In recent years, more and more people are interested in the topic of healthy eating and decide to make changes to their daily diet. Such a decision may be influenced by health issues (e.g. the need to exclude a certain group of products from the diet to avoid allergic reactions), ideological issues, ecological issues or simply the desire to support local producers.
Regardless of the reason for such a step, it will always result in a change in shopping habits - consumers who pay more attention to the type and quality of the food they eat are more willing to choose products belonging to the so-called healthy food. For people looking for an idea for their own business, this creates an attractive opportunity to locate their business in this market segment - health food stores are becoming increasingly popular. But how to set up such a store? And how to ensure its smooth operation and development?
Setting up a health food store – what requirements must be met?
In terms of legal requirements, the process of setting up a health food store is no different from setting up a regular grocery store, it simply involves selling a specific range of products. The first step is to register your own business and complete official formalities (Tax Office, Social Insurance Institution).
Another requirement is to adapt the activities to the guidelines of the State Sanitary Inspection. This is important because without the consent of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station we cannot legally trade food products. These requirements include, among others: the height of the premises, ventilation, access to running water, toilets for staff, the method of arranging and storing goods, and the characteristics of flat surfaces (floors, shelves, countertops). All of these issues are intended to ensure consumer safety by ensuring that food sold is stored appropriately.
To obtain permission from the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station to open a health food store, it is necessary to submit an application to the District Sanitary Inspection (branch appropriate for the place of business). After accepting the application, the Inspectorate will contact the applicant within 14 days to arrange a visit to the premises and carry out the inspection - if it is successful, the whole process will end with acceptance and entry of the store in the sanitary inspectorate register. Only at this point can we start selling.
Are you planning to open a health food store? A business plan is a good first step
A good business plan is the absolute basis of any business, and a health food store is no exception. Just preparing to start a business requires detailed planning and taking care of many matters related to formal issues, preparing the premises, collecting equipment, ordering products, hiring employees - and these are just some of the matters that need to be taken care of!
At the same time, it is necessary to constantly monitor the deadlines and budget so as not to forget anything and not lose financial liquidity. Sounds complicated, right? Creating a business plan that takes into account both short- and long-term goals and clearly defines the next steps is a simple way to control the chaos. Thanks to this, we can properly organize our time and effectively ensure that everything goes according to plan at every stage.
Healthy food, what is it? What products can we sell in a health food store?
Determining what healthy food actually is is not as easy as it may seem at first. This is a product category that includes many different items. The first association here is the lack of artificial dyes, chemicals or fertilizers. Based on this, we can assume that a health food store differs from a regular grocery store by paying more attention to the composition and origin of the products offered.
At this point, however, it is worth emphasizing that healthy food is not necessarily the same as organic food. Bio and eco products must meet specific requirements for their cultivation in order to obtain appropriate certificates. They are, of course, a valuable element of the assortment, but we do not have to limit ourselves to them. On the shelves of health food stores we can often find, among others: spices, herbs, oils, dried vegetables and fruits, natural juices and drinks, preserves without artificial additives, certified cold cuts and meat, fish from sustainable catches, healthy snacks and sweets, dietary supplements and products:
- from local producers,
- gluten-free,
- without sugar or with reduced sugar content,
- vegetarian,
- vegan,
- lactose free.
Where to order healthy food deliveries to the store?
Once we decide what product categories should be included in our assortment, it is time to plan deliveries. For example, we can choose to cooperate directly with producers - this is an attractive solution if we want to establish close cooperation with local producers. However, the largest selection of products can be found in food wholesalers. Here we have several options. One of them is to look for the items we are interested in in various wholesalers. However, as with collecting goods from their manufacturers, this is time-consuming and can significantly increase the cost of deliveries. The most advantageous way of assembling the goods will be healthy food wholesaler with a wide range of products, so we can find everything we need in one place.
When choosing a wholesaler, it is worth checking:
- whether its offer includes products from all the categories we are interested in,
- whether its assortment is updated on an ongoing basis with all new products appearing on the market,
- Is it possible to place an order with delivery via the wholesaler,
- what is the estimated order processing time,
- Can orders also be placed online?
All these issues are important to ensure efficient and timely deliveries, as well as obtain attractive prices and create an offer that will attract customers to our store.
Stationary health food store. Good location is essential!
The location of a health food store is crucial to its success. This is a type of activity that undoubtedly has greater potential in large cities. This does not mean that opening it in a smaller town does not make sense, but you should know your local market well. Why? Firstly, these are products targeted at a growing, but still limited, group of customers. Secondly, broadly understood healthy food is usually more expensive than that offered in a typical local store. Therefore, it is rather a place where people come for a specific purpose - the limited number of such stores means that people from all over the city and even neighboring towns often come to them in search of specific products.
Taking all this into account, when choosing a location for your health food store, it is worth ensuring that:
- there was no store with a similar offer in the area,
- was in an easily accessible place, preferably close to the center or a local market, where potential customers will notice it more easily,
- There are parking spaces available for customers to use.
Is online sales of healthy food and eco products profitable?
Many people decide to open a health food store online. This is definitely an interesting option, but it has both advantages and disadvantages. Without a doubt, this form of business eliminates the problem of a limited number of potential customers - online sales and extensive fast delivery services make the distance between the seller and the recipient no longer important. At the same time, however, this may limit our assortment - healthy food is often fresh products with a short shelf life that must be stored in specific conditions, which complicates the issue of deliveries to individual customers. It is worth remembering this when selecting items for your online store.
An interesting solution may also be to combine stationary and online activities. In this way, we derive double benefits and maximize the potential of our store. Regardless of the form of business we choose, we should choose a reliable supplier. MPT Wholesaler is a distributor with many years of experience, which guarantees efficient cooperation and quick deliveries of the highest quality goods. In addition, for even greater convenience, you can place an order online, and the time saved in this way can be spent on looking after the store or simply resting.
