The main thing in this business is choosing a convenient place to trade. If you have the right approach and know your business, you will soon be able to have regular customers, and perhaps you will also be able to come to an agreement with restaurants and supply them with your products, using wholesale supplies.
Nowadays, meat processing enterprises offer consumers a wide range of smoked meats, but among buyers there are many lovers of home smoking. In the end, there is no need to complain about the lack of buyers. Smoked domestic fish is in even greater demand.
The smoking unit can also be used at home, since it never takes up much space. The smoking technology is completely mature and well thought out. Obtaining finished products from smoked fish and meat does not require too much effort. Smoking at home lasts no longer than 50 minutes. The delivery set also includes instructions that describe in detail the technology of smoking and preparing raw materials. In the end, everything turns out to be quite simple and very convenient to use. But you need to understand that the actual smoking process will not be particularly difficult - it is much more difficult to subsequently sell the resulting product.
Construction of a home smokehouse. It is quite possible to easily build a small smokehouse on your site. To do this, you will need a metal barrel, bricks (only a few of them are required), as well as additional fittings. Now about the process of building a smokehouse in stages. First you need to dig a little space for the hearth.
You will need to dig a trench under the chimney. The barrel is then installed on top of the installed bricks. As a result, smoke from the hearth will be directed through the chimney into the barrel. In it, products for smoking will hang on metal rods: fish, meat. Bricks are required to pave the hearth. The chimney is covered on top with asbestos-cement slabs that can withstand fairly high air temperatures without problems. 
The barrel is covered with a fairly thick cloth (any kind). This is the simplest method of all available, which will ultimately allow you to get your own homemade smoked meats. Now you have an idea of exactly how to make a small home smokehouse yourself. In practice, this is a fairly simple process that does not require any special investments. As a result, if you get such a smokehouse, you will have fresh smoked meats on the table at any time.
A small home smokehouse can generate income if you sell the resulting products to your friends. In addition, there is always the opportunity to produce smoked products to order for small stores.
Earning money from smoking fish, meat, lard. Business idea
Sales of products. To sell products made at home, you can always rent a point at the market. It could be some other place. In this case, it is quite possible to sell the products yourself. As a result, it will be easy to control the level of demand for it. In addition, you can eventually find out information about the market and the products sold there. If you wish, you can eventually become a supplier.
You can offer your own products to individual entrepreneurs, cafes, shops, supermarkets, etc. It should be noted that smoked meats are currently quite in demand. It is only important to constantly monitor their quality. You should also consider your pricing policy. It should be taken into account that stores will also want to earn money for themselves by selling the products you offer. So the cheaper the product turns out to be, the easier it will ultimately be to sell it and generate revenue. 
Smokehouse diagram:
- Walls.
- Top cover.
- Smoke pipe.
- Lattice
- Tray for fat.
- Woodchips.
- Fastenings designed for pallets.
- Product.
- Smoke sleeve.
- Fireplace for firewood.
The business idea of smoking meat, fish, and lard is now very relevant. The idea can be implemented in 2 different ways. The first of these is wholesale purchasing. There is always the opportunity to find wholesalers, buy smoked meats and sell them. But since the quality of the product may not be very good, it is better not to do this at all. And even in this case, you need to be dependent on someone. We have created a business plan for self-smoking with the subsequent sale of manufactured products.
What products can be smoked at home?
What can you smoke in a smokehouse yourself? How exactly to smoke? Nowadays there are very few people who don’t like smoked meats at all. And you can always smoke food so that the end result is very tasty. Almost everything can be smoked, from fish and meat to vegetables. Of course, meat products are usually smoked more often, and this needs to be discussed in more detail. Most often, people smoke meat and fish, but various other types of food can be used for this purpose. 
The meat is excellent for smoking and turns out very tasty and aromatic. Smoked meat, which is prepared at home, differs noticeably favorably from simple store-bought smoked meat. At home, you can always easily smoke any meat, choose the most suitable seasonings in a particular case and the smoking time, depending on your own tastes. At the same time, it is quite possible to build a home smokehouse from available materials, for example, from a saucepan, etc. Some even manage to make it from a refrigerator. We offer a simple way to smoke meat products. You will surely like it.
Purchase of meat or fish products
Now about the purchase of raw materials. As for semi-finished meat products for smoking, it is necessary to purchase meat from farmers or pig breeding complexes. First, you need to find out where it is cheaper to purchase raw materials. After this, it is very important to check the quality of the purchased meat. As for fish, smoking the fish that swims in local reservoirs will be very profitable. This will ultimately cost less in price, since in this case you will not have to spend money on long-distance cargo transportation, and, of course, your own fish will be fresher. In addition, many buyers prefer to eat products made from raw materials from their region.
