In this article, we will explain what a business plan is and why you need one if you’re looking to start an event management company. We will also cover what you should include in a business plan for events management and provide you with a free, downloadable template that you can adapt and use for starting your business.

What is a Business Plan?

When first looking into how to start an event management company, it’s very likely that you were advised to write a business plan.

A business plan is simply a short document that sets out your event management company’s objectives. It helps you and your potential investors to clearly see what the business’ aims are (both financial and non-financial) and details how you’re going to ensure you achieve these goals.

What is Event Management?

Event management involves planning and organising a wide range of events, from a brand’s new product launch, to a client’s birthday party. Rather than planning an event themselves, an individual, corporation, organisation or brand will hire an event management business to take on this responsibility for them. That business will then manage every aspect of the event, from planning to execution and evaluation. 

Some of the key responsibilities involved in managing an event are: 

• Learning about the client and what they want from their event. 
• Identifying the target audience. 
• Coming up with an event concept or theme. 
• Organising guest lists, menus, seating and transport. 
• Organising a venue based on the client’s needs. 
• Hiring staff, including hospitality and entertainment.
• Arranging guests, such as guest speakers.
• Creating event schedules. 

Event managers must be excellent communicators, with lots of creativity, as well as having organisation and problem solving skills to ensure events run smoothly and exceed the client’s expectations.

Looking to Learn More?

Our Starting a Business course explains how to successfully start your own business. It teaches you how to write a professional business plan and familiarises you with the legalities and regulations associated with starting a business. text.

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

Any new business needs funding, staff and publicity to get off the ground and stand out from the competition. Writing up a business plan is a fundamental step toward achieving this. 

A business plan will clearly set out to potential investors why your business is going to be successful and, ultimately, why they should invest in you. The more they invest, the more staff you can hire to help build your business.

Additionally, event management companies need lots of resources to make events run smoothly, such as technology and transport, and these should all be factored into the business plan.

You may also decide at this point to specify what kind of events you want your business to plan, the types of client you will be working with and exactly what services your business will offer. By being specific, you are communicating to investors that you have a clear view of what you think your business will achieve. This can also help you determine branding and marketing strategies to appeal to your target market. 

It’s important to outline your marketing strategy in your business plan. Event management is a highly competitive industry, meaning you need to optimise marketing and publicity as quickly as possible in order to create publicity and distinguish yourself from your competitors. 

Most importantly, having a business plan will keep you on track. When you’re starting out with a new business, it can be easy to become overwhelmed with all the possible directions you could take your business in. Your business plan will help focus your direction and ensure that you stay on track with your business goals, helping you avoid wasting valuable time and money.

What to Include in a Business Plan for Event Management

A business plan doesn’t need to be a long or complicated document. For a small event planning company, a side or two of A4 paper will suffice. Your aim is simply to write down all the key information about your business in a clear, logical order. 

The topics to include in your event management company business plan are: 

• The name, address and contact details for your business.
• Information on the management of the business.
• Your company’s Mission Statement: a sentence summarising the overall aim of your company. 
• Your start-up costs: do you need to buy any equipment or hire transport? Do you need to pay anyone a wage? Have you got insurance? 
• Your business objectives: what will you sell and who is your target customer? 
• The everyday costs of the business: how much will you spend on a weekly or monthly basis? Include all overheads and outgoing costs, such as wages and petrol. 
• Funding and financial projections: where do you plan to get the money from to start the business? What are your projected profits/losses for the next month, year, two years, etc.? How will you maintain the cash flow? 
• Where you will operate from: include where you will be based, plus information on any overhead costs associated with the business premises. 
• What will be the business’ operating hours? Will you work on the business full-time? What will your working hours be? 
• Does your business have any local competition? What is your unique selling point (USP) that makes you stand out from the crowd? 
• Your pricing strategy: what are you going to charge for your service? Will you charge per event or per head?
• How will you be paid for your service? Do you plan to issue invoices, ask for a deposit or ask people to pay in full upfront?

Download an Event Management Business Plan PDF Template

To get started, simply download our free, one page business plan template using the button below. This template is just a guide, so feel free to add your own headings on a second page to ensure that all information relevant to your business is recorded in one place. 

Starting up any new business will come with challenges but by having a clear and concise business plan in place from the start, you are putting yourself in the best position to achieve future success for your events management business.

Further Resources:

• Starting a Business With No Money: Making Things Work Without A* Finances
• What’s the Difference Between Trade Marks, Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets? 
• 10 Elements to Consider When Organising a Corporate Event
• 42 Tips for Producing a Memorable Small Business Event
• Project Management Quiz
• Business Essentials Courses

The post How to Start an Event Management Company: Business Plan Template appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will outline everything you need to know about starting a bakery business. We’ll look at the different types of bakeries, conducting market research, how to write your business plan and the legal requirements you need to be aware of. 

• What is a Bakery Business?
  • Types of Bakeries
• How to Write a Business Plan for a Bakery
  • How to Write Your Business Plan
  • Equipment Needed for a Bakery
• Legal Requirements for a Bakery Business
  • Registering your Food Business
  • Food Hygiene Training
  • Allergens
  • Food Labelling and Packaging
  • Health and Safety

What is a Bakery Business?

A bakery business typically creates and sells food products that are baked in an oven. However, the scope for what you can create, and which products you choose to sell, is huge and only limited by your creativity and innovation.

Typical bakery goods include items such as:

• Bagels.
• Bread.
• Cakes.
• Cookies.
• Pastries.
• Pies.

There are many benefits to starting a bakery business, too. For example:

• Low start-up costs. The start-up cost of a bakery business can be as little or as much as you like. There are certain elements that you’ll need to have, but overall, the start-up costs are much lower than other businesses – especially if you choose to start the business from home.
• Creating your own working schedule. While you may need to work longer hours to begin with, once you’re established, you’ll be able to dictate when you want to work and which jobs you decide to take on. If you open your own cafe, for example, you’ll have the power to choose which hours it’ll be open to and from, and on which days of the week. 
• The ability to be creative in your job. You’ll be in charge of choosing what you produce, how you do that and what it looks like. 
• Diversification opportunities once the business takes off. Once you’ve established your bakery business, the opportunities to expand into further markets are endless.

Types of Bakeries

There are two main types of bakery businesses – retail and wholesale. 

Retail bakeries are the most common type of bakery, and they have a number of different business models and niches for you to choose from. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Bakery cafe – This is a cafe that sells baked goods alongside other food and drink products – for example: coffee, tea, paninis, sandwiches, etc. There is also usually a place for customers to sit and eat their food. 
• Bakery counter – Similarly to a bakery cafe, a counter may choose to only sell baked goods, or they may also offer other products, such as teas and coffees. However, this is typically a ‘take-away only’ space, and isn’t required to have a place for customers to dine in. 
• Bakery food truck – This is a portable space to sell your baked goods from, and you may choose to drive to a number of locations or park yourself up in a designated space where customers will know to find you. Due to the lack of space, you may find it easier to create your baked goods at home rather than making them onsite. 
• Home bakery – Selling directly from your home is a viable option for people who want to avoid the higher start-up costs of buying or leasing a separate premises to sell their baked goods from. You could also offer a delivery service for a set price to increase your profits. For inspiration, check out our article: ‘Ideas for Starting a Food Business from Home.’

In each of these business models, you also have the opportunity to specialise what you offer – for example, you may choose to only sell gluten-free products in your bakery food truck, open a café that specialises in French bakery goods only, or open a wedding cake business from your home. 

On the other hand, wholesale bakeries don’t sell their products directly to customers. Instead, they sell to other businesses – for example to supermarkets, restaurants or cafes. Due to the nature of this business model, wholesale bakeries are expected to produce high volumes of their products if they want to be successful. This means there are much higher start-up costs involved, as you would need to have a large enough space to meet the demands of commercial orders, and potentially employ others to help you do this.

Need a Course?

Our Starting a Home Food Business course explains the fundamental steps you need to take in order to comply with the legal requirements and food safety regulations. It also covers how to write a business plan, conduct market research and ways to promote your business.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Bakery

Once you’ve decided that you’d like to start a bakery business, the first thing you need to do is conduct market research. This will help you to identify several key areas that are important to focus on if you want your business to be successful. 

It will help to identify who your target audience is, what they are looking for, how often they want it, how much they are willing to pay for it and whether you will have any competition.

Things that you need to find out during the market research stage include:

• What kind of bakery are you going to open?
• How many different products will you offer?
• Which recipes will you use? Have they been tested?
• Who are your customers and what is their demographic?
• Will you sell your products online, in a shop or both?
• Are there any local events that you can sell your products at?
• Will you rent or buy premises outside your home? Where will this be?
• Will you have a delivery option? What are the costs and demand for this?
• Is there any existing competition? What do they offer?
• Do you need any insurance, certificates or licences to operate the business?

How to Write Your Business Plan

Every business needs a plan. The idea is that you write down, in one document, everything about the business to make your opportunity sound as attractive as possible to potential business partners and financial lenders. It also helps you to keep a focus on what your business objectives are so that you completely understand what you are aiming towards and how you are going to get there.

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be a complicated job and it doesn’t have to be very long. As long as you get all the key information written down in a logical order, then your business plan is good to go.

Topics to include in your business plan are:

• The name, address and contact details of your business.
• Information on the management of the business; who’s in charge?
• Your company’s Mission Statement: in one sentence, summarise the aim of your bakery business.
• Where you will operate from; where is your office or kitchen, how big is it and what are the overhead costs involved?
• Your start-up costs; what equipment do you need to buy? Do you have any insurance or training to pay for?
• The everyday costs of the business; how much will you spend on ingredients and overhead costs on a weekly or monthly basis?
• Funding and financial projections; where do you plan to get the money from to start the business and what are your projected profits/losses for the next month, year, 2 years, etc? How will you maintain the cash-flow?
• Will you work on the business full-time or alongside your day job?
• Does your business have any competition and what are the features or benefits of your own business that will make it stand out?
• What is your marketing strategy?
• Do you have the logistics in place to deal with delivery, customer service, insurance, etc?

We’ve put together a simple template that you can use to get you started:

Equipment Needed for a Bakery

It’s vital that you have a well-equipped kitchen before you can open your bakery business – even if you’re planning to bake at home rather than in a commercial kitchen.

The type of equipment you’ll need will depend on whether or not you decide to specialise in one product, for example a wedding cake business. However, generally speaking, you’ll need:

• An oven – A convection oven is usually the type chosen by bakers as it provides dry heat and therefore cooks food evenly. However, if you’ve chosen to specialise in artisan bread, for example, you may prefer a deck oven. 
• Space to prepare and knead your dough if you’re going to bake bread or pastries.
• Shelving and storage racks. 
• A cart or trolley to move large bags of ingredients around – especially if you have a commercial kitchen to work in.
• Non-stick trays.
• A food mixer.
• Digital scales for accurate measuring.
• Cooling racks.
• Measuring spoons for accuracy of ingredients.
• Mixing bowls.

Legal Requirements for a Bakery Business

Once you have organised your business plan, it’s time to focus on making sure that your business will be legally compliant.

Selling food online without the proper registration or other legal requirements in place can have dire consequences not only for business owners, but for the health, safety and wellbeing of your customers.

Registering your Food Business

According to the Government, anyone who is regularly selling food must register as a food business through their local authority. On the Government website, you can input your postcode and this will direct you to where you need to apply. This licence is free to obtain, and cannot be refused.

However, you must register as a food business at least 28 days before trading. If you are already trading, you must register as soon as possible. 

Trading without proper registration can result in a fine or prison sentence of up to two years.

You must also register with the Government as a sole trader in order to complete a self-assessment tax return each year. The Government classes anyone who is self-employed as a sole trader.

Food Hygiene Training

Once you have completed the necessary registration, you will receive a visit from the Environment Health Office (EHO) within 28 days of submitting your registration form. The EHO will ensure that you are compliant with all the relevant food hygiene legislation and are therefore safe to be trading.

During the inspection, EHO inspectors will assess three areas of your home food business:

• The physical condition of your premises. This means measuring your cleanliness, and whether you have suitable ventilation and pest control measures. 
• Food hygiene. This involves ensuring that you and any employees have safe preparation methods, cooking and storage of food, and making sure you know how to safely cool or reheat your products.
• Food safety. This means inspecting the precautions you have in place for this, such as having a food safety management system implemented and used. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is an example of this. You can find more information on HACCP in our article here.

