Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

Dear Helen,

You start by answering all of the following questions.

First of all, you need to figure out if there are buyers for your
sauce. Then, you need to figure out if you can meet the demands of suppliers, and if you meet all the local health regulations for the creation of foodstuffs for sale.

How many acres of herbs do you grow and can you be CERTAIN of consistent crop success and quality?

How many jars of this stuff will you need to make to break even and to make a profit, and how much will they cost you to make, bottle, label, pack, ship, distribute, market, and fulfill?

What are your overheads? What are your expenses? What will your costs be to set up, produce, and break even?

How will you market your goods if you can find buyers? What will your margins be? Will these margins meet your expenses?

What's your profit margin? Do you have a business plan, a marketing strategy, and enough funding to see you through two full years of production, marketing, and distribution?

Can you build enough market share, share of mind, and brand familiarity to elbow your way into the pasta market sauce business in order to become the logical brand of choice in a market that's already well served by brands and suppliers with more visibility and brand awareness than you have as a start up?

How long have you been making pasta sauce and what's your story? Why should your buyer care enough to listen to you, let alone buy your sauce?

And these questions are just for starters and, as negative as they might SOUND, they're designed to introduce you to the real world of marketing where you—as a maker and supplier—do not matter in the minds of your buyers until you've earned the right to take up their time and occupy their thinking, let alone earn their business.

The biggest question is why should anyone buy pesto sauce from you when they can make their own or buy a brand they already know, like, and trust?

Answer all of these questions and figure out ways of ironing out questions you can't answer, then come back.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
Wilmington, DE, USA

Before you can market out your sauce, it should pass a food safety permit. Go to your local government office to get the necessary requirements in selling food products.

On a smaller scale, you may want to introduce this sauce to your friends and relatives during reunions and get togethers. If they like it, tell them that you plan to sell them. Ask for their opinions on the taste and texture. A friend of mine always bring her special apple pie to potlucks. That's when her home-made baking business started. She get orders during occasions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.