If we are talking about sea fish, it should be noted that in this case some difficulties may arise that are associated with the high cost of its transportation. It is important to take into account that the business has just opened, and it is unlikely that you will want to spend a lot at first. In addition, the fish may be spoiled. The frozen state of the fish ultimately makes it difficult to identify its flaws. 
An unscrupulous supplier may also pass off some types of fish as others. The quality of frozen fish can only be determined after it has been defrosted. And only an experienced specialist - a technologist - can do this. Many smoked fish producers believe that if they are frozen, their quality will ultimately be poor. Others do not pay attention to this and smoke any fish. The entrepreneur can decide for himself what to do.
Is it profitable to smoke meat for sale?
A business idea for smoking meat or fish can bring profit if, in the end, the finished product does not sit stale, but is sold out in a short time. So it’s worth thinking about this in advance. Who is better to sell the products to?
If you produce smoked products in small quantities, then it is best to sell them at the market in the meat or fish department. At the initial stage, you can arrange a free tasting of your products in order to attract buyers. Then it will be possible to negotiate with one or another grocery store, since often in practice chain supermarkets strive to earn more and can therefore significantly increase the cost of smoked meats, making a profit for themselves.
It is important to take into account that very few buyers are able to purchase an expensive product. But over time, you can start cooperating with supermarkets. But in any case, the products supplied to certain stores must be fairly fresh. In this case, the business can only prove itself on the good side. As a result, demand and profits will increase. 
Is it profitable to smoke fish for sale?
Smoking fish. It’s easy to smoke fish at home. There are quite a lot of recipes for smoking it, you can easily find them, including on our website. But before smoking, the fish must first be thoroughly prepared, then it will need to be salted or marinated.
Processing fish and meat is a very profitable business, since in the end the cost of the resulting product is greater than the raw materials used. If we talk about the production of smoked meats, then you can find different data in different sources. Thus, some of them say that the prices of smoked products are 1.5 times higher than the cost of fresh frozen products.
The level of profitability of equipment operation is at least 50%, and in the case of sturgeon processing, profitability can ultimately reach 95%. But these statements relate to the economics of industrial enterprises. As for trading enterprises that have mini-workshops, smoked products are not only a new, highly profitable product, but also an opportunity to process fresh products whose sales deadlines have come to an end. 
Smoked meat production volumes for profitable sale
Production volumes may actually vary. Profitability will be ensured at any quantity. The main thing is to comply with the technology of preparation and further storage of smoked products. At the initial stages, when you acquire regular customers, you need to take care of your customer base so that the goods do not linger. Hot smoked fish, like hot smoked meat, has a shorter shelf life. That's why if you don't think through all the key points, financial losses can be significant.
Some enterprises invest hundreds of thousands of rubles in business development. Accordingly, their volumes are huge. But without a good business plan, even such investments may not be worth it. You will be able to increase volumes and earn more if, from the very beginning, you approach the selection of quality raw materials responsibly, if you prepare smoked products correctly and find regular customers. 
You will definitely find buyers if the meat or fish turns out tasty and aromatic. You also need to monitor the freshness of the products. Stores are not always ready to provide absolutely fresh products, but you should focus on this.
How much can you earn from smoking?
Any business idea in any case requires investment first. How much money might you need to open your own smoking shop? In Moscow, an aspiring entrepreneur can get started for $38,000 or something like that. This is the amount that will need to be included in the business plan.
More than half of this amount will ultimately be spent on purchasing equipment and renting or maintaining premises. The rest of the money is needed to purchase raw materials for products, pay employees and pay taxes. In the first month of operation, the profit can be $5,000. A well thought out and implemented action plan is a guarantee of success. A business based on smoking meat or fish products pays off in a little more than six months.
In conclusion, I would like to give advice to those who may decide to try themselves in this business. Under no circumstances should you try to increase your profits by reducing production costs using cheap “dubious” raw materials. After all, when buying “homemade” goods, people first of all expect to receive high quality, even if not at the lowest price. 
Sometimes, even taking into account the rental of a place in a “cool” market, the purchase of only the highest quality products, the costs of electricity and transport, the profit is about 100%! If you open your own small business producing high-quality smoked products, you can safely count on great popularity and a stable income. Consumers will be happy to buy delicacies, thanks to which business will flourish.
So all you need to succeed is to just make a really good product. And believe me, it will definitely find its buyer!
, as practice shows, it has a fairly high profitability - up to 50%. But in order for an enterprise to become competitive and profitable, it is necessary to carefully consider all the pros and cons of smoking production, study the sales market and the capabilities of competitors.Brief business analysis:
Costs of setting up a business: 600 thousand rubles
Relevant for cities with the population: no limits
Industry situation:average level of competition
Difficulty of organizing a business: 3/5
Payback: 4-10 months
Smoking is the heat treatment of meat or fish to obtain a specific taste of the finished product. Smoked products are one of the ways to extend the shelf life of meat or fish, which has long been known and is still preserved.