Once they have completed their inspection, the EHO will issue you with a food hygiene rating. If you’d like to learn more about what to expect from an EHO visit, you can do so in our article, here.

Food safety is immensely important, and you must do everything in your power to ensure that you follow all the guidelines. By law, all food handlers must have an understanding of the basic principles of food hygiene and know how to protect the food they serve from contamination. 

Need a Course?

Our Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering training course is designed to help learners understand the basics of food hygiene so they can work safely, comply with the law, minimise contamination and ensure the food they handle is safe for consumers to eat. Our range of HACCP courses cover everything you need to implement an effective food safety management system.

Allergens

A vital part of food safety is having a sound knowledge of allergens. All food businesses have a duty to protect their customers from the risks allergens can present. 

Any food has the ability to cause an allergic reaction, however, certain foods are more likely to cause a reaction than others. 

There are 14 named food allergens which, by law, must be declared if they are used as an ingredient in a food product.

Conducting an allergen risk assessment is a key way to ensure you are complying with regulations. As you are legally required to provide allergenic information on your products, an allergen risk assessment may be the easiest way for you to identify where allergens occur in dishes, where the risks of cross contamination are and how you can best mitigate the risk. We have created a free, downloadable allergen risk assessment which you can find here. 

We also have free and downloadable allergen labels for you to use.  These are quick and easy ways to communicate allergens with your customers and reassure them that you are dedicated to food safety.

Food Labelling and Packaging

Food labelling is another crucial part of food safety. There are regulations regarding certain information that must be displayed on labels, and also specific allergen regulations for distance sellers. Distance selling is the indirect selling of products rather than directly to customers over a counter or face to face. Therefore, if you’re selling food online – via a Facebook or Instagram page, for example, you are a distance seller.

You must be able to provide allergen and intolerance information for your customers, especially with the introduction of Natasha’s Law, including any ‘may contain’ cross-contact allergens which you also handle. To find out more about precautionary allergen labelling, check out our article, here.

You’ll also have to decide what kind of packaging you’ll use in your bakery, and which materials it’ll be made from. For more information, check out our article: ‘What are the Different Types of Sustainable Food Packaging?’.

Food Allergen Awareness

Our Food Allergen Awareness training is designed to help food handlers identify and label allergens in order to ensure their customers remain safe from harm.

Health and Safety

There are a number of potential health and safety risks in a bakery, whether you are working from home or in a commercial kitchen. Being aware of these risks can help you to put control measures in place to prevent accidents or ill-health from occurring to yourself, or any workers you may employ. 

The most common health and safety risks in a bakery include:

• Occupational dermatitis.
• Exposure to harmful substances.
• Slips, trips and falls.
• Manual handling.
• Appliances and machinery.

It is primarily an employer’s duty to ensure that health and safety measures are put in place. However, everyone that handles food has a part to play in adhering to, and upholding them so they remain effective. 

There are numerous pieces of legislation that place legal duties on employers to protect the wellbeing of their employees. For example:

• The Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999).
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH).

For more information, check out our article which contains a free, downloadable checklist: ‘Health and Safety in a Bakery’.

Health and Safety

Staff need to be sufficiently trained to handle occupational hazards, and it’s always helpful to improve their knowledge. Check out our range of Health and Safety courses which cover the fundamentals any bakery would need including Workplace First Aid and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH).

We wish you all the best in your bakery business venture! If you have any further questions about the topics discussed in this article, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at High Speed Training. You can contact our friendly team on 0333 006 7000 or email support@highspeedtraining.co.uk.

Further Resources

• Starting A Home Food Business
• 5 Key HACCP Considerations for the Bakery Industry
• Health and Safety in a Bakery: Free Checklist
• How to Start a Street Food or Food Truck Business
• How to Start a Cupcake Business
• How to Start a Food Business From Your Home
• Cake Decorations: Which Flowers are Edible?
• Selling Cakes from Home: Do I Need a Food Hygiene Certificate?
• Pest Control Quiz

The post How to Start a Bakery Business appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

If you have a passion for baking, then why not make it into a career? With all this entrepreneurial success surrounding baking, it’s no wonder cupcake businesses are booming – some reports have stated that there has been a 230% increase in home baking businesses in recent years.  

In this article, we will take you through everything you need to know about starting your own cupcake business. We’ll outline the benefits, explain how to write a business plan and detail everything you’ll need to get started. Finally, we’ll explore some of the marketing strategies you can use to promote your business.

• Why Start a Cupcake Business?
  • Is a Cupcake Business Profitable?
• Cupcake Business Plan
  • How to Write Your Business Plan
• What Do I Need to Start a Cupcake Business?
  • Register your Food Business
  • Food Hygiene Training
  • Allergens
  • Food Labelling and Packaging
  • Equipment Needed for Cupcakes
• Marketing Strategy for Cupcake Business
  • Marketing your Business on Social Media

Why Start a Cupcake Business?

Even in an economy where cash-flow is slow and people have less money to spend, cupcake businesses are still taking off. Cupcakes are seen as a luxury product but, with their small price tag for consumers, they’re the ultimate feel-good purchase that won’t break the bank. 

Some of the benefits of starting a cupcake business include: 

• Low start-up costs. The start-up cost of a cupcake business can be as little or as much as you like. There are certain elements that you’ll need to have, but overall, the start-up costs are much lower than other businesses.
• Creating your own working schedule. While you may need to work longer hours to begin with, once you’re established, you’ll be able to dictate when you want to work and which jobs you decide to take on. 
• The business can be run from home. Along with choosing your own hours, you’ll be able to work exclusively from the comfort of your own home. 
• The ability to be creative in your job. You’ll be in charge of choosing what you produce, how you do that, and what it looks like.
• Diversification opportunities once the business takes off. The opportunities to expand into further markets are endless. If you want some inspiration, check out our article: ‘Ideas for Starting a Food Business from Home’. 

Is a Cupcake Business Profitable?

Cupcake businesses can be extremely profitable. This is partly due to the low start-up costs – starting your business can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. There’s no need to upgrade or buy new equipment unless you feel the need to – but we’ll look into the specifics of what you’ll need later in the article.

As the money you’ll need to invest to get started is minimal, you’ll turn a profit much faster than other businesses. Cupcakes are also inexpensive to make, in terms of the amount of ingredients needed to create each one, but they have a high profit margin. Even if you set a reasonably low price point for your cupcakes, you’ll make a profit on each one.

By running your business from home, you’re also avoiding extra utility costs from owning a café, restaurant or shop. This allows you to enjoy the majority of the profits you make.

Want to Learn More?

Our Starting a Home Food Business course explains the fundamental steps you need to take in order to comply with the legal requirements and food safety regulations. It also covers how to write a business plan, conduct market research and ways to promote your business.

Cupcake Business Plan

Once you’ve decided that you’d like to start a cupcake business, the first thing you need to do is research the market. 

Market research will help you to identify several key areas that are important to focus on if you want your business to be successful. It will help to identify who your target audience is, what they are looking for, how often they want it, how much they are willing to pay for it and whether you will have any competition.

Things that you need to find out during the market research stage include:

• What kind of cupcake business are you going to open?
• Which recipes will you use? Have they been tested?
• Who are you customers and what is their demographic?
• Will you sell your products online, in a shop or both?
• Will you sell just cupcakes or full-size cakes and tray-bakes too?
• Will you be a catering or retail business?
• Are there any local events that you can sell your cupcakes at?
• Will you rent or buy premises outside your home? Where will this be?
• Will you have a delivery option? What are the costs and demand for this?
• Is there any existing competition? What do they offer?
• Do you need any insurance, certificates or licences to operate the business?

How to Write Your Business Plan

Every business needs a plan. The idea is that you write down, in one document, everything about the business to make your opportunity sound as attractive as possible to potential business partners and financial lenders. It also helps you to keep a focus on what your business objectives are so that you completely understand what you are aiming towards and how you are going to get there.

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be a complicated job and, for a small cupcake business, it doesn’t have to be very long. As long as you get all the key information written down in a logical order, then your business plan is good to go.

Topics to include in your business plan are:

• The name, address and contact details of your business.
• Information on the management of the business; who’s in charge?
• Your company’s Mission Statement: in one sentence, summarise the aim of your cupcake business.
• Where you will operate from; where is your office or kitchen, how big is it and what are the overhead costs involved?
• Your start-up costs; what equipment do you need to buy? Do you have any insurance or training to pay for?
• The everyday costs of the business; how much will you spend on ingredients and overhead costs on a weekly or monthly basis?
• Funding and financial projections; where do you plan to get the money from to start the business and what are your projected profits/losses for the next month, year, 2 years, etc? How will you maintain the cash-flow?
• Will you work on the business full-time or alongside your day job?
• Does your business have any competition and what are the features or benefits of your own business that will make it stand out?
• What is your marketing strategy?
• Do you have the logistics in place to deal with delivery, customer service, insurance, etc?

Start your business plan in a word-processor document on your computer, grab a notebook or bring up a new page on your tablet – it doesn’t matter where!

We’ve put together a simple template that you can use to get you started:

One Page Business Plan

What Do I Need to Start a Cupcake Business?

Once you have organised your business plan, it’s time to focus on making sure that your business will be legally compliant.

Selling food online without the proper registration or other legal requirements in place can have dire consequences not only for business owners, but for the health, safety and wellbeing of your customers.

Register your Food Business

According to the Government, anyone who is regularly selling food must register as a food business through their local authority. On the Government website, you can input your postcode and this will direct you to where you need to apply. This licence is free to obtain, and cannot be refused.

However, you must register as a food business at least 28 days before trading. If you are already trading, you must register as soon as possible. 

Trading without proper registration can result in a fine or prison sentence of up to two years.

You must also register with the Government as a sole trader in order to complete a self-assessment tax return each year. The Government classes anyone who is self-employed as a sole trader.

Food Hygiene Training

Once you have completed the necessary registration, you will receive a visit from the Environment Health Office (EHO) within 28 days of submitting your registration form. The EHO will ensure that you are compliant with all the relevant food hygiene legislation and are therefore safe to be trading.

During the inspection, EHO inspectors will assess three areas of your home food business:

• The physical condition of your premises. This means measuring your cleanliness, and whether you have suitable ventilation and pest control measures. 
• Food hygiene. This involves ensuring that you and any employees have safe preparation methods, cooking and storage of food, and making sure you know how to safely cool or reheat your products.
• Food safety. This means inspecting the precautions you have in place for this, such as having a food safety management system implemented and used. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is an example of this. You can find more information on HACCP in our article here.

Once they have completed their inspection, the EHO will issue you with a food hygiene rating. If you’d like to learn more about what to expect from an EHO visit, you can do so in our article, here.

Food safety is immensely important, and you must do everything in your power to ensure that you follow all the guidelines. By law, all food handlers must have an understanding of the basic principles of food hygiene and know how to protect the food they serve from contamination.

Need a Course?

Our Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering training course is designed to help learners understand the basics of food hygiene so they can work safely, comply with the law, minimise contamination and ensure the food they handle is safe for consumers to eat. Our range of HACCP courses cover everything you need to implement an effective food safety management system.

Allergens

A vital part of food safety is having a sound knowledge of allergens. All food businesses have a duty to protect their customers from the risks allergens can present. 

Any food has the ability to cause an allergic reaction, however, certain foods are more likely to cause a reaction than others. 

There are 14 named food allergens which, by law, must be declared if they are used as an ingredient in a food product.

Conducting an allergen risk assessment is a key way to ensure you are complying with regulations. As you are legally required to provide allergenic information on your products, an allergen risk assessment may be the easiest way for you to identify where allergens occur in dishes, where the risks of cross contamination are and how you can best mitigate the risk. We have created a free, downloadable allergen risk assessment which you can find here. 

We also have free and downloadable allergen labels for you to use.  These are quick and easy ways to communicate allergens with your customers and reassure them that you are dedicated to food safety.

Food Labelling and Packaging

Food labelling is another crucial part of food safety. There are regulations regarding certain information that must be displayed on labels, and also specific allergen regulations for distance sellers. Distance selling is the indirect selling of products rather than directly to customers over a counter or face to face. Therefore, if you’re selling food online – via a Facebook or Instagram page, for example, you are a distance seller.

