strawberry business idea

 Business idea: Strawberry business

Fruits and berries are on our table all year round. Since they appear there, it means that someone grows them, even in winter. So why not do it yourself? For example, growing strawberries can be a very profitable business. 

Juicy berries are in high demand all year round - in addition to shops, they are bought in bulk by owners of restaurants and cafes. At the same time, it can be produced on a truly industrial scale. With proper organization of the plantation, each square meter will bring up to 20 kilograms of crop.

To grow strawberries, we need a small non-residential room (even a heated pantry or a warm garage will do). Having chosen a suitable room, we must choose a cultivation technology. A lot of them have been invented for strawberries, each has its pros and cons. 

The most popular are hydroponic growing, aeroponics, growing in bags. In terms of cost, these methods do not differ much from each other; at the initial stage, you will be able to meet the budget of 2-3 thousand dollar (we take into account all costs, except for the possible costs of renting a room).

Having established production, you need to establish sales. You need to find customers before the berries appear, so that the goods do not stale and do not deteriorate.

First of all, our clients are the owners of restaurants and cafes, the administration of grocery stores, and confectioneries. It will take some time, but you will find regular customers. Try to take the business to the long term.

If some part of the goods is not sold and will soon begin to deteriorate, we go to the vegetable warehouse. There you can sell goods in bulk, but at a relatively low price (after all, vegetable stores also sell goods through shops, catering points).

At the initial stage, 10 square meters of plantation is enough for us. Remember, each meter is at least 10 kilograms of crop. In total, this is about 100-200 kg of the finished product. Production costs will more than pay off in the first month and you can think about expanding your business.

Perhaps in six to ten months you will enter the regional market. At this stage, you can think about organizing sales through supermarket chains. This is a completely different level. Having made all the necessary documents (a set of papers from the SES and Rospotrebnadzor, a barcode and a label for the release of finished products), you can produce products under your own brand.