Selling eco-products: all the pitfalls of business. Franchise “Farm Products” - selling only environmentally friendly products

Interest in environmentally friendly products is growing year by year, and although their prices are by no means low, more and more people want to buy healthy food. Interest in such products can be observed at specialized exhibitions and food fairs, where they are sold out in a matter of hours.

Profits from selling organic food can be high if your clients include many wealthy buyers. For a business to flourish, an extensive network of manufacturers and suppliers of such products should be created. The investment costs for opening a store will not be particularly large.

Setting up and promoting a health food store is not easy. The company must have a stable network of manufacturers, and establishing it takes some time. Profit depends on the location of the store, so try to open it in an attractive location, for example, in the central part of the city.

Healthy food (without additives or preservatives), for example, meat, bread, vegetables, honey, cereals, vegetable oil, dairy products, as a rule, costs 50 and even 100 percent more than mass-produced foods.

Selling organic food is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Your main suppliers will be local farmers who are ready to supply their products for sale in your store.

Further increase in the popularity of the new business depends on public awareness of the importance of good and healthy nutrition and can be a very powerful impetus for the development of organic production, which will result in the expansion of the network of stores selling natural products. People are becoming increasingly aware of how harmful the chemicals found in foods produced in large factories are to their health.

Investment costs

A health food store needs to have the right ambiance and ambience and the product properly packaged to stimulate as much interest as possible among customers. At the initial stage, to open a store you will need 600 - 800 thousand rubles. However, if you open a grocery store from scratch, as is usually the case, these costs will be much higher. For the normal functioning of the store, you will need at least 60 square meters of total area. The reconstruction and improvement will cost about 800 - 1,000 thousand rubles. If you are going to work in rented premises, then in addition to the rent you will have to pay for electricity, gas and water supply, which will be approximately 20 thousand rubles.

In this business, it is very important that your store fully complies with the ever-increasing sanitary and fire safety requirements.

To open an organic food store, like any other, you must buy a cash register, the cost of which ranges from 70 to 100 thousand rubles.

Then you need to find a trusted supplier of furniture and equipment for grocery stores and purchase everything you need for normal operation:

Shelving
Industrial refrigerators
Refrigerated counters

The cost of equipment ranges from 200 to 800 thousand rubles.

Also, to work in a store, you will have to hire at least two employees with a salary of 30 - 40 thousand rubles (40 x 2 = 80 thousand rubles for two employees).

How to make money from an eco-shop?

Although organic products are expensive, the demand for them is constantly growing, especially in large cities with a population of more than 100 thousand inhabitants. At first, there may not be much profit, but gradually the income will grow. This is a promising business.

You can earn from 100 to 600 thousand rubles per month. Setting up a store selling organic products is a good option for people who are counting on a solid, although not very high, income. The store is created with the expectation of regular customers who care about their health and want to buy good, environmentally friendly products.

An entrepreneur who plans to sell such products may also consider selling online. In this case, you can count on quite impressive profits, sometimes even more than from traditional sales.

If you decide to expand your business with electronic sales, you first need to create your own website, regularly promote it, be constantly in touch with interested customers, and enter into an agreement with a reliable courier service that will deliver products to customers. Mailing many food products is simply not feasible.

What to sell?

An organic and healthy food store can offer:

Meat products without added preservatives and stabilizers
Organic bread with added wheat germ
Gluten-free products
Jams and preserves without sugar or sweeteners
Fruit and herbal tea
Cereals
Dairy product
Pasta
Vegetable and olive oil
Dried fruits
Muesli
Bran
Dairy
Soy products
Juices, syrups, drinks
Vegetarian products
Cereals
Seeds
Herbs
Natural cosmetic
Natural detergents

It is worth remembering that all products must be free of any chemical additives. The eco-products market, like any other, has its own tastes, fashion and changing popularity of certain products. It is worth keeping this in mind, monitoring the market and responding to its volatility accordingly.

In such stores you can organize stands with various environmentally friendly products, for example, herbs or juices.