Business relevance
Gone are the days when smoked meat and fish were a delicacy and buyers did not pay much attention to quality. Today things are different. The buyer wants to purchase a quality product at an affordable price. Large enterprises do not always comply with both positions. This is where the need arises for small smoking enterprises that can compete with them both in quality and price. But no business will make a profit if it operates at a loss. The goal of an entrepreneur is to make a profit from producing quality products. How to achieve this goal? The algorithm for a novice businessman without large financial resources is as follows:
- purchasing the cheapest meat product on today's market - chicken carcasses. The products have good taste and low calorie content.
- expanding the range through the production of smoked meats from another type of meat - pork, as well as fish, which leads to an increase in demand for all types of products.
- opening of a cold smoking workshop.
- expansion of the sales market.
As a result, production will become competitive and profitable. But this is planned in the future. And at the beginning, a novice businessman faces the question: is it worth taking on this business at all?
Smoking as a business - advantages and disadvantages
Like any other business, smoking production has its pros and cons.
pros
- the technology for producing smoked meats is not complicated and does not require special training;
- the costs of organizing a business are insignificant compared to other types of food processing;
- equipment for smokehouses of small volumes (up to 100 kg per day), do not take up much space and can be used at home;
- the profit from production compared to the costs is significant, which will allow the enterprise to expand in the near future;
- business profitability is up to 50%, which allows you to recoup your investment in just a few months.
Minuses
- as in any business, there is a risk of not being able to withstand the competition and going bankrupt;
- manufactured products have certain deadlines for sale. Therefore, it is necessary to have constant and reliable markets;
- raw materials for the production of smoked meats must be of high quality and fresh. And this depends on suppliers who do not always fulfill their obligations.
Fish smoking business
Having decided to start a business with smoking fish, first of all you need to analyze its relevance for a particular region. There are areas where fish is not in demand, so the business will initially be doomed to failure.
Attention! When purchasing raw materials, you should not purchase them in remote regions of the country, although their cost may be attractive due to their availability. Fish from remote regions of the country is transported frozen, and when smoked it loses its taste. It is better if the fish is supplied from local fish farms.
The second aspect that you should pay attention to when organizing fish smoking is the availability of equipment:
- racks for defrosting fish;
- cutting tables;
- fish cutting equipment;
- refrigeration equipment;
- baths for salting and washing fish;
- smoking chambers;
- equipment for vacuum packaging of products;
- carts for transporting fish;
- transport for transportation of finished products;
- equipment for staff work: cutting knives, boards, skewers, etc.
The third important issue that must be resolved in order not to go bankrupt at the very beginning of the enterprise is the search for sales and the calculation of possible risks. The fact is that smoked fish has a short shelf life, so you need to find trustworthy sellers, or sell the fish yourself.
Smoking meat as a business
Depending on the temperature of exposure to the product, hot and cold smoking are distinguished. During hot smoking, the smoke heats up from 55 to 120 degrees, and during cold smoking – only up to 35 degrees. The shelf life for different types of smoking is different. After hot processing, products are stored for up to 3 weeks at a certain temperature. With cold smoking, the shelf life of products is several times longer. Although hot smoking has its drawbacks, it is easier and better to start with.
Stages of organizing a smokehouse:
- purchase of equipment and design of work premises;
- purchase of raw materials;
- production and sale of finished products.
When smoking meat, it is important to decide on the smoking installation. Smokehouses come in gas, wood and electric. The most suitable in modern conditions is an electric smokehouse. In addition to the smoking installation, it is necessary to purchase other equipment:
- freezer for storing finished products and raw materials;
- cutting tables;
- containers for brine.
It is also necessary to carefully consider the issue of supply of raw materials. The best option would be to purchase meat from farms or small pig breeding complexes in the local region. Consumers have developed a certain trust in products produced on local farms. Meat must undergo sanitary quality control.
As for the sales market, at first small batches of products can be sold in markets or on distribution trips. Later you can organize your own butcher shop.
To organize smoking production you will need special equipment:
- baths;
- racks;
- refrigeration equipment;
- cutting tables;
- smoking installations;
- brine containers;
- minced meat injectors;
- vacuum - packaging;
- small tool.
The market offers equipment for smokehouses of domestic and foreign production. It is more rational to choose the latter option if more than 10 tons of raw materials will be processed per day. For a start-up business, it is better to choose domestic smokehouses with lower productivity. They cost much less than foreign ones, but this does not make the quality of the finished product worse.
