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Starting up a business is the best way to get out of the rat race and into being your own boss. But when it comes to the food industry, there are many things that can go wrong. Even before the pandemic, restaurant owners were finding it difficult to fill chef spaces.
But since COVID became a worldwide problem, this situation has become worse. The shutting down of social places meant that long-time workers in the food business have swapped to new job roles.
Don’t let this doom and gloom put you off, though, as we have some amazing ideas to help you get past these struggles and create a successful food business! If you keep your business small before you try reaching for the stars, you will be more likely to push through those barriers.
Before Starting, Test Your Business idea
First off, you should be testing your ideas before putting a deposit on a business loan. Finding the problems early on will stop you from diving into a money pit. This is why the need for a business plan cannot be over-emphasized.
You can use our food business templates and sample food business plans to guide you through this testing phase, and be ready to receive criticism. Remember, you cannot improve or create a strong foundation if you ignore everyone’s advice.
a. Feedback From 3rd Parties
The main reason why people think about creating a food business is because their friends or family say they should. They drool over your stews, make heart-eyes over your steaks, and lovingly long for another bite. Well, in reality, your friends and family are probably boosting your ego or sugar-coating their reaction.
We aren’t saying they are lying necessarily, but they might ignore some of your poorer meals because they know you are trying your best. Your customers won’t be so forgiving. To make sure your friends aren’t saying you are better than you are, you need a true third party to judge your food tasting sessions.
You could ask your co-workers to take the plate and make an anonymous comment. If they are mostly positive, that’s great; you can then adjust your recipes, packaging, service standards in accordance with all the positive and negative feedback.
You could also talk to local companies in the same area of business as you. Ask them if your packaging is appropriate, if they have advice for a new business owner, and anything else that you are worried about. Doing this beginner networking is a great way to start a community too. Local businesses are normally more friendly than chains and will be happy to help you on your journey.
b. Perfect “One Food” Business idea At A Time
You might feel as though you need a whole menu of amazing food, but in reality, you have to remember that you are starting at the bottom. Having one fantastic idea and putting a lot of effort into it would be a more successful business venture than spreading your ideas too thin.
When it comes to testing, your test group may become overwhelmed if they are given too many options. It wouldn’t be uncommon for the group to start comparing dishes to each other rather than their normal experiences.
In the testing group, you want these “customers” to tell you if your ideas will make it, if they are good enough to be sold and if there is a problem that can be fixed. If they have a lot to look at, they will simply tell you which one is the best. Once you find the best variation of that one food product, you can then start to work on another.
c. Look After The “Other” 20% Of Your Online Food Order Customers
There are normally 3 types of customers in the food industry; the ones who enjoy your food enough to try it again another time or simply not dismiss it; ones who will absolutely love your food and will keep coming back; and those who like to try new foods on a whim.
If the first type of person doesn’t like your food, they will simply not return. If the second type of person has a bad experience, they will try again. If this second visit redeems the food, they will remain loyal, but if it doesn’t save their experience, they will either drop into the first type or not come back.
Depending on how good your business is, you might have either a large percentage of lovers and a low percentage of “it’s fine” ers, or it can be the other way around. However, around 20% of your customers will likely be the third type.
Going to restaurants and vendors or trying new sweets on a whim is a growing hobby for many people. The third type wants to be the first ones to experience this unique and potentially viral adventure. These people will likely make a review on whatever social media network they use, and this can either boom or bury your business.
These people will not hesitate to share their lengthy and detailed opinions about your business. Of course, you should always take these opinions with a pinch of salt, as a negative review on a blog often gets more traction than a positive one; however, you should take note of what they are saying. Pleasing these reviewers will make your business look good online, and it can help you create a big fan base.
20+ Best Food Business Opportunities
Food businesses are more than just putting something edible on a plate; they are the hub of taste and expression. Food businesses capture the cultural expression of the moment that reached further than the elite.
It ignites passion and personality, which is why presenting your idea is an important first step in finding potential customers that may enjoy your concepts. We have a list of 20 ideas to help you pinpoint how your product should be served.
