So how can I sell my irresistible brownies?

[k2togm1]

Apparently I make a mean chocolate brownie and friends have been telling me to try selling them. There are a couple of cafes round where I live which sell homemade stuff, so I've thought about giving them a taster, but what permits do I need? Or should I try some other route? Pointers towards more info, suggestions or simply tuts are welcome.

Your local Council will need to inspect your kitchen /house and give the appropriate certificate. I used to add my own labels to prepackaged foods and needed to go through inspections just for that. Good luck!

You'll have fun! You'll need to be insured too and to get good cover prove that you have experience and quals in food. You'll need to professionally label and package and list ingredients. You may also need to do a nutrician list and use by/sell by which involves paying a food part of the uni to do tests. Keep food safety charts, show and prove your food chain. Depends on how they are sold.

To get any kudos you need to win awards so you'll need to enter local food awards such as Taste awards. So if you think your food is so good then you need professional proof. What one friend sayes is good another might think its average. What experience and knowledge do you have in food - when it comes to chocolate know your dutched from yr undutched, coventure chococlate, etc.

Prove that you can supply at a standard. Why would a shop buy just one product from you when they can buy 5 different cakes from the same supplier.

Make money? Take into account that shops want to make a good turnover so you'll be selling at an ultra low price so bulk sell is what you need. Most nice cakes shops make their own or buy from a industrial scale producer.

You will need to provide invoice too. Keep records for HMRC, envionmental health. Prob not worth bothering.

Experence: I used to run a food & direct meat business.

What kind of things would the inspectors be looking for?
Thanks bacon for the detailed post, will write out as a check list!

1. Become a business. The easiest way to register as a business is sole-proprieter it is cheap, easy and has the least paperwork:

1. Get insured. You've created a Zombie Apolocalypse from a bad brownie (could happen!) and everyone is suing you. Insurance will "help" you with that. As much as insurance companies help anyone...bitterness: Try a search to get an idea of prices, it isn't as expensive as you may think: business.comparethemarket.com/Compare-the-Market/Tradesman-Professional-Insurance/Your-business

1. Get a food handling safety certificate. £15 and I think you can do them online now. Easy peasy.

1. Get your kitchen assessed. Goddammit get your cat off the counter, K2togm1, and clean up your sink. Contact your local council for this and they'll send someone over. I'm sure this person will be a model of politeness and not at all obnoxious.

1. Write a business plan - who are you going to sell to? What are you selling and how much for? What is your profit margin? How much do you need to sell to make it worth your while and how are you going to do this?

1. Keep records of EVERYTHING. Right from the first second. EVERYTHING. I cannot emphasize this enough.

1. Get gorgeous packaging and work on your brand. Here is a good resource for this (and a great website too, we'll get to that though) www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/building-your-brand/

Ideas for where you can sell

• contact your local deli *craft fairs/school fairs/christmas fairs
• Sell on Etsy (previously mentioned site) - a great creative resource that is growing in the UK
• Sell online - make a website (more complex and expensive than you may think)
• Go around offices and industrial estates and sell to the hungry workers of the world!

This is a good forum thread related to what you are thinking and the website is a good resource too: www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=69082

This is another good resource: food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/sfbb/

GOOD LUCK!!!

(And when you are a brownie billionaire don't forget to send ole notachocolateraisin some brownines )

Oh, and by the way

If you aim for the moon and miss, you'll still be amongst the stars.

If you're careful and make sure you don't have too much to lose, you may as well go for it! Never let doubt ruin your view

Oooh I am so excited with all your posts guys! I thought you'd all say 'naih, no way Jose!'

Should I do all this before going to the delis right? Well I'll get started!!

Don't forget to let us know how it's going!

I won't forget you guys! Just let me get insurance first

Hi @k2togm1, how did this all work out? I really want to do something similar. But feel a bit 🤯, with where to start.
I hope you have made your millions/had lots of success and you reply to this post 😉