Investment costs:

Repair and arrangement of premises - from 800 to 1,000 thousand rubles
Cash register and scales - from 70 to 100 thousand rubles
Purchase of equipment - from 200 to 800 thousand rubles
Employee salary - 80 thousand rubles
Utility bills (monthly) - 20 thousand rubles

Expected earnings:

Income before tax is approximately from 100 to 600 thousand rubles. With optimistic forecasts, the payback of the business will occur in a year and a half.

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Quality products in today's technologically advanced world, unfortunately, are worth their weight in gold. An environmentally friendly product grown in natural conditions is more difficult and expensive to produce, but the demand for it is growing every day. People want to eat natural, fresh food and get from it all the microelements, vitamins and nutrients necessary for an active and healthy life. All this makes eco-products a great idea for a successful business.

Market analysis and relevance

The sale of environmentally friendly products is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. The essence of the business is that an agreement is concluded between an entrepreneur and peasant farms for the supply of natural homemade products for subsequent sale through a retail chain of stores.

Before studying the product market, it is necessary to clearly understand which food products are organic. This group of products must have an “Organic” license mark on the packaging, confirming its compliance with all specified parameters:

Semi-finished products of animal or plant origin, grown in natural conditions (in beds in the light of sunlight, or in a barn on a farm).
Does not contain GMOs, food colors, preservatives and flavor enhancers.
Ripened without the use of artificial fertilizers, growth accelerators, nitrates and other chemicals.

The market situation has developed in such a way that the demand for eco-products is much higher than the supply.

This is the starting point to get started. Yes, the process of growing such food requires certain investments and patience, but the cost of the final product is much higher than its “chemical” counterpart.

Registration and organization of business

To conduct legal activities, you must register with the tax service, obtain the status of an individual entrepreneur and choose a tax payment system. Usually for large cities this is a simplified taxation system, for regions - a single imputed tax.

When planning a large grocery store with a diverse range of products and a large staff, it is recommended to register a “Limited Liability Company”. This will require financial investments, time and preparation of certain documents:

charter;
rent contract;
conclusion of the SES and fire service;
opening a bank account and so on.

As an alternative, you can consider online sales.

The product will be displayed on a personal website, the consumer will be able to select, order and receive it at home. The costs in this case are minimal, and the personnel required is an operator, who can be the owner himself and the courier.

Required Documentation

The list of documents is similar to the list of any other food store and includes:

Lease agreement or confirmation of premises ownership.
Certificate of entry of the enterprise into the Trade Register.
Agreement for the removal of waste and garbage.
Certificates of quality of goods.
Staff medical records.
Documents for the cash register.
Book of complaints and suggestions.
A copy of the Law “On Consumer Rights”.

Location and premises

Obviously, the location of the store affects the level of sales and the number of customers. The store should be located in a well-accessible, public place, away from competitors.

The area of the store premises depends on the scale of the enterprise.

It can be a small vegetable kiosk, or a large grocery store with a large assortment of natural products. A large store requires convenient access and parking for cars.

Decoration and equipment

Eco-products must be sold and stored in the right conditions, for which it is necessary to purchase the appropriate equipment:

racks, shelves, display cases;
industrial refrigerators and counters;
table, counter or sales counter.

To improve aesthetics, it is necessary to provide packaging options for goods - paper bags, bundles. To pack meat, if it is intended to be sold, you need trays, food foam, etc.

An ecological product store should demonstrate its focus - the walls can be painted in natural colors, and items of natural origin (paper) can be used as packaging.

Assortment and suppliers

All products must have an appropriate certificate and a sticker confirming that the product is environmentally friendly and completely natural. The products in an organic store may be completely different, for example:

vegetables and fruits grown in natural conditions;
meat and meat products without preservatives;
dairy products;
flour and its derivatives;
honey and dried fruits;
vegetable oils;
soy products;
natural cosmetic;
juices, syrups and drinks.

Supply contracts must stipulate the conditions for natural cultivation or production of food products. To control the quality of products, you should open your own laboratory, or enter into an agreement for the provision of relevant services.

