I am looking for a spice buyer. How to build a spice business? How to open a spice and seasoning store: the necessary equipment, cost calculation and SES requirements

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

Business features

When selling any product, there are a number of features to consider. Thus, the spice trade is the most profitable on the market. It can be a kiosk, or a tent with a rented area, or a counter in a pavilion. The main thing is the high traffic of potential customers. People come to the grocery market to buy meat, minced fish, and at the same time they always do not forget about the seasonings for these products. The market is where you need to start the spice trade. Freestanding stores are not as effective and their monthly maintenance will cost a pretty penny for an entrepreneur.

If we talk about competition, then it is often represented by outlets that sell packaged spices and very few kiosks with spices by weight. But after all, it is the weighed-out spices or their combinations that give that unsurpassed taste for many dishes, plus, in addition, they are more useful.

Spice Trade Documents

Of the basic permissions you will need:

• take shape as an individual entrepreneur.
• specify the required OKVED. For Russia it is - 52.27.3 Retail sale of other food products. For Ukraine - 46.37 Wholesale coffee, tea, cocoa and spices.
• issue a lease agreement for a retail space.
• obtain permission from the SES and the fire service.

Selection of premises and equipment

Let's talk about what you need to do to get started in the spice and condiment trade.

Firstly, it is, of course, renting a good place in the market, the most profitable place will be a place near the meat or fish department, but other options are quite suitable, the main thing is that you are in plain sight. Often, such a point of sale occupies from 3 to 6 sq.m.

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

Next, you will need racks to demonstrate the assortment. Also, cash machine, a small counter and a chair for the seller. If the business involves the sale of spices or seasonings by weight, then you will need to buy an electronic scale.

Of the additional accessories, you will need filling tools, usually special spoons and bags for filling.

Assortment and suppliers

Assortment plays a huge role in the spice business. It is due to this point that you can get ahead of your competitors and entice buyers from them. Your main customers are women, and they love to choose from a variety of options.

Here is a list of the basic price list as follows point of sale.

• spices (basil, barberry, mustard, ginger, cinnamon, lavender, bay leaf, onion, carrot, 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: for borscht, fish, barbecue, meat, bacon, chicken, pizza, mushrooms, vegetables and much more).
• confectionery additives (vanillin, raisins, cocoa powder, coconut, cranberries, etc.).
• spice mixtures.
• sauces and oils.
• gift sets and more.

The choice can be large, the main thing is to correctly distribute all this. Take more popular spices, and less of those that are sold less often. A great approach to customer service is if your salesperson can make seasoning mixes right in front of the customer. It is very effective and memorable. Such a chip can become your business card.

Spice suppliers can be found in the wholesale food markets. Also, over time, you can start trading in elite types of spices.

How much start-up capital is needed?

Anyone who thinks about opening 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 the assortment of the cost of the rental area, and much more. We give you the main items of expenditure.

• Premises rental - $ 100 - $ 150
• Taxes - $ 150
• Seller's 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 assortment of goods, the location of the outlet, the presence of competitors in the vicinity, and so on. It is impossible to calculate all the points, but you can still indicate the main numbers.

Average mark-up for spices and seasonings - 70% - 100%.

Taking these indicators, you can make approximate calculations of profit and sales volumes.

Conclusions. Opening a spice and condiment store can be very profitable investment of money. It will be necessary to work in the market, and offer customers either an increased service, or new items in the range, or the price is lower than competitors. To scale the business, it will be necessary to open other retail outlets in different parts of the city, using already debugged technology.

Is there anything to add to the material? We are looking forward to your feedback on this business.

Sale of spices and herbs

Every year in our country there are fewer and fewer people 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 oriental 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 spicy and spicy dishes also contribute to an increase in the demand for rare spices that cannot be found in a standard grocery store.

Therefore, it is enough actual idea may be the opening of a shop of oriental spices from India, Iran and Syria. The cuisine of these countries is impressive with a huge selection of various spices and seasonings, many of which are absolutely unknown to the domestic consumer. 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 be in doubt, but coffee and tea shops are in demand not only among gourmets, but also among ordinary citizens.

