Is this A Good Time to Start a Food Business?

Does this sound familiar?

“I have this dream of starting a food business. Of being a foodpreneur. I’ve been thinking about making my granola for people; everyone wants my granola, everybody asks me for it.” Is this a good time to start a food business?

It’s spring. New You?

The barriers to entry for starting a food business are lower than ever. Through the Cottage Food Act, you can start in your home kitchen and sell directly to customers. Just like that. It’s a great way to test your product, get feedback, and figure out your pricing. It’s a baby step. A toe in the water.

Even if you can’t do Cottage Food, there are many commercial kitchens for rent. Crafted Kitchen is one. We offer affordable, flexible commercial kitchen rentals!

The dollar amount or the investment in starting a cottage food business is certainly lower than going all in. If your product needs a food scientist or R&D help or specialized equipment, it’s a whole different animal that may be best suited for a co-packer, but even then, access to these options has grown considerably.

The dream inside you, whatever it is, if you have something you that you’re even thinking about, if you’re considering dreaming about it, considering the possibility of it, if your heart wants to do it, above all, there’s a way to do it. 

At first, yes, you’re going to be scared and you’re going to think, “This is a terrible time”. Even though you’re scared, keep moving forward.

Is this a good time to start a food business? My answer is yes. Hell yes. As a food business professional, that’s my opinion. There are so many things on your side, if your desire is strong enough, if you have a solid “why” (we’ll talk about that later) It’s not going to be easy and not every product is in a perfect category, after all, that’ll shift. 

Really, is there ever a perfect time? To illustrate, I don’t have kids, but if you do, was there a perfect time? Were you completely sure? Or did you think to yourself: “Okay, we’re doing this. We’ll figure it out as we go.” All in all, the same goes with starting a food business.

That’s the attitude I suggest you take.

If you have a dream and you say to yourself, “Yes, I want to do this. My heart is telling me, I feel guided to this.”, I say commit. Commit then go find some help. In this situation, don’t try to go it alone. 

Being that the barriers to entry have never been lower, what are you waiting for? Another pandemic? How long are you going to put your dream on hold?

Are you ready to start that delicious idea you’ve been making in your home kitchen, or grow your existing food business and take it to the next level? The most successful food business entrepreneurs have support, guidance, focus and accountability. That’s how they make it happen quickly, otherwise you may be wasting time and money. 

That’s what we do at Crafted Kitchen. Along with the tools and equipment, we offer you what matters: support, guidance, and a community of like-minded food professionals to help your dream become a reality. Crafted Kitchen is a shared use commercial kitchen in the Arts District of Los Angeles. We offer flexible kitchen rentals to small food businesses. Rent a kitchen today!

All in all, if you start (or expand) your food business, I think it should be fun.

We have more free resources to help you build your dream. And, when you’re ready to take the plunge, let’s talk!

Crafted Kitchen is a shared use commercial kitchen in the Arts District of Los Angeles. We offer flexible kitchen rentals to small food businesses. Rent a kitchen today!