Cakes stall/savouries stall etc?

[munz]

any ideas on how do go about starting one?

(am thinking just at the local market - what does it entail/how do you decided prices etc.)

any help would be appriciated.

Pricing should go along the lines of cost of ingredients multiplied by three. So if a loaf of bread costs you 50p in ingredients add another 50p for overheads like rent of a pitch and your time and then another 50p for profit. HTH.
Go to Borough Market and stand around for a while observing the incredibly expensive and busy bread/baked goods stalls.

also you'll need a food safety and health and hygiene certificates. If you are going to be baking your own cakes to sell your preparation area needs to adhere to certain standards. You'll also need to find out whether you'll need public liability insurance, i.e. in case someone sues you if they get ill after consuming one of your cakes.

carmen - there only seems to be one i've noticed, and that one is really a mix of HM and brought.

not sure if it would be feisable them as i'd want to bake from home and them sell iycwim? i'm assuming an insepctor would need to come to the hosue etc as well then?

yes I believe an inspector would need to come to the premises where you bake from to ensure your preparation area is suitable.

good luck..sounds fun

You will need to register as a business and fill out tax return.

Environmental health will have to pass you premisises.

You will need public liability insurrance.

Take advice from trading standards with regards to labeling and weights etc.

Markets are very strict now on food stalls, my local market has an additional registration process with the local council.

You may even have to have handwashing facilities on the stall, perhaps not if prepacked.

The National Market Traders association include insurance with their membership.

Likes of the Environmental Health can be very helpful and should be happy to talk through requirments and inspections on an irformal basis.

Oh and pay self employed NI class2 (Ithink its class2)

Is that actually worth while...i.e. actually paying off the efforts, etc....

ooops, was just butting in ever so rudely...just, that I have been wondering should I do somehting like that myself, but feel it probably would not pay off, I am a great believer in that your job should be enjoyable but should also be worth the time and effort in wages, iykwim

Thats the thing with small busineses like this it can be difficult to break even, you might not make enough to pay tax but you will still have to fill out a tax return.

A lot of people starting businesses like this based on a hobby or an activitiy they enjoy don't factor in their time. So you could be slaving away all night baking and never get the money for that time. That might be fine with you if you really enjoy it, but the more you sel the longer you spend doing prep but still never cover the cost of the hours you work.

You really have to do realistic costings for a 12 month period. It is guess work at first trying to work out how much you will sell or at what price. You have to work out how much you will need to sell.

So after considering pitch rent, insurrance, ingredients, packaging, labeling, time, travel, electricity etc etc for week then decide how much profit margin on each item you will aim for. Some costs will change according tot he amount of stock like ingredients, some will stay the same like rent.

You could do a few different costings varying the prices and amount sold to find a projection that seems to give enough returns, then consider if this is relistic.

Oh and check out if any competition, if you have simliar well established stalls it can be difficult to arract the customers which can be very loyal.

Could you acheve the same profit margins with something you buy in, less legislation and prep for the same profits.

I strted off with sweets that I packeged my self in hand made cones, progressed to packing in premade bags, then went for pick and mix and prepacked sweets, then discovered some good suppliers for toys which had a simliar profit, but no prep, no environmental health to worry about.

Skribble that is very helpful!
I feel bad about caring about teh money, thing is...if I do work, the it will affect us taxwise, taxcredit wise, etc..so, no matter how much I like doing something, it would have to be costeffective, in the end! Otherwise I rather pursue things as a hobby!

You have to care about the money, the reality is it might affect your tax credits if you are near the thresehold, so that is a serious consideration.

I am in a similar position where I want to work for myself but end up faffing about not really getting anywhere and it isn't really worth me doing it in the first place but I want to do something. If you enjoy baking other avenues might be local cafes that sell cakes and scones, quite a few buy in from other sources, as they don't have the space or time to mass baking. But most would probably do it on a self employed basis too.

health safety cert/food hygene cert permission 2 set up from local council .sorry 2 repeat wot others have said but it is true if u did set up with out these policies the public could wipe the floor with you if any 1 got ill,not from your set up it might just be a bug but wouldnt take any chances they could wipe the floor on this.if you are that interested why not get ajob in a local cafe/food out let.to gain experience see if that is your domain.at least u would be earning and gain expirence

thanks guys, I didn't realise it would be so indepth - totally forgot aboutt he SA etc thing shouldn't have really.

it's something i'd love to do but I do fear that money wise it wouldn't be worth it, esp just form the one stall and from a house kitchen I couldn't manage much more. but will read thru all your responces properly this avo when j's napping.

thanks skibble

I do dearly love top bake esp cakes and cookies etc, (I think i'm over running DH now with it all! lol) and was thinking along the lines of something part time but I can see how it might not be worth it will have to look into things a bit more I think.

skibble - I like the idea actually of out sourcing etc, but tbh I did prefer the ifdea of home baking - althou yes theres the H&S folks to worry about etc.

health safety cert/food hygene cert permission 2 set up from local council .sorry 2 repeat wot others have said but it is true if u did set up with out these policies the public could wipe the floor with you if any 1 got ill,not from your set up it might just be a bug but wouldnt take any chances they could wipe the floor on this.if you are that interested why not get ajob in a local cafe/food out let.to gain experience see if that is your domain.at least u would be earning and gain expirence

Sourcing out has to beat standing on a market stall all day, setting up in the dark and freezing you butt of while desperate for the loo because none of the family want to stand there all day. Can you tell I have done it .

Some cafes/ tearooms might let to come in early and do the baking in their kitchen, harder to get staff with baking skills now.

But do speak to environmental health and see how to go about doing baking from home, it is possible and could be worthwhile if you get a few customers and deliver to them all.