1. Family-Style Restaurant
Family-style restaurants are created by families for families. The portion sizes tend to be large, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is loud and bubbly. On the menu, you can expect to find a couple of home favorites that most households are familiar with and enjoy, but you will also notice some unusual variations.
If you like to make food that brings a new spin on old classics, a family-style restaurant could be the perfect place for you to set up shop. Your customers will be aware of the original concept and can enjoy your new ideas and how they have been woven together.
If you want to create a sense of community within your business, too, then this style is definitely something to consider. Everyone would know that this restaurant is a fun and safe place to bring kids without worrying about the other customer’s response.
2. Fast Food Restaurant
You don’t have to be a billionaire to create a fast-food restaurant, all you need is enough money to buy your equipment, and you’ll be off. Taking as little time as possible to cook your meals, your most common customers will be workers on their lunch break, those on the move, and people who don’t care more about substance over taste.
That doesn’t mean all of your customers don’t care about flavor, but a handful will not notice the subtleties of your dish. If your food concepts can be created quickly, can be accessible for all income levels, and energize your customers, then a fast food restaurant could be a great option for you! Although fast-food restaurants should give their customers food fast (duh…), that doesn’t mean the setup for such a business is quick.
3. Food Kiosk Business
If you don’t have the money to make your food in a restaurant, then you may want to consider a food kiosk. Kiosks are different to food trucks (which we will discuss later) but think of them as the smaller sibling. You can put kiosks in shopping malls, office blocks, amusem*nt parks, or anywhere that can allow the bulky wagons to park up.
You normally find popcorn makers, juice stands, cotton candy, and other small snacks in a food kiosk, so if you are thinking of creating a mobile snack cart, then the kiosk might be the right option for you. Not only can you put them in prime locations for those who want a quick snack, but you can also rent or buy them for a lower price than a truck or restaurant.
Because you won’t have a “brick and mortar” place to stay, you won’t be able to receive bookings. This means you will rely heavily on footfall and those walking past your kiosk. To make sure you earn enough money, you may need to work long hours to save for those rainy days when no one is around.
4. Food Truck Business
We said we would talk about food trucks, and here we are! A food truck is the best way to get your meals and hot snacks to festival-goers, but you can also use them like a classic restaurant. Some people set up shop in a location, clamp their truck to the floor and buy benches for their customers to sit on. You still have that fun alfresco feeling without having to pay for top restaurant prices.
We suggest using a food truck if your concepts aren’t time-consuming. If you have a dish that takes a long time to create, then your customers will be less likely to stick around for their meal. This is because trucks are considered a fast food option.
Instead of a normal fast food restaurant, though, many customers expect a more exciting menu from a truck in comparison. The burgers are more than just a burger; they have 5 extra ingredients that make your mouth water from just smelling it. You can afford to be more creative in a food truck, as you won’t have to pay the same licenses or permits. This means you can use more ingredients and charge the same price as a normal burger.
5. Gourmet Popcorn Shop
Ever since the start of cinemas, the popcorn industry has been booming. In recent years, many snackers are wanting more than just the classic examples offered. Cheese, sweet, salty … is that it?
Not anymore. All around the country, gourmet popcorn shops are popping up to quench the snacker’s appetite. Fun and child-like combinations such as cheddar, chocolate, and caramel are almost always on the menu, but you can find more adult options such as vodka, oreo, and buffalo wings!
Making popcorn is easy, and adding these extra flavors isn’t super difficult. If you have thought up some original or underused flavors in your area, then creating a popcorn shop could put you in the money. You can either rent out a shop in the mall for a couple months and see how the business goes, or you could rent a kiosk and travel around to populated areas to win customers over.
6. Grocery Store
Grocery stores might sound like a simple idea, but everyone needs the basic items found in these stores. Your weekly veg, household items, and cupboard stock all come from a grocery store. If your local area is missing a small shop to pop into, you could jump onto that open space and start offering a closer option to the people around you.
Not everyone wants to drive to pick up milk, and if your shop is just a 5 minute walk away, it would be the quicker and easier option. It should be noted that grocery stores are often in high competition, but if you sell yourself as a local help instead of the monthly big shop, your customer will appreciate your easy location.
