How to build a spice business? How to open a spice and seasoning store: necessary equipment, cost calculation and SES requirements. How to open a spice store

Today, almost every dish is prepared using a certain set of spices and herbs that housewives buy at the market or in stores. In this article we will talk about how to open a spice and seasoning store and make good money at the same time. Let's look at the basic steps of starting a business and highlight a few key points.

Business Features

When selling any product, there are a number of features that need to be taken into account. Thus, trade in spices is the most profitable on the market. This could be a kiosk, or a tent with rented space, or a counter in a pavilion. The main thing is the high traffic flow of potential clients. People come to the food market to buy meat and minced fish, and at the same time they always do not forget about the seasonings for these products. The market is the place where you need to start trading spices. Free-standing stores are not so efficient and their monthly maintenance will cost a pretty penny for the entrepreneur.

If we talk about competition, it is often represented by retail outlets that sell packaged spices and very few kiosks with loose spices. But it is the loose spices or their combinations that provide that unsurpassed taste for many dishes, plus they are more healthy.

Documents for spice trade

Of the basic permissions you will need:

• register as an individual entrepreneur.
• indicate the required OKVED codes. For Russia this is - 52.27.3 Retail trade of other food products. For Ukraine - 46.37 Wholesale trade of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices.
• draw up a lease agreement for retail space.
• obtain permission from the SES and fire service.

Selection of premises and equipment

Let's talk about what you need to do to start selling spices and seasonings.

The first thing, of course, is to rent a good place in the market; the most profitable place will be near the meat or fish department, but other options are also quite suitable, the main thing is that you are visible. Often such a retail outlet occupies from 3 to 6 sq.m.

Secondly, you will need to purchase equipment for trading. These are sections and containers for storing spices. It is important that they are closed, since storing spices requires certain conditions and otherwise they may become damp or lose their friability and commercial appearance.

Next, you will need racks to display the assortment. Also, a cash register, a small counter and a chair for the seller. If your business involves selling spices or seasonings by weight, then you will need to buy electronic scales.

Among the additional equipment, you will need tools for packaging, usually these are special spoons and bags for packaging.

Assortment and suppliers

Assortment plays a huge role in the spice sales business. It is through this point that you can get ahead of your competitors and lure away customers from them. Your main customers are women, and they like to choose among many options.

Here is a list of the basic price list for such a retail outlet.

• spices (basil, barberry, mustard, ginger, cinnamon, lavender, bay leaf, onion, carrots, nutmeg, mint, paprika, all varieties of pepper, parsley, rosemary, cumin, dill, garlic and much more).
• seasonings (hops-suneli, a mixture of peppers, sets for mulled wine, compote mixture, as well as for dishes: borscht, fish, barbecue, meat, lard, chicken, pizza, mushrooms, vegetables and much more).
• confectionery additives (vanillin, raisins, cocoa powder, coconut flakes, cranberries, etc.).
• spice mixtures.
• sauces and oils.
• gift sets and more.

There can be a lot of choice, the main thing is to distribute it all wisely. Take more popular spices, and less of those that are sold less frequently. A great approach to customer service is for your salesperson to be able to make seasoning blends right in front of the customer. It's very impressive and memorable. This feature can become your business card.

Suppliers of spices can be found at wholesale food markets. Also, over time, you can start trading in elite types of spices.

How much starting capital is needed?

Anyone who is thinking about starting a spice trading business makes calculations and builds certain expectations for future earnings. In fact, each of you will have your own calculations, but it all depends on the location of your store, the volume of assortment, the cost of rental space and much more. We give you the main expense items.

• Room rental – $100 – $150
• Taxes - $150
• Salesperson salary - $200
• Initial purchase of goods – $3000 – $4000
• Purchase of equipment – ​​$1000 – $1200
• Sign – $50
• Transportation costs - $60.

How much can you earn?

Earnings will depend on the range of goods, the location of the outlet, the presence of competitors in the vicinity, and other things. It will not be possible to calculate all the moments, but you can still indicate the main figures.

The average markup on spices and seasonings is 70% - 100%.

Using these indicators, you can make rough calculations on profit and sales volumes.

