Babies need specialized food when they first begin eating. The food must be mushy yet nutritious, and it’s preferable if the food is conveniently packaged. Baby food businesses make this type of food. They create the food itself, package the food, and then sell it directly to customers or through retailers.
Many parents want to give their children the most delicious and nutritious baby food possible. This impulse has led to significant growth in the industry in recent years. According to Zion Market Research, the global baby food market is on course to be a $76.48 billion industry by 2021.
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Start a baby food business by following these 10 steps:
- Plan your Baby Food Business
- Form your Baby Food Business into a Legal Entity
- Register your Baby Food Business for Taxes
- Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
- Set up Accounting for your Baby Food Business
- Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Baby Food Business
- Get Baby Food Business Insurance
- Define your Baby Food Business Brand
- Create your Baby Food Business Website
- Set up your Business Phone System
We have put together this simple guide to starting your baby food business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.
Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.
STEP 1: Plan your business
A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:
- What will you name your business?
- What are the startup and ongoing costs?
- Who is your target market?
- How much can you charge customers?
Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.
What will you name your business?
Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Baby Food Business Name Generator
If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.
When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:
- Your state’s business records
- Federal and state trademark records
- Social media platforms
- Web domain availability
It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.
What are the costs involved in opening a baby food business?
A baby food business can be started for fairly little money.
Business owners need a commercial kitchen to prepare food in and a retail space to sell food at. The cost of a kitchen can be kept low by renting a commercial kitchen at a church, VFW or other nonprofit organization. At first, an inexpensive booth at a farmer’s market can be used to sell in-person to customers.
Other initial expenses include the price of ingredients and packaging supplies. These can be purchased in small quantities at first to keep upfront expenses down, though. As a business grows, more supplies can be bought with the revenue that’s brought in from sales.
What are the ongoing expenses for a baby food business?
The ongoing expenses for a baby food business include rental costs for a commercial kitchen and the cost of purchasing more supplies. These costs are minimal.
Who is the target market?
A baby food business’ ideal client is a new parent who wants to give their baby high-quality food and has discretionary income. Such a parent will likely be willing to pay a premium for good baby food, and they have the income required to buy premium baby food on a regular basis. Once hooked on a brand, a new parent will likely get baby food for several months or years. They’ll need baby food until their child can eat solid food.
How does a baby food business make money?
A baby food business makes money by selling packaged baby food. Businesses may sell baby food to customers in person or online. Or, they may sell through other retailers.
How much can you charge customers?
Most baby food comes in a small package that lasts a few meals, at most. These packages generally sell for a few dollars, and sometimes even less than $1.00. Organic and premium baby foods command higher prices than non-organic foods.
While businesses can’t charge a lot for individual packages of baby food, parents usually buy several packages at once. Additionally, parents buy baby food for several months after their baby begins eating food. Investopedia places the amount parents spend on baby food each month at about $60.
How much profit can a baby food business make?
Baby food businesses can be highly profitable. When she was selling baby food only at a local farmer’s market, Carlson brought in $30,000 a month. Businesses that get their foods into national retailers can bring in millions each year.
How can you make your business more profitable?
Baby food businesses can increase profitability by shipping baby food to customers. Little Spoon is a baby food business that does this.
Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC’s free Small Business Startup Guide – a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!
STEP 2: Form a legal entity
One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your baby food business is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they’re a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.
This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business’s debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business’s liabilities.
In practice, this means that if your baby food business were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.
More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We’ve negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.
Note: If you’re interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).
STEP 3: Register for taxes
You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.
In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!
You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?
There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.
STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card
Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.
When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.
Open a business bank account
Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:
- Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
- Makes accounting and tax filing easier.
Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.
Get a business credit card
Getting a business credit card helps you:
- Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business’ expenses all in one place.
- Build your company’s credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.
Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.
STEP 5: Set up business accounting
Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.
Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.
STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses
Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.
State & Local Business Licensing Requirements
Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a baby food business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.
Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.
Food Regulations
When selling food, you will need licensing from a local health department; all establishments serving food are required to pass a health inspection. Tips for faring well on health inspections
There are federal regulations regarding what can and cannot be added to, sold as, and processed with food. Attached is a resource from the Food and Drug Administration detailing the process of starting a food business: How to Start a Food Business
STEP 7: Get business insurance
Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.
There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.
Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.
Find out what types of insurance your Baby Food Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Baby Food Business.
STEP 8: Define your brand
Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.
If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.
How to promote & market a baby food business
One of the best ways to market a new baby food business is to directly connect with customers. Parents will recommend a business to other parents if they’re pleased with the product. New parents are always asking each other about different things they need.
Connecting with customers directly lets business owners get feedback on their foods and make adjustments. This ensures that business owners develop a product parents like.
How to keep customers coming back
A baby food business can set itself apart from other businesses in the industry by specializing in a particular type of baby food. For example, a business might offer only organic foods, or it might focus on locally sourced foods.
STEP 9: Create your business website
After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.
While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.
Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:
- All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
- Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
- Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.
Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.
Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.
STEP 10: Set up your business phone system
Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.
There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2024 to find the best phone service for your small business.
Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com
Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.
Is this Business Right For You?
Anyone who enjoys young children and isn’t afraid to experiment in the kitchen may like running a baby food business. Coming up with unique recipes requires creativity. Being fond of babies helps business owners connect with parents they hope to sell baby food to.
A baby food business can be started as a part-time endeavor. Baby food can be made during weekday evenings and then sold on weekends.
Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?
Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!
What happens during a typical day at a baby food business?
A baby food business owner spends a lot of time making, packaging, and selling baby food. When not directly working with baby food, business owners take care of other tasks. They clean their kitchen, order supplies, pay bills, and market their baby food business.
At times, business owners also research new flavors. This is a trial-and-error process that involves creating many test batches.
What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful baby food business?
To run a baby food business, owners must know how to make baby food.
Several companies offer classes on making baby food. Teeny Tiny Foodie and Peasful Kitchen offer courses.
After taking a course, business owners may want to keep a baby food recipe book on hand for reference and inspiration. A few titles that might be helpful include The Big Book of Organic Baby Food, 201 Organic Baby Purees and The Baby and Toddler Cookbook.
What is the growth potential for a baby food business?
A baby food business may be a small operation that only sells baby food locally, or it can be a national business that has food in stores throughout the country. Carlson grew her business from a stand at her local farmer’s market into a national company that has baby food in Wal-Mart, Target, and other major retailers. Similarly, Fran Free grew her baby food business from a small startup into a company that has food in many Whole Foods Market stores and offers private-label baby food.
Take the Next Step
Find a business mentor
One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.
Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.
Learn from other business owners
Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from the founders themselves.
Resources to Help Women in Business
There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:
- Funding
- Events
- Guides
- Support
If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.
What are some insider tips for jump starting a baby food business?
How baby food is packaged impacts the final product in three ways. Packaging should be convenient so parents can use it without making a mess. It also should be affordable, so it doesn’t increase the cost of the final product too much. Finally, the packaging used ought to preserve the nutrients in the food.
Choosing the wrong packaging can devastate a business because parents won’t buy the product. When she packaged baby food in frozen form, Free struggled to sell Oh Baby Foods’ baby food. Once she switched to convenient pouches, her company’s sales increased severalfold. These shelf-stable pouches are now Free’s primary packaging solution.
How and when to build a team
Most baby food businesses start out with no or few employees. Business owners hire employees to help make and sell baby foods as their business grows and can support employees’ salaries.