[Leeboy]

Hi everyone, I have a wicked chicken recipe for the bbq. Everyone loves it. I was wondeeirng what the steps would be to start a mobile bbq where I could take it to places and sell my chicken. So... after buying a grill... what are tehsteps to do it properly and legally? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[charlotte234s]

I'm sure you have to contact the local health department.

[Clough]

It's true that you would have to contact the local Health Department.

I do like the information that is contained on the following link and the content of which is quoted below it.

Food Entrepreneur Resource Center

Specialty Food Business Basics
This Section of the Food Entrepreneur Resource Center is intended to give you an overview of the business. The pages in this section address challenges and rewards, helping to answer the question, "What is the Specialty Food Business, and do I want to be in it?"

Contained in this section:

• Assistance - discover what assistance NECFE at NYSFVC provides to its clients. Includes links to facility information.
• Pros and Cons - Itemizes some of the rewards and challenges of being a Specialty Food Entrepreneur
• Steps to Start - Lists the common steps in starting a Specialty Food Business

Assistance and Facilities

The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship at the New York State Food Venture Center offers assistance in the following areas:

• Product and Process Safety Evaluation
• Regulatory Compliance
• Process Development and Recommendations
  Shelf-life analysis, Test-production facilities
• Processing Operations Assistance
  Referrals to Co-Packers, Labeling Assistance, Suppliers
• Business Assistance/Referrals
• Laboratory Assistance/Referrals
  Microbial, Chemical, and Physical Analysis
• Certification and Training

Many services, including initial consultation, reference lists and referrals are provided free of charge. Services for which we charge include: process approval and filing, amendments & filing, laboratory work, etc. The rate for these services is $50.00 per hour. We also provide access to our Pilot Plants, which are certified for commercial food production, to help entrepreneurs do their test batches. The fees for Pilot Plant use vary.
Facilities

• Through NECFE at NYSFVC, clients have access to the following facilities:
• Fruit & Vegetable Pilot Plant, Geneva NY
• Food Processing and Development Laboratory, Ithaca NY
• USDA Approved Meats Laboratory, Ithaca NY additional pictures
• Vinification and Brewing Technology Laboratory, Geneva NY
• Dairy Pilot Plant, Ithaca NY
• In addition, one of our consulting members is the Vermont Food Venture Center.

Pros and Cons of Starting a Specialty Food Business

The specialty food business can be rewarding and exciting. It can also be a real struggle. Listed below are some pros and cons of starting and running your own specialty food business. The list is intended to provide a realistic picture of specialty food manufacturing. Keep in mind that several of the items listed are qualitative, that is, their importance depends largely on how strongly you feel about them.

Advantages:

• Being your own boss.
• Creating your own work environment: hours, flexibility, etc.
• Doing something in which you believe
• Reaping the benefits of hard work and long hours directly.
• Variety, challenges, and opportunities for creativity, full use of knowledge
• More open earning and growth potential
• Satisfaction of a successful venture, a product well received
• Empowerment

Disadvantages:

• Risk of failure
• Time Commitment — 60-70 hrs per week is normal
• Financial strain as assets become tied to business start up and success
• Strain on family due to financial and lifestyle change
• Emotional burnout
• Unavoidable business roles/requirements you’d rather not fill
• Rejection of your product by consumers

Should you decide to pursue a specialty food business start up, there are a number of things you can do to minimize risk and maximize your chance of a successful, rewarding venture:

• Develop a Business Plan
• Regularly review your business plan to remind yourself of goals and maintain focus
• Develop a marketing plan
• Learn and follow food regulations and requirements
• Maintain accurate, current records
• Analyze your financial status on a regular basis and make necessary adjustments
• Comparison shop for quality inventory in a timely fashion
• Learn to recognize and solve problems promptly
• Draw a line between your personal life and your business life and stick to it

Steps to Start a Specialty Food Business
Introduction:
The following is a list of the basic steps to starting a specialty food business. While each specialty food business is unique and subject to specific product requirements, the list below outlines the overall process. The steps are grouped by topic. Keep in mind that each topic effects the others: your product type and packaging will effect your labels; the ingredients to make your product will effect your cost and production plans.
The Product

1. Develop a prototype. Test it out on people. Collect and incorporate feedback on flavor, texture, and appearance.
2. Determine the market form you would like the product to have: shelf-stable, refrigerated, frozen, baked, canned, etc.
3. Determine the batch size you will need for commercial operation. A good start-up size for a liquid product (dressings, etc.) is 5-10 gallons. For solid product, consider a 15-25 pound batch.
4. Consult a Process Authority to scale up your recipe. Take the following into consideration:
   - The formulation may change due to regulatory and food safety requirements.
   - Testing (pH, water activity, etc.) may be required for compliance with regulations.
   - It may take several attempts to achieve a scaled-up product comparable to the original; ingredient amounts will not change proportionately. For example, you may double the tomato sauce in a BBQ recipe but find you only need to slightly increase the amount of garlic.
5. Get approval for your recipe from a Process Authority. This resulting document, a Scheduled Process, will help avoid product safety and quality issues.
6. Determine the cost of ingredients based on your approved, scaled-up recipe.

Business Planning

1. Write a Business Plan. It will help you focus your business goals and determine if you need funding.
2. Consider liability insurance. It is affordable and can protect personal assets in the event of a problem with your product.
3. Determine a form for your business: sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership, limited liability, subchapter(s) corporation.
4. Register your business with the state.
5. Get assistance from business resources: state agricultural departments, state extension organizations, SBDCs, SCORE, NECFE, local economic development agencies. (Click here for a agency information.)

Labels

1. Decide on a product name.
2. Determine applicable regulatory requirements. Ask your state regulatory officials for help or contact NECFE at NYSFVC. Consult the FDA Food Labeling Guide.
3. Determine what storage information must be on your package: refrigerate, refrigerate after opening, etc.
4. Choose a size and shape which is compatible with your packaging.
5. Invest as much in your labels as possible. They are the first thing customers will see.
6. Make test labels, or labels for small, initial, batches, on a computer printer to cut costs.
7. Decide if you wish to make health claims. If you do, you must have nutritional analysis done and invest the time and money for FDA compliant nutrition labeling.
8. Decide whether or not to invest in a bar code. The registry fee is $500, but most large stores and chains will not consider your product without one. If you do not plan to sell to large distributors, you don’t need one.

Market Decisions

1. Write a Marketing Plan. It is a framework for research on competition, ceiling prices, target markets, etc. and structures your marketing goals and methods.
2. Decide where you will sell your product. Generally, start off small — at farmers markets, fairs, road-side stands, etc. These are also good places to test market your product.
3. Determine a selling price for your product, taking the competition and your financial needs into account.
4. Develop a distribution method: your car, the mail, a fellow specialty food entrepreneur, distributor, broker.

Production

1. Decide where you will produce your product: commercial kitchen, pilot plant,
   co-packer.
2. Find storage space for ingredients, packaging, and the final product.
3. Schedule time with experts at the production facility to learn about equipment.
4. Determine when, based on ordering supplies, you can produce and package product.
5. Schedule time at a processing facility to produce your product.