In this material:

Why not bring joy to people and make a business out of smoking products? After all, few people are indifferent to smoked meats. Almost everyone loves them, and not a single holiday would be complete without them.

Key points when organizing this business

The main feature, if not the complexity, of this business is the room for smoking meat or fish. His choice, rent and related details. Of course, if you conceived it not only for your friends, but plan to seriously engage in it. For example, selling at the local market. What is special about the room as such? It must meet sanitary and hygienic requirements. According to them, it should not be just a room. This should be a whole workshop for processing meat products. Only then will the smoking business bring results.

The standards that the state imposes on premises of this type are as follows:

1. The workshop in which the smoking process takes place must be located no closer than 300 m from residential premises and educational institutions.
2. Cold and hot water, ventilation, sewerage are mandatory conditions for starting a business.
3. The area of ​​the room should not be less than 100 m².
4. There must be office space, bathrooms, and locker rooms.

In addition, state standards regulate the number and height of windows, the quality of masonry on the walls and a number of other requirements. So it’s not so easy to open your own food smoking business. Rebuilding existing sites and those that suit your price will not work. Yes, building such a business from scratch is not easy. But there is one way out: renting or completely purchasing the premises, which were previously used as a dining room. Such premises were built in full compliance with state regulations.

But here a second difficulty emerges. Do not forget about the state requirements published at the beginning of the paragraph. It should not just be a dining room that is suitable for the price, but one whose compliance with all other requirements does not raise questions. For example, do not underestimate the canteen of the former factory. If it is slightly re-equipped, this workshop can produce up to 10 tons of smoked fish or meat. So this business as a business is quite possible.

Main danger

What do you need to do before starting this business? First of all, you need to find those to whom you can supply these products. It is worth remembering that business owners suffer the greatest losses not when people come to them with inspections. Not at all. They suffer the biggest losses when the warehouse is overstocked and the products begin to deteriorate. Plus, there is a risk in the form of non-returns from stores. That is, no profit from sales. But there is a way out, and it is quite possible to make it so that it also brings income, like a business, and at the same time gives pleasure.

Why is this happening? The majority of stores, especially supermarkets, make the price for the consumer too high. As a result, the product is not sold out due to its high cost. What's the way out of this? Has the idea of ​​smoking fish as a business failed? No, the solution is to cooperate with small grocery stores.

There is still a danger of opening such a business in the so-called “non-fishing areas”. As a rule, many men there are fishermen, and there is a body of water that is famous for its “fishing spots.” It’s not even worth opening such a business in such areas and spending a lot of money on advertising.

Coordination is also an important aspect

Every entrepreneur who has opened a business selling smoked products should first register as an individual entrepreneur. Then you will have to deal with a large number of departments to coordinate their actions. These are the following organizations:

1. Fire Department;
2. Rosprirodnadzor;
3. Rostechnadzor;
4. Veterinary service.

Don’t forget about obtaining a product quality certificate. A smoked product, like others, requires confirmation by a certificate. In order for an entrepreneur to be allowed to trade, it is necessary to pass a special test.

What equipment is needed to open and operate a smokehouse?

It depends on the size of the business being opened, in which the main product can be called the sale of smoked meat or fish. If this is a mini-business, then you will need a smokehouse, which you can buy relatively cheaply or make yourself.

A smokehouse can be bought on average from 5,000 to 35,000 rubles. The exact price depends on many factors. In particular, from the region in which it is planned to open the smokehouse. For large-scale production you will need additional equipment:

1. Baths for washing products.
2. Refrigerators.
3. Cages with skewers in which smoking is carried out.

It is not necessary to have all the equipment. At each production, its set differs, and this is permissible.

Refrigerators for the industrial production of such products can cost 100,000 rubles or so. There are many requirements for equipment. For example, raw materials that are being prepared for manufacturing and finished products must be stored separately. And sanitary treatment of tables, knives, etc. is mandatory. after every shift.

What else is important to pay attention to? Check the expiration date and conditions in which the raw materials were stored. It is better to choose products that do not raise doubts. If a store suddenly ends up with a product of inadequate quality, it will not be easy to regain consumer trust.

You should not purchase products directly from shopping centers. This is not economically viable. It is better to purchase goods from the manufacturer. For example, these could be pig farms, fish factories, etc. Manufacturers usually have the necessary quality certificates. Fish, all stages of smoking of which took place at home, is considered to be of higher quality. That is, a small business, if properly promoted, can bring considerable income.

When will the costs be recouped?

If you approach each point of starting a business correctly, then the costs can pay off in just six months. But this will happen only if there are no failures and if the entrepreneur went through all the stages as clearly as possible. In particular, if he managed to select the right employees.