Room
The best option for premises for a smokehouse would be to rent a suitable premises. For a more rational use of usable space, it must be properly zoned into sections:
- defrosting and cutting raw materials;
- direct production;
- packaging of finished products;
- storage of finished products and packaging materials.
There are certain requirements for the premises. It should have a fairly large working area - 100 square meters. meters and more. For fire safety reasons, the smoking workshop should not be located near residential premises (at least 300 m). The premises, in addition to the work shops, must have office space, a sewerage and ventilation system.
Raw materials
The best option for a small smoking shop would be a small-scale wholesale supplier from his own farm. Such raw materials will cost the entrepreneur less than when purchasing from a large wholesale intermediary. You can also enter into contracts for the supply of poultry from local poultry farms, meat from meat processing plants or fish from fish factories.
Business registration
The formal part of the project for organizing a smoking business begins with registering the entrepreneur’s activities. It is better to register a small production as an individual enterprise, with payment of a state duty of 800 rubles. A simplified taxation system is more suitable for individual entrepreneurs. In order to avoid obstacles from licensing authorities, you need to obtain documents for approval of the organization of production from such structures as:
- Fire Department;
- Rostechnadzor;
- Rosprirodnadzor.
Home production can be set up in a spare room of a private house, or in its extension, or in a garage. The main thing is that all stages of the technological process are carried out in accordance with the requirements for this type of production, in compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards. The process looks like this:
- the raw materials are washed in a bathtub in running water;
- the prepared raw materials are placed in a container with brine;
- pieces for smoking or fish are fixed on a special frame and placed in the smoking chamber.
Juniper or beech wood chips are used for smoking. After smoking, the finished products are packaged and sent for sale.
Sales of products
This stage in the project is no less important than the production itself. Establishing sales markets means being able to make a constant profit and expand production. For small-scale production, sales of products can be organized through the local market and through private meat and fish stores. You should not cooperate with large stores, as they make big markups on products, and then return the unsold balances to the manufacturer. This is fraught with loss of profit and decreased production.
Costs and return on business
Smoking food is a profitable business if you approach it wisely. The products have always been and will be in demand among customers. Investments in business pay off within a few months of operation. The following points must be included in the calculations:
- purchase of equipment – from 300,000 rubles;
- purchase of raw materials for the first batches - 200,000 rubles;
- additional equipment and consumables necessary for the technological process - 100,000 rubles.
The total amount spent in starting capital was 600,000 rubles.
- rental of premises – 50,000-100,000 rubles;
- utility bills - 100,000 rubles;
- expenses for transportation of products – 50,000 rubles;
- salary costs for staff (two people) – 100,000 rubles.
The price for purchasing meat can range from 300 rubles per kg, depending on the region. Sales cost one and a half to two times more expensive. For fish, these are approximately the following figures - 200 rubles per kg - purchase prices, and 400 rubles - for smoked fish. The profit from sales per month is approximately 150,000 rubles, if the volume of finished products is about four tons.
As a result, having spent 600,000 rubles on organizing the enterprise, it pays for itself within 4-10 months, depending on monthly sales volumes.
Finally
So, having chosen a smokehouse as a business, you should not start it with full-scale volumes. At first, you can organize a small smoking workshop by renting a room, or by adapting your home space for a workshop. The main thing in this business is excellent prospects for development if the business is managed competently.
More information in this video
Smoked products are very popular at any time of the year; in addition, their sales are not affected by atmospheric phenomena. Starting your own business by smoking products is a good business idea, because the smokehouse can be small and you can open the smokehouse quite quickly.
The business of smoking meat and fish can be limited only to the production process and wholesale sales of goods, or you can open a retail outlet to make more profit.
You can build a smokehouse for a small business yourself or purchase ready-made equipment. Beginners in this business do not know how to open a smokehouse and where to start. And you need to start by preparing a business plan.
At the initial stage of drawing up a business plan for a smokehouse, an entrepreneur should determine the planned volume of products. The amount of investment to open a smokehouse will depend on this.
A home smokehouse as a business can be organized at home or as an enterprise located on rented or own premises.
To produce a smoked product, you can buy a gas, coal or electric smokehouse for a small business.
Advice. A suitable solution would be to purchase several types of smokehouses for round-the-clock and uninterrupted production operation.
Experienced entrepreneurs advise choosing multifunctional installations that produce hot and cold smoked products. In addition to smoking equipment, other additional equipment will be required.
Purchased smoked products include smoked meat and sea fish. Smoked products can be cold or hot smoked. When using the cold smoking method, the products are prepared in 2-3 days, and when using the hot method, it takes several hours. The shelf life of hot smoked delicacies reaches 3 weeks, and cold smoked delicacies up to several months.
