Another year, another slew of startup trends. As we approach a new decade, more and more young people are growing increasingly disillusioned with the traditional career path. In order to meet their career goals and prevent their skills from going to waste in a thankless job, more and more people are abandoning their career paths for the path of entrepreneurship. This is an especially pertinent move in the food industry- an industry characterized by long hours, low pay and a thankless (and potentially even hostile) working environment… as anyone who’s seen anything with Gordon Ramsay in it will attest.
Image by Artem Beliaikin via Pexels
Indeed, if you’re thinking of bringing a new food product or business to the market, the stars are currently aligning in your favor. Consumers (especially millennial consumers) are thinking more and more about what they put into their bodies as we grow more and more aware of the dangers of processed foods. Today’s consumers demand a better class of food product. One that’s fresher and more nutritious while also being ethical and sustainable. And they’re not afraid to pay a little extra for a product of real quality.
With that in mind, here are some trips that might be useful to you as you think about how you’ll develop and market your food product.
Keep it real, keep it natural
Welcome to the paradox of the 2020s… consumers today want real food with as little human tampering as possible… but in an age where so many of us are working such long hours to stay afloat in an economy that’s rigged against us, we don’t want (or don’t have time) to cook and prepare it ourselves.
We want something that we can throw in the oven for 20 minutes or heat up in a pan. We want the convenience of the ready meal… but demand a higher standard of the nutrition that we get from it.
As such, your product will depend on the ability to keep everything in it as real and as natural as possible. A list of artificial colors and preservatives that takes up the lion’s share of the ingredients label just won’t cut it in 2020.
Use locally sourced ingredients wherever possible
We’re more educated than ever when it comes to the supply chain of the products we buy. And the fewer degrees of separation between the source of the ingredients and the product itself, the better.
As such, when planning and developing your product, aim to use local ingredients from suppliers whom you know. Suppliers who you know have consistently high standards both in their produce and how they treat their employees. What’s more, when you buy produce from local farms and other suppliers, you incur fewer transportation costs baked into the production cost of every unit. Your products also have a lower carbon footprint baked into production… and green credentials have a great deal of currency in today’s food landscape.
Do right by your suppliers
Needless to say, if you’re developing a food product in today’s market, your ethical focus must be beyond reproach. That means paying living wages to your employees. It means dealing with ethically focused suppliers and it means buying Fairtrade when using ingredients from countries which have been historically exploited by the food industry.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t also do right by your suppliers closer to home, and Agriculture Lawyers can advise on the legalities of ensuring that all parties are protected in the import export, transportation and production of your goods and the ingredients that make them.
Invest in biodegradable or recyclable packaging
We are in the midst of a packaging crisis on such a huge scale that experts predict that there could be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050. With that in mind, you’ll score big with ethically-minded consumers if you use recyclable packaging… or better yet, compostable and plant derived compounds like vegware which offer all the benefits of plastic without the environmental price tag.
Build value in your products
If you make all of the above choices when developing your product, you will have a product of real value on your hands. A product made from great quality ingredients, ethically sourced and expertly prepared to deliver a taste sensation.
As such, don’t be afraid to draw attention to these virtues in your marketing and to charge a price that’s commensurate to the value of the product. Remember, people who want quality will usually be prepared to pay for it.
What’s more, being the cheapest game in town is rarely a formula for being perceived as the best.
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