I need your suggestions

january

Hello Everyone, I``m new to the board and would really need your suggestions and advice regarding my earlier post on remodification of a successful product. I want to start a business for meat storage in plastic bags within my own country because there`s a demand for this type of product or is it a service? What are your thoughts? do let me know...

january

Hello Craig,  thanks for sharing your thoughts and yes we do have a regulatory agency that`s responsible for mandating standards for food products. However, why do you ask? I ask this question because for the kind of product i`ll be manufacturing, do you think it needs the approval of this agency?

spungey

I think he mentioned it because you`ll need to know the exact specifications for the bags you`ll need to have, in order to meet the agency`s rules.  There are lots of bag types and bag makers.  You`ll need to be able to tell them precisely what you need (unless you get unbelievably lucky and find a sales person who knows what you`ll need.)
Depending on the country you`re in, you might also need to figure out how much you need to spend to stay in the agency`s good graces.

january

Hello Spungey, thanks for your suggestion. What I intend to start with are storage bags for meat. I`ve been conducting my research on the internet for sometime now and I`ve seen some specifications that could be modified here for the local market. Meat consumers often go the open air abbatoirs to purchase beef and packaging is always a big issue when it involves dividing a cow into five parts. Regarding the agency, i`ll check out the website to see what the process is like. Thank you.

january

One more thing, how do I go about packaging the bags? Will it be in 20s or 50s? I`m a bit confused here.

january

Hello Craig, I checked out the vaccum packager website and I must say it`s an impressive product but I`m not sure if the local market is ready for such an innovative product due to the disposable income of a larger populace within my country. However, i`ll be meeting with a manufacturer this week with some of the samples I got the last time I was on vacation and yes to your questions, I want better bags and custom sizes to start with. I do have a background in sales, marketing and distribution and a bit in terms of delivery logistics (which I have a lot to learn about). I`ll check the web for more information regarding this. On the other hand, if you know a website where I can larn more baout the nitty gritty involved in delivery logisitcs, please do let me know. You got it when you said "i might be better off creating an entire packaging business, using commercial machines".
While this is my goal as the business grows, for now, i`d rather start with outsourcing the production of these bags (limited startup funds) while I concentrate on grassroot marketing and ensuring availability of the bags in leading malls.
Right now, our economy is an emerging one within Africa, large shopping malls you`d find in North America, Middle East and Europe are springing up on an annual basis. Our consumers are getting sophisticated in terms of the choices they make and I know this is the right time to launch this product. Thank you for sharing our thoughts.

january

Hello Craig, we already have pre-packaged cuts of meat but packaging is still an issue. Imagine buying a pack of shrimps and beefs from the local supermarket and on getting home, once you rip off the package, it can`t be used again. Secondly, 70% of our entire populace prefer the open market for shopping of bulk food items and this segment of the populace are my prospective customers.