Hiring smokehouse employees is an important step. It will be better if they have work experience, because producing food is a very responsible business. And the quality of products directly depends on the experience of employees.

The number of employees depends on the size of the enterprise and the experience of the entrepreneur. If a businessman is young, and not so much in age as in terms of experience, he can hire 1-3 assistants.

A large enterprise requires more people. For example, it wouldn’t hurt to hire an accountant and a meat deboner. You can open a store of finished products if there are conditions for this and there is a demand for it. In any case, then you will also need a seller.

What fish is suitable for salting and smoking?

It is more correct and profitable to carry out these manipulations with the fish that swim in your local reservoirs. Or with meat that is found in a given region. The consumer likes this and it suits the concept of restaurants and cafes, because... they usually rely on local “gifts of nature.”

Many people believe that it is better to purchase raw materials in distant areas. They are wrong. This is not profitable for small businesses. The freight transport infrastructure in our country is too unreliable. This significantly hinders the development of a business such as the production of smoked meats.

If an entrepreneur nevertheless chooses this path, then he must have a food technologist on his staff, and he must be highly qualified and with extensive work experience.

He must be able to determine the condition based on one type of frozen meat or fish. This person is an important condition for a business like smoking to develop.

By the way, according to the rules, frozen fish cannot be smoked. Anyone who follows this rule will have a business - smoking will probably be successful.

The main thing in this business is to choose a convenient place for trading. With the right approach and knowledge of your business, you will soon have regular customers, and perhaps you will be able to negotiate with restaurants and supply your products in bulk.

The business idea of ​​smoking fish, meat, lard is very relevant. There are two ways to implement this. The first is wholesale purchasing. You can find wholesalers, buy smoked meats from them and start selling. But since everyone’s quality is not very good, it’s better not to do this. Moreover, working for someone, or being dependent on someone, is not our option. We are developing a business plan for independent smoking and subsequent implementation.

First you need to find the room in which your smokehouse will be located. If you live in a private house, then almost any building will do. If you are an “inhabitant” of an apartment, you will have to rent the premises. What can I say, if you wish, you can set up a smokehouse right in your apartment.

Next, you need to purchase smoking equipment. The most successful and convenient option is an electric smokehouse. Its cost ranges from 10-50 thousand rubles. Although, of course, there are more expensive options. But “budget” ones are quite enough for the first time. Your task is to try, and you will always have time to expand the boundaries of your business.

Nowadays, meat processing plants offer consumers a fairly wide range of smoked meats, but among potential buyers there are many lovers of home-smoked meat. I can't complain about the lack of buyers. Home-made smoked fish is in even greater demand.

A smoking installation at home takes up little space, the smoking technology is well thought out and proven. Obtaining products from smoked meat and fish does not require significant effort. The smoking process cycle itself is no more than fifty minutes. The UEC delivery set includes detailed and understandable instructions, the smoking technology and the process of preparing raw materials for smoking are clearly described, everything is quite simple and convenient. But production of products is the first and simplest stage in this matter, as, perhaps, in any business of product production; implementation is much more difficult.

Sales of products. There are two options here. You can rent a spot at the market or somewhere else. Then you will sell your products yourself and control their demand. You can also learn a lot about the market and its products. Or become a supplier. You can offer your products to private entrepreneurs, cafes, supermarkets, cafes or restaurants. Smoked meats are in demand everywhere. The main thing is to monitor the quality and pricing policy of your products. Still, for example, stores will also want to earn something by selling your products. Therefore, the cheaper your products are, the more likely you are to sell them.

Smokehouse diagram:

Smokehouse diagram

1. Smokehouse walls.
2. Top cover.
3. Smoke outlet.
4. Grate or tray.
5. Fat tray.
6.Chips or sawdust.
7. Fastenings for pallets.
8. Smoked product.
9. Sleeve for removing smoke.
10. Fireplace (firewood).

Ideas for Business from the section:

When choosing fish smoking as a business, you need to understand that this area of ​​activity has quite high competition in the market. Many entrepreneurs engage in smoking at home, while also being fishermen. This article will talk about how to set up a business, what nuances need to be taken into account and what to pay attention to when organizing your own smoking production.

general information

Like any other business, the smoking business has a number of its own characteristics. If you are planning to open a production facility aimed at a wide range of consumers, you should equip the premises in accordance with numerous sanitary and hygienic requirements.

The situation is much simpler if you want to smoke fish at home for personal consumption and for minimal sales on the local market. This will require a very small investment and a little bit of your own effort. Let's talk in detail about what is needed to create your own mini-production.