How to open a spice shop

The sales area for the sale of 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 related product therefore they are most often purchased together 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 clear glass jars. It is imperative that they are hermetically sealed. Such packaging retains the aroma of spices for a longer time and, at the same time, looks spectacular on the showcase.

It is very important to organize the sales system correctly. In addition to the store providing retail sales you need to look for wholesale buyers, among restaurants, cafes, hotels. To receive competitive advantages spectrum is very important additional services... They can be gift packaging, taking orders by phone and the Internet, or organizing a delivery service. Some

The purchase of the initial batch of goods will require at least 2-3 thousand dollars. plus shipping costs. In addition, the total cost of rent, sign making, purchase shop equipment and packaging will need at least 5-6 thousand dollars. The margin in this segment is not uniform and ranges from 50 to 100%. These indicators make it possible to talk about the return on investment in no more than a year.

The documentary filmmaker Elizaveta Fedoseyeva began mixing spices in the kitchen, and in 2016 she sold spices for 20 million rubles. Her new projects are the export of "amber honey" to China, and mustard to India.

Founder of the Sphere spice production company Elizaveta Fedoseeva

All her family works in the company of Elizaveta Fedoseeva "Sphere". Elizabeth's father plays the role of a technologist, a medical mother advises on the effects of spices on the body, and her husband is responsible for packaging design and product promotion. In the village of Staroye Poddubye in the Gatchinsky District of the Leningrad Region, Elizabeth created a full-cycle spice production - from growing herbs to packaging. A dozen local residents work on the spice plantation. Part of the raw materials Elizabeth buys directly from foreign suppliers, but, for example, mustard, on the contrary, she is going to export to India. Large-scale deliveries to China of products with the addition of amber extract are also being prepared.

Spice market

According to the latest data from the Step by Step marketing agency, the volume of the spice market in Russia in 2014 amounted to 159 billion rubles, during the year it grew by 1% in monetary terms. Today, there are about 150 manufacturers working on the domestic market. Most of them deal only with the packaging of imported raw materials. According to Euroresearch & Consulting, Russia annually imports over 100 thousand tons of herbs and spices. The main suppliers are China, India and Uzbekistan. The market is not consolidated. According to Aidigo marketers, three companies are in the lead: the Russian Proxima with the Pripravych trademark, the American McCormick & Company (Kamis brand) and the Austrian Kotányi, each of them accounting for 10%. Aidigo estimates its share at 5%.

Production and distribution

Elizaveta Fedoseyeva is a director by education, in the mid-2000s she worked in a documentary film studio. At the same time, she was seriously fond of cooking. She loved to mix different spices to get new tastes: Elizabeth claims that this passion was inherited from her French ancestors who moved to Russia in ancient times. I prepared some of the seasonings myself: I collected herbs in the forests and bought them in the markets, dried them and grinded them. The guests liked the dishes; along with the recipes, they often took with them bags of spices mixed by Elizabeth.

Unexpectedly, word of mouth worked, acquaintances of acquaintances - the owners of small St. Petersburg cafes and restaurants - began to turn for spices. “After a while, complete strangers began to call, asking for our spices in kilograms. And we realized that this could be a real business, ”recalls Fedoseyeva.

This is how the Sphere company appeared in 2006. The business model was simple: the entrepreneur bought spices from wholesalers, mixed them according to her recipe for own kitchen and resold. Production volumes reached 50 kg per week and monthly brought about 120 thousand rubles. profit with a margin of 15-30%.

When orders from restaurateurs reached more than 500 kg per month, it became clear that it was necessary to expand. But finding suitable premises was not easy. As soon as the family rented the premises and made repairs, the property owners asked to move out without giving any reason. After three moves, Elizabeth decided that she needed to buy a room. The family supported the idea, in 2007 they sold for 14 million rubles. a four-room apartment in the center of St. Petersburg and moved to the village of Staraye Poddubye in the Gatchinsky district of the Leningrad region - 73 km from St. Petersburg. There was enough money to buy a house, 2 hectares of land and industrial premises a former mushroom farm with an area of ​​1000 sq. m.