You must be able to provide allergen and intolerance information for your customers, especially with the introduction of Natasha’s Law, including any ‘may contain’ cross-contact allergens which you also handle. To find out more about precautionary allergen labelling, check out our article, here.

You’ll also have to decide how you’re going to package your cupcakes, and which materials you’ll use. For more information, check out our article: ‘What are the Different Types of Sustainable Food Packaging?’.

Food Allergen Awareness

Our Food Allergen Awareness training is designed to help food handlers identify and label allergens in order to ensure their customers remain safe from harm.

Equipment Needed for Cupcakes

It’s also vital that you have a well-equipped kitchen before you can open your cupcake business – even if you’re planning to bake at home rather than in a commercial kitchen.

Here are our Top 10 Essentials for all cupcake makers:

• A good quality food mixer.
• Non-stick cupcake trays (enough to do at least 2 batches of cupcakes).
• Digital scales for accurate measuring.
• Cooling racks.
• Measuring spoons for accuracy of ingredients.
• Mixing bowls.
• Wooden spoons.
• Rubber spatula for easier handling of cake mixture and icing.
• Cupcake cases.
• A good oven.

When it comes to deciding what you’ll need to decorate your cupcakes, check out our article for inspiration: ‘Cake Decorations: Which Flowers are Edible?’. 

Marketing Strategy for Cupcake Business

So you’ve got all the planning, practising and legal arrangements out of the way, now it’s time to begin outlining your marketing strategy. 

How will you sell your cupcakes? How will you get the word out so that people know who you are? Advertising is key for the promotion of your business.

Think about what kind of media you want to use for your marketing; are you trying to project a particular kind of image to your target audience? 

Traditional marketing options include:

• Advertising on websites or having your own website.
• Word of mouth.
• Handing out free samples.
• Designing business cards and letterheads.
• Holding a stall at trade shows or fairs.
• Using signage and packaging with your logo on.

For more ideas, check out our article: ‘How to Market your Food Business Online’.

Marketing your Business on Social Media

Approximately 53 million people in the UK are currently using some form of social media, and marketing and social media go hand-in-hand. Social media offers you the opportunity to promote your brand to a wider audience much faster than traditional marketing could. This is important because getting brand recognition is one of the most vital goals in marketing a business.

Home food businesses – especially those who are just getting started – might be put off with the cost of traditional marketing. However, social media is available to everyone, regardless of their budget. 

Social media is flexible, too. Most people in the UK possess some kind of smartphone. This means you can have all of your social media accounts linked to your phone, so you can post and comment at any time of the day. Not only are you able to reach your current audience by creating a social media account, but you are also able to reach potential customers that you might not have otherwise.

With a plethora of increasing social media platforms out there, it can be confusing as to which you should use. After all, every platform is slightly different and appeals to a certain type of demographic. They each have their own unique style and benefits. However, not every platform will suit the brand you’re trying to build. 

It might be helpful to explore each of these platforms in order to work out which one will suit your business and brand the most.

We have articles dedicated to exploring marketing on specific social media platforms which you can find in the list below:

• How to Use Facebook for Marketing your Home Food Business Safely
• How to Promote Your Food Business on Instagram
• How to Use TikTok for Marketing Your Food Business
• How to Sell Food on Etsy

We wish you all the best in your cupcake business venture! If you have any further questions about the topics discussed in this article, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at High Speed Training. You can contact our friendly team on 0333 006 7000 or email support@highspeedtraining.co.uk.

Further Resources:

• Starting A Home Food Business
• Cake Decorations: Which Flowers are Edible?
• Food Packaging Materials: Regulations & Different Types
• How to Start a Street Food or Food Truck Business
• How to Start a Food Business From Your Home
• Selling Cakes from Home: Do I Need a Food Hygiene Certificate?
• Pest Control Quiz

The post How to Start a Cupcake Business appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will provide you with all the information you need to know about getting started with a sweet business, from creating a business plan to the rules and regulations you must follow. We will also provide some ideas on how you can market your new venture. 

Why Start a Sweet Business? 

Starting your own business can be challenging, but many do so for creative and financial freedom, to change their lifestyle or to follow a passion, all of which can be immensely rewarding. Sweet businesses in particular can come in many forms – here we refer to those selling sweets to the public directly or through collaboration and not those selling their own handmade sweets as a supplier. 

Whilst it can be a competitive market, it is also one that can offer many benefits and opportunities, particularly given the array of confectionary options available. Starting any business from scratch requires a lot of work, but as this type of business often requires a relatively simple business model, it can be one that proves easier and faster to get going. 

As well as a quicker business launch, sweet businesses generally have the added benefit of a high markup price (how much a product is sold for vs how much it costs to buy) and an easy profit, owing to the fact the sweets being sold are not generally produced by yourself and are instead bought from a reputable supplier, such as a sweet wholesaler.   

There is a great deal of scope when it comes to who your business targets, the type of sweets you sell and whether you do so in person, online, from home, or from other dedicated premises. These details will be clarified as you create your business plan and look further into your market research. 

If you are in the early stages of considering which food business you may want to start, why not take a look at our ideas for starting a food business from home for further inspiration. 

Is selling sweets profitable?

A sweet business can be very profitable and financially rewarding. How, where and to whom you sell your products will all have an impact on your costs, but as confectionery generally has a high markup value, there can be great opportunities to bring in an impressive profit.  

Selling sweets also allows for maximising sales opportunities throughout the year, at times of celebration, such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter, and Christmas, or during exam results times or the end of school terms. These are all times when gift buying increases and tailoring your product to these times and even offering specific deals can help to boost profits further.

Owing to the popularity of sweets and confectionery, there is a good chance demand will always remain high, with the potential to meet newer, increased demands in confectionery, such as gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian products. 

Want to Learn More?

Our Starting a Home Food Business course gives you the knowledge you need to start your own food business from your home. It covers the fundamental steps you need to take to comply with the legalities and food hygiene and safety regulations associated with starting a food business, along with offering ideas for promoting and marketing your business

How Do I Create a Sweet Shop Business Plan?

A business plan is an essential part of starting a business. It helps you to set out your objectives and aims in writing, and for those seeking financial investment, it acts as a proposal that can be pitched to investors. Having a comprehensive business plan allows you to have all the important information regarding your business in one place, helping you to keep a clear picture of the business and focus on its direction and what you want to get out of it.

Whilst a business plan can be set out in various orders, the executive summary should always be first and the appendices should be last. It should be easy to read, set out in a clear and professional manner and include the following:

• Executive summary/mission statement.
• Business description.
• Marketing strategy and research.
• Financial plan.
• Appendices.

Having a clear and detailed explanation of your business idea, target customers, financial projections and marketing strategy will showcase your understanding of your business as a whole and therefore make you more appealing to investors. 

A few questions you should ask yourself when planning your business include:

• What products will you sell?
• Who will you aim to sell them to?
• Where will your sweet shop be located – at home, a stall, or other premises?
• Do you require financial investment?
• Will you hire additional staff?
• Who are your competitors?

We have created a one-page business plan that is free to download and use. This is a useful tool to note down all your ideas, research and strategies as you prepare to complete your full and final business plan. You can find the link here. A more in-depth business plan template and further information on how to complete it can be found in our starting a home food business course.

What Are the Regulations for Selling Sweets?

When selling to the public, it is vital for you to understand the requirements of handling or selling food. Food safety law applies whether you are preparing and selling food from home, in a restaurant or from other premises, it is your responsibility to ensure the food is safe to eat and will not place your customers in harm. As well as this, you must also comply with the legal responsibilities that come with being a business owner and employer. 

It is important to consider the following:

Registering your business

You must register your sweet business before trading. You should ensure you are set up as a sole trader, a limited company, or a partnership. For more information on how to register your business, go to gov.uk. Always ensure you register with HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) and keep records of your income, profits and expenses.

It is worth being aware that when you register your business, an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) will come to inspect your premises, usually within 28 days.

During the inspection, EHO inspectors will assess three areas of your home business:

• The physical condition of your premises – Measuring your cleanliness, and whether you have suitable ventilation and pest control measures. If you need to undertake a risk assessment for your premises, you can find a free template here.
• Food hygiene – Whether you have safe preparation, cooking and storage of food, and how you cool or reheat your products.
• Food safety – What kind of precautions you have in place for this, such as having a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system implemented.

Once they have completed their inspection, the EHO will issue you with a food hygiene rating. If you’d like to learn more about what to expect from an EHO visit, you can do so here.

Food hygiene training

It is a legal requirement that all food handlers understand the basic principles of food hygiene and how to work with food safely.  As such, you may consider taking an online food safety course such as our Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering. This provides the necessary information regarding your legal responsibilities and best practice to ensure food safety. 

Food labelling and packaging

Food labelling is another crucial part of food safety. You must always correctly label your sweets and ensure that the labelling is clear, easy to read and not misleading in any way. You can find out more information in our guide to labelling, here. There are regulations regarding certain information that must be displayed on labels, and also specific allergen regulations for distance sellers. You must be able to provide accurate allergen information for your customers, especially to comply with the legislation Natasha’s Law. You can find a free allergen risk assessment and checklist that you can use to ensure you are complying with regulations in our article, here. 

Need a Course?

Our Food Labelling Regulations Training is designed as an introduction to food labelling regulations so that businesses understand how to label their food products legally and correctly. We also offer Food Allergen Awareness Training, which will help food handlers identify and label allergens correctly in order to keep customers safe.

Selling food without face-to-face contact with the consumer

Online, via phone or mail order, are examples of this type of selling, and you will need to comply with regulations when selling in this way, this is a legal requirement.

Employment legislation

If you employ staff in your business, you must follow employment legislation. Ensuring you comply with legislation on recruitment, working hours, pay, sickness, discrimination, dismissals and maternity or paternity pay.

Insurance

Always make sure you have appropriate insurance that covers all areas of your business. If working from home, do not assume your home insurance will suffice. 

Notification to process personal data

You can apply for this licence with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). If your business processes personal information, such as payroll information, employee or client details, or if your business has CCTV, you will need to apply for a licence.

Marketing Ideas for Your Sweet Business

There are many ways to increase awareness of your business. Increasing awareness increases sales opportunities, therefore, marketing yourself effectively is vital. Let’s take a look at some of the ways to help you raise your profile and help you to build a customer base.

Word of mouth is an excellent way to spread the word about your business. If people have a good experience with your business, they are likely to tell their family and friends, thus, increasing your number of potential customers.

Business cards are fairly inexpensive to make, are a great way to raise awareness of your product and brand and also to share your contact details with a potential customer. 

Social media can help to grow your business. You can encourage people to share your posts and participate in giveaways. You could also offer discounts or freebies for ‘likes and shares’. For example, offering a discount code to the first 100 people to purchase a certain item after they have shared a post. Make sure you get your family and friends to help you reach a wider audience on social media by ‘liking’ and ‘sharing’ your posts which will help you reach people they know, too.

Supplying other businesses is another great way of marketing your business. Research other local businesses, whose products or services may complement your own. For example, if you were in the business of ‘pick n mix’, or customised sweet packages, an event planner might be a good place to look for a collaboration. 

Setting up a stall is another good option. Food festivals or markets are great for reaching a larger audience, with the potential to build business contracts and connections. Attending venues outside of your usual area will also showcase your business to a new group of people. 

Positive marketing methods should be underpinned by excellent customer service and a positive customer experience. It can also help raise your profile if you encourage customers to leave positive reviews. 

Starting a new business can be a fun and rewarding challenge, particularly a sweet business. With many options available for what you sell and how you sell it, always ensure you have carefully researched your potential new venture and that you comply with all the legal requirements and regulations applicable to your business. 

Further Resources:

• Starting A Home Food Business
• Food Packaging Materials: Regulations & Different Types
• Guidance on Food Additives Legislation for the UK and EU
• How to Start a Street Food or Food Truck Business
• How to Start a Cupcake Business
• How to Start a Food Business From Your Home
• Pest Control Quiz

The post How to Start a Sweet Business appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

If you work in hospitality, it is essential that you understand how to run a restaurant successfully so that you can contribute to the overall success of the business. Whether you are a business owner or manager, an aspiring chef or part of the front-of-house team, we will show you methods to improve your work. This article will include what is involved in running a restaurant, why it is important to run a restaurant successfully and helpful tips for doing so.

What is Involved in Running a Restaurant?