First steps

When considering smoking fish as a business, you should understand that first of all you will need production facilities. This will become the main and most expensive part of the future business. Not everyone can afford to build their own turnkey smoking shop, so entrepreneurs prefer to rent ready-made production space.

Since there are a lot of requirements for the premises, canteens in industrial zones can be considered as an object. In addition to the fact that they are being built taking into account all the requirements and standards, their location will correspond to one of the conditions for creating a smoking workshop, namely: its location at least 300 meters from residential buildings.

The direction you have chosen has a high level of risk according to the SES classification. That is why this body has a lot of requirements and standards for opening a workshop.

SanPiN standards

SanPiN 2.3.4.050-96 sets out in detail the rules for organizing the production and sale of fish products. We will not describe the entire section in detail, but will only focus on those points that relate directly to the smoking shop.

Requirements for organizing a smoking workshop

1. The production of smoking fish products, in addition to the premises where the main technological processes are carried out (cutting, defrosting, salting and leveling), must be equipped with the following rooms:

• a refrigerated room for a daily supply of raw materials;
• room for preparing saline solution;
• a room for packaging finished products;
• refrigerator for temporary storage of finished products;
• a room for sanitary processing of returnable containers;
• a room for drying and storing containers;
• a container warehouse with an area for its repair;
• a room for storing sawdust and fuel, as well as detergents and disinfectants, smoking liquid;
• a room for storing auxiliary and packaging materials.

2. Smoking chambers must be equipped with tightly closing doors, hatches and mechanical exhaust ventilation.

3. The elements of the smokehouse (ramrod, slats, etc.) must be in double quantity. They are sanitized once per shift. Chambers and cages are processed once a week.

4. Thermometers, psychrometers and moisture meters must be installed in smoking chambers to control temperature and humidity. Their testimony is recorded in special journals. Hot smoked fish must have an internal temperature of at least 80 degrees.

5. Raw materials for the production of smoked products must comply with the requirements of regulatory documents.

6. Finished products must be quickly cooled (to a temperature of 20 degrees), packaged and placed in a refrigerator. Until sale, hot smoked products should be stored at a temperature of -2...+2, cold smoked products - -5...0 degrees.

7. Hot smoked fish before freezing should not be stored for more than 12 hours from the moment it was unloaded from the smoking oven. Freezing of fish occurs immediately after cooling; the temperature should not exceed minus 18 degrees.

8. Packaging containers (boxes) for smoked fish must have holes on the end sides.

9. When producing smoked balyk products in small packaging, it is necessary that all equipment have its own marking.

10. Laying slices and pieces is done with special forks or spatulas.

11. Tables and cutting boards that are used when processing fish must be washed with a hot solution of soda ash (5%), then disinfected, rinsed and dried.

12. The removal of finished products and the supply of raw materials must be carried out through separate entrances and elevators.

13. Transportation, storage and sale of finished hot and cold smoked products must be carried out in accordance with the requirements for perishable products.

In addition to the SES, the opening of production must be coordinated with Rosprirodnadzor, the veterinary and fire services, and Rostekhnadzor.

Equipment costs

Equipment for smoking fish can be purchased and installed with a relatively small amount of money available - about 300 thousand rubles. This is taking into account the fact that you will not buy it new, but used. To work you will need:

• refrigerators for storing raw materials;
• baths for washing and salting products.

Choosing a smokehouse

Today on the market there is a large selection of smoking chambers with different technical characteristics. Imported smoking equipment can provide a minimum profitability when processing from 8 to 10 tons per day. Small enterprises that do not have such volumes can pay attention to domestic units. Their price starts from 130 thousand rubles.

Smokehouses for small businesses make it possible to make production profitable with a load of 200-300 kg per day. This can be a good option not only for beginning entrepreneurs, but also for those who are planning to expand. By assembling a line of 5-6 installations, it is possible to ensure the processing of 8-10 tons of finished products per day. Smokehouses for small businesses will improve the economic efficiency of equipment.

Raw materials

Now let's talk about raw materials. Namely, about what will be smoked and where it will come from. You need to develop a range of products based on the culinary preferences of the residents of your region. It is also advisable to buy fish in your city or region. This point is fundamentally important, since only by reducing transportation time can you receive a high-quality and fresh product that has all the necessary documentation.

Therefore, when choosing fish smoking as a business, carefully study the market for raw material suppliers so as not to incur losses in the future. After all, you risk not only your money, but also the taste of the product. Focusing on small industrial volumes, you should not order 20-ton containers of fish.

