You might be able to start a food and beverage startup, just know these things

Food and beverages, something we can all relate to. But usually when we think about it we think of grocery stores, cooking and restauraunts. I mean, how could it possibly be related to startups, you know?

Surprisingly a lot.

Think about Blue Apron, Soylent, 5 hour Energy, and Matcha Bar. I mean those are just a few, but I also thought of them on the top of my head. Now imagine what a more thorough search would give you.

*Hint, look below

So then why exactly are food and beverage startups a thing?

Its because theres a large consumer base for them. And its easy to understand if you split them into your typical day to day consumer oriented group, and the restaurant targeted group.

Day to Day Consumer Oriented

For your daily consumers, food startups aim to solve two prevalent problems, and i’m pretty sure you’ve experienced them yourself.

Problem 1: You dont have the time to eat a full meal or take the time to buy a meal and you need something immediate to give you the sustenance and energy you need to last the rest of the morning, afternoon or evening. Or simply put, you dont have the money to buy and make something, so you need the cheapest option out there that passes at attempting to be a food.

If forced to give a simple word, food startups aim to solve the inefficiency of the eating process. They want to save you the time, and energy required in getting food. They want to make sure you don’t have to think about what you’re going to eat, about waiting in line to go get the food, and paying ridiculous amounts of money to get that food.

They want to erase all the excess waste associated with eating and get straight to the point. They want to replace your meal. Period.

Its a chore eating right? What if it didn’t have to be?

For those who haven’t experienced that problem per say might feel more attuned to the 2nd problem that a typical consumer faces with regards to food.

Problem 2: You’re bored at home from eating from the same repertoire of food and because of that you decide to eat out just to experience a change in vibe.

Honestly, when eating the same thing over and over again, people get bored. But the thing is, its hard to look at a new recipe and try it out because, i mean, theres so many different types of recipes to choose from, and how reliable can a recipe you found online be? Not to mention, the hastle of having to get the material yourself.

Honestly, its an inconvenience.

And thats where startups come to save the day. They give you a new recipe alongside the material needed to make it. And because its backed by a company, you know that its reliable. And thats why these startups took off.

Blue Apron not only tells you what to make but also how to make it, saves the hastle of thinking what you want

But the thing is, what if you could think of a different idea that gave people a better experience towards food without having to do this. Id bet youd be pretty rich. I challenge you, think about it.

Restauraunt oriented

Aside from consumer oriented startups, there are some food startups trying to target the restauraunt scene. And thats because, theres a demand for them equally as strong.

But what type of demand might you ask?

Its simple.

One of the biggest costs of running a restaurant is the people it employs. Id argue its around 30% or higher of the entire costs of your bill (you can find the proof here: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/common-food-labor-cost-percentages-14700.html). Thats a lot of money you know.

So the thing is: what if you told these restauruant owners that they didn’t need to pay anyone anything anymore?

Id bet theyd buy your product right away.

And thats exactly what the demand/problem you’re solving is. You’re helping restaurant owners make more money by helping them get rid of recurrent costs that make up 30% of their expenditure.

Look at this robot make a pizza. Now imagine a robot making all your food for you.

But what else you might ask?

The thing is restaurant owners face another problem. And thats the procurement of materials that are both cheap and good. And honestly, the way its done, unless you’re a massive conglomerate, its pretty expensive.

Yes there is a Costco like store for restauruant owners, but is that really the best way to source your food?

I think not, and thats because you still have to go through a middle man.

And thats exactly where the direction of solution lays. Its the accessibility for food providers to food buyers, as well as the logistics associated with it that need to be solved for. And if you can do this without opening your personal store, you'd save on costs too.

Overall the food startup sector is rife with possibilities and startups have just began to tap into it. If you’re really keen on starting something, I recommend looking into here first.

For more information

To see a further breakdown of what the Food and Beverages field is like, check out: tacosushi.github.io for visual depiction of the startup field.

To check out our previous post, click this link: CleanTech

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