The production premises required repair, there was no equipment either, so the family had to take consumer loans at 20-25% per annum. In total, it took about 5 million rubles to organize the production, which the family borrowed from banks. The next two years, the entrepreneur spent all the profits on paying off debts. Finding money was time consuming and distracting from production. According to Elizabeth, this was the most difficult time in the history of her company. “What do women dream about? About a fur coat, for example. And I kept dreaming about automated lines. It was such happiness, I was so happy about our first filling machine, ”recalls Fedoseyeva.

An entrepreneur usually develops a recipe for a new mixture in about three months. (Photo: Ekaterina Kuzmina / RBC)

The entrepreneur understood that one cannot create a large-scale business on cooperation only with restaurateurs, she was looking for opportunities to go out into retail. In 2008, the government of the Leningrad region arranged a meeting of local entrepreneurs with buyers of retail chains. According to Fedoseyeva, all manufacturers were given only one badge, without which they were not allowed to attend the meeting. Farmers cursed and lined up for the right to spend 5-10 minutes in a company with buyers. When the pass fell into the hands of Elizabeth, she literally ran into the hall, handed out all her business cards and product samples.

The entrepreneur's impulse was appreciated by representatives of the Spar retail chain. For almost half a year, they tested spices, agreed on an agreement on the production of spices under their trademark, and approved labels. As a result, Fedoseyeva's company began to produce eight seasonings for the retail chain: sea salt, salad dressings, chicken, etc.

Only after this contract, Elizabeth left her job.

Spicy farm

The production of spices is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. According to Fedoseeva, it is impossible to quickly come up with a new mixture - some spices are hot, others are spicy, you need to understand the taste, and also take into account the time of harvest. An entrepreneur usually develops a recipe for a new mixture in about three months.

Sphere spices are based on Russian herbs. On 2 hectares of land, the company grows about 40% of the required raw materials. These are oregano, parsley, dill, cilantro, marjoram, basil and other plants. The herbs are harvested by hand, then dried and ground. The company buys the remaining raw materials from Russian manufacturers and foreign suppliers. Russian herbs are supplied by 25 farmers. About 30% of raw materials, for example, various types of peppers, are purchased abroad. At first, Fedoseyeva cooperated with resellers, but when the demand for raw materials increased to containers of 20 tons, she agreed on direct deliveries from India, China and Vietnam. According to the entrepreneur, this helps to reduce costs and monitor the quality of raw materials.

But export is also possible - Indian partners, according to Fedoseeva, plan to buy mustard and coriander from her. She recently received an application for the supply of 20 tons of products per month. “At the last BRICS exhibition, which took place in India, its stand was incredibly popular,” says Maria Shcherbatkina, co-chair of the Opora Rossii committee for the development of women’s entrepreneurship. “This is very unusual and funny, because it would seem that India is the main supplier of spices for the whole world. But the Indians themselves consume spices that they do not grow, ”explains Fedoseyeva.

Elizabeth's new projects - export of "amber honey" to China, and mustard - to India (Photo: Ekaterina Kuzmina / RBC)

10-15 fellow villagers and residents of neighboring villages constantly work in the production. The harvest is harvested by hand, but some of the processes are automated: seven machines help to pack spices and apply labels. About 40 types of spice packs are produced, as well as fresh herbs for sale. Production volume - 10-25 thousand packs per month.

Brand recipe

The sale of spices in 2016 brought Fedoseeva 20 million rubles. revenue, net profit amounted to 6 million rubles. A third of the revenue comes from an agreement with Spar, a third from retail sales and a third from restaurants. “Spar is good at guaranteeing bulk orders, but they also dictate their prices. It is 15-20% more profitable to produce under your own brand, ”says the entrepreneur.

The first spices were sold under the name Smaki. However, due to the consonance with the Smak brand (it was invented and registered by the singer Andrei Makarevich, who hosted a TV program with that name) trade mark registration failed. However, the first buyers were mainly restaurants, they practically did not pay attention to the brand.