Taking this into account, products should be prepared using the hot smoking method in small batches so that they do not have time to spoil.
In order to interest regular consumers and generate income, you should find reliable suppliers of raw materials who sell certified raw materials. This could be a fish factory or a farm.
To open a workshop in a short period and quickly reach the profitability of the enterprise, you need to draw up a business plan for a smoking workshop, containing the following steps:
- registration of the smokehouse as a business and receipt of all papers for production of products;
- coordination of assortment and selection of suppliers;
- purchase of 1 batch of raw materials;
- purchase of a smokehouse and other equipment;
- search for the optimal building;
- selection of employees;
- start of production of smoked products;
- searching for consumers and selling the product.
We calculate profitability
To calculate the volume of output and the amount of net profit, you need to know the exact amount of sales of finished products and the amount of expenses incurred. These parameters may vary monthly. Therefore, we will make an average calculation of the profitability of the smoked products business, focusing on the stability of the smoked products sales market.
For a clear example, let’s try to calculate the possible income from the sale of smoked mackerel; it is always a good seller. The wholesale cost of fresh mackerel is about 140 rubles. per kilogram, the markup on the finished product is more than 100% or 300 rubles per kilogram.
During cold smoking, the product shrinks. If you smoke mackerel at a temperature of no more than 60 degrees, then from 50 kilograms of raw materials you will get approximately 40 kilograms of finished mackerel.
The sale of the entire batch of mackerel will be 12,000 rubles, taking into account the cost of raw materials in the amount of 7,000 rubles, the gross profitability will be 5,000 rubles. If you use the hot smoking method, the preparation time for the finished product will be reduced to several hours.
For a product to be in demand, the manufacturer must produce a good smoked product.
Is smoking profitable?
Smoking fish and meat is profitable. If you have always smoked food just for yourself, how can you make more money from smoking? If you have one smokehouse, then you can purchase small smoking chambers for a small business by obtaining a loan from a bank.
Using our smokehouse as a business for selling quality products, let's try to calculate the net return on sales using smoked mackerel as an example. When organizing daily sales of 40 kilograms of smoked mackerel, we receive a gross monthly profitability of 150,000 rubles.
We subtract all other costs from this amount:
- taxes;
- rental of retail space;
- electricity;
- fuel costs;
- staff salaries;
- other expenses.
Thus, the net profitability will be about 100,000 rubles per month. When organizing the production of smoked mackerel properly, you can recoup the investment in a few months and achieve a net profit.
Where is the best place to open a smokehouse?
The format of the planned production will directly depend on the size of financial investments.
Smoking as a business can be established on a personal plot or rented suitable premises. A smokehouse organized like a business in a garage looks extraordinary.
Important. A rented or own production workshop must comply with sanitary and epidemiological requirements and standards adopted by municipal organizations.
The requirements for the smoking shop established by regulations are as follows:
- The area of the building should not be less than 100 m2.
- The smoking shop should be located at a distance of 300 meters from residential premises.
- Mandatory presence of water (cold and hot).
- Availability of sewerage.
- The workshop must be well ventilated.
- The building should provide bathrooms, premises for workers, storage of products and office space.
It is not advisable to include the construction of a smoking shop in your business plan if you are limited in funds. You can start with a small smokehouse and gradually expand production.
The premises of former canteens, which were built taking into account the requirements of government services, are suitable for renting a workshop.
When considering home smoking of products as a business, it is necessary to remember that, in addition to organizing the production process, you will have to legalize your activities. To do this, you can open an individual entrepreneur or LLC. You will need to obtain documents permitting food production in the following institutions:
- From the sanitary and epidemiological station.
- Rospotrebnadzor.
- Gostekhnadzor.
- From a veterinary organization.
- Obtain permission from the fire department.
Without this documentation, it is impossible to legally start selling smoked meat and fish. In addition, you need to be prepared that SES representatives will check smoked products every month for compliance with established standards.
Organizing your own business is a troublesome task, but the realization that you are working for yourself and laying the foundation for a family business, financial independence, and prosperity compensates for all the disadvantages.
Probably everyone wants to make big money from a hobby. In some cases this is possible. If you have been a cook in you for a long time, and fish is your favorite dish, try smoking fish as a business: technology, benefits, reviews of successful entrepreneurs and financial calculations will definitely show you that such an idea is successful and quite simple. We will look at the business in more detail.
Business direction analysis
To get down to business prepared and savvy, it’s worth carefully analyzing fish smoking as a business in advance. Now such production is carried out exclusively on a small scale, because there is too much competition from large companies in the wide market.
Therefore, it is recommended to think through the concept of a specific mini-smokehouse, which can be expanded later. In addition to a small but successful niche, the owner is content with the fairly small amount of investment required to start.