Conclusions. Opening a spice and seasoning store can be a very profitable investment. You will need to work in the market and offer customers either improved service, new products in the range, or a price lower than competitors. To scale the business, it will be necessary to open other retail outlets in different areas of the city, using already established technology.

Is there anything to add to the material? We are waiting for your feedback about this business.

Sale of spices and herbs

Every year there are fewer and fewer people in our country who believe that there are only two spices in the world: the one in the pepper shaker and the one in the salt shaker. In parallel with this, a healthy lifestyle according to Eastern methods is gaining popularity: yoga classes, martial arts, healthy nutrition systems. In addition, the fashion for exotic cuisine and the emerging interest among the population in hot and spicy dishes also contributes to an increase in demand for rare spices that cannot be found in a standard grocery store.

Therefore, opening a store of oriental spices from India, Iran and Syria may be quite a relevant idea. The cuisine of these countries is impressive with a huge selection of various spices and seasonings, many of which are completely unknown to domestic consumers. In addition, the high quality of products imported from these countries is combined with low prices. Of course, the prospects for opening a highly specialized grocery store may raise doubts, but coffee and tea stores are in demand not only among gourmets, but also among ordinary citizens.

How to open a spice shop

A retail space for selling spices can be small and compact, but the store should be located in a crowded place, for example, in a shopping center or supermarket. Spices are considered a related product, so they are most often purchased along with other products. The pavilion can be decorated in an oriental style, which will immediately attract the attention of both exotic lovers and fans of good cuisine. It is best to store spices in transparent glass jars. It is imperative that they are hermetically sealed. Such packaging retains the aroma of spices longer and, at the same time, looks impressive on the display.

It is very important to properly organize the sales system. In addition to a store that provides retail sales, you need to look for wholesale buyers among restaurants, cafes, and hotels. To gain a competitive advantage, the range of additional services is very important. They can be gift packaging, accepting orders over the phone and the Internet, or organizing a delivery service. Some

To purchase the initial batch of goods you will need at least 2-3 thousand dollars. plus transportation costs. In addition, the total cost of rent, production of signs, purchase of commercial equipment and packaging will require at least 5-6 thousand dollars. The markup in this segment is heterogeneous and ranges from 50 to 100%. These indicators make it possible to talk about the return on investment in no more than a year.

Most people agree with the idea that in relation to his stomach a person is by no means a master. We love to pamper ourselves with tasty, healthy, and, lately, exotic food.

The craving for unusual dishes was driven by the reviving fashion for spices.

Turmeric and cardamom, ginger and curry, asafoetida and fennel - these names are now not only well-known, but also used as flavoring additives in the kitchen of any gourmet. The simplest dish, skillfully seasoned with exquisite spices, turns into a culinary masterpiece and makes the salivary glands work hard.

In ancient times in Asia and the Middle East, extravagant spices were valued almost as much as gold and pearls. Now their price is “slightly less,” but economists claim 100 percent profitability of the “spicy” business. The same experts estimated the market potential at $150 million. What is not a reason to open your own store selling spices and seasonings?

Spice store: search and design of premises

Since spices are a related product, it makes the most sense to sell them next to other products. The optimal place is a rented pavilion in a department store or supermarket. To begin with, you can limit yourself to a corner of 12-15 m² (especially if your budget is small). Moderate imagination will help you tastefully decorate a standard stand, make an attractive sign with an intriguing name and an original logo.

Features of the assortment of spices and seasonings store

To make it convenient for the buyer to navigate spicy products, divide the product range according to some thematic or functional criteria. It is most logical to distribute by country: India, China, Italy, Brazil, Egypt, Syria... There are a lot of countries involved in the cultivation and export of spices, but no one knows exactly the number of types of spices.

It is more profitable to purchase small volumes (and you will start with them) from domestic wholesalers. And don’t forget to ask them for accompanying product certificates.

Spices can be sold by weight or packaged in packages of 10, 15, 20, 50 grams. For accelerated PR, it is advisable to purchase ultra-precise scales and offer minimum portions of 1 gram. As a test, this will be enough for many. But if you like the product, the buyer will return to you for a larger portion.