In 2014, Fedoseeva decided to enter the b2c market. Because of the dollar jump retail chains became more attentive to the proposals of Russian manufacturers, import substitution began. Fedoseeva also changed the line: for example, she released "Peppers Lux", where one of the types of foreign pepper was replaced by domestic mustard. In appearance and taste, the mixture practically did not change, while the cost of the product decreased.

To understand marketing and branding, Elizaveta entered the business acceleration program from the government of the Leningrad Region: for six months, the entrepreneur attended lectures and master classes by invited experts. “Elizabeth is such a charming person that, looking at her, I want to go and open my own business. These are the people we need, ”recalls Olga Shakhova, head of department at the Leningrad Regional Center for Entrepreneurship Support.

In 2015 Fedoseeva registered a new trademark - Divia. The name and logo were invented together with her husband. “When a person in a supermarket comes to a shelf with spices, he doesn't understand what's what. Therefore, he grabs an understandable black pepper and leaves. We thought for a long time how to explain that spices have a gradation, that they can be varied, to create new interesting tastes, ”says Fedoseyeva. As a result, we came up with a new line of spices. Usually spices are sold either separately - rosemary, basil, parsley, etc., or for individual dishes - pilaf, meat, fish, etc. Fedoseyeva proposed her own "scale of taste" - a gradation of nine sets of spices with increasing pungency from "Tender" to "Spicy". Salt with Divia spices costs 120 rubles, peppers - 200 rubles. Prices are slightly higher than the market average.

The decision is controversial. The "scale of taste" can work on the Internet in a very narrow segment of Ayurvedic specialists, where the sale of an idea is more going on than a product. In retail, success is unlikely, since the line does not fit into the logic of the store shelf, ”says Aleksey Izmailov, director of development for the wholesale supplier of spices and spices Iva.

Indeed, now Divia is sold mainly in farm stores... “The products are very unusual - salt is combined with spices, and people are interested in it, sales are growing. I myself use it with pleasure. I think we will cooperate for a long time, ”says Lada Akulinina, head of the purchasing department of the Fruktovaya Lavka chain of five stores.

For restaurants Fedoseeva has developed the Divia Grand line. According to Ksenia Vasilevich, purchasing manager of one of the largest suppliers of East-West restaurants, Ksenia Vasilevich, premium establishments such as Pushkin, Turandot, Graf Orlov and others also buy Divia products.

Amber additive

Once Elizabeth remembered that she was filming a documentary about amber. Its extract contains succinic acid and trace elements that help the body cope with stress and stress. “Amber is mainly used in the treatment of thyroid disorders. It also has antiseptic properties, ”says Yulia Doronina, a specialist at the Amberhall amber factory.

Fedoseeva decided to try to release products with amber extract. V pure form because of the specific coniferous taste, it is difficult to consume. Experience with spices suggested that the extract could be mixed with other products. As a result, she created amber water and cream honey with amber extract.

Products with amber have another advantage: the Chinese consider amber to be an "imperial stone" and attribute mystical properties to it. About 50 tons of amber worth about $ 100 million are officially imported to the PRC annually, the main supplier is Russia. And besides, more and more Chinese as tourists travel to our country, and in particular to St. Petersburg.

The entrepreneur took part in an exhibition in St. Petersburg at the Russian-Chinese center. The trial batch was literally swept off the shelves. “How surprised we were when the Chinese surrounded us from all sides, immediately ate all our honey, drank all the water,” recalls Fedoseyeva. “I knew about the interest in amber, but I didn’t expect it to be so trendy”.

After this incident, the specialists of the Russian Export Center invited the entrepreneur to take part in the first food exhibition of Russian products in China. At it, visitors demanded to sell even those exhibits that were not intended for sale, and buyers lined up. Now all the forces of the company are directed to the production of amber products.

Fedoseyeva believes that this will help Sphere to reach a new level of sales. She prepares documents for deliveries to China. Agreeing contracts and final prices will take another three months, and it is planned to ship the first 60 tons of amber products to Chinese wholesalers.

Ivan Sidorok, founder of the Mabius Culinary Startup Center, believes in the success of amber products: "There is only one criterion - a sufficient number of people need a product and they are willing to pay money."