Undoubtedly, you will have to think through and draw up a clear and competent business plan, especially if you are new to entrepreneurship. Although a small business does not require huge investments of effort and finance, it is important to carefully monitor every stage of business organization.
Also, the main consideration should be the professionalism of the work and the quality of the finished product. When it comes to your smoker, you have the option of hot smoking or cold smoking. Enterprises organized at home most often choose the hot method for its ease and speed.
Risks of such a business
Undoubtedly, like any other, the fish smoking business has its risks, for which you need to prepare in advance:
- In order to be able to properly sell all products from the very beginning, it is worth starting with a small workshop, because products tend to deteriorate.
- The demand for such a product is quite average, so there is a possibility that you will not be able to find your buyer in the market in your region.
- The entire business as a whole depends on the reliability of the meat supplier and the quality of its supplies, unless, of course, you get the fish yourself.
- During the summer months, demand for the product increases, but its perishability also increases, which forces you to spend more and try to sell the product faster.
- The quality of the finished product also depends on the work of not only the smoking shop, but also other employees, because the product should not be outside the refrigerator for a long time.
To avoid various mistakes, it is worth analyzing the work of your competitors. This is how you can notice other people’s problems and interesting, useful advantages. Try to evaluate the list of services offered by other businesses, their pricing policies, most purchased products and marketing campaigns.
You can download it here for free to use as a sample.
We prepare documents for business
It is necessary, of course, to start the business with the preparation of the necessary documentation. To register a smoking business, you can select an individual entrepreneur. An individual entrepreneur is perfect for a mini-smokehouse with ease of reporting and minimal financial responsibility.
In addition, it is with an individual entrepreneur that an entrepreneur can choose a simplified tax system. After registering the business with the tax office and selecting the required OKVED code, the owner of the future smokehouse must obtain permission from the SES and fire inspectorate to conduct business in the premises you have chosen.
Permission will also be required from Rostechnadzor and Rosprirodnadzor; the documents must be provided by the supplier. In addition, you work and sell a food product, so you need to obtain special documents from the veterinary service and product quality certificates.
Choosing a site for an enterprise
Next, you should select a site where permanent production of smoked fish will be organized. Speaking about a home-based business, it is worth understanding that specifically in an apartment it will be possible to create sales exclusively for family and friends; a more profitable business requires at least a separate premises.
It is there that all production equipment, a warehouse for raw materials and a warehouse for finished products will have to be located, where each will contain several refrigerators. If you choose a mini-production, then a private country building is perfect. Officially, to create an enterprise that meets the requirements of the authorities, it is necessary to take into account the following instructions:
- The area of the room is not less than 110 square meters.
- At least 300 meters from the nearest residential access.
- Connection to central water supply and proper sewerage.
- Availability of a stable air exchange system.
- Organization of separate premises for warehouses of raw materials and smoked products ready for sale.
Try to think in advance about how cost-effective it is to take an existing building that does not meet the requirements, or a rented one that has the necessary equipment.
We purchase the necessary equipment
As mentioned earlier, there are two methods of working with fish - hot and cold smoking. Depending on the option you choose, the necessary equipment is purchased. For a small enterprise, we chose hot smoking, because even professional equipment here is not that expensive. In this case, the production technology requires the purchase of a separate line of devices specifically for hot smoking fish.
Of course, you need to choose a line wisely so as not to waste money on unnecessary features or lose important functions. The best equipment for the job is equipment from Europe, capable of producing about 5 tons of smoked meats per working day.
If you have experience with different smoking methods, you can choose a line that has several modes. The main ones may include: cold or hot smoking, boiling, frying and drying. Also try to find devices with temperature and humidity controls.
In general, the organization needs the following list of equipment:
- Refrigeration chambers.
- Scales.
- Cutting tables.
- Carts for raw materials.
You will also have to purchase additional equipment from cutting boards, meat knives, special containers, skewers and other things. When purchasing any device, try to find out more about the manufacturer and seller. It is worth buying only if there are positive reviews and a good reputation.
We are looking for a reliable supplier of raw materials
Obviously, in the production of smoked fish you will need the fish meat itself, which will have to be purchased from the supplier. When choosing a seller, try, as in the case of an equipment seller, to check the reputation. You can, of course, independently evaluate each product, and also find out under what conditions the raw materials are stored, but this will require a lot of effort and time.
It is important to check the expiration date of the product and the necessary documentation with each delivery. It is best to purchase from local fishermen or from entire livestock farms, because this is how you will get a natural, healthy product.
By entering into cooperation, you will receive profitable wholesale supplies of high-quality fish meat with proper official documentation for it. Buying fish in a shopping center or market will most likely end sadly. By the way, profitability will increase quite well if you catch fish yourself in the summer season.
