Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Everyone, I``m new to the board and would really need your suggestions and advice regarding my earlier post on remodification of a successful product. I want to start a business for meat storage in plastic bags within my own country because there`s a demand for this type of product or is it a service? What are your thoughts? do let me know...

Do you have any sort of national regulatory agency; someone who mandates certain standards for food products? 

Hello Craig,  thanks for sharing your thoughts and yes we do have a regulatory agency that`s responsible for mandating standards for food products. However, why do you ask? I ask this question because for the kind of product i`ll be manufacturing, do you think it needs the approval of this agency?

I think he mentioned it because you`ll need to know the exact specifications for the bags you`ll need to have, in order to meet the agency`s rules.  There are lots of bag types and bag makers.  You`ll need to be able to tell them precisely what you need (unless you get unbelievably lucky and find a sales person who knows what you`ll need.)

Depending on the country you`re in, you might also need to figure out how much you need to spend to stay in the agency`s good graces.



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Richard Johnson
New Ideas for a New World

Hello Spungey, thanks for your suggestion. What I intend to start with are storage bags for meat. I`ve been conducting my research on the internet for sometime now and I`ve seen some specifications that could be modified here for the local market. Meat consumers often go the open air abbatoirs to purchase beef and packaging is always a big issue when it involves dividing a cow into five parts. Regarding the agency, i`ll check out the website to see what the process is like. Thank you.

One more thing, how do I go about packaging the bags? Will it be in 20s or 50s? I`m a bit confused here.

Hi January :-)
Yes, Spungey (Richard) was right in that he and I seem to be thinking the same thing. Whenever you deal with food products, if there are regulatory agencies, there`ll probably be regulations. Even if they`re bags---they`re in contact with meat at some point.

From what you`ve posted, it sounds as if you have some research to do, regarding how to get the bags, manufacturers, and delivery logistics. Do you have some background in any sort of business?

Specific to this topic, though, and if I`m reading it right, you have a situation where people have an entire animal and get it butchered up. That leaves them with a large volume of meat, all of which has to be both packaged and stored. You`ve observed that the packaging is cumbersome, mostly due to....what?

Are you looking for better bags, or custom sizes, or easier operation of the bags?

For example, some years ago I bought a Tilia vacuum packager for home use. It comes with two sizes of width, and seals the ends of these tubes so you can make bags as long or short as you want. The machine produces an industrial strength vacuum, and allows for vacuum-packing at home. It`s marketed as a home-kitchen item, but can handle fairly steady volume and usage for the "economy shopper" who buys in bulk.

In your case, it sounds like you might be better off creating an entire packaging business, using commercial packaging machines? If there`s a large enough market, people would go to the butcher, then immediately come to you for an all-in-one packaging process. Then leave your place and go home. Maybe?

Right now, our economy is an emerging one within Africa, large shopping malls you`d find in North America, Middle East and Europe are springing up on an annual basis. Our consumers are getting sophisticated in terms of the choices they make and I know this is the right time to launch this product. Thank you for sharing our thoughts.

Y`know, you may want to consider your exist strategy, more carefully than many other startups would do so. If you`re in a rapidly emerging economy, then although many people would have a need for your business service right now, how long before they`re stopping in at the local supermarket and buying standard, pre-packaged cuts of meat like folks in the US or Europe? 

Hello Craig, we already have pre-packaged cuts of meat but packaging is still an issue. Imagine buying a pack of shrimps and beefs from the local supermarket and on getting home, once you rip off the package, it can`t be used again. Secondly, 70% of our entire populace prefer the open market for shopping of bulk food items and this segment of the populace are my prospective customers.