7. Hot Sauce Business
Once upon a time, hot sauce, like any condiment, was only made by big manufacturers. However, in recent years many home crafters have realized that creating this sauce isn’t as hard as it may seem. In fact, you can add many different flavors to hot sauce and create your own stand-out version of the condiment.
8. Ice Cream Parlor
Eating ice cream in the sun is one of life’s simple pleasures. Couple that with the sea and some sand, and you have the perfect summer. Creating ice cream at home is remarkably similar to making for the masses; the only difference is the size you can create for the number of people knocking on your door.
If your friends and family love your home creations, and you want to share them with the rest of the town, you’ll need a couple of things first. Primarily you will need a massive freezer to store your ice cream. Secondly, you should make a lot of your product in advance.
This will allow you to refill your tubs when demand is high, and you won’t have to shut up the shop early. As you won’t be a massive corporation, you can’t rely on thousands of workers creating the ice cream for you. Instead, your working week will consist of customer-facing day shifts and ice cream-making evening shifts.
9. International Food Store
International food stores are the focal point of most international homes and businesses. They import goodies from across the world so that dishes from other cultures can be shared in our own. You can expect to find cupboard stock, drinks, sweets, condiments, and alcoholic beverages from multiple cultures. Some of these stalls will even have toys or unusual kitchen appliances.
Essentially, they are a grocery store filled with foreign foods. But unlike a grocery store, the prices in an international food store can be high. This is because you have to deal with additional export and import taxes. This normally isn’t enough to deter customers, though, as a taste from home is worth the extra couple of dollars.
If you already have a connection to an import company, then making the switch to business instead of home-use wouldn’t be too hard. Of course, there would be a lot to think about, but sourcing the food is often the hardest part.
10. Jam Business
In all honesty, there are two ways in which you can get into the jam business. One means going to a manufacturer with your flavor combinations and coming to an agreement with them. The second is to create your jams at home and sell them in fairs, yard sales, or festivals.
The latter is the easier way to see if your business will take off and how much interest you can generate for your food. However, making food at home still means you need to follow health and safety guidelines and requirements.
There are so many different jams that you can make, and mixing them with different flavor combinations opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Jam is often used in kids’ sandwiches, but many parents worry about the amount of sugar in the jelly. You can target that market of people and create jams that don’t use added sugar!
11. Meal-To-Go Business
Ready meals or Meal-To-Gos are the preferred option for those who don’t have time to cook but still want to eat healthily. Unlike fast-food restaurants, this market is targeted at those who had the pocket change for something a little extra.
These ready meals are already prepared, cooked, and presented for the customer. All they need to do is find a place to have a sit-down, eat their meal, and go off again. You can expect these types of businesses to put a lot of money into sourcing organic, free-range produce with high-class nutritional value and balanced fats. You won’t expect these ready meals to be unhealthy.
12. Olive Oil Store
Now this one might sound strange, but hear us out. Olive oil can be as cheap or high class as wine. You can find vinegar-y olive oil, watered-down olive oil, and other low-brow options in grocery stores. But 5-star restaurants and food fanatics are aware of the wide range of high-class possibilities too.
Chili-infused, garlic-infused, rosemary-infused, and so on. There is also a level of clarity that differs depending on the brand. Taking on a store like this means aiming your knowledge at specific people. 5-star restaurants should be on your calling list, and your website should be advertised towards people who search for expensive branded foods.
In this business, you can also offer olive oil tasting days. These, again, should be aimed at high-class restaurants that understand the importance of good oil and can pick up on the subtleties they present.
13. Restaurant Business
Of course, you cannot go wrong with opening up a classic restaurant. Whatever your food loves are, you can make this restaurant all about that. Maybe you want to share your take on Italian food, or perhaps your restaurant has a menu that always includes an olive somewhere.
Starting a restaurant business can be challenging, so you need to have a theme or idea which makes you stand out. It could be the decoration, an unforgettable meal, a rehash of an old classic or anything else. Build your theme and create your restaurant around it.
14. Spice Business
Each spice will have its own pride of place within a meal. No matter if you sell to restaurants or home cooks, they will adore a whole shop dedicated to the business of spice. To help you sell these amazing necessities, you could have a website that shows recipes to use these fantastic ingredients.
