Starting your own business can be a fruitful but frustrating experience. There are many things that need to be researched and considered. Whether you have some experience in the retail and wholesale meat sector or you’re a beginner in the industry, search no further. If you’re wondering how to start a meat business, this article can give you some ideas about how to sell meat online, how meat distribution works, and what consumers and business owners are looking for when they purchase meat products. In the paragraphs below we’ll share more about the different types of meat businesses and share how to start a meat business in a few steps.
Key takeaway: Whether it’s a butcher shop or a food service business like a food truck, starting a meat business requires a lot of preparation and research. Other important aspects include developing health and safety procedures, marketing your goods and services, and scaling the business.
Different Types of Meat Businesses
Butcher Shop
A butcher shop is fairly easy to manage. These companies purchase different meat products from processors or distributors and sell them to their retail customers. Butcher shops rarely do B2B sales and are primarily B2C-focused. Proper inventory management and storage are crucial as meat is a perishable product. Owners of butcher shops should know how to store meat and extend its shelf life.
Food Service Businesses with a Focus on Meat
There are many applications of meat in restaurants. However, opening one can be challenging. Instead, you can start a food truck business or a mobile meat stand. Such a business can offer smoked meats and other BBQ delights to customers in crowded areas. You can also grow it to include a catering business by offering BBQ catering services for events and parties.
Meat Farm
Organic meat products are among the biggest trends in the industry. That’s why starting a livestock farm that focuses on grass-fed meat directly to consumers can be a lucrative idea. Furthermore, as the demand for organic meat products is high, you can offer meat subscriptions to individual customers or businesses. It can be profitable to partner with restaurants or specialty stores that focus on organically grown meat products.
Meat Subscription Boxes
How to start a meat business that offers products in subscription boxes? It’s fairly simple. You need to partner with a livestock farm or another company that can supply high-quality meat products. Purchasing their goods at wholesale prices will increase your profit margins. After that, you need to focus on marketing and adding additional value to the subscription boxes. Customers who purchase subscriptions value their time greatly. Thus, aim to further help them by saving their time. Check out our article on how to start a subscription box company.
Pet Food Business
Although meat products are mostly associated with human consumption, manufacturers of pet food also purchase wholesale products from meat distributors. Therefore, if you’re contemplating how to start a meat business, you should consider producing meat-based pet treats or other types of pet food. As more and more people in the US and around the world have pets, retail and wholesale sales of pet food are likely to increase in the future.
How to Start a Meat Businesses in 5 Steps
In the following steps, we’ve aimed to sum up the main tasks on how to manage and how to start a meat business. Let’s check them out.
- Preparation and research. Make sure you create a detailed business plan that will be a roadmap for your meat business’s future growth. Choose the type of meat business by researching the capital required to start different companies in the sector. Also, research the competition, the legal requirements, and the regulations in the sector.
- Finding suppliers and other partners. Whether you plan to open a BBQ food truck or a butcher shop, you’ll need to find suppliers of quality meat products and other goods. Also, consider partnerships with other brands that can help you easily market your company or add value to your products.
- Investing in equipment and supplies. Essential equipment like refrigerators, cutting tools, and packaging materials should be bought in advance. Based on the type of meat business, other supplies such as napkins, tableware, or marketing materials should be purchased as well.
- Sales and marketing. Every small business should focus on marketing and sales. That’s especially important after the launch of the business. Plan various events like a grand opening, meat tasting events, or workshops. They will help you increase sales and brand awareness of your company.
- Monitoring operations and adapting to the market. Aim to always improve your business by following the latest market trends and customer demand. For example, in recent years the benefits of cultured meat and the usage of vegan meat alternatives by the restaurant industry have been popular trends. Furthermore, search for ways to reduce the cost of goods sold, modernize the business, and reach more customers.
Frequently Asked Questions about How to Start a Meat Businesses
Whether you’re wondering how to start a meat business or wish to know more about high-demand products to sell online, the articles prepared by the BlueCart team can help you on your journey. We are committed to providing entrepreneurs with valuable tips and helping our clients in the wholesale industry with reliable tools to grow their businesses. Below you will find the answers to questions regarding how to start a meat business.
Are Meat Businesses Profitable?
As the demand for meat products is high, the sector has good profit margins and multiple business opportunities. If you’re researching how to start a meat business, you need to know that the average profits of selling meat are between 15 and 30 percent. Wholesale meat distributors usually have lower margins as they sell in bulk. Specialty meat or other products that have high demand but low supply can have much higher markups. In order to maximize profits, business owners should also invest in modern software solutions, automation, and other ways to reduce their costs.
How Big Is the Meat Industry?
The meat industry is one of the biggest sectors in the global economy. The revenue of the global meat market amounts to around 1.46 trillion dollars. It’s expected to grow by around 6 percent annually. That includes fresh meat, wholesale deli meats, processed meat products, and some of the latest meat trends – cultured meat and vegan meat substitutes. In the US, poultry is the most consumed type of meat. Beef and pork are also very popular, especially in southern states.
In addition to being one of the biggest sectors in the economy, the meat industry is also projected to further grow in the near future. That makes it a suitable niche market to start your business.
How to Grow and Scale a Meat Business?
Meat businesses can be scaled by opening new locations, increasing the area of service, or offering additional products. Depending on the type of business, some scaling opportunities might be easier compared to others. If you’re wondering how to start a meat business, here are some ideas on how to scale it in the future.
- Open new locations;
- Offer additional products like condiments, dairy products, seafood, spices, or meat rubs;
- Start an eCommerce website. Check our post on how to ship frozen meat;
- Open other businesses in the meat supply chain. For example, if you own a livestock farm, you can scale the business by adding a meat processing plant or opening a butcher shop that sells your production.