Take care of colorful packaging with a clear name and clear instructions for use. To do this, order batches of sticker labels, each of which will ultimately cost no more than 50 kopecks.

Prepare seasonings and mixtures in advance and store (just like spices) in an airtight glass container. Storing it unopened will dissipate the uniqueness of the aromas. Mixing of odors occurs, dust enters, moisture is absorbed, and the presentation is lost. And the tenant’s administration may not like such an “ensemble of incense,” which may have a negative impact on future relations.

Working with the client

Building a clientele is a psychological procedure. You can attract a buyer with sincere service, caring for the client, attractive promotions, and affordable prices. Since your product is mostly expensive and there is a lot of markup, don’t skimp on issuing discount cards for the most active and generous consumers. When purchasing products worth 500 rubles or more, the client will be pleased to receive the right to a further long-term discount of, say, 3-5%. This will not make you much poorer, but you will “tie” the buyer to you. Moreover, he will bring friends and acquaintances with him.

The “test shot” to win the client’s heart will be a small birthday gift in the form of a favorite seasoning or a culinary collection (you will learn about the desired date from the questionnaire filled out by the buyer when receiving a discount).

Don’t forget to pamper ordinary customers with bonus programs, free tastings, and holiday discounts. All this, in the end, will result in their transition from the category of periodic clients to regular ones.

To expand your “special business”, do not neglect advertising in the form of leaflets and booklets. Having your own website helps a lot, in addition to contact information, it is stuffed with a product catalog with descriptions of herbs and spices, recipes for their production and use.

Advertising is the engine of trade, and it is also the main niche for small businesses in Russia, although recently the situation has begun to change towards production, but retail continues to confidently lead in the ranking of the most popular business ideas for small businesses. At the same time, it is impossible to put all retail under the same brush; each direction of trade is individual and, on the one hand, requires an individual approach, and on the other, has its own advantages as well as disadvantages. Today we’ll talk about the idea of ​​a store in one of the “narrow” niches.

As I have said more than once on the pages of the resource, the most promising for small businesses is retail trade in small specialized stores; we have previously considered the following ideas:

Today we’ll move to a slightly different plane and talk about spices and seasonings.

A couple of hundred years ago, spices were not just a commodity, but were valued much higher than gold and real wars were fought over them. I will not bore readers with historical facts about spices, although it is quite interesting to know that, for example, the minimum markup when trading ordinary ground pepper was 2000%, and one of Magellan’s expeditions upon returning managed to cover all losses and the loss of 4 out of 5 ships by selling spices, those who arrived on the surviving ship, and so on. Of course, today the situation has changed and spices have ceased to be the preserve of the rich and have become widespread, but not all spices have become widespread, this is due to rather banal things, most grocery stores simply do not sell them, limiting themselves exclusively to the most popular ones such as ground pepper, bay leaves and more. a couple of types of products. At the same time, the variety of spices is enormous, plus spices and, of course, seasonings, and together this allows us to talk about a range sufficient for the formation of a.

It is worth remembering that today only classical spices include about 60 types of various herbs, inflorescences, leaves, and so on. Spices are products of exclusively plant origin; in addition, there are at least about 20 types of classic spice mixtures such as:

• curry mixture (from 7-12 to 20-24 components)
• Indian mixture (10 components)
• Siamese mixture (10 components)
• Chinese wuxiangmian mixture (5 components)
• hops-suneli (from 6 (reduced composition) to 12 (full) components)
• adjika (5 components) be sure to add suneli hops
• dolma (6-8 components)
• Bolognese mixture (9 components)
• Frankfurt mixture (10 components)
• Hamburg mixture (7 components)
• Worcestershire mixture (5 components)
• bouquet garni (dry or fresh in different versions, up to 9 components)

Of course, the list doesn’t end there, but we’ll discuss the assortment of a spice and spice store in a separate article and move on to the specifics of opening such a retail outlet.

The first factor is the premises.