In every recipe, there could be a link that takes the reader to your spice collection, adding an easy way to create the meal exactly how it was intended. Again you will need access to a vendor to get enough spices to create a business, as unless you have a royalty-sized garden, you will not be able to grow enough to sell them for a long period of time.
Finding the right distributor means connecting with businesses from across the world. Most spices can be found in India, but depending on what you want to sell, you may need to shop around for the best options.
15. Personal Chef Business
If your desire to enter the food industry is due to your own amazing talents, then you could set up a personal chef business. This means creating a headshot website, which explains who you are, your credentials, your prices, and your abilities.
You would also have a price range for taster days to allow clients to try your cooking. Most personal chefs fall into two categories, either full-time or part-time. A full-time personal chef will cook for their employer most days, creating restaurant-quality food just for them.
A part-time personal chef doesn’t mean that they only work part-time; it means that they are hired out for an experience day or week. You could hire a chef for a special event like a work meeting, a hen party, a birthday or anything you want.
16. Tortilla Business
Tortilla foods are one of the most enjoyed meal types across the United States. With Hispanic cultures becoming less and less discriminated against, the rise in culture mixing has allowed more unexpected tortilla-based meal collaborations.
In 2009 $6 million in tortilla sales was boasted about throughout the industry. Each year the figure grows by 8 percent as non-Hispanic cultures embrace this amazing food group. Making a tortilla business that focuses on this expansive acceptance of the bread, and tries new flavors and textures to build on the history, will do well in its booming economy.
17. Bread Or Pasta Making
Walking past a bakery and smelling that delicious scent of freshly baked bread is a feeling like no other. Although you cannot get the same experience from making pasta, the taste of fresh spaghetti is on the same level of heavenly. Creating a business that brings freshness to your customers is an idea that is on the rise.
More and more people are tired of eating artificial foods, and as a culture, we are becoming wiser to the knowledge that fresh is best. Promoting this healthy lifestyle while still eating those carb-y foods we love opens up a whole new demography of people who want to do better for their bodies but cannot let go of those excellent pasta meals.
If selling to the average person isn’t quite what you had in mind, you can also send your fresh food to restaurants, so they can add to their fresh and healthy ideals.
18. Dietary Food Business
Due to the amount of pollution in the air and the plastic in our meals, more and more people are finding they have an intolerance or allergy to certain foods. Creating a business that caters to these people means giving them the food freedom that the rest of us have.
You could create a website that allows the users to tick the foods that they cannot eat and then generates a recipe book especially for them. Or you could create ready meals and send them to grocery stores so that your customers have more options in-store.
Another idea is to create a restaurant that specifically caters to those with allergies. Maybe the customers have to call in advance, explain their allergies and the chefs make a special meal just for that person. However, you wish to take this idea, you will be helping millions of people who are often cut off from the world of delicious food choices.
19. Cooking Classes
Once upon a time, women were taught how to cook as part of their schooling by their mothers. Although some people still alive today would remember these types of lessons, the birth of quick meals in the 80s made home-cooking no longer a necessity.
Over the last 40 or so years, the idea of a cooked meal has moved away from a roast dinner and into the concept of oven food, like pizza. Now that people want to get back into the old style of home cooking and reach a healthy diet, many people are asking for cooking classes.
Your classes could include basic meals for those who are completely lost, complicated spreads for those who want to try something new, and handy tricks for those who want to do their own adventurous cooking. Bring this knowledge back to those who want to learn, and teach a whole new generation how to eat healthily.
20. Baby Food Business
Just as adults want to eat healthier, we want our children to be eating well too. Making good food that gives our children the nutrition they need can be hard, especially when candy and fast food might be all they want. Ideally, a young child shouldn’t be touching these bad foods until they are going to school, but sometimes the only way to stop a screaming child is to give them what they want.
Instead, there should be healthy options that are just as tasty as their devilish counterparts. That’s where you come in. Creating baby food that will excite the child and please the parent is extremely important to keep everyone happy.