Running a restaurant is a complex business operation and there are lots of aspects to consider when running a business like this. There are many positives to running a restaurant, cafe, takeaway or other food business, such as having the freedom to make your own decisions. This could include the creative freedom to decide the menu and the look and theme of the restaurant. Running a restaurant will also give you opportunities to learn how to be a good leader and build your skills and qualities.

What can be challenging, is that owners and managers often need to juggle multiple roles whilst coping with a lack of resources. You will need to have the right attitude, know how best to promote your restaurant, understand what your customers want, keep an eye on your competition and manage the daily operation of the restaurant.

It can be difficult to implement the actions you want to see as you find yourself accountable for finances, HR, customer service and other such roles that in most businesses would usually be a standalone department – all in addition to your primary job of general manager.

Running a restaurant successfully will help you manage all these demands. For example, if your staff are happy with their hours and pay, then fielding complaints, swapping shifts and adjusting payroll is something you won’t have to do. Therefore, working to meet your business aim of running a restaurant successfully will limit potential issues.

Running a restaurant involves the following key areas and it is important to consider where you can limit issues, for your business and your staff. Take the time to think about your business, and how you would want it to operate.

Choosing Suppliers

You will need suppliers for food and drink items and cleaning products, as well as IT consultancy companies for your POS system and more. Make sure you research your suppliers thoroughly and carry out your due diligence on their suitability.

Business Acumen
Having an understanding of numbers is important to keep track of your businesses success. Your financial plan will set out how much money the business needs to turn over in order to pay the bills, staff, and suppliers. Keeping an eye on the profit and loss reports, sales and expenditures will help you spot any areas for potential growth, as well as any areas that need careful management.

Team
Your restaurant is make-or-break on the team you employ. Look at how your team operate together. Do you have the best people working in the roles that suit them? Could you offer more responsibility to the staff that are keen to progress?

Working Hours
Look at how the rota is organised to ensure that you have staff when needed. Having more staff on during busy times will reduce employee stress but make sure there aren’t too many on during quieter times. Boredom can be stressful too, and expensive.

Holiday Requests
How do you accommodate holiday requests? Developing a policy here can help to avoid being short-staffed. Do you encourage staff to take their holidays? Being the boss who looks out for their wellbeing will foster loyalty and respect in the workplace which will help you in the long run.

Time Off
Good employees don’t like letting the team down but sometimes things come up that mean staff need time off at short notice. Forewarned is forearmed, so encourage your staff to talk to you about their lives; do they have a driving test, exams, or a special anniversary?

Sickness
We all get sick but when you work with food and the general public, fully recovering before returning to work is essential. Good hygiene is fundamental to staying healthy so do what you can to encourage a healthy workforce. Drill in the importance of hand hygiene for staff, especially when cold and flu season comes around. When staff are sick, encourage them to give as much notice as possible, and make sure they are well before they return to work – you don’t want staff passing on their germs to one another, and your customers.

Disciplinary Procedures

This is as essential as any other policy you implement. It is important your staff know and understand what constitutes a disciplinary procedure, what the process involves and what the consequences are. It will give you guidance should you have to deal with employee issues such as theft, assault or workplace bullying. Take the time to set out the disciplinary procedure now so that should you require it, you can call on it to protect yourself, your business and your staff.

Marketing Your Business

Social media is the most popular way to showcase your restaurant to connect with your many existing and future customers. You can use social accounts to run promotions and discounts. These are great ways to boost engagement. It is also a great way to launch new products, menu changes, and build customer relationships by responding to feedback. Read our article here to learn more about marketing your food business.

Once you are comfortable with what is involved in running a restaurant successfully, it is useful to look at why it is important you do so.

Why is it Important to Run a Restaurant Successfully?

As we’ve mentioned, success can look widely different to everyone, so think about what it means to you. Does success equal a good income, is it the chance to support and employ others, is it driving business growth and expansion, or is it the chance to follow your passion, enjoy work and talk with your happy customers every day? It might even be several of these. But whatever it means to you, there is no doubt that in the world of hospitality, happy customers and happy staff make the everyday running of a business much smoother.

Furthermore, happy and engaged staff will support the principles of your business, such as maintaining excellent food hygiene standards and being knowledgeable and careful with allergens. It will also limit your staff turnover, which can be a huge expense for a business. To learn more about the importance of retaining employees in hospitality, read our article here.

Looking to Learn More?

For more information on food hygiene and safety, take a look at our Food Hygiene Courses. We also offer courses such as Food Allergen Awareness Training and Mental Health & Wellbeing in Hospitality.

Tips on Running a Restaurant Successfully

The hospitality industry is an exciting place to work, it evolves and changes every day, and in order to be successful in your business you must stay on top of trends and consumer demands. However, when you look at successful restaurants you will see they all have key elements in common. It is these key elements that you can take and apply accordingly and they will underpin the success of your business too.

Key Elements of a Successful Restaurant

There are many elements to a business that can make the restaurant unique but ultimately success depends on whether your customers like what you’re offering, and whether they are willing to part with their money for it.

Some common key elements of a successful restaurant therefore include:

• Food – The most important aspect of a food business is of course the food! Your customers will return if they are happy to pay for what they receive. Not everything has to be fine dining and gourmet, but it does have to be consistently good, and customers now more than ever will search for value.
• Service – Alongside food, service is one of the most important elements of a successful restaurant. When a customer comes to your restaurant, your staff are who they see. A welcoming smile can make a diner’s experience. Furthermore, to have a relaxed and enjoyable experience, the customer needs to trust the business. This means that servers must be well-trained and knowledgeable in the service they are delivering. They must be able to confidently answer questions on the menu including allergen information, and be able to resolve issues promptly and effectively. Think about going the extra mile for guests too, you could offer a loyalty scheme or birthday freebies, all this will encourage customers to return to you. To learn more about how to train your staff, take a look at our Customer Service Training course.
• Location – Location is undoubtedly important, it is harder to run a successful business without access to customers, or if you have too-strong competition on your doorstep. However, the location must be right for your business too, for example, you might expect a fish restaurant to do well if situated near the coast. When deciding your location it is worth looking at the local demographic, business regulations, affordability and how accessible and approachable your space is for diners and suppliers.
• Strong restaurant identity – One of the most confusing things for diners is returning to a place and not getting the same experience. Having a strong restaurant identity helps keep your offering consistent and focused. A good place to start is in identifying your target customer. With them in mind, you can ensure your restaurant successfully meets their needs.
• A strong restaurant concept – Your unique selling point (USP), what makes your restaurant different? Be it a KittyCafe, vegan street food, or a pudding parlour, whatever it is you offer, embrace it across all aspects of your business and on your socials.
• Hiring – As a manager or business owner, you may be used to wearing many hats, but it is important to understand when it is best to hire others to help you get the most out of your business. Good staff will elevate the business, taking responsibility for shared success.
• Retaining staff – Not only is hiring the right people essential but keeping them is equally important. The act of searching for, hiring and training new workers is incredibly time-consuming and expensive. But the good news is that workers who feel valued and supported in their jobs, stay in their jobs.

• Supportive environment – As above, creating a supportive work environment can help staff feel happier in their jobs. Be the boss you wish you had. There are steps you can easily take to show your support and appreciation for your staff, from ensuring they take holiday time, supporting their mental wellbeing, providing training, and having open conversations about pay reviews.
• Hygiene and cleanliness – Customers notice things in a restaurant that you may yourself miss. It is essential that all areas of your business are clean at all times. Use cleaning checklists to ensure staff are doing their part and carry out regular spot checks on your menus, salt and pepper pots and decor. As well as clean, food preparation areas must be hygienic. It is also important that staff members, such as chefs, are in the correct uniform at all times. Your staff should be well trained on this as customers will not return to an establishment marred by unhygienic practices. See our personal hygiene tips for service staff here.
• Creating a profitable menu – Profit is of course key to running a successful restaurant. Some costs are fairly fixed, such as business rates and labour costs, but the menu offers an opportunity to change items for optimum pricing. Changing dishes for the season, or creating specials, can give a degree of flexibility by adding to gross profit or by recommending the upselling of side dishes. The same approach can be used on wet-led products too.
• Write a tasty-sounding menu – Research shows that menu descriptions sell food. Many people will choose items which demonstrate the cooking method used, such as ‘pan-seared’ or ‘slow-cooked’, simply because they sound like they taste delicious! Also, people like to know where the food comes from, is it an Aberdeen Angus Steak, or Cromer Crab caught fresh off the Norfolk coast? Be specific too, is your pasta dish served with linguini, or fettuccine? Details enhance the customer’s perception of the dish so highlight the selling points on your menu.
• Consider possible limitations – Alongside all the positive actions you can take in your business, it is important to know about any limitations you may face, what you can’t do is just as enlightening as what you can do. For example, do the rules of calorie labelling apply to you? Do you know how to properly label products adhering to allergy laws?

The hospitality industry is a resilient one, but it has also been going through some big changes in recent years. Modern values such as the rise in flexible working, an upcoming generation of workers and the desire for a better work-life balance are, rightly, disrupting the legacy of hospitality as a difficult work environment. There is a huge opportunity for businesses to be successful for their employees, in promoting staff wellbeing, and career progression and using policies to safeguard against future problems. 

We hope the information contained in this article, along with our tips, has helped you to identify what success is for you and highlighted the importance of food safety, customer satisfaction and supporting great staff – all of which will help create your restaurant identity and encourage the customer to return time and time again.

What to Read Next:

• Daily Opening and Closing Checklist for Restaurants
• Online Food Hygiene Training
• Food Allergy Chart Template
• Disabled Access Requirements for Restaurants
• Employee Turnover in Hospitality: Causes and Retention Strategies
• Restaurant Hospitality Quiz
• How to Foster Motivation in Your Restaurant Employees
• The Kitchen Hierarchy Explained: What is the Brigade de Cuisine?
• Customer Complaints in Hospitality – From Our Very Own Experts
• What is the Importance of Effective Communication in the Hospitality Industry?
• The Importance of Food Hygiene Training
• How to Set a Table: Basic, Casual and Formal Dining
• How to Improve Sustainability in Restaurants
• Online Allergen Awareness Training

The post How to Run a Restaurant Successfully appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

This article will explain the primary responsibilities of a photographer, some of the different types of photography you may choose to specialise in, and what you need to get started. We will outline how you might secure a role or career, in a profession which gives you the freedom to be creative in so many ways.

What Does a Photographer Do?

In layman’s terms, photography is a profession which creates permanent visual images out of how we live and experience our day-to-day lives. Photographers are responsible for capturing moments on camera and telling stories through imagery and this is why so many people choose to hire them for big life milestones such as weddings and birthdays. People love to look back at memories and re-live them, photographers help us do just that.

No two days for a photographer will look the same, as you can start to understand from the quote above. There are many fields of photography and within this, there is a huge scope of tasks and responsibilities that encompass the role. This is one of the reasons why the career is so appealing to so many. A few examples of jobs you may find yourself doing are:

• Taking photos, using specialised techniques and materials where needed.
• Editing images, using software such as photoshop.
• Photoshoot/concept planning. 
• Working with clients to set themes or create briefs.
• Developing images.
• Portfolio development/self-marketing. 
• Scheduling people, locations and equipment. 
• Preparing the photoshoot location, as well as obtaining releasing forms and permits if needed. 
• Sourcing and hiring props.

Clearly, photography is an exciting career choice, with many different skills and responsibilities, you will certainly be kept on your toes! Now you have set your sights on photography, there are many more avenues within the wider role for you to explore.

Looking to Learn More?

Photography is a great career choice for those who would like to set up their own business. To learn more, take a look at our Starting a Business Course.

Types of Photographers

There are a wide variety of photographic styles and techniques, so it’s important to explore different types to figure out what is best suited to you and your career. The best way to achieve this is by lending your hand to a multitude of different jobs that require different styles. Also, this is an excellent way to learn different styles from other photographers. You may naturally take to a certain style, or there may be one which you find challenging but enjoy regardless. 

Whatever the outcome, it’s useful to have an area you specialise in. This is not to say you can’t enjoy and occasionally work in different ways and styles but it is good to have grounding and experience in a particular field. Some notable areas of photography include:

• Fashion photography.
• Wedding photography.
• Food photography.
• Sports photography
• Landscape photography.
• Family photography. 
• Wildlife photography. 
• Commercial photography. 
• Real estate photography.
• Medical photography.