Staff

According to the principle of operation, an eco-store is not much different from a regular grocery store: salespeople and consultants serve customers, loaders carry fresh goods, an administrator manages, and an accountant calculates income. In addition, if you have your own laboratory to verify the quality of products, you must add a laboratory assistant to your staff. The accountant can come in, and the owner himself can act as a manager.

Marketing

Your own trademark, which will accompany each purchased product. Over time, he will be recognized and associated with this store and its high-quality goods.
Billboards in health food restaurants, transport and supermarkets.
Distribution of leaflets.
Creation of an official website.
Coupons for discounts and free tasting, for example, of freshly prepared juices 1-2 times a week.

Financial component of business

Opening a business selling organic food is quite an expensive undertaking. Along with investments in transforming the interior of the store, there are issues such as the purchase of farm products, and prices for eco-products are much higher than their conventional counterparts.

At the same time, eco-food products will also be sold at high prices, and the demand for them is high.

Cost of opening and maintaining

Initial costs are:

rental, renovation and decoration of premises – from 300,000 rubles;
cash register and scales – 70,000 rubles;
purchase of equipment - about 500,000 rubles.

Total: 870,000 rubles.

Monthly fixed costs will be added to these costs:

salary to employees – 100,000 rubles;
utilities – 15-20,000 rubles.

Total: 120,000 rubles.

Amount of future income

The profit from a store of environmentally friendly products is predicted to be high, so with an average check of 800 rubles and a 10-hour work schedule per day, at least 12,000 rubles will be earned (based on 15 customers per day). Then the monthly earnings without deductions will be 360,000 rubles. This is the minimum income that will provide a store with organic, quality products.

Payback period

Even the most modest calculation allows us to conclude that the enterprise will pay off within 6-12 months of active trading.

So, the advantages of selling eco-products include:

High safety and usefulness of goods.
Growing demand.

Having a large number of advantages, this activity also has a number of disadvantages:

high cost due to the large share of manual labor;
limited shelf life - products cannot be purchased for future use and stored in a warehouse for a long time;

Selling organic products is something that needs to be done. On the one hand, they give health to consumers, on the other, they bring income to the entrepreneur. People are willing to spend money to buy real, clean products for themselves and their children. Low competition and high demand is a signal to act for a businessman who designs a profitable and honest business.

The desire to eat environmentally friendly products, without flavorings, flavor enhancers and other chemicals is quite understandable. The taste of natural products has begun to be forgotten; a movement to return to natural nutrition is spreading in many countries.

Since the fruits of genetic engineering appeared in our lives in combination with synthetic taste improvers and flavorings, the sensations of eating natural products have become something half-forgotten.

Memories of the natural smell and taste of products that have not yet completely faded from memory force many to turn to the roots and look for opportunities to eat environmentally friendly products.

You can try to solve the problem by growing fruits and vegetables in your summer cottages and raising poultry. But, unfortunately, not everyone can run a peasant farm for various reasons. Meanwhile, the situation is becoming catastrophic:

There are already more than half of food products on supermarket shelves that are far from natural. Due to the consumption of questionable products, diseases that were previously common among older people have become common among young people.

Realizing this, we are increasingly trying to purchase products in markets. But this is not always possible, because the modern pace of life does not allow starting the morning with a trip to buy fresh food.

In short, the demand for eco-products has long outstripped supply. And, therefore, a convenient and reliable organization of production and sale of environmentally friendly products, if properly organized, should become a very successful business.

We propose to consider the possibility of creating a profitable business based on the cultivation and sale of organic products through an Internet site, a department in a store or shopping center. In other words, let's talk about opening an organic food store.

Firstly, eco-products do not contain GMOs, dyes, thickeners, preservatives or flavors.
Secondly, cultivation using chemical protection agents and fertilizers, growth stimulants and hormones is unacceptable.
Thirdly, organic products cannot be grown near large industrial enterprises and on contaminated lands.

Four possible options for creating a business selling eco-products.