In 2018 the US made $71.4 billion in the baby food market, and it is predicted that by 2024 that number will rise to $98.9 billion. Jump onto this healthy baby boom, and create something that will make a child ask for more!
21. Catering Business
The catering business is considered to be among one of the most delicate industries because they are involved in cooking food for a large number of people per time. For this reason, the business is subjected to regular inspections by relevant health officials from the local health department.
The Industry generates over 7 Billion US Dollars annually through events such as weddings, holiday parties, corporate functions, funerals, birthday parties et al and the figure is still on the increase.
22. Daiquiri Shop
A Daiquiri shop or restaurant is a business that prepares and serves different flavors of Daiquiri and other drinks. Daiquiri is a family of co*cktails whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice (typically lime juice), and sugar or other sweeteners. A wide variety of alcoholic mixed drinks made with finely pulverized ice are often called frozen daiquiri.
23. Chocolate Strawberry Business
With the health consciousness of American consumers growing, the dessert industry may not seem like a very attractive industry for startup entrepreneurs. But truth be told, reports have it that the number of Americans craving for dessert items is increasing at a rate that equals or even surpasses their demand for healthy food alternatives.
According to industry statistics, Americans consume as much as $23 billion in desserts per year. When it comes to annual sales, desserts represent a very vital segment of the nation’s food industry and offer adequate opportunities for new entrepreneurs to venture into the marketplace.
24. Coffee Shop Business
A coffee shop, coffee café, or coffee bar, is a small, informal restaurant where coffee and light refreshments such as light snacks, sandwiches, muffins, fruit, or pastries are served to customers. It is also a place where coffee lovers meet to network and socialize.
Please note that coffee shops are part of the specialty eatery industry, which also includes outlets specializing in products such as bagels, donuts, frozen yogurt, and ice cream. The Coffee Shops market in the U.S. is estimated at US$35 Billion in the year 2020.
25. Juice Bar Truck
A juice bar truck provides customers a no-hassle way to get their daily servings of fruits and vegetables. These bars used to attract only the most health-conscious consumers; however, their mass appeal has grown massively owing to a heightened interest in wellness.
For a market estimated at $158 billion in 2016, the fruit and vegetable juice market is expected to hit $257 billion by 2025. This is remarkable global growth. Experts note that the total revenue for juice and smoothie bars in the United States will reach $3 billion with an expected annual growth rate of 1.8%.
26. Bar and Grill Business
A bar and grill business is a restaurant where both alcoholic and non–alcoholic drinks are served along with grilled beef, chicken, turkey, bacon, pork, fish, corn, et al. Grilling or roasting is done slowly over low, indirect heat and the food is flavored by the smoking process. The bar and grill restaurant industry is an important segment in the restaurant industry in the United States.
The chain restaurant sector that the bar and grill business is part of in the United States was valued at approximately 128.99 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, down from the previous year’s total of 158.86 billion U.S. dollars.
27. Pizza Shop Business
A pizza shop is a restaurant where pizzas are made and retailed. The pizza restaurant is an important segment in the restaurant industry in the United States. With consumers dining in, getting takeouts, and ordering delivery, pizza restaurant sales reached over 46 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
The U.S. pizza industry is worth nearly $46 billion in revenue as of September with the top pizza chains dominating the industry with nearly a 60% slice of the market, or $26 billion. Independent and small chains are worth nearly $19 million in revenue.
28. Frozen Food Business
A frozen food store or frozen food shop is a retail outlet that sells different types of frozen food. Please note that the term frozen food refers to food items that are exposed to freezing temperatures to preserve them from decay. The most common frozen foods are fish, chicken, turkey, prawns, beef, et al.
Available statistics show that the frozen food market size was valued at $291.8 billion in 2019, and is estimated to reach $404.8 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 4.2% from 2020 to 2027.
29. Frozen Yogurt Business
A frozen yogurt business is a store that mainly prepares and serves frozen yogurt and other frozen yogurt-based items, as well as toppings. A recent report released by Ibis World shows that the market size of the frozen yogurt industry in the US has declined 8.7 percent per year on average between 2017 and 2022.