Photography captures everything, all walks of life – if you can see it, you can photograph it. This fact is a rather optimistic one if you love photography but don’t know what area to go into. It may help to think about your day-to-day life and work out which elements of it you love and would want to capture, or think outside the box and wonder what you might like to see more of. These little moments of inspiration can be the door to your photography career.

On top of the many different areas and styles of photography you may choose to specialise in, there are many different ways you can work. For example, you could choose to be a freelance photographer, a photograph editor, a photography assistant and many more. 

What Do I Need to Be a Photographer?

There are many factors to consider when looking to become a photographer. On top of your desired field of interest, there is, of course, a certain level of skill required for the job. This is not to say that you need a master’s degree in photography, however, some degree of prior knowledge, interest and desire to learn are essential.

Photographer Skills

Some general skills and attributes to gain knowledge and experience in include: 

• Attention to detail. As a photographer you need to be aware of all elements of one photo – the lighting, composition, subject and many other factors all play together to create the whole image. If one is off balance, the rest will fall out of place. 
• Effective communication. Photographers need good communication skills so they can effectively stay on top of all the people and factors involved in a shoot. To learn more about communication, take a look at our article, here. Knowing what you want to get across and delivering that in your images is another key method of communication that you need to develop. 
• Time management. Managing your time is, of course, essential in any job role. This is especially true within photography as there are so many elements to the role. Shooting your initial images to your deadline is one matter, making sure that you have the time beforehand to prepare and the time after to finalise and edit images, is another task entirely. You don’t want to let your clients down by delivering work late, so it is essential that you manage your time to take all tasks into account. 
• Organisation. In a similar vein to time management, being organised is essential in photography – especially as two days will rarely be the same. You must prioritise staying on top of your work in an organised fashion. 
• Good planning. Planning is a key part of the role. Your clients may have briefs that you will need to work with in advance when planning your shoot. On top of this, there is a lot of planning when finding models, shoot locations and more to consider.  
• Resourcefulness. Inevitably at work, things don’t always go to plan. In a role where the fate of your images can be influenced by so much, you need to be able to react quickly and problem-solve with what you do have available. For example, weather, models, technological issues and more can impact your shoot days. The mark of a good photographer is one who can think on their feet and use what they have.

Photography Equipment

Photography equipment that you might consider looking to buy or hire includes:

• Camera. Getting a camera doesn’t necessarily mean having to get the most expensive and high-tech one on the market. Each make and model of a camera will give you a different experience when taking photographs, you may have several you use regularly for different subjects. If you are just starting out, you can even use your mobile phone camera. 
• Lighting. Natural light is, more often than not, an asset to photographers. However, it can be hard to keep it consistent, so artificial lighting is often the next best thing. There is a wide range of equipment you can use to help such as screens, softboxes, flash and daylight lamps. Having good lighting that you can control, guarantees consistency across your images. 
• Different lenses. There are many different lenses for different types of photography, and the different types of images within your chosen field. 
• Props. Having a good selection of props can make a photo, they can transport you to the south of France, Morocco and back to London with just a few quick changes. Think about colours, patterns and styles of props in relation to your brief or the type of shoot you are working on. You can often rent props to avoid having to buy niche items that you will only use a handful of times. Alternatively, charity shops are a great place to look.
• Accessories. Depending on the style of photograph you are after, there are many helpful accessories you can buy to help you get the perfect shot. Tools such as tripods, and overhead pole rigs will give your images another dimension. 

Whilst we have listed a few bits of equipment you might find useful, these are by no means absolute. You don’t need to start with a huge kit as it can prove to be incredibly expensive. Photography gear can be something you acquire over your career. This is also a good way to do it, as instead of going in blind you can get recommendations from other photographers on the best equipment to go for. 

How Do I Get a Job as a Photographer?

It might seem daunting to enter the world of photography. There are so many avenues and roles it can seem overwhelming. However, take the fact that there is a constant stream of opportunity in the industry as a positive. Everyone has to start somewhere, look for a shoot to assist on and work your way up from there.

Get Experience

Assisting on a shoot for a day will allow you to not only learn a lot but also make contacts with others in the industry. Networking can be really useful as it’s often the case that photographers need an additional pair of hands when visiting larger clients or bigger jobs i.e. wedding photography. 

There is also a wide array of free resources and courses online where you can educate yourself on the basic theory and tips within photography. You can even take small steps, like visiting photography galleries, getting a feel for different styles and then you can see what you are more drawn to, here you may also meet other like-minded people who can offer experience or help. 

For those that are completely new to the world of photography, you could start by doing some voluntary work or securing a placement as this can help you to practice while building your portfolio. These types of jobs offer invaluable experience though will often be unpaid – which is something you will need to consider.

Build Up Your Portfolio

Ultimately having a bank of good quality and well-presented images that show your style and passion is key. Buy a camera and take it everywhere with you, you never know what you might catch in the seemingly ordinary walks of everyday life. Also, be sure to engage with social media, it is a great resource to share your work with huge numbers of people for free. Having a presence online is incredibly useful for any new business starting out. Take a look at our Social Media Marketing Training to learn more.

Develop your Business Skills

If you are looking to eventually start your own photography business, you will need to advance your knowledge on how to set up your own business. Take a look at our Starting a Business Course, which guides you through the skills and personal qualities that will be helpful when starting and running a business, including how to structure a business and the importance of financial planning, marketing and operations. 

It might seem daunting but following your passion for photography could be the door to a new career, and even your own business. As Clare says:

So why not take the leap, follow your passion and kick-start your career in photography?

We hope you found this article helpful in showing you how you might turn your love for photography into a career or even your own business. For any more information get in touch at 0333 006 7000 or email sales@highspeedtraining.co.uk. High Speed Training offers a wide variety of courses and resources that can help.

Further Resources:

• Starting a Business Course
• What is the Importance of Digital Skills in the Workplace?
• How to Improve Active Listening in Communication

The post How to Become a Photographer appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will explain what flavour is and why it is important to the food products you make, We’ll also issue guidance on understanding flavour profiles and provide you with a free downloadable food pairing chart to help you better understand and put into practice what you learn from this article. 

Starting a Home Food Business?

If you’re looking to master your flavour combination skills and enhance your own food creations, why not consider our Starting a Home Food Business course, and learn how to successfully start your own food business from your home.

What is Flavour?

In a recent article – What is Taste and Why is it Important in Food Products? – we discussed the 5 different types of taste. The idea of taste is more objectively set in stone, whereas flavour is a concept which is seemingly limitless – 5 tastes, limitless flavours. Taste refers to the five basic tastes humans are able to perceive and it comes into play when understanding flavour whereas flavour is an attribute of a chemical substance, produced by the senses of smell, taste, and touch perceived within the mouth.

Flavour is a package that combines taste, smell, memory, personal experience and so much more. It fills the gaps where taste cannot. Through flavour alone, we can describe subjective experiences such as the taste of a summer’s first strawberry or a greasy burger after a night out.

What are the different types of flavour?

When looking at food and beverage regulations, flavours are typically broken down into three main categories:

1. Natural flavours – This refers to processed ingredients derived from plants, essential oils, proteins, yeasts, etc. These ingredients can be classified as a GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) ingredient or as a food additive as defined by the FSA depending on the ingredient composition. Examples of natural flavours can include citruses such as lime, lemon and orange, vanilla, lavender and rose.
2. Artificial flavours – These are chemically composed ingredients and they are usually regulated as a food additive – these require additional rigorous safety assessments before being available on the market to ensure they are safe for human consumption. To find out more on food additives, read our article here. 
   • While most artificial ingredients are considered additives, there are some artificial flavours are that are classified as GRAS ingredients, and include many different commonly found flavours such as strawberry, cinnamon, vanilla, and more.
3. Spices – Spices are primarily aromatic vegetables or plants that can be found in many forms, such as dried and ground, broken, or whole – they include ingredients such as pepper, rosemary, basil etc. These ingredients are typically considered GRAS ingredients.

These three core categories of flavour essentially make up the food and beverages we consume. They make up a vast field of different flavour combinations and thus new flavours and profiles. 

Looking to learn more?

It’s all well and good creating food that tastes good, but if this same food poses a threat to your customers’ health, word will spread and your business will suffer. To learn more consider taking a look at our Food Hygiene training courses.

Why is Flavour Important?

Flavour is, of course, an essential component in food and drink products as both natural and artificial flavours play an important role in how we make our food and beverages taste. Whilst flavour is notoriously subjective, we can all agree that flavours are important no matter how you taste them. 

Flavour not only drives new product taste trends, but is also a critical success factor for any food or beverage product. Without the intrinsic network of flavours and combinations that we experience and can work with, it would be near impossible to create foods as delicious as humans do. 

Flavour, in its artificial form, also plays a key part in the development and enjoyment of processed foods that so many of us eat and enjoy on a daily basis. For example, imagine the flavour of a British summer time strawberry – nothing beats it right? Now think about eating a strawberry in the UK in February – can you taste the difference? This is where artificial flavours come into play and let you enjoy flavours such as strawberry all year round without racking up the air miles involved in flying strawberries from halfway around the world. 

To learn more about food processing, check out our article – What Are Ultra-Processed Foods and How Do We Recognise Them?

Why is Flavour Important to Customers?

Flavour plays a huge role in our food habits, and how we taste food plays into many key areas of food consumption, production and purchasing. ‘Flavour trend’ is a term which has cropped up more and more in the past decade, with customers continually setting the standard for the foods that they enjoy and wish to continue purchasing/consuming. The customer is the backbone of the food and drink industry, it is their standards which are often sought to meet and their beloved flavours which are seen consistently across chain restaurants and home food business alike. 

Today’s modern consumer defines flavour on how all the components of a product work together, including:

• Brand ethos – for example if they encourage fair pay, equality and a positive work environment. 
• How it was made – think artisan, environmentally friendly, etc.
• Packaging aesthetics – such as colouring, fonts and illustrations.
• Aroma – this refers to the smell that a product gives off which likely contributes to the eating experience. 
• Texture – which also plays a part in the overall eating experience. 
• Flavour and taste – unsurprisingly the most important factor in customers deciding whether or not they like a product.

Why is Flavour Important to Businesses?

Many food producers look to optimise their products in order to satisfy your taste buds. If you are looking to create food products to sell, it is important to understand the different types of flavours, and how you can pair them together to create tasty and exciting combinations, as well as understanding the classics that people will always love.

A bold marketing scheme and a flower wall in your cafe will only do so much in drawing in and keeping customers – the flavour profiles and the enjoyment from customers will ultimately be the deciding factor for many. Therefore, flavour should be a key focus when developing any food product, no matter how small or large the business.

High in Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) restriction laws are something to consider when developing new food products. Whilst largely aimed at larger food manufacturers, the law comes from a wave of health concerns surrounding the UK and our eating habits.

Understanding Flavour Profiles

Flavour profiles are the combination of elements and their subsequent flavours used within a dish or food product. It can also refer more specifically to the set of common spices, seasonings and aromatics used to emulate certain cuisines. Flavour profiles allow you to create more complex and delicious food.

Understanding flavour profiles can also be key to enjoying a healthy and balanced diet, or essential for those creating food products to sell. To learn more about a healthy diet, consider taking a look at our Nutrition and Healthy Eating course.

Artificial flavours can be split into profiles, such as:

• Menthol is the mint flavoured ingredient often found in chewing gum. It has been found to provide long-lasting, high-intensity and high-quality mint flavour
• Ethyl vanillin is an artificial vanilla which is actually 3.5 times stronger than vanilla itself. It is used in chocolate, ice cream and some beverages.
• Amyl acetate is used as banana flavouring.
• Benzaldehyde is used to create cherry or almond flavour.
• Ethyl butyrate is used for pineapple flavours. 
• Methyl anthranilate is used to replicate the flavour of grape.
• Fumaric acid adds tartness and acidity to dry foods.

Flavours of the World

Generally there are key ingredients – and flavours – that we associate with different cuisines. This isn’t limited to countries, either. We can identify regions, or even cities, by the ingredients used and flavours created. For example, regions within India and the different ways they use particular herbs, spices and other ingredients available from their geographical locations. 

