How to Write a Successful Food Business Plan

Starting a food business is not as easy as most people think. It’s not just cooking a dish, pricing it randomly, and putting out an ad for it. It requires intense research and thorough planning. You’ll need to craft a strategy to study your market, cater to their needs, and sustain your operations for the long run. Investing your hard-earned assets in any enterprise will involve blood, sweat, tears, and smarts. Your first step? Write a food business plan.

If you're an aspiring restaurateur, one of the biggest challenges you will face is figuring out how and where to begin. The thought of taking the plunge into the unfamiliar territory of entrepreneurship will seem daunting. But with enough planning and preparation, you can get your business up and running – and reap all its rewards immediately!

How to Write a Food Business Plan

Many aspiring Filipino entrepreneurs suffer in their first few years of business because they simply didn’t prepare enough. Do you think a champion basketball team played their first game without a plan? Surely, their coach studied their competitor, plotted a winning strategy, and trained the team for weeks. You should apply this same hard work and dedication when building your food venture.

To minimize your risk of failure, crafting a solid food business plan is the first step you should take. Setting clear goals and knowing how to achieve them will already make up half the work! Remember to set SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely), so you’ll know which aspects of your business require your immediate attention. Another pro tip is to understand the local landscape through research. Study the latest trends, identify your priorities, and start writing that first draft!

Here are five things you need to include in your business plan for any food product:

1. Executive summary

In this first section, plot out basic information about your business. Write it concisely to give whoever will read your plan a good grasp of your strategy. It might help to craft this part last or after you’ve written all the other essential details.

Your executive summary should include the following:

• Company overview – What is the general idea of the business you want to start?
• Current market conditions – What is the context of the category you want to enter?
• Type of cuisine – What food are you planning to serve? Are you sticking to one type of cuisine or mixing it up?
• Type of Service – How will you serve your customers? Will it be purely delivery, dine-in, or a hybrid?

Example of an executive summary for a food business

UFS Chicken Dinner is an online food business that aims to sell glazed chicken with the right amount of crunch and flavor in every bite. The mission of this business is to provide delicious food to hungry customers around Bonifacio Global City and other nearby locations in a fast and convenient way. Orders will be available for pick-up and delivery.

2. Market and customer analysis

The success of any food business relies on the customers who patronize their food. Make sure you identify your target market in your business plan. This way, you can also determine how to capture your desired audience with appropriate menu items and specific price points.

Make sure to answer these questions during planning:

• Identify your market – Who are your customers and what are their preferences? How much are they willing to spend on food? Where are they located?
• Check the competition – What are similar food businesses doing? How can you set yourself apart?
• Trend forecast – What types of food are gaining popularity? What are customers looking for or might be interested to discover?

Example of a market and customer analysis

The Hallyu wave caused the local demand for Korean friend chicken to increase, especially among the primary market of millennials and gen-z crowds. Secondary markets include baby boomers and gen x as they are also getting into Korean culture. They like enjoying chicken while binge-watching alone or having get-togethers with friends.

Several businesses already offer fried chicken coated in different Asian-style sauces. UFS Chicken Dinner stands out from the competition by providing customers with crispy meat and more experimental sauces and dips. The market also prefers ordering online instead of dining in because it promises instant gratification without leaving the house.

3. Menu development

Now that you've identified your customers, it's time to craft a stellar menu that would tickle their fancy. Besides coming up with recipes, it’s also crucial to compute food costs to ensure profitability and competitive price points.

Keep your menu fresh and dynamic by rotating your dishes frequently. Also, craft recipes around seasonal or trending ingredients. But make sure every menu item you put out stays true to your unique business concept.

Consider these preferences of each diner demographic when drafting the business plan for your food business.

4. Management and operations

With your menu in place, it’s time to determine how to get your show on the road. Figuring out the personnel you’ll need is crucial in actualizing the plans you set. Plus, finalizing your investment costs will help identify the kind of equipment and the operational spaces you’ll need.

Answer these questions when writing this part of your food business plan:

• Operations management – Who will run the day-to-day operations of the food business? This includes managing inventory and the influx of orders and inquiries.
• Kitchen management – Who will cook your recipes? How many people do you need to fulfill all orders?
• Marketing management – Who will oversee promoting your business on social media, handling partnerships, and creating promos to entice customers?
• Operational expenses – How much are you willing to spend each month to cover salaries, utility bills, production expenses, and marketing initiatives?

Sample business plan for food industry management and operations

UFS Chicken Dinner will operate daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It will have one general manager (with a gross monthly salary of P25,000.00) to handle business operations and marketing. In the kitchen, it needs two cooks (with a gross monthly salary of P15,000.00 each) and one assistant (with a gross monthly salary of P8,000.00) to pack dishes for delivery.

An annex section of the Salaman residence in Novaliches, Quezon City will serve as the operations headquarters. As such, the site will be rent-free. Utility bills will cost P10,000.00 per month, including electricity, water, and internet. A monthly marketing budget of P4,500 is for boosting and promotions.

5. Sales and marketing strategy

Planning marketing initiatives is vital in getting customers to notice your brand. As a new player in the market, you need to catch your audience’s attention at the right time and on the right platform.

Make sure you have all these items in your business plan for any food product:

• Mouthwatering food styling, photography, and videography
• A unique selling proposition 
• Social media platforms
• Ads and promos

Sample sales and marketing strategy

UFS Chicken Dinner will connect with customers by posting three times a week on Facebook and Instagram. Content will include information about the dishes, reviews from customers, and promos. A boosting and promo budget of P4,500 is needed monthly.