30. Winery Business
Anyone who has really enjoyed a wonderful glass of Chardonnay or visited a winery where there are made must have considered venturing into the wine business. Not only is wine one of life’s great pleasures, it is also an excellent marketable commodity. According to reports, the sales of wine in the U.S. amounted to approximately 435.1 million 9-liter cases in 2020.
31. Candy Buffet Business
A candy buffet is an enticing display of sumptuous candy that can be specially made to align with the color or theme of an event. These arrangements tend to feature people’s favorite treats well arranged in numerous jars and containers.
This type of business sets up a wide array of candies at a public event or shop where people can pick and choose their favorite items. You’ll find them today at charity events, weddings, birthdays, and even a business function. Most often, a candy buffet serves as a dessert table, or a setting for guests to choose their personalized party favors.
32. Cookie Making Business
A cookie-making business is a business that makes and sells different flavors of cookies, crackers, and dry pasta from purchased ingredients, such as flour, sugar, salt, seasoning, emulsifiers, flavorings, syrups, preservatives, food acids, and gluten. Statistics have it that in the United States, the cookie, cracker, and pasta production industry generate over $27 billion annually from more than 2,408 cookie manufacturing companies.
33. Bubble Tea Shop
A bubble tea shop, of bubble tea café or bubble tea bar, is a small, informal restaurant where bubble tea and light refreshments such as light snacks, sandwiches, muffins, fruit, or pastries are served to customers. Bubble tea shops sell bubble tea, a Taiwanese tea-based drink with a variety of toppings. Fortune Business Insights says that the global bubble tea market size was valued at USD2.02 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD3.39 billion by 2027.
34. Food Manufacturing Business
A Food manufacturing business is an enterprise that processes edible raw foods and transform them into food products that can be sold for a profit. There was a time starting a food manufacturing business was a daunting task owing to limited resources. A good number of potential business owners were also reluctant to venture into the food industry because of the massive amount of capital it used to demand.
36. Bagel Shop Business
A bagel shop is usually a small limited-service shop that bakes and sells bagels, coffee, and other breakfast items. A bagel shop business can be as small as a single location or as big as a national chain. A bagel is a doughnut-shaped yeast-leavened roll that is characterized by a crisp, shiny crust and a dense interior. Available statistics show that the market size of the bagel stores industry is $1.8bn and it is expected to increase 3.2%.
37. Sandwich Delivery Business
A sandwich delivery business is involved in making and delivering sandwiches to retailers or consumers, or a business that serves as a middleman between major fast-food restaurants that mass-make sandwiches and retailers or consumers. The sandwich delivery business is a niche idea in the sandwich and sub-store industry and available statistics show that the sector in the United States was valued at 20.56 billion U.S. dollars in 2020
38. Olive Oil Production
An olive oil production company is a business that produces and sells different types of olive oil. Olive oil is an essential oil and essential oils are often used for aromatherapy, a form of substitute medicine in which the healing effects are credited to their aromatic compounds. It is important to note that the EU is the largest producer of olive oil at the global level, accounting for 69% of the world’s production.
39. Food Truck Park Business
A food truck park business is a business that provides temporary parking spaces on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis to operators of food trucks and also food truck festival organizers. A food truck park, or pod, is a space, such as a parking lot, that attracts a community of food trucks and carts, and also customers eager for a mass gathering of food options.
It equally provides the area with eating amenities such as tables, tents, and bathrooms. Rental rates for a food truck park are around $500 to $1,000 per month and these parks offer space daily as well.
40. Seafood Business
A seafood store or seafood shop is a retail outlet that sells different types of seafood. Please note that the term seafood refers to fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of mollusks (e.g., bivalve mollusks such as clams, oysters, and mussels and cephalopods such as octopus and squid), crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g., sea urchins).
The market size measured by revenue of the Fish & Seafood Markets industry in the United States, is $3.1bn. In 2019, U.S. commercial fishermen landed 9.3 billion pounds of seafood valued at $5.5 billion.