Issues of quality of purchased raw materials and finished products are among the most important ones you may encounter when starting a business. Without the necessary education in this field, think about a technologist and a specialist in quality control of incoming products. The latter can also be a veterinarian. He has the right to issue all necessary accompanying documents for finished products.

Sales of products and risks

An entrepreneur who smokes fish at home does not count on large sales. It is enough to have a point in the local market, regular customers, and the products will be sold out. It’s another matter if the volumes of finished smoked fish are quite high, and sales are not properly organized. Products are stored in warehouses for a long time and deteriorate due to short sales times.

The key to success will be a well-established sales network. You can enter into agreements with large retail chains. But the share of risks when working with such giants should be assessed. They tend to greatly inflate retail prices, while achieving maximum profits. Customer demand decreases, goods deteriorate due to short shelf life, and you receive returns of expired products from the client.

A good solution would be to open your own small retail outlet. In addition, you can provide products for sale to small stores, where, subject to a certain level of retail prices, you can get guaranteed sales of your products and low returns of goods.

Finally

When choosing fish smoking as a business, do not forget that the basis of the enterprise should be the high quality of your products. By adhering to traditional recipes, using fruit sawdust and firewood, purchasing high-quality and fresh raw materials, you will be able to win the trust of customers and earn a good reputation for your company. And this is precisely the key to a successful business.

I once read an article in the newspaper about a family whose members, having lost their jobs and were left without a livelihood, decided to start smoking meat products. I, too, was inspired by this idea and decided to go to the shops and markets of my city to find out what, where and how much. To my surprise, I discovered that only smoked lard is sold in the markets, and grandmothers often sell it, many outside the market territory, and smoked meats rarely appeared in small quantities, only smoked fish was sold a lot. In the stores there were a lot of products that interested me, but even though the beautiful packaging said “smoked loin”, “ham”, “neck” and so on, they tasted nothing, but, to be honest, there was almost no smell of smoking.

I learned the technology of this matter, bought myself a used UEK (electrostatic smoking unit) unit for $100, new ones are sold in Russia for 7,500 rubles, in Ukraine, in my opinion, 1,900 UAH. After 2 weeks of practical experiments to “study” smoking technology and 2 dozen kilograms of food eaten with friends, I got good results in smoking various types of meat and fish.

I started selling my products outside the market, and things went well after about a week. A month later I decided to legalize and trade on the market - it worked.

Competitors - meat processing enterprises - now also offer a wide range of smoked meats, but among buyers there are people who prefer both “branded” and home-smoked products. I'm not complaining about the number of customers. And homemade smoked fish is generally beyond competition.

I installed the unit at home, it takes up little space, and thanks to the convenient smoking technology, it allows you to obtain fish and meat products without putting much effort into their production. The smoking process takes up to 50 minutes. Detailed instructions are included with the installation; the technological process of smoking and preparing products for smoking is described; everything is very simple and effective.

But production of products is the easiest thing in this type of business, as, indeed, in any other related to the production of products; another matter is its sale.

The price for 1 kg of product on the small wholesale market is in hryvnias, at the rate of $1 = 5.3 UAH.

Meat: pork 10 UAH, beef 8 UAH, lard 5 UAH.

Fish: catfish 9 UAH, flounder 12 UAH, pink salmon 12 UAH, mackerel 9 UAH.

Fruit firewood for smoking: in the planting and with friends-dacha residents.

Salt, sugar and spices (optional): approximately 1 UAH.

Stabilizers and preservatives: 0.3 UAH.

Electricity: 0.2 UAH.

Transport costs: 0.6 UAH.

3/p to the seller per 1 kg of products sold: for meat 0.9 UAH, for fish 0.7 UAH.

We sell at the following prices: pork 22-24 UAH, beef 18-22 UAH, lard 14 UAH, catfish and flounder (considering that smoked meat is not sold in markets or stores, we set the price ourselves, depending on demand) — 18-20 UAH, mackerel 18 UAH.

To make a real profit, it is better to make wholesale purchases of meat from the population for about 7 UAH. pork, lard - 4 UAH, beef - 5 UAH. Meat prices fluctuate differently everywhere.

It's more difficult with fish. If you are on land, only wholesale centers remain, but this is also profitable.

As a result, your profit for small wholesale purchases from each kilogram of products sold will be about 5-6 UAH, and for wholesale purchases - 10 or more.