In terms of products, when selling smoked fish, it is worth paying special attention to red fish. Of course, you should evaluate the situation specifically in your region and see what is being bought better from competitors, but the demand for red smoked fish is likely to be the highest.
We are recruiting staff
To successfully smoke fish, you do not need special education or diplomas, but you do need the skills of a cook and a love of cooking. A small business also does not need a large number of employees; smokehouses at home operate solely as the activities of the project owner, but larger enterprises still hire a small team of:
- two workshop workers;
- cleaner;
- driver with his own truck;
- supplier and customer relations manager.
The owner of the company can take on any of these vacancies. In addition, it is the business owner who needs to conduct interviews in order to select qualified employees, in his opinion.
The entrepreneur is also required to independently fill out accounting reports every month. After expansion, it will be possible to hire a full-time accountant or hire one monthly from an agency. If in the future you are going to sell goods not to buyers, but through your own store, you will also need a seller.
In a business tied to the sale of home-made smoked meats, there are two main problems associated with the sale of goods: high competition and short sales periods. That is why it is necessary to resort to any method and option that can tell a potential audience about the product, advertise it and attract buyers. It's worth looking at both sales problems separately, starting with competition.
Naturally, in order to become a leader among competitors, you need to have higher reviews from customers. It is not enough that the product is of excellent quality, you must also be able to advertise it and show how highly valued it is.
It is for this purpose that a business card website for the enterprise is created with a description of the range of manufactured products, information about production, and always with a separate field for reviews from people who have already purchased smoked meats. If word of mouth works in villages, then it is important to give an understanding that you can really be trusted. Of course, traditional advertising options are also suitable, be it banners, media or bulletin boards.
Also, do not forget about implementation methods. If you begin to produce large enough batches, then it is better to sell them in bulk to shops, restaurants, catering establishments and various supermarkets. Thus, selling goods even at a low price, you will not go broke, calmly selling all the lots and making a profit.
You can, of course, sell at your own point of sale. At first, the batches should be made small, but increased with the appearance of a regular buyer. In the future, it is worth establishing several points in markets or in the city and hiring separate distributors.
Determining the profitability of the project
To start a business in this direction, you need to understand whether smoking fish is really profitable, and how much you can earn from such a production. For this purpose, a detailed business plan is drawn up, which also takes into account start-up costs, costs during the project and permanent income.
It is the ratio of these data that determines how profitable a business is. Let's look at the example of a small regional enterprise for smoking fish for sale, the profitability of such a project.
| Expense line | Amount of costs, thousand rubles. | |
| 1 | Renting a production workshop for the first time | 150 |
| 2 | Purchase of smoking equipment | 400 |
| 3 | Equipment installation | 50 |
| 4 | Utilities and additional services | 50 |
| 5 | Preparation of the necessary documentation | 25 |
| 6 | Salary of all employees | 250 |
| 7 | Purchase of additional inventory | 10 |
| 8 | Advertising campaign | 20 |
| 9 | Starting purchase of raw materials | 240 |
| 10 | Sales taxes | 25 |
| 11 | Unexpected expenses | 100 |
| Total: | 1 320 |
Over the course of a year, such a project would cost about four and a half million rubles to maintain. Taking into account the average price of smoked fish on the market, income for a whole year of work will amount to more than five million rubles. On average, the project will earn 700 thousand rubles in the first year, but the amount will only increase every year.
Video: smoking installation Izhitsa 1200.
In this material:
Why not bring joy to people and make a business out of smoking products? After all, few people are indifferent to smoked meats. Almost everyone loves them, and not a single holiday would be complete without them.
Key points when organizing this business
The main feature, if not the complexity, of this business is the room for smoking meat or fish. His choice, rent and related details. Of course, if you conceived it not only for your friends, but plan to seriously engage in it. For example, selling at the local market. What is special about the room as such? It must meet sanitary and hygienic requirements. According to them, it should not be just a room. This should be a whole workshop for processing meat products. Only then will the smoking business bring results.
The standards that the state imposes on premises of this type are as follows:
- The workshop in which the smoking process takes place must be located no closer than 300 m from residential premises and educational institutions.
- Cold and hot water, ventilation, sewerage are mandatory conditions for starting a business.
- The area of the room should not be less than 100 m².
- There must be office space, bathrooms, and locker rooms.
In addition, state standards regulate the number and height of windows, the quality of masonry on the walls and a number of other requirements. So it’s not so easy to open your own food smoking business. Rebuilding existing sites and those that suit your price will not work. Yes, building such a business from scratch is not easy. But there is one way out: renting or completely purchasing the premises, which were previously used as a dining room. Such premises were built in full compliance with state regulations.