41. Kombucha Drink Business
A kombucha drink bar is a small, informal restaurant where kombucha drinks are made and served to customers. Kombucha drink is an assortment of fermented, lightly effervescent sweetened black or green tea drinks that are intended as functional beverages because of the acclaimed health benefit and the drink is produced by fermenting tea using a “symbiotic ‘colony’ of bacteria and yeast” (SCOBY). North America is the largest market in the global kombucha market having accounted for a share of 39.4%.
42. Wine Tasting Business
Within the past few decades, wines sales in the United States have witnessed tremendous growth. In an industry previously dominated by European winemakers, and encouraged by Americans’ growing thirst for good quality vino, U.S. vineyards and winemakers are beginning to take up massive market share.
Owing to the popularity of wine among American consumers, the emergence of wine tasting rooms is not surprising. Note that these businesses provide clients with an environment to sample new flavors and make new friends.
43. Fruit Juice Shop
A fruit juice bar, or fruit juice shop is a small, informal restaurant where juice and in most cases, smoothies are made and served to customers. Fruit juice is ideally 100 percent pure juice made from the flesh of fresh fruit or from whole fruit, depending on the type used.
44. Funnel Cake Business
A funnel cake shop is a business that bakes and sells funnel cakes. Please note that the name “funnel cake” was derived from the method of squeezing batter through a funnel in a circular pattern into hot oil to achieve a dizzying pattern of crispy-fried dough.
The funnel cake business is a niche idea in the cake and bakery industry and available statistics have it that the global bakery product market size was estimated at USD 203.8 billion in 2018.
45. Cold Storage Business
A cold storage business is a commercial facility for storing perishable products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, furs, etc. under controlled conditions for longer periods. Based on the storage conditions, cold storage may be classified into three categories – short-term or temporary storage, long-term storage, and frozen storage.
Available data shows that the U.S. cold storage market size was estimated at USD 15.84 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 16.43 billion in 2020.
46. Hot Dog Cart Business
A hot dog cart business is a business that sells different types of hot dogs and drinks from a cart or food truck. The market size, measured by revenue of the Hot Dog and Sausage Production industry, is $19.2bn and the industry is expected to increase by 3.6 percent going forward.
47. Donut Shop Business
A donut shop is a shop where different varieties of donuts are made and retailed. Available statistics show that the market size of the doughnut sector in the United States reached 7.16 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, reflecting a decrease over the previous year’s size of 7.49 billion U.S. dollars.
48. Sandwich Shop Business
A sandwich shop is a shop where different varieties of sandwiches are made and retailed. Available statistics show that the sandwich and sub-store franchise sector in the United States was valued at 20.56 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, down from the previous year’s total of 25.12 billion U.S. dollars., the market size was forecast to reach 22.56 billion.
49. Smoothie Business
A smoothie shop or smoothie bar is a small, informal restaurant where smoothies and in most cases, juice are made and served to customers. A smoothie is a blended, sometimes sweetened beverage primarily made from fresh fruit or vegetables combined with ice, frozen fruit, or other frozen ingredients.
50. Coffee Truck Business
A coffee truck business sells different types and flavors of coffee from the truck and coffee trucks are designed to service areas where it might be difficult to quickly construct the conventional shop; areas such as carnival sites, construction sites, sporting event centers, campgrounds, beaches et al.
The coffee truck business is a niche idea in the food truck industry and the annual food truck revenue in the United States is about $1,200,000,000, and the industry revenue increased by 12.4 percent over the past five years. The total number of food trucks in the U.S. is put at 4,130.
51. Liquor Distribution Business
A liquor distribution business is a business that buys different brands of liquor from manufacturers and then distributes (sells) to liquor retailers. Statistics have it that in the United States of America alone, the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $72.5 billion annually. The industry is projected to grow at the rate of 4.5 percent annual growth between 2017 and 2022.
52. Wine Club Business
in 2023 alone, reports have it that consumers spent over $4 billion on direct-to-consumer wine shipments, and wineries shipped over 8.5 million cases of wine. Agreeably, some of that can be attributed to COVID-19 closures but the industry is still witnessing signs of those trends continuing. While starting a wine club can seem simple at first, note that this business can quickly grow to become unmanageable if you fail to take the necessary steps when starting.