Furthermore, various regions in Italy cook differently based on the landscape. In the south where there are lots of olive trees, lots of olive oil is used as a primary cooking fat. In the north, where animals are raised in the mountainous fields and farms, butter is widely used. One consistent cooking fat used in Italy though, is pork fat. This is because all across the country they can be reared successfully and bountifully. 

‘Global cuisine’ is a term often used to distinguish this style of cooking from more familiar foods to our own. It is a cultural experience that is difficult to recreate when removed from the nuances of the land, ingredients, and people that know the food’s origins.

Flavour profiles define cultural foods prepared in a particular style. Ethnic flavours are created by the combination of primary and secondary ingredients, herb and spice combinations, and indigenous cooking techniques. Different cuisines from around the world can be an excellent way to understand flavour pairings and how this can change the building blocks of food. Using garlic as an example, it can be paired with a wide array of ingredients which will then change the flavour profiles of the dish. The different ways you pair simple ingredients can completely alter the backbone of a dish, and so it is an essential skill to understand and practice. 

When looking at flavour profiles as descriptors of cuisines, some loose examples of natural flavours can be:

• Southeast Asian – ginger, fish sauce, coconut milk, lemongrass, Thai basil. 
• Mexican – chilli, coriander leaf, lime, avocado, tomato, peppers, corn, black beans.
• Indian – turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, garlic, lentils.
• Mediterranean – basil, rosemary, dill, oregano, mint, lemon, cucumber, chickpeas, coriander.

It is always essential that you are respectful when exploring, cooking and eating foods from different cultures. Recognition should be displayed to the food’s origins and history – particularly if it is to be sold on – such as in a home food business or on social media. Cultural appreciation of food can be a wonderful way to share new flavours and respect their origins.

Free Downloadable Food Pairing Wheel

Some foods are just undeniably meant to be eaten together – the soulmates of the food world that will continue to be paired up together over years, cuisines and food trends. Think strawberries and chocolate, mint and lamb and tomato and basil. But why do these foods pair so well together? 

We have included a free downloadable flavour wheel for you to download and use when looking to pair flavours in food products and meals. Examine the flavour wheel and see if you can pair or group together ingredients from the different categories – for example, strawberry from ‘fruity’ and chocolate from ‘roasted’. Now see if there are any other ingredients for these two categories that you think would pair nicely together, and so on. 

This is by no means a flawless system, due largely to the subjective nature of flavours and our enjoyment of them. However, trial and error, as mentioned earlier, is essential  in understanding flavours and pairings. 

Flavour Wheel

There are classic flavour combinations which any quick google search will list out for you. However, the only true way to understand flavour pairings – both common and not – is to fully immerse yourself into all manners of food. Eat, cook, smell and read as much as you can. The more you understand about the ingredients, your own taste sensations and your own preferences, the more you will be able to understand what would enhance – or hinder – an ingredient. 

Some flavours balance other flavours, meaning they counteract or soften that flavour to achieve a more harmonious taste. For example, spice balances out sweet and vice versa. Flavour pairings can also enhance one another – for example, salty flavours enhance sweet flavours and vice versa. Think salted caramel and generally the use of salt in baking. On the other hand, sugar can also be added to savoury tomato sauces to make them richer.

We hope you found this article useful in understanding flavour and its importance. Whether you are running a meal prep business from your kitchen, or developing food products for your bakery, flavour is a key part of the creative process behind making delicious food and meals which will set you apart from the competition.

Further Resources:

• Starting a Home Food Business
• Level 2 HACCP Training For Catering & Retail
• What is a Nutritionally Balanced Diet and Why is it Important?

The post What is Flavour?: Guidance on Food Pairings appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

This article will explain how to identify products as high-risk or low-risk, and cover the relevant regulations. We will also share some tips and ideas on packaging food for delivery which can help you mail food safely.

This article covers the following:

• What are the Food Delivery Regulations?
  • Distance Selling & Allergen Regulations
  • Perishable Foods
  • HACCP Documentation
• Which Foods Can I Send in the Mail?
  • High-risk Foods
  • Low-risk Foods
• How to Mail Food Safely
• Homemade Food Packaging Ideas

Use the links above if you’d like to jump to a certain section of the article.

What are the Food Delivery Regulations?

By law, all food must be delivered to consumers in a way that ensures it doesn’t become unsafe or unfit to eat.

Any updates or changes to the process or your product must be documented within your Food Safety Management System and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan. This includes adding a delivery method such as by post or courier.

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Distance Selling & Allergen Regulations

Foods ordered on a website, over the phone, through an app or by mail order fall under the ‘distance selling’ category. Distance selling regulations require allergen information to be provided both before the sale and on delivery of the product.

If the food product sale is through a website, it is good practice for the customer to not be redirected to another manufacturer’s web page. For more information, read our articles on Allergen Regulations for Takeaways and Distance Sellers and Food Allergen Labels: Free Download & Advice.

Natasha’s Law will not affect distance selling businesses because this information should already be provided to customers.

Having a clear allergen list on your website, app or catalogue will help boost the customer’s confidence in your food safety practices. If you can’t avoid cross contamination of allergens, then you should make your customers aware that you cannot create an allergen-free product.

For example, a brownie business that makes peanut butter brownies should include a ‘may contain peanuts’ statement on all other brownies made in the same premises. Similarly, a ‘peanut free’ statement cannot be used in this scenario. For advice on how to avoid allergen cross-contact, read our article on What is Cross-Contact?

To reduce the risk, make sure you do everything possible to prevent allergenic cross-contamination, such as:

• Using clean utensils.
• Regularly washing your hands.
• Storing ingredients and prepared foods separately.
• Keeping allergenic ingredients and products separate from other ingredients.

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Perishable Foods

Perishable foods often need to be kept refrigerated at all times to prevent them from spoiling and becoming unsafe. Legally, food items which must be transported under refrigeration should be stored below 8 °C – though it is best practice to store chilled foods below 5 °C. This is called the ‘cold chain’. 

Postal services, couriers and warehouses are unlikely to be temperature controlled; therefore, the cooling methods must keep the product cool in all weather conditions. Equally, if the consumer is not at home when the product is delivered, the package may be left on the doorstep in full sun or rain. This must be accounted for when working out how many ice packs to put into your packaging and what materials to use. Next day delivery is essential for maintaining the cold chain. In warm weather, ice packs are unlikely to keep your product at a safe temperature for more than 24 hours.

To read more, The Food Standards Agency also provides guidance on food safety for food delivery.

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HACCP Documentation

If the product has cooking instructions for the consumer that are comparable to a full cook, it may be considered low-risk. However, you must have validation procedures to demonstrate that the cooking instructions will heat the product to the correct temperature for the correct amount of time.

Perishable and non-perishable items must be shipped in robust packaging to prevent tears. This is because damaged packaging could attract pests, affect the quality and integrity of the product and may affect the maintenance of the cold chain. Packaging that can be easily damaged is also likely to result in complaints, bad reviews and costly refunds. Try testing how sturdy your packaging is by dropping it from a height, stacking heavy objects on top of it or throw it over a fence. All of these tests can be documented as part of your due diligence.

Due diligence is being able to prove that your business has done everything reasonably possible to prevent food safety breaches. Following and recording a suitable HACCP system is an effective way to evidence this, and can be your primary defence against legal issues under the Food Safety Act 1990.

Interested in Food Safety?

Take a look at our food hygiene library where you can find Food Hygiene and Safety training and HACCP courses. These can help you to feel confident in your responsibilities towards food safety and food hygiene.

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Which Foods Can I Send in the Mail?

Non-perishable foods can be sent in the mail; however, perishable foods have tighter restrictions on how they need to be packaged and shipped. This applies to items that require refrigeration such as: 

• Meat.
• Dairy products.
• Fresh fruits. 
• Vegetables. 

Perishable foods items cannot be sent internationally. Brexit has also contributed to difficulties in shipping to EU countries due to extended delivery times and paperwork.

Bacteria need food and moisture to multiply. They prefer food that is moist and rich in protein. Food can be divided into two categories: low-risk and high-risk.

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High-risk Foods

Foods are considered high-risk if they support the growth of harmful bacteria, and will not undergo any further treatment to destroy it (ready-to-eat). High-risk foods must be stored under refrigeration. Raw foods must always be kept separate from ready-to-eat foods. This applies to food in storage and preparation areas.

Examples include:

• Cooked meat and poultry.
• Smoked salmon.
• Prepared salads and vegetables.
• Dairy products, such as milk, cream and cheese.
• Meat gravies, sauces, pâté and meat pies.
• Foods made with uncooked egg, such as mousse and mayonnaise.
• Seafood, such as cooked shellfish, prawns and oysters.
• Cooked rice and pasta.

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Low-risk Foods

Bacteria are not able to multiply in dry food or food that has high concentrations of sugar, salt, or acids like vinegar, lemon juice, or sulphites. These foods are categorised as low-risk.

Low-risk foods are normally stored under ambient conditions and do not need to be refrigerated. Examples include:

• Sweets.
• Pickles.
• Honey.
• Jam and preserves.
• Syrups.
• Vinegar
• Flour and dried pasta.

Whilst it’s important to understand which foods you can and can’t send in the mail, it’s also important to know how to mail food safely.

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How to Mail Food Safely

The post office allows perishable food items to be shipped within the UK providing these criteria are met:

• Items must at a minimum be sent 1st Class as they aim to deliver items the next day, including Saturdays.
• The items should be able to withstand a journey of up to 48 hours without the use of dry ice or frozen water.
• The items must be suitably sealed to prevent them from leaking or tainting other items. Sealed vacuum packs are suggested as a suitable packing method to prevent this from occurring.
• Items must be packed in strong packaging such as a corrugated board box or polystyrene pack.
• The sender’s name and return address must be clearly visible on the outer packaging.
• Packages containing perishable items must be clearly labelled as “PERISHABLE”.

You could be held liable for damage to other mail if yours is not properly packaged.

If you would like to send your parcel by courier, it is best to check their list of prohibited items beforehand. This is because most couriers prohibit sending perishable food items in the mail. Using clear labels on the outside of your packaging will also help those handling it and receiving it to keep the contents safe.

Starting a Home Food Business?

Take a look at our Starting a Home Food Business course. This comprehensive course provides step by step guidance for everyone starting a food business from home including your legal responsibilities.

Food businesses often use coolant gels or ice packs combined with insulating packaging to ensure the products remain at a safe temperature whilst being transported. If products are delivered hot, they must be hot held above 63 °C.

To test the effectiveness of your cooling method, use a temperature probe to verify that your product remains below 8 °C in a variety of outside temperatures. To help, we have created a free core temperature log sheet and fridge temperature log sheets to add to your HACCP documentation.

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Homemade Food Packaging Ideas

The part packaging plays in the safety of food during shipping can’t be overlooked. It is a vital part of ensuring the product arrives in perfect condition and safe for human consumption. In order to transport chilled foods safely, the packaging must be strong, contain sufficient insulation and cool packs to maintain the cold chain.

Effective insulation materials include styrofoam boxes and sheets, bubble wrap and air filled liners. These options might not fit with a more eco-conscious brand. If you are looking for more sustainable materials, consider using wool, straw, recycled paper or packing peanuts made from starch for insulation.

Consider also if the food will come into contact with your shipping materials. If so, are those materials food safe? Is an additional piece of food safe packaging needed if you cannot prove the shipping materials are safe for food contact?

Look for a food safe symbol or indications that the packaging and cooling methods are safe to be in contact with food items. Consider reading our article on Food Packaging Materials: Regulations & Different Types to find out more.

Ordering online has many convenient benefits to the customer – your outreach can be so much further than if your products were just sold in a bricks and mortar store. The downside, however, is that customers do not get the same experience online as they would in a store. Packaging can not only be functional, but also provide and make up for that unique experience. ‘Unboxing’ videos and images are ubiquitous on social media. This is because people buying a gift for themselves or receiving one from others want to share the moment and feeling of opening a present.

Visually appealing packaging can help convey your brand values, and if your customers think it is worth sharing on social media, you will also get some free advertising too!

Although it is generally acceptable to sell and ship your homemade food, it’s important to have an awareness of the relevant regulations and food safety measures you should adhere to through the process including making the product, packaging and shipping it.

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We hope you found the above information useful. Should you wish to discuss your business needs further, or would like to know more about how our training can help you, please contact our friendly, helpful sales and support teams on 0333 006 7000 or email sales@highspeedtraining.co.uk.