Production of eco-products

As you understand, this type of business consists of the independent production of environmentally friendly products of animal and plant origin.

To engage in this type of activity, it is advisable to be familiar with agriculture first-hand. The activity will be closely related to the farm and field, even if you do not personally engage in cultivation, but use hired labor.

Without constant monitoring, many disappointments may await you. Therefore, if you do not feel a love for agriculture, it is better not to consider this business option.

Advantages of the idea:

The niche is practically free, there will be almost no competitors.
The demand for organic products throughout the civilized world is growing incredibly quickly. The prospects are the brightest.

Flaws:

The production of natural products is a more expensive business compared to traditional technologies.

Opening an eco-products store

Of course, organic products don't look as great as their "chemical" counterparts. At the same time, the price of eco-products is higher, since the costs of their production are higher.

Therefore, it is advisable to organize the sale of natural products in specialized stores or in the eco-departments of supermarkets, where people come who understand the difference between beauty and usefulness, and are willing to pay more.

Advantages:

Almost complete absence of competition. There are not many retail outlets where you can see and buy clean products. If online stores of this kind are already appearing on the market, then ordinary counters with eco-products are still rare.
According to reviews from businessmen involved in this type of business, the profitability of such sales is more than 40%.

Flaws:

Short shelf life. It is necessary to carefully consider the procurement system so that only fresh products are always on the counter.
Prices for these products are usually 1.5-2 times higher and not every buyer is willing to pay more.

Creation of an online store

Consumers find you online, order products and have them delivered to their homes. All you need to do is open the site and monitor its condition and content.

Advantage:

The costs of organizing the project are kept to a minimum. You don’t have to build, buy or rent retail space, stock up on large quantities of goods and spend money on paying salespeople. However, you will need to pay for courier services.

Flaw:

Compared to the previous ones, this segment has already been somewhat developed and there is competition, although not much.

Mediation

You can be an intermediary between the direct manufacturer and the distribution network. Today, not all supermarkets still have departments selling organic products, but there is already a demand for them and it is becoming greater every day.

The volumes of products that small farmers can offer to large retail chains are clearly insufficient, so the services of an intermediary who is able to ensure an uninterrupted supply of organic products will be in demand.

Advantage:

Opportunity to get into business with very little starting capital.

Flaw:

At first, life will not be calm.

This business seems very promising due to the growing demand for eco-products and clearly insufficient supply.

The concept of work of "Ferma.RF" can be defined as the sale of environmentally friendly, natural products, without GMOs and preservatives. Chain of stores works only with trusted suppliers and is 100% responsible for the quality of its products.

The process of its control begins from the moment of cultivating the land before planting or preparing animal feed and ends with the display of goods on the store window.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of the franchise- the ability to quickly enter an existing, well-promoted business. The market for environmentally friendly products in Russia is in its formation stage and has good growth prospects. Investments made in the project begin to make a profit from the first month of work and pay off within 8-12 months.

The franchise does not provide for the payment of a lump sum fee and royalties to the franchisor. This significantly reduces the investment burden. The franchisee receives marketing support, assistance in staff training and organization of store operations.

The disadvantages of a franchise include the difficulty of selecting premises to organize a trading process that meets the franchisor’s requirements.

Premises requirements

To organize a franchise business, you need premises that are privately owned or long-term leased, located in the street retail zone - the first line, a place with high traffic and the possibility of parking cars.

The area of the room should be from 30 to 80 sq.m., ceiling height is not less than 2.8 meters. A prerequisite is water supply, heating and sewerage. The power of the supplied electricity is from 10 to 35 kW.

Financial conditions

The franchise purchase agreement allows you to use the Ferma.RF trademark, train staff and obtain internal work standards. The investment amount includes the purchase of equipment, necessary for trade, cash registers, workwear and equipment, as well as accreditation of the premises, installation of a security alarm, etc.

Investment costs in the amount of 2 million rubles, with proper organization of the outlet, can pay off in less than 8 months.