When choosing a room for a spice and herb store, you need to pay special attention to ventilation. Having a well-ventilated room in which it will be possible to maintain a pleasant aroma without harsh tones is the key to success in business. Of course, you can’t get by with ventilation alone; you also need to think about the counters, but more on that below. If the premises do not have the necessary equipment, then the costs of arrangement should be automatically increased by the amount of such investments. The next important element when choosing a room will be its area; on the one hand, there is no need to rent a large area for a specialized spice shop, but at the same time, the sales area must be at least 20 square meters (optimally around 30), plus utility rooms for storing herbs and spices and seasonings. And only the third on the list of factors when choosing a place will be its location. It is worth understanding that this is a highly specialized point, and plus the spices themselves are a fairly specific product, which quite clearly limits the circle of buyers. In fact, buyers walk purposefully and, as a result, its placement may not be tied to any transport interchanges and does not depend on “patency”. Of course, placement in shopping centers looks optimal, but when choosing between a shopping center and a separate premises somewhere nearby, you should first of all pay attention to the cost of renting such premises.

Let's summarize. What is most important when choosing premises for a spice shop? The first is the presence of strong ventilation of the room. The second is suitable for any premises, except those located inside residential areas (showcases should face a more or less busy road) or located inside shopping centers.

The second factor is equipment.

Commercial equipment for a spice shop will differ significantly from the usual set for a grocery store; after all, we are talking about bulk goods that require placement and storage in a closed space. It is interesting that such different products as meat and spices can have similar problems; when setting up a butcher shop, entrepreneurs are also faced with the need to equip special display cases for storing fresh meat (you can read more). In our case, spices should be stored in separate containers that can be hermetically sealed. Still, spices and herbs tend to gradually “dissipate”, plus in the store there will be a pleasant aroma of thousands of herbs. In addition, it is imperative to have a small mixer for preparing spice mixtures and herbs on the spot. This process looks just great, in any case, customers are very happy when the mixture is prepared in front of them taking into account their wishes (by the way, individual adjustments are very rarely made). The same thing happens, for example, with peppers, when from 5 different types the client makes a powder mixture ready for use; it is the ability to prepare “fresh” spices that is one of the main “tricks”.

Let's summarize the equipment for a spice store. In general, you will need specialized display cases, which with a 98% probability will need to be ordered at the place of business, plus a mixer for preparing mixtures and grinding (similar to a coffee grinder). We will write more about the equipment itself and its cost in a separate article.

The third factor is suppliers.

Choosing suppliers is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of opening a spice store. The fact is that in many respects the prices for spices and herbs depend on the harvest of a particular crop, plus “issues” related to the import of products. Of course, the best option is to work directly with spice producers, especially taking into account the Internet and other means of communication, reaching suppliers abroad is not difficult (the main thing is to know English), but on the other hand, the sales volumes of one retail outlet are small and you will have to import it yourself , most likely, not profitable. The only option in this case would be to work with large importers, what can I say here, try to choose a large one and one that has been working for a long time in order to avoid deception, plus you need to count on buying a fairly large quantity (the more you buy, the cheaper). The main thing is to try to convince the manager that you can become a regular customer and you simply need a discount. Sometimes, in this way, it is possible to achieve a discount of 10-15%

To summarize, when choosing a supplier, focus on large suppliers; small ones sell cheaper, but the likelihood of getting a defective product is much higher; you will work with them when you learn to understand the products “by eye and nose.” You should immediately expect to buy a fairly large batch, for example, the same black pepper “peas” in normal wholesale are sold in bags weighing 50 kg.

The fourth factor is staff.

One of the most important factors in any specialized store was and remains salespeople. Practice shows that any narrow-profile store, with a normal assortment (specifically for the chosen specialization), quickly enough (within 3-4 months) forms a stable core of regular customers; in an ideal situation, such customers can form up to 70-80% of total revenue. And starting from the second month of work, the main task is to retain clients due to two factors:

• - a large assortment and high quality of products, and the price of products, in our case for spices, can be 10-20% more expensive than analogues in other stores.
• - high quality service, which, as you understand, is formed by polite staff with experience and knowledge in spices and herbs. A variety of techniques can be used here, from banal stories about the differences between black pepper grown in India and pepper from Uzbekistan, to completely innovative ideas with advertising recipes for a particular cuisine using mixtures such as curry or bouquet garni.

As a result, it is worth paying special attention to sellers, motivating them not only to provide quality service, but also to study the products they sell.