Further Resources:

• Starting a Home Food Business course
• What is Prepacked for Direct Sale Food? Allergen Guidance & Free Infographic
• How to Start a Food Business From Your Home
• Ideas for Starting a Food Business From Home
• How to Use TikTok for Marketing Your Food Business

The post How to Package Food for Shipping appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

As of 2021, 3.78 billion people use social media. It has surged in popularity in recent years to the point where the majority of people have become dependent on it for communicating, researching, and now shopping. As such, businesses have come to realise the opportunity that this popularity offers, and are now taking advantage of it. Social media is a dynamic and revolutionary marketing tool that is both easy to use, and effective in its results. Therefore, it’s imperative to understand how to market your food business online. 

In this article we are going to take a look at the various social media platforms that you can use to sell food online. As many people are now selling food from home, we are also going to outline the laws and regulations you need to be aware of in order to sell food safely. We will also provide you with advice on how to successfully market your food business.

• Why Should You Market Your Food Business Online?
• Choosing your Niche: Which Platform is Right for You? 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Etsy
  • YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest
• What are the Regulations for Selling Food Online?
  • Registering as a Food Business
  • Food Safety Training
  • Allergen Awareness and Food Labelling
  • Food Packaging
• Tips and Strategies for Promoting Your Food Business Online

Why Should You Market Your Food Business Online?

Approximately 53 million people in the UK are currently using some form of social media. If you combine this with the enormity of the food industry, it’s not surprising that the two are a match made in heaven for businesses. In order to really reap the benefits, however, you need to understand how to market your food business. 

Marketing and social media go hand in hand. Recently there has been a huge shift towards digital marketing; thus, social media is where you need to be. 

There are plenty of benefits of marketing your food business online, some of which we’ll look into below.

Growing your Brand

Social media offers you the opportunity to promote your brand to a wider audience much faster than traditional marketing could. This is important because getting brand recognition is one of the most vital goals in marketing a business. Customers are drawn towards buying products from brands they recognise, after all. 

You need to keep your brand in mind when you’re using social media. Your brand is what’s unique about your business and your products; therefore, you should always have it in the forefront of everything you do. This includes the kind of content you put out. For example, if you’ve created a brand of authentic, home-made cupcakes, it’s probably not the best idea to have exercise equipment starring in your profile picture. 

The aim is to create a successful, lasting brand that customers will recognise, but also trust and build loyalty towards.

Low Cost

Home food businesses – especially those who are just getting started – might be put off with the cost of traditional marketing. However, social media is available to everyone, regardless of their budget. 

In fact, while there are options to upgrade to either a premium service or paid subscription, it is possible to use every social media platform for free!

Flexibility

Most people in the UK possess some kind of smartphone these days. This means you can have all of your social media accounts linked to your phone, so you can post and comment at any time of the day. 

Once you’ve mastered the platforms you’re going to use, it will take you a matter of minutes to write a status or post a photo or two. This makes life so much easier for those of you with busy schedules.

Social media platforms are also available to use 24/7, so even while you’re asleep, your accounts are still active. This is hugely beneficial, and unlike anything you will find in traditional marketing.

Reaching A Wider Audience

As we’ve established, social media is infinitely popular, and almost becoming a necessity. Not only are you able to reach your current audience by creating a social media account, but you are also able to reach potential customers that you might not have otherwise.

If your family and friends share a post of yours, your business is automatically promoted to their own friends and family. This chain has the possibility of continuing to the point where your business is continually being seen and introduced to new people. When it comes to success, the more people who are aware of your business, the better!

Engaging with your Customers

Social media marketing allows you to communicate with your customers in new and exciting ways. If you have a business page, customers can review your products and leave feedback that others can see, too. They also have the ability to comment on your posts and photographs, and you have the option to reply. 

This gives you the opportunity to engage with your customers in a personal way, and can help to build a loyal customer base. Overall, social media has revolutionised the way in which businesses and customers can interact.

Using Analytics

There are also tools available for you on each platform that can track, record and report on your business’ analytics. 

This means it’s possible to see which of your posts people engage with the most. For example, you may see twice as much traffic to your page when you post photos rather than text-only statuses. 

This can help you track whether or not you’re reaching your target demographic, and understand how you can make your business more successful.

Choosing your Niche: Which Platform is Right for You?

With a plethora of increasing social media platforms out there, it can be confusing as to which you should use. After all, every platform is slightly different and appeals to a certain type of demographic. They each have their own unique style and benefits. However, not every platform will suit the brand you’re trying to build. 

It might be helpful to explore each of these platforms in order to work out which one will suit your business and brand the most.

Below, we’re going to look at the most popular social media platforms and how to market your food business successfully on them.

Facebook

Facebook has been transformed over recent years from a networking site to send messages to friends and family to one of the most dynamic and useful marketing tools available. It is easily the most popular social media platform, and boasts a staggering 2.8 billion monthly active users. 1.8 billion of these are users who visit the site on a daily basis. 

It is powered by an algorithm that learns each user’s personal preferences and interests. This means businesses can closely target a specific audience demographic, and purposeful ads are delivered to the people most likely to want the products or services.

Facebook offers a variety of posts including text-only statuses, image sharing, video sharing or external links. This makes it beneficial for most businesses to use for marketing. It also appeals to a wide range of demographics. Other social media platforms are aimed towards a specific audience. 

For more information, check out our article:
How to Use Facebook for Marketing your Home Food Business

Instagram

Instagram is an American photo and video sharing social media networking site. Since its creation in 2012, the app has grown massively in popularity with 1.074 billion people currently using the site worldwide. 62% of these monthly users are between the ages of 18-34; therefore, this is a platform predominantly used by a younger demographic. 

With an uptake in home food businesses, meal kit companies and online food delivery services, there has been a huge surge in people turning to Instagram to post about their work and sell their products. In fact, the hashtag #food currently has over 450 million posts. 

As Instagram centres around photo sharing, this may be especially beneficial to home food businesses as people will want to see your creations.

To get the most out of marketing your food business on Instagram, you should: 

• Post frequently.
• Post relevant content that aligns with your brand.
• Make sure your posts are aesthetically pleasing.

Having a business account can help you take advantage of the analytics available from Instagram. This enables you to see how your posts do. You can then improve your content engagement based on this information. 

To learn more about the specifics of marketing your home food business on Instagram, check out our article:

How to Promote your Food Business on Instagram.

TikTok

TikTok is a social media platform that is used for creating, sharing and discovering short videos. Primarily used by people between the ages of 16 and 24, the app has been downloaded 2.6 billion times since its introduction in 2016. 

TikTok is free to use, and can be a quick and easy way to promote your business to an exponentially large audience. In the past couple of years, people sharing their homemade food creations have risen considerably too. This is now a viable and effective way of promoting your food business.

TikTok includes hashtags and posts that are used as methods of searching for topics of interest. As it stands, food videos are among the most popular on TikTok. If your target audience is a younger demographic, this could be a viable option of marketing your food business.

For more information on TikTok, check out our article:

How to Use TikTok for Marketing Your Food Business

Etsy

Etsy is a leading e-commerce platform that allows people to buy and sell unique handmade products. It has grown in popularity since it was founded in 2005, and it now boasts 81.9 million buyers, and 4.36 million sellers. As there is a focus on handmade products, in recent years, people have begun selling food on Etsy. 

Selling on Etsy means opening a ‘shop’ where people can browse your products online, and purchase them from here. You can also track the metrics of your shop that can be hugely beneficial to your overall success. There are also numerous handbooks and guides to help you navigate the website and all of its unique features.

For more information on selling homemade food on Etsy, check out our article:

How to Sell Food on Etsy

YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest

Aside from the ones we’ve already covered, there are a few other social media platforms that you may find useful: 

YouTube is an online video sharing platform that allows you to record and upload videos as well as search for, watch, and interact with other people’s videos. As of 2021, there are approximately 1.86 billion YouTube users worldwide, making it one of the most popular. There are limits to the platform, as you can only upload videos. However, this can work well with food businesses, and YouTube can be a potentially profitable option from ad revenue, as well as an effective marketing tool. 

Twitter is another popular platform, with 186 million daily active users. It’s a microblogging platform, where people often ‘tweet’ their thoughts, and ‘retweet’ posts from other people. If your target demographic is people aged between 25-34 , it would be beneficial to open a twitter account.

Pinterest is a visual discovery engine for finding ideas such as recipes, interior design, style inspirations and more. Users save – or ‘pin’ – images that they find interesting. However, this site is used to promote rather than sell products on. Therefore, it may not be as profitable as other social media platforms if used exclusively, but it could be effective if used in conjunction with others. 

Interested in Social Media Marketing?

Our Social Media Marketing Course could be exactly what you’re looking for.

What are the Regulations for Selling Food Online?

With the rise of people selling homemade food online, there has been confusion over which laws and regulations apply, and which must be followed in order to sell food safely. Here, we’ll look at the laws you need to adhere to. 

After all, selling food online without proper registration or other legal requirements in place can have dire consequences for not only your business, but your customers, too.

Registering as a Food Business

If you are regularly selling food over social media – or anywhere else online – you must still follow the same laws and regulations as any other food business. This means that you need to register as a food business with your local authority.

This is free to do via the government website, where you will be directed to your local authority. Here, you’ll find instructions on how to obtain the necessary license.

You must register as a food business at least 28 days before you begin trading. If you are already trading without registration, you must do so as soon as possible.

Those who are caught trading without proper registration are at risk of receiving a fine, or even a prison sentence of up to two years.

Looking to Start Your Home Food Business?

Our Starting a Home Food Business course will cover everything you need in order to get your business off the ground.

Food Safety Training

Once you have completed the necessary registration, you will receive a visit from the Environment Health Office (EHO), who will ensure that you are compliant with all the relevant food hygiene legislation and are therefore safe to trade.

During the inspection, the EHO office will assess three areas of your home food business:

1. The physical condition of the premises – This involves them measuring your overall cleanliness and whether there are suitable ventilation and pest control measures in place. 
2. Food hygiene – This involves them ensuring that you and any employees have safe preparation, cooking and storing methods. They will also make sure that you know how to safely cool or reheat your products.
3. Food safety – This means making sure that you have measures in place, such as having a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system implemented. You can find more information on HACCP here. 

After completing their inspection, the EHO will provide you with a food hygiene rating that you can display on all of your business pages or websites. As there’s an increased focus on hygiene ratings, and people actively checking ratings before purchasing, good hygiene is a great way to show any potential customers that you are committed to food safety. 

Food safety is immensely important, and as a food operator, you must do everything in your power to follow all of the laws and regulations. 

Looking to Learn More?

Our Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate will provide you with all the information you need in order to be confident in your knowledge of food safety and food hygiene.

Allergen Awareness and Food Labelling

One of the most important aspects of food safety is being confident in your knowledge of allergens. If you have any doubts over your understanding, or are unsure about what your responsibilities are regarding allergens, it’s crucial that you correct this. 

Consider taking our Food Allergens Awareness course, if you feel that you need to further your understanding.

If you are selling food online over the phone or through an app, you are classed as a distance seller. This means that your products are indirectly sold rather than directly to customers over a counter or face to face. There are specific allergen requirements for distance sellers. 

Food labelling is another vital part of food safety and there are regulations regarding certain information that must be displayed on labels for prepacked and prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) foods

You must be able to provide allergen and intolerance information for your customers, including any ‘may contain’ cross contact allergens that you also handle. 

Food Packaging

Any food business – and this includes those that sell exclusively online – must consider their packaging. Food safe packaging and contact materials must be used in order to comply with the Food Safety Act 1990. This Act requires all food businesses not to ‘treat food in a way that means it would be damaging to the health of those eating it.’

There are restrictions in place regarding packaging that can be used for ‘food contact’ in order to ensure the safety of the food. A food contact material is something that is either intended to be, already in contact with, or likely to be brought into contact with food. This could be anything from the machine used to mix the food, or a glass jar for storage. 

For more information, check out our article:

Food Packaging Materials: Regulations and Different Types

Tips and Strategies for Promoting Your Food Business Online

Once you’ve decided on which social media platforms are best for your business, and you’re confident in your legal responsibilities, it’s important to know how to implement the best strategy for success.