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 the ranking of the most popular business ideas for small businesses. At the same time, all retail must not be "under the same rubric", each direction of trade is individual and, on the one hand, requires an individual approach, and on the other hand, it has its own advantages and disadvantages. Today we will talk about the idea of ​​a store in one of the "narrow" niches.

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

Today we will move on 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 unleashed for them. I will not bother readers with historical facts about spices, although it is quite interesting to find out that, for example, the minimum mark-up for trading in an ordinary hammer with pepper was 2000%, and one of Magellan's expeditions, upon returning, managed to cover all the losses and 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 lot 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 types of ground pepper, bay leaves and more. a couple of types of products. At the same time, the variety of spices is huge, plus spices and, of course, seasonings, and in the aggregate, this allows us to speak of a nomenclature sufficient for the formation of a.

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

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

Of course, the list does not end there, but we will discuss the assortment of the spice store in a separate article, we will move on to the specifics of opening such a store.

The first factor is space.

When choosing premises for a spice and herb store, special attention should be paid to ventilation. The presence of a well-ventilated space in which it will be possible to maintain a pleasant aroma without harsh tones is the key to business success. Of course, you can't do with ventilation alone, you need to think over the counters, but more on that below. If the premises do not have the necessary equipment, then the cost of the arrangement must 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 point, but at the same time shopping room there should be at least 20 squares (optimally around 30), plus utility rooms for storing spices, spices and seasonings. And only the third in the list of factors when choosing a place will be its location. It should be understood that this is a highly specialized point and, plus the spices themselves, are quite a specific product, which quite clearly limits the circle of buyers. In fact, buyers are deliberate and as a result, its placement may not be tied to any transport interchanges and does not depend on "traffic". Of course, placement in shopping centers looks optimal, but when choosing between shopping center and with a separate room somewhere nearby it is worth paying attention first of all to the cost of renting such a room.

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

The second factor is equipment.

Commercial equipment for a spice point will differ significantly from the usual set for a grocery store, after all, we are talking about bulk goods requiring placement and storage in an enclosed space. It is interesting that such different products as meat and spices can have similar problems; when equipping a butcher shop, entrepreneurs also face the need to equip special display cases for storing fresh meat (you can get more details). In our case, the spices should be stored in separate containers-containers with the possibility of hermetically sealed. Still, spices and spices tend to gradually "erode" plus in the store, and so there will be a pleasant aroma of thousands of herbs. In addition, it is imperative to have a small mixer to prepare the mixtures of spices and herbs on site. This process looks just fine, in any case, buyers are very happy when they prepare a mixture with them taking into account their wishes (by the way, individual adjustments are made very rarely). The same happens, for example, with peppers, when a powder mixture is made ready for use out of 5 different types at the client, it is the possibility of preparing "fresh" spices that is one of the main "chips".

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

The third factor is suppliers.

The choice of suppliers is perhaps one of the most difficult issues in opening a spice store. The fact is that in many respects the prices for spices and spices 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, it is not difficult to reach suppliers abroad (the main thing is to know English), but on the other hand, the sales volumes of one outlet are small and it will most likely not be profitable to import it on your own. The only option in this case would be to work with large importers, what can I say here, try to choose a large one that has been working for a long time in order to avoid deception, plus you need to count on buying a large enough amount (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 just 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 probability of getting a defective product is much higher, it will work with them when you learn to understand products "by eye and nose". Immediately you should expect to buy a fairly large batch, for example, the same black pepper "peas" in a normal wholesale is sold in bags weighing 50 kg.

The fourth factor is personnel.

One of critical factors of any specialty store there have been and remain sellers. Practice shows that any narrow-profile shop with a normal assortment (specifically for the chosen specialization) forms a stable core rather quickly (within 3-4 months) regular customers, in an ideal situation, such clients can form up to 70-80% of total revenue. And starting from the second month of work, the main task is to retain customers due to two factors:

• - a large assortment and High Quality 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 know, is formed by the polite staff with experience and knowledge in spices and herbs. A variety of techniques can be used here, from banal stories of the difference 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 curries or a bouquet of 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 being sold.