand you are statistically likely to fail in your first business and try anyway. Figure out what you know, what you don’t know, and what you don’t know you don’t know on a small scale before you take on the responsibility of a lease or employees.

Research and obtain all the required permits and licenses for your business, such as health department permits, liquor licenses, and tax registrations.

Navigating F&B legalities is crucial. Choose the right business structure impacting taxes and liability. Obtain mandatory permits like health department, liquor, and food handler certifications before opening.

Launching Food & Beverage venture in Thailand meant navigating a complex web of legal requirements and permits. This process taught me the importance of meticulous preparation and local expertise. Working closely with legal advisors helped me avoid potential pitfalls and set the foundation for a compliant business.

Even if you're building yourself as a Doctor or a Scientist or an Astrophysicist the business could fail... nothing is certain. If you have good knowledge and experience and have some backing go for it and go out and get it.

Business plan should always be well made, ahead of any build or property investments. Financial plan (forecasts, p&l projections, ROI studies with investment planning,) takes centerstage. Next would be busineas plan emanating from market research, that covers your overall plan on concept development, money, management and methods of execution

Carefully consider the location of your business, taking into account factors such as foot traffic, visibility, and accessibility. If you plan to operate a food truck or catering business, you may not need a brick-and-mortar location.

Choosing the right location is crucial for your F&B business success. Consider factors like accessibility, competition, and demographics, not just foot traffic. After securing a spot, design an efficient layout to enhance customer experience and operational flow. Prioritize kitchen workflow, dining comfort, and restroom accessibility to create an inviting atmosphere that encourages repeat business.

I feel some of these are not lined up to how I would go about setting the buisness up.for example I would scout locations and explore the costs of each location before I completed a buisness plan. The buisness plans Financials may be the same fixed costs but its how you cover those costs that you need with in the plan, and location and consumer potential play a big part of that.

Work with a professional chef or culinary expert to create a menu that appeals to your target audience and aligns with your business concept. Make sure your recipes are cost-effective and can be consistently reproduced.

Distinctive menu was a cornerstone in launching my Food & Beverage business. The process involved meticulous ingredient selection, balancing flavors, and aligning offerings with market trends and customer preferences. We focused on creating a menu that not only appeals to the local palate but also introduces innovative dishes to stand out in the market. This strategic approach helped in attracting a diverse clientele and setting the tone for the dining experience we wanted to offer.

This is the most interesting and fun part of the business. Menus should be creative, innovative but marketable. Appealing to the local palate and international community. As a chef and business owner, I continually have to strike a balance between creative dishes and the bottom line.

El desarrollo del menú fusiona creatividad y estrategia empresarial. Refleja la identidad de tu marca y satisface los gustos y expectativas de los clientes. La fijación de precios es crucial para cubrir costos y atraer a los clientes. El menú debe ser adaptable según el feedback de los clientes y la eficiencia operativa. Un buen menú equilibra la innovación con el atractivo clásico, manteniendo a los comensales emocionados y comprometidos.

Implement your marketing strategies to create awareness about your business and attract customers. Utilize social media, local advertising, and promotional events to generate buzz.

Especially for small businesses or startups with tight budgets, strong social media presence is crucial as it offers great ROI and increases brand awareness. It's not as costly as other marketing efforts, but done well, delivers a lot of value (relationship with customers, presenting values and points of difference or simply shouting about a great product to name only a few). Busy business owners tend to put it on back-burner and treat it as an afterthought, which is understandable given the little fires they have to put out every day. If that's the case, hiring someone or an agency to take it off their hands and put all energy into can make a huge difference. If possible, start the campaign on your social media before you launch.

Obsess on two things... The story The local community Make the first super clear and niche as much as you can. Then tell the story to the community and build in public and bring them on your journey.

In the F&B arena, nailing a standout product is your golden ticket—not just another menu item, but an entire experience that turns eaters into evangelists. Think: a creation so epic it becomes a cultural hashtag, making foodies stampede and Instagrammers weep with joy. In this cutthroat world, where trends sprint and loyalty is as rare as a unicorn steak, launching a product that deeply resonates isn't just cooking; it's experience building. It’s about forging emotional ties, transforming every moment into a memory worth retelling. This mix of creativity, zest, and smarts elevates you from fleeting to legendary, dictating trends, not just following them.

Get experience, and get the right support. I know that sounds sort of obvious but it's so easily overlooked. Even if you've been mixing up cocktails for years or leading a kitchen all your life, do you know about HR, labour law, business rates & taxes, leases & landlords? Are you a social media expert and do you have the time? Are you clear on licenses and laws? I opened a bar / restaurant when I was younger and it did ok but there's SO MUCH that I didn't know. And then subsequently spent so much time and energy reactively figuring things out and fixing. Take the time to learn and find people around you who are subject matter experts, perhaps with direct experience, and can you help you navigate what you don't know but need to!

My advice from doing this would be to find your true niche, what are you passionate about and what is your area of expertise? Once you have your niche, try and niche down again to really be clear who you are, what you offer and how you can serve people.

Have fun!! Don't take it too seriously, do your groundwork at the start with the research and the financials and then have fun. Be creative, push the boundaries, test the product out on people you know, iterate and go again! Embrace quality, focus on consistency and curate the perfect experience.

Spend time thinking about who you want to serve, what their pain points are, and how you can solve those challenges. Then, before you begin, learn how to market yourself through content creation and storytelling. Once you’re ready to start. Time chunk your schedule. All time should go to marketing until you get that first client. Target a tight demographic. Find your niche. You can’t be all things to all people. Once you have some cash coming your way, you have a business. Then shift the appropriate amount of your schedule to service your client(s) while maintaining time blocks to continue to work ON your business instead of IN it.