Below are a number of tips we’ve collated in order to help you understand how to market your food business:

Create a Food Marketing Strategy

You need to be confident in what you want your business to be before you can be successful in marketing it. Consider aspects such as:

• Who is my target market?
  • What age are they?
  • What gender are they?
  • Where do they live?
• Are there any similar products to mine?
• How much am I going to charge for my products?
• What will make my business stand out from others?

Once you have these answers, you’ll understand the avenues you need to take in order to make your food business into a success.

Use Dynamic Content

Before you delve into the world of social media, you should do your research on your chosen platforms. Each of them have different stylistic preferences in regard to content – for example, Facebook might be a better choice for text-only statuses than Instagram. 

Your content is what’s going to attract and engage your audience as much as your products, and encourage them to return. Use short, snappy captions that demand attention, and let the personality of your brand shine through. Pay close attention to the posts that perform well in your metrics, and use this to your advantage. Most importantly, make sure that the content you put out does your products justice!

Interact with your Customers

Social media provides you with a great opportunity to personally interact with your customers, and this isn’t something you should shy away from. People are able to leave reviews and post comments and feedback on whichever social media platform you choose to use. While this may sound daunting, feedback can be an invaluable free tool, whether it’s positive or negative.

If you receive a complaint or negative review, don’t despair, either. Not only does this give you an opportunity to reflect and potentially improve your business, but it allows other customers to see how you respond in such a situation. If they see you handle a complaint politely and professionally, their opinion of you is likely to grow.

Don’t Limit Yourself

As we’ve said before, there are a number of social media platforms and avenues for you to explore in marketing your home food business – but don’t limit yourself! You can use more than one platform, and many of these complement one another nicely. If you are using more than one platform, it’s recommended that you use the same business name and streamline your accounts. This makes it easier for customers to find you. 

There are often ways for you to link one account with another, and promote, for example, your Instagram account within your Facebook. If you are creative, then there’s the potential to gain exposure on other platforms, which can only be good for business!

We hope you’ve found this article helpful, and we wish you all the best of luck with marketing your food business online. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We offer a variety of training courses and free resources that are written by industry experts, and can help to make your business a success!

Further Resources

• Starting a Home Food Business
• Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate
• Food Allergen Awareness
• What Food Hygiene Certificate Do I Need?
• Level 2 HACCP Training
• How to Become a Food Blogger
• Food Businesses from Home Ideas
• Difference Between Food Hygiene and Food Safety
• How to Start a Street Food or Food Truck Business
• How To Start A Café Business
• How to Start a Food Business From Your Home

The post How to Market Your Food Business Online appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Pictures of your extravagant-looking lunch, a slideshow series of your friend’s newborn that nobody asked for and making your followers jealous of your latest trip abroad, Instagram has a plethora of uses – granted some being more useful than others. One which has shone through in recent years is the rise of using Instagram to make money, in conjunction with businesses – and especially, food businesses.

With an uptake in home food businesses, meal kit companies and online food delivery services over recent years, there has been a huge surge in people turning to Instagram to post about their work and sell their products.

In this article, we will outline the importance of Instagram for food businesses, explain the food safety guidelines for using the platform to sell goods, and discuss how best to market and promote your business on this extremely popular app.

Why is Instagram Important for Food Businesses?

In the tech-ruled world we live in, social media plays a huge role in marketing and promoting goods and businesses to consumers. Instagram has many different features, too, such as stories, posts, reels and Instagram TV. Utilising a number of different features will allow you to reach an even wider audience, and keep people engaged with a variety of content. You can even keep people updated in real time with the use of Instagram live.

By effectively utilising these features, Instagram has the potential to bring many benefits to your business. It can help turn your passion or hobby into a career, and often food businesses start out as the latter. Knowing how to monetize it is key, and effectively using Instagram plays a key role in this.

There are many benefits for all avenues of food businesses. Below we have sectioned them out to give you some guidance on how to utilise the app per your businesses.

Restaurants

Millenials are 99% more likely to rely on social media and online reviews than Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers. 30% of Millennials will also avoid restaurants with a weak Instagram presence. Therefore, it is important that you put effort into making your account something that is a true reflection of your business – showing delicious food, aesthetics of your restaurant design and much more.

Engaging with your customers is also very important – can’t decide on how you want to plate up a dish? Perhaps you could add a photo of both options to your Instagram story and let your customers decide on a poll. Or you can do a post letting people know what your specials are that week, so they know prior to arriving.

There are several marketing strategies that are beneficial for restaurants to use, such as:

• Create a restaurant hashtag. This is what people can tag when they post a picture of their visit. Then when people search that hashtag, all posts in relation to your business will come up. 
• Partner with influencers and food bloggers. Have them come for a meal at your restaurant. From here they will post about their experience to their wide audience and hopefully bring in new customers for you.
• Run competitions and giveaways. These are very common on instagram. You could do ones that allow people to win a free meal or some merchandise. If you decide to do this you just need to have:

• A prize.
• The method of entry.
• How you select the winner.
• How the winner redeems the prize.
• Terms and conditions.

Home Food Businesses

For those setting up their own food businesses, trying to keep expenses down is often a key priority in the early days. Using Instagram as your primary way to promote your business can be very advantageous and cheap – far cheaper than setting up a high quality website.

You can use Instagram to broadcast your company to a wider audience, and thus gain traction at a fragment of the cost – compared to other forms of promotion. It is not essential, but food hygiene training may be beneficial – it tends to give customers peace of mind, and ensures you are following best practice. It can also demonstrate the professionalism of your business.

Our comprehensive Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety Training course will provide you with all the information you need regarding food safety systems such as HACCP and ensure that you’re confident in your knowledge of how to sell food safely.

 Food Bloggers

It is no secret that Instagram and influencers go hand in hand, whether it’s promoting teeth whitening strips, a clothing line, or the new best meal delivery kit. These social media marvels and foodies alike know how to make food look extravagant, desirable, and down right delicious.

The hashtag #foodblogger has an astonishing 58.3 million posts on Instagram, so it is no surprise that anyone looking to up their instagram game might explore this avenue. Food blogging can range from cooking and posting blogs, to food reviewing blogs. To find out more, click the link below:

How to Become a Food Blogger: Tips & Ideas

Can You Sell Food on Instagram?

Whilst not the case for everyone who promotes their food business on Instagram, some do also like to take it a step further and actually sell via the app. It can be a quick and easy means of selling your goods and services to customers; however, you must ensure that you are doing so safely and abiding with the law. Selling food online requires proper registration or there can be severe consequences – not only for business owners but also the health and wellbeing of customers.

If you are selling food through social media platforms, you must still follow the same laws and regulations as any other food businesses. You may be a restaurant that is already registered and looking to sell meal kits, or perhaps you are a fresh out the box food business selling cupcakes. No matter what your business is,you need to be registered as a food business. This means that you will have to register with your local authority and file for a self-assessment with HMRC as a sole trader. 

With the growing popularity and ease of selling via social media platforms such as Instagram, there have been reported cases of people being penalised for illegally selling. Many times, this is due to the businesses not being officially registered.  

Registering as a food business is quick and simple to do. On the government website, you can use the postcode finder to help you find which local authority to seek help from. Here, they will be able to provide you with clear instructions on where to apply to obtain your license.

You must also consider the safety of your customers when selling food online. You must ensure that you have information about what ingredients have been used to make the food and where they come from. This is particularly important in regards to allergens. To learn more on this take a look at our Food Allergen Awareness Training. 

Furthermore, Natasha’s Law also raises many concerns over food allergens, labelling. Customers can’t read the packaging of the product they are buying on Instagram, nor is there a description tab to read through unlike other sites. 

Therefore, there must be some signal of ingredients to ensure safety. As a distance seller this allergen information must be made available to the customer both at the point of purchase and at delivery. To read more, check out our Allergen Regulations for Takeaways and Distance Sellers article.

Instagram states that you can sell using their app, so long as you meet the following requirements:

1. Comply with their policies. 
2. Represent your business and your domain.
3. Be located in a supported market.
4. Demonstrate trustworthiness.
5. Provide accurate information and follow best practices.

How Do You Market & Promote Food on Instagram?

Having a business account is an excellent way to productively market your brand. You can also get real-time insights to your account’s data. This means you can track your accounts performance to learn what content performs well, and what content may need adjusting to ensure you are reaching a wider audience.

It is important to note that before you even begin to think about setting up your account, making it business or starting to sell via the shop tab,you must first ensure that you have a strong business name and possibly an identifiable logo.

To set up a business account, you should already have an Instagram account set up. This can be a new one if you wish, but you can also simply turn your existing personal account into a business one if you would prefer. So once you have your Instagram account, follow these steps below to turn it into a business insights marvel:

• Go to settings, and select account. 
• Tap ‘switch to professional account’. 
• Pick a category that best describes your business.
• Select business, and you’re all set up!

As well as business accounts, Instagram has other features that also help businesses promote their business on their app. The shop tab allows Instagram users to connect with brands and creators. By using this feature you can give your brand a customizable storefront for people to explore your best products, as they are easily pinned as seen on posts and made so it is easy to follow your account and buy your products. You can also add product tags to your photos to help shoppers.

This is so people may easily identify you across other social media platforms and beyond. Take a look at our course to learn more about the do’s and don’ts of Social Media Marketing.

Making Your Food Instagram Famous

Food Instagram’s and food business brands who have accounts are not hard to come by these days. However, a few accounts do fall into a particular niche – ones that gain traction and, subsequently, a large following. These accounts tend to find success by:

• Posting frequently.
• Posting relevant content. 
• Making sure posts are ‘Instagrammable’. This is down to a number of factors like colours, slow motion cheese pulls, chocolate pours, and much more.

Examples of brands who have used social media to their advantage and fallen into the category of ‘Instagram famous’ are @browniegod and @thesavvybaker_. Both accounts have followers in tens of thousands – and show no signs of slowing down! 

Instagram Marketing Tips for Your Food Business

So far we’ve looked at the basics of Instagram, its importance and how valuable it can be. An astonishing 95 million photos and videos are uploaded to Instagram every day! A large portion of these are in relation to food and drink, so it is important that your content stands out.

This section of the article will provide you with a series of quick tips on how to promote your food business. Use these to bring your Instagram game to the next level and set you apart from the competition.

As previously touched on, some steps to take to ensure you are effectively promoting your food business on Instagram are:

• Use food and drink ‘holidays’. Plan your content for portions or times of the year, for  ‘food holidays’ like world vegan day, etc. They tend to gain a lot of interest and views when it rolls around to that date. You can use this to your advantage by dedicating one or more posts to it. This can also be done with holidays like Christmas, Eid and Valentines day.
• Utilise appropriate hashtags. This is a key way to ensure your content reaches a wide audience. For example, using the ‘#cupcake’ on a post would mean that if someone searches for that hashtag, your post may then show – even if they do not follow you. Other general examples of hashtags you could use to increase who will see your content are: #cooking #foodbusiness. Besides this it is usually a good rule of thumb to hashtag in your field, so for example, using #mealprep if your company makes meal prep boxes or meal prepped meals. You can also go onto similar accounts who do well and see what they have tagged. 
• Ensure high quality photos. With Instagram being primarily a photo sharing platform, it is important to make sure that your content is of a high standard. You can do so by ensuring you take photos or videos using natural lighting, use an appropriate backdrop for the shot to help it stand out and don’t overcomplicate shots. This is especially true when trying to sell products as customers should know what exactly they are looking at. 

Making Use of All the Features Instagram Has to Offer

• Stories, which are photos or videos that stay on your profile for 24 hours. These are good to use for perhaps new product drop teases etc. Once the 24 hours have elapsed, you can add stories to highlights on your profile. You can make separate highlights for separate topics to make it easier for customers to navigate.  
• Reels (similar to TikTok) allow you to showcase short snippets of your business and the behind the scenes. 
• IGTV is where you can post longer videos, such as cook along videos, or Q&A’s.

We hope you found this article to be a useful insight into the ever growing and business savvy side of Instagram. As always, if you have any questions feel free to get in touch with our team. High Speed Training offers a wide variety of courses and resources that can help.

Further Resources:

• Starting A Home Food Business Course
• How to Start a Food Business From Your Home
• Food Packaging Materials: Regulations & Different Types
• How to Start a Street Food or Food Truck Business
• How to Use TikTok for Marketing Your Food Business
• How To Start A Café Business

The post How to Promote Your Food Business on Instagram appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.