Conclusion

Purchasing a Farmer.RF franchise allows you to join the structure of a well-organized, steadily growing and profitable business in a very short time. The payback of projects exceeds the average indicators of other types of activities.

More and more Russians are thinking about their health, preferring farm products to store-bought semi-finished products. They are more expensive, but the taste and quality cannot be compared. Boris Avdonin, the owner of the Food from the Village company, told Mir Finance how to make a business selling organic products and what awaits this market in the future.

The Food from the Country company has been around since 2009 and was one of the first in the field of developing farm products. Before that, we were engaged in the production and wholesale of large household appliances.

– Why did you decide to start e-commerce?

– The format of our business was chosen not in the field of e-commerce, but in the format of developing farm products in the Russian Federation. It so happened that this type of business was implemented within an online store. This is due to the unusual features of the products themselves - natural food products have a short shelf life and cannot remain on the warehouse or supermarket shelves for a long time. The exclusivity of our service is the freshness of the products and individuality: every 500 grams of cottage cheese will be prepared personally for the customer, the chicken will run around the farm until the customer confirms his order.

– I’m tired of eating tasteless foods with chemical composition. Substitutes do not provide a rich taste, and the nutritional value of such products is very low, not to mention harmful to health. A separate story about substitutes: I won’t trumpet that starch and soy are bad, but if I want to buy meat, then why do I need soy and starch instead of meat.

In general, to find a quality product for yourself, you need to spend a lot of time and effort - choose and find your supplier, be it a store or a private manufacturer. Therefore, our project was created, first of all, for our own nutrition with high-quality and safe products.

– Were there any difficulties when launching the store?

– There are difficulties everywhere, our project is no exception. In 2009-2010, there was no clear business model based on a well-functioning farmer-buyer scheme. There were either resellers who bought everything in a row - both a high-quality product and one that was hazardous to health ended up in one “meat grinder”. Or there were large manufacturers who did not pay attention to the origin of the product and its properties.

The main difficulty is organizing the entire process, starting with the farmer and his responsibility for the product produced and ending with complex logistics. An equally important problem in those years was the lack of awareness among buyers; people, in principle, had no idea about such projects. But we were unable to compete with large hypermarkets, for them advertising is a pittance, for us it is an unrealistic budget, which is beyond the capabilities of a seller of limited quantities of products.

– How did you find suppliers at first?

– We got behind the wheel of our cars and drove through a separate area in search of reliable farmers. We were looking for those who could openly show their farm without hiding any processes. 97% of farmers are those who sell their products to resellers or grow them in good faith, but only for themselves, not wanting to deal with issuing certificates, participating in inspections and converting their activities into a business.

Few farmers agreed with our numerous requirements, which are stricter than GOST. In our case, it was the buyer who “ran” after the manufacturer, and not vice versa, as is customary.

– How difficult is it to enter your supplier pool? By what parameters do you evaluate them?

– Initially, the farmer answers a number of questions, talks about himself and his farm. Then we try and taste the products ourselves, then a detailed study of production standards, living conditions for animals and other points of cooperation begins.

– What products do you offer? How is its quality assessed?

– At the moment, we have more than 600 types of farm products: from dairy and meat to homemade preparations, pickles, cooking, sausages and more.

Quality assessment is carried out according to farm standards:

Remoteness of the farm from industrial facilities;

No chemical fertilizers or reagents have been used on the land over the past 40 years;

Laboratory measurements of water, land, air for environmental friendliness;

Natural feed, diet and free range for animals;

Compliance with sanitary standards both for animals and during food processing;

Growing and processing products without the use of nitrates, growth stimulants, pesticides, antibiotics, GMOs and any chemical or artificial additives;

Each animal is under the supervision of a veterinarian;

Certificates for farming.

Factories and large production facilities cannot become our suppliers. Limiting the quantity of production (growing, processing) allows you to control the quality of each batch. We periodically visit our farmers, posting photo reports of our trips, and check that all standards are being followed. In addition to certificates, we additionally test our products in independent laboratories.