A jam business makes different flavors of jams and jellies, which are packaged into jars for distribution. Businesses may sell their jams to customers directly, or they might sell to retailers. These spreads are put on toast, used in cookies and cakes, and incorporated into many other foods. Jam businesses make different flavors of jams and jellies, which are sold to customers either directly or through retailers.
According to one report, the global fruit jam, jelly, and preserve market is projected to reach nearly $9 billion by 2027. Most impressively, it’s grown steadily — even through the Great Recession. The market for jams, jellies, and preserves is strong, growing, and has many opportunities for new startups.
You may also be interested in additional business ideas for teens.
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Start a jam business by following these 10 steps:
- Plan your Jam Business
- Form your Jam Business into a Legal Entity
- Register your Jam Business for Taxes
- Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
- Set up Accounting for your Jam Business
- Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Jam Business
- Get Jam Business Insurance
- Define your Jam Business Brand
- Create your Jam Business Website
- Set up your Business Phone System
We have put together this simple guide to starting your jam 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 Jam 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 jam business?
Since a jam business can be started from a residential kitchen, the costs associated with starting a business are quite low. The expenses can be categorized into equipment costs and supply costs.
Business owners who have extremely tight budgets may be able to open a business using only equipment that’s already in their kitchen. Jams, jellies, and preserves can be made in one pot, and jars can be sterilized by boiling water in a large pan.
Business owners who have a little capital to work with, however, may want to invest in some basic equipment, such as a juice extractor, slicer, mixer/grinder, and pulper.
The supplies that business owners need include:
- Juice extractor: $50
- Fruit slicer: $20
- Mixer/grinder: $100
- Pulper: $35
- Jars: roughly $1 per jar in bulk
- Pectin: $3 per box
- Fruit: $1-5 per pound
- Sugar: $23 per 50 pound bag
- Additives
Business owners can reduce their initial supply costs by purchasing jars and pectin through wholesale suppliers, who typically charge much less than retailers do.
Business owners can also pick the fruit they need themselves. Going to you-pick farms when the fruit is in season. not only lets business owners greatly reduce their fruit costs — which are one of the biggest supply costs — but it also provides an opportunity to use local ingredients in jams.
What are the ongoing expenses for a jam business?
The ongoing expenses for a jam business are relatively low. Business owners must purchase additional jars, fruit, and pectin, and they need to pay for the electricity or natural gas used when preparing jam. The other significant ongoing expense is the cost of shipping or delivering jams to customers, but this cost is usually built into the price that customers are charged.
Who is the target market?
A jam business’s ideal customer is a local business that regularly uses jam or jelly, such as a restaurant that wants to serve up locally made jams with breakfast or a small bakery that needs jams for certain baked goods. Such a business won’t pay retail prices for jams and jellies. A business will, however, place regular orders that can provide stable income.
How does a jam business make money?
A jam business makes money by selling jams, jellies, and preserves. When sold retail, jams may be sold individually or in variety packages (e.g., three jams together, etc.). When sold wholesale, jams may be sold in larger jars (i.e., for commercial use such as in a bakery) or in lots of small jars (i.e., for resale by a grocer).
How much can you charge customers?
Jams, jellies, and preserves are normally priced according to margin. Michael Adams recommends seeking a margin of 40 to 60 percent over the cost of making a product when selling through distributors. On top of this, distributors add another 30 percent margin, and retailers typically add a final 30 to 50 percent margin. The end result is that a jam that costs $1.48 per jar to make has a retail price between $6.04 and $8.46.
How much profit can a jam business make?
How much a jam business owners can make depends on how well they market their products and how many distribution channels they have. Reagan Boon, a small but successful jam business owner, makes about $25 per hour after all the work required to run her business is taken into account. Working full time, this would equate to an income of $1,000 per week.
How can you make your business more profitable?
A jam business can increase its sales and revenue by offering jams in unique packaging. For instance, customers may purchase variety packs as gifts, or brides might buy customized sample-size jams as wedding favors.
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 jam 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 jam 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.
Ready to Turn Your Business Idea Into a Reality?
Tailor Brands is our top recommendation because it guides you through every step of the formation process with hands-on support — from paperwork and compliance to devising a detailed plan to help you achieve your business goals.
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
In most states, it is necessary to obtain a jam business license. Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a jam 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 a 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 Jam Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Jam 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 jam business
The most effective way to promote and market a jam business is through samples. Whether given out at a farmers market or grocery store, people love free samples — and many customers won’t purchase a jam, jelly, or preserve unless they know what it tastes like.
How to keep customers coming back
A jam business can set itself apart from similar businesses by continually developing unique flavors. Another business may copy a single popular flavor or even two. As long as business owners continue creating new recipes, though, they’ll be one step ahead of copy cat businesses.
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 likes canning and jarring may enjoy running a jam business. Jams and jellies are frequently packaged in jars, and mot small jam businesses jar their jams by hand.
It’s also helpful to have good people skills. Being able to connect with people can, of course, help business owners develop relationships with individual customers and wholesale purchasers. It also can help establish relationships with local farmers, which may lead to unique opportunities to purchase local produce.
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 jam business?
To maximize efficiency, most jam business owners spend different days focusing on different tasks. For example, a business owner might:
- Sell jams and jellies at a farmer’s market
- Make jams
- Market their business and take care of administrative tasks
What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful jam business?
In order to run a jam business, it’s necessary to know how to safely jar them. Many online companies, local canneries and online companies offer courses on canning and preserving foods. For example, Michigan State University and Universal Class both offer online courses on the subject. Glass Rooster Cannery in Sunbury, Ohio and Fresh from the Gardens in Dallas, Texas offer in-person classes. Healthy Canning maintains a directory of university extension classes, which are often free or have a minimal charge.
After completing a course, business owners may want to purchase a couple of books to keep as references. Canning and Preserving for Beginners, and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving are two popular works.
What is the growth potential for a jam business?
Many jam businesses start out as small operations, with many business owners making jams, jellies, and preserves in their kitchens. Business owners may initially sell only by word of mouth or at a roadside stand where customers pay on their honor.
As a business grows, business owners may purchase a stand at a market or open a retail location. Most businesses don’t open multiple locations. Instead, they grow beyond a single location by acquiring more and more wholesale clients.
Note: When starting a jam business from home, it’s important to abide by all your state’s cottage food laws. PickYourOwn.org has compiled a list of each state’s applicable laws.
Not sure if a jam business is right for you? Try our free Business Idea Generator and find your perfect idea.
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 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 jam business?
When developing jam, jelly, and preserve recipes, business owners should come up with unique and complex flavors. In Jo-Ann’s experience, these sell much better than plain flavors do. For example, she had a peach jam that hardly sold at all. She revisited her recipe and added bourbon and vanilla. The resulting jam is now one of her best sellers.
How and when to build a team
Many jam businesses start out as one- or two-person operations, and some business owners never hire employees. Those that do typically bring on employees once the work becomes too much for them to handle by themselves. At this point, a business’ revenue can usually support an employee’s salary.