53. Wine Bar Business
A wine bar is a bar or small restaurant where wine is the main drink available; a characteristic feature of many standard wine bars is a wide selection of assorted wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, such as Italian wine or Champagne. The market size of the wine bar sector in the United States reached 1.73 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
54. Start a BBQ Business
A BBQ business is a business that sells barbequed beef, chicken, turkey, bacon, pork, fish, and corn amongst others. BBQ caterers are chefs (some people call them Pit-masters in the BBQ community) that focus their culinary efforts towards the grilling and smoking of meat and the creation of classic sides.
The value of this market was expected to rise to 8.1 billion U.S. dollars by 2023. So also,, the American barbecue grill market was valued at approximately 2.75 billion U.S. dollars, up from 2.19 billion dollars in 2015.
55. Beef Jerky Business
Starting this food business involves having a proven recipe for turning meat into tasty treats that people can pick up and eat right out of the package. There are two routes one might take: you can choose to make the jerky yourself or source them wholesale from a local meat processor and sell retail. While making beef jerky can be quite easy, building a beef jerky business that will stand out in this competitive industry isn’t that easy.
56. Lemonade Stand Business
A lemonade stand or a QSR (quick-service restaurant) is a business that prepares and sells lemonade from a stand. A lemonade stand refers to a small, temporary, stand-alone booth used in high-traffic areas to sell lemonade, and a lemonade stand may be manned by one or two people. Please note that a lemonade stand is a business that is commonly operated by children, to sell lemonade.
57. Snow Cone Business
A snow cone shop is a business that makes and sells different flavors of snow cones. Snow cones are a variation of shaved ice or ground-up ice desserts commonly served throughout the United States of America and Canada in paper cones or foam cups. The industry is responsible for employing about 18,474 people and raking in an average of $8 billion annually.
58. Ice cream Truck Business
An ice cream truck business is a business that sells different types and flavors of ice creams, frozen yogurt, and sherbet. Desserts from the truck are designed to service areas where it might be difficult to quickly construct the convention shop; areas such as carnival sites, construction sites, sporting event centers, campgrounds, beaches et al. Ice cream is a dairy product that is sweetened with either natural sugar or artificial sweeteners.
59. Wine Shop Business
A wine shop is a retail outlet that retails different brands and types (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) of wine for on-and off-premise consumption. The Beer, Wine & Liquor Stores industry in the US is labor intensive which means that businesses are more reliant on labor than capital. The industry rakes in a whooping sum of $50 billion annually. The industry is projected to grow at 1.7 percent annual growth between 2017 and 2022.
60. Chicken Wing Restaurant
A chicken wing restaurant is a niche restaurant where chicken wings are the main delicacies that are served to customers. A chicken wing restaurant may also sell other delicacies, snacks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and of course takeout meals. Food and beverage sales in the restaurant and food service industry are projected to total $789 billion, up 19.7% from 2020.
61. Cotton Candy Business
A cotton candy business is a business that makes and sells cotton candies most especially at children’s parties, parks, stadiums et al. Cotton candy, which is also known as fairy floss and candy floss, is a spun-sugar confection that resembles cotton. The U.S. candy market is expected to reach a value of USD 19.6 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc.
62. Boiled Peanut Business
A boiled peanut business is a business that prepares and serves boiled peanuts and other snacks and drinks. Boiled peanuts are widely consumed and are commercially available in the Southern United States from North Carolina, south to central Florida, as far north as Ohio, and west to Mississippi.
The peanuts are sold in the hull and boiled with only salt or with a piquant spice mixture such as Old Bay or Zatarain’s. A recent report released shows that the Peanuts Market is projected to register a CAGR of 2.45% and reach a value of USD 107.4 Billion by 2030.
Summary
If you already have a business idea in mind, these additional options should tell you if a separate idea is more plausible. If you were thinking of making a sandwich shop, knowing that trucks are hitching to a standard stop might make this cheaper idea more enticing.
Before you start putting money into the idea, be sure to test your food product with people who don’t love you. You want real feedback and not a sugar-coated “well done.” And remember to cater to the 20% who will comment on social media leaving good or bad reviews. Reviews are what tell potential customers if your business is worth their salt, and too many bad reviews will harm your profits.
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