But here a second difficulty emerges. Do not forget about the state requirements published at the beginning of the paragraph. It should not just be a dining room that is suitable for the price, but one whose compliance with all other requirements does not raise questions. For example, do not underestimate the canteen of the former factory. If it is slightly re-equipped, this workshop can produce up to 10 tons of smoked fish or meat. So this business as a business is quite possible.
Main danger
What do you need to do before starting this business? First of all, you need to find those to whom you can supply these products. It is worth remembering that business owners suffer the greatest losses not when people come to them with inspections. Not at all. They suffer the biggest losses when the warehouse is overstocked and the products begin to deteriorate. Plus, there is a risk in the form of non-returns from stores. That is, no profit from sales. But there is a way out, and it is quite possible to make it so that it also brings income, like a business, and at the same time gives pleasure.
Why is this happening? The majority of stores, especially supermarkets, make the price for the consumer too high. As a result, the product is not sold out due to its high cost. What's the way out of this? Has the idea of smoking fish as a business failed? No, the solution is to cooperate with small grocery stores.
There is still a danger of opening such a business in the so-called “non-fishing areas”. As a rule, many men there are fishermen, and there is a body of water that is famous for its “fishing spots.” It’s not even worth opening such a business in such areas and spending a lot of money on advertising.
Coordination is also an important aspect
Every entrepreneur who has opened a business selling smoked products should first register as an individual entrepreneur. Then you will have to deal with a large number of departments to coordinate their actions. These are the following organizations:
- Fire Department;
- Rosprirodnadzor;
- Rostechnadzor;
- Veterinary service.
Don’t forget about obtaining a product quality certificate. A smoked product, like others, requires confirmation by a certificate. In order for an entrepreneur to be allowed to trade, it is necessary to pass a special test.
What equipment is needed to open and operate a smokehouse?
It depends on the size of the business being opened, in which the main product can be called the sale of smoked meat or fish. If this is a mini-business, then you will need a smokehouse, which you can buy relatively cheaply or make yourself.
A smokehouse can be bought on average from 5,000 to 35,000 rubles. The exact price depends on many factors. In particular, from the region in which it is planned to open the smokehouse. For large-scale production you will need additional equipment:
- Baths for washing products.
- Refrigerators.
- Cages with skewers in which smoking is carried out.
It is not necessary to have all the equipment. At each production, its set differs, and this is permissible.
Refrigerators for the industrial production of such products can cost 100,000 rubles or so. There are many requirements for equipment. For example, raw materials that are being prepared for manufacturing and finished products must be stored separately. And sanitary treatment of tables, knives, etc. is mandatory. after every shift.
What else is important to pay attention to? Check the expiration date and conditions in which the raw materials were stored. It is better to choose products that do not raise doubts. If a store suddenly ends up with a product of inadequate quality, it will not be easy to regain consumer trust.
You should not purchase products directly from shopping centers. This is not economically viable. It is better to purchase goods from the manufacturer. For example, these could be pig farms, fish factories, etc. Manufacturers usually have the necessary quality certificates. Fish, all stages of smoking of which took place at home, is considered to be of higher quality. That is, a small business, if properly promoted, can bring considerable income.
When will the costs be recouped?
If you approach each point of starting a business correctly, then the costs can pay off in just six months. But this will happen only if there are no failures and if the entrepreneur went through all the stages as clearly as possible. In particular, if he managed to select the right employees.
Hiring smokehouse employees is an important step. It will be better if they have work experience, because producing food is a very responsible business. And the quality of products directly depends on the experience of employees.
The number of employees depends on the size of the enterprise and the experience of the entrepreneur. If a businessman is young, and not so much in age as in terms of experience, he can hire 1-3 assistants.
A large enterprise requires more people. For example, it wouldn’t hurt to hire an accountant and a meat deboner. You can open a store of finished products if there are conditions for this and there is a demand for it. In any case, then you will also need a seller.
What fish is suitable for salting and smoking?
It is more correct and profitable to carry out these manipulations with the fish that swim in your local reservoirs. Or with meat that is found in a given region. The consumer likes this and it suits the concept of restaurants and cafes, because... they usually rely on local “gifts of nature.”
Many people believe that it is better to purchase raw materials in distant areas. They are wrong. This is not profitable for small businesses. The freight transport infrastructure in our country is too unreliable. This significantly hinders the development of a business such as the production of smoked meats.
If an entrepreneur nevertheless chooses this path, then he must have a food technologist on his staff, and he must be highly qualified and with extensive work experience.
He must be able to determine the condition based on one type of frozen meat or fish. This person is an important condition for a business like smoking to develop.
By the way, according to the rules, frozen fish cannot be smoked. Anyone who follows this rule will have a business - smoking will probably be successful.
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