“There is no sincerer love than the love for food,” said George Bernard Shaw and it is a statement that most epicureans will vouch for and swear by. Food, which is one of the essentials for survival, has in recent years received quite a cult status with food being styled and photographed and ‘Instagrammed’ more often than any other non-living thing. Many are fascinated by and follow the trend of documenting their daily meals, sometimes even three times a day.
With the recent interest in food documentation, food styling and experimentation, there is also a growing number of people turning to cook themselves and sharpening their culinary skills, trying out different cuisines and new recipes. Cooking at home will require the cooks to stock up their kitchens with the necessary ingredients, including groceries and the all-important spices which add a unique and special flavour to the dishes.
This renewed interest in cooking at home has provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to either start and/or expand an existing spice making business. Spice making business involves the manufacturing of varied spices as well as various condiments that are used to add flavour to the food.
Who Can Start A Spice Making Business
Anyone who has a knowledge of spices and a passion for food and flavours can start this business, including homemakers who are looking for an opportunity to turn into entrepreneurs and become independent business owners. Additionally, entrepreneurs who have the skill to deal with labourers, employees, wholesalers providing raw material and customers can tackle any situation that arises with calmness and ease, and thus must be tried to be inculcated by spice making business owners.
Requirements For A Spice Making Business
The requirements while starting a spice-making business include numerous aspects that need to be considered before setting up shop and after the operations have begun.
First, the legal compliances need to be considered as they are mandatory and usually the registrations and licences need to be applied for before starting the business or immediately after starting operations. The vital registrations include:
1. Registering The Business
Every business needs to register itself, whether as a one-person company, or a sole proprietorship or a partnership firm or as a limited liability company or any other type of business entity that the business owner deems suitable taking into consideration the tax benefits, advantages and disadvantages of the entities and the one most favourable for the business.
2. Shop Act Registration
A spice making business, especially one that is started on a small scale within the Municipal limits, mandatorily requires a Shop Act registration to regulate terms of service, the hours of work, the payment of workers, the leaves and holidays, and the work conditions of the employees. The process of Shop Act Registration online is easy to understand and follow.
Upon registering for the Shop Act registration the spice making business can avail the benefits of various government schemes and can also easily open a business bank account. The registration also makes the business compliant to the existing labour laws and thus the business can be carried out sans hurdles.
3. FSSAI Registration
Since spice making business involves the processing, manufacturing and packaging of food products an FSSAI registration or licence (depending on the production capacity and the market where the products are delivered for selling) is a compulsion. This process too can be carried out online and consists of an inspection carried out by the officials before the sanction of the FSSAI licence.
Apart from these, GST registration and Udyog Aadhaar are the registrations required for the business.
Once the legal compliances are taken care of the next step involves the actual running of the business. Certain tips that can help with the smooth operations of the spice making business include:
- Having a business plan in place where the vision is written down explicitly so that as a business owner when you get way-led, the plan can help you recall your goals and vision from time to time.
- Establish a production unit with all the essentials needed in the minimum possible cost and ensure that standard and hygienic protocols are followed during the making and packing of the spices.
- Introduce spice mixes in various quantities thus allowing consumers the choice to purchase as per their requirement.
- Maintain uniform packaging of the spices and condiment mixes and these can be included with recipes and informative/fun facts too, along with mandatory labelling instructions.
- Experiment with different seasonings and spice mixes not usually available in the market or not easily found.
- Participate in exhibitions, flea markets, food-related events to spread the word about your product and also to carry out market research and customer reaction. Take pointers which can be implemented to improve the product, the brand or the marketing technique.
This should definitely help you get started on the journey to building a spice-making business.