Firewood - there are many plantings around the city, some with fruit trees, and there are beautiful but neglected orchards. We agreed with the management, hired a car (20 - 40 UAH per hour), strong and nimble guys, and that was it. But the trees are damp. If you cut in the spring, then they will reach the moisture content in the summer, think several months in advance. It is better to cut dry branches on trees, the main thing is that they are free from rot. Well, for apartment residents, either chop in small quantities or in a store, you can agree to buy a little from the same collective farm. You can also buy them in the store; now they are sold in many places for preparing kebabs.

You can use any wood except spruce, pine and birch, but fruit wood gives the best taste, although few people (unless he is a professional taster) can distinguish meat or fish cooked with fruit wood or others.

Spices are not used in all products; and not everyone loves them. They are mainly used for lard (lard) and pork products (coated in a mixture of spices after smoking).

Sodium nitride is added to the brine (also called brine) in a small amount: 0.05 g per 1 liter of brine. This component is necessary so that meat products after technological processing have a red juicy color and attract buyers with their appearance; without it they will be pale and unattractive. In the indicated quantities, sodium nitride is not harmful, but in large quantities it can cause severe poisoning, so its quantity must be strictly controlled. And don’t let its poisonous properties scare you. Nitrides, including sodium, are used in all meat processing industries, and those juicy, pink sausages that look so appetizing and enticing at us from the shelves contain nitrides. And if you do not use these additives, then you will spend a long time explaining to a potential buyer that your raw smoked loin or pork fillet are “clean” products. But everyone decides for themselves whether to include sodium nitride in the composition or not, just decide right away for yourself whether you will produce the product for yourself (when you know everything about it) or for the consumer (who is influenced by visually received information about the product).

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) stabilizes the color of meat products and is a good natural preservative; it is used together with sodium nitride; it is harmless and even beneficial for the human body. Added to the brine 0.5 g per 1 liter, for sausages 0.5 g per 1 kg.

To begin with, you can buy ascorbic acid at the pharmacy, only the usual one, without the taste of orange, etc., although you can try it with orange, you may get something new.

There are suppliers of sodium nitride and ascorbic acid in almost any city; you can negotiate at a meat processing plant.

It would also be good to add potassium sorbate 0.2% by weight of the brine to food or brine. A good preservative, used throughout the food industry. Absolutely harmless. It will partially relieve you from the headache of storing food in the summer.

Electricity is saved if you know what a bass reflex is or, more popularly, a rewind for a meter. Just don’t get carried away, we need to give something to our state, otherwise they will be offended and impose a fine. From my own experience: although Energonadzor inspectors receive a percentage of fines, they will not be able to refuse a delicious piece of raw smoked pork fillet weighing 3 kg. But it’s better to pretend to be poor and beggarly, otherwise there are a lot of them, they eat meat immoderately (but like all the other “inspectors”), and you alone will feed them all. Rewind electricity wisely, i.e. save, the state will not become poor, the cost of 1 kW is 3 kopecks. with delivery to consumers, the maximum price is 15.6 kopecks in Ukraine. (that's where the real business is!). Not good? These are temporary experiences. All doubts will dissipate when you start a business and come across various officials quite often, all illusions will immediately dissipate. Please do not think that the state will rush to your aid; as soon as you decide to start your own business. Where it will definitely rush is on your neck. But there is no need to be upset about this - everyone wants to live and make money, officials and you included, so don’t be naive, live only for yourself and your family.

Transport. It’s good if you have your own car to deliver products to the market, and it’s simply necessary for wholesale purchases. No, just buy a “Zaporozhets” for 300 UAH. or ask friends and acquaintances to drive you (better than friends, otherwise neighbors and various acquaintances will sooner or later want a share when they see your money). Transport is simply necessary for a private entrepreneur.

Implementer - as you agree, you can pay a fixed salary, you can pay from the proceeds, decide for yourself, but it’s easier to sell to someone for whom the documents and patent have been issued. For example, a document is for you to trade yourself, but, for example, your wife is engaged in production at home. Or file a state of emergency for your mother-in-law, let her trade, and do the production yourself.

You will also need refrigerators. A used refrigerator costs 50-60 UAH, usually small, single-door, with a freezer on top of the main one. You remove the chamber door, turn the thermostat all the way down, and 50 kg of meat can easily fit in.

Problems may arise in the summer, if the apartment is hot, the refrigerator compressor may not be able to handle it. If you purchased meat in bulk, it is better to rent refrigerators at the market where you will sell smoked meats.

In a market laboratory, do a meat analysis and get a certificate for the SES so that they can shut up if they ask where you get the raw materials and whether there is a certificate or certificates.

Do not exclude cold storage plants from the list. Refrigerators themselves do not consume much if there is only one, but if there are 5, then you will have to “think about something.” The problem is that the refrigerator has a relatively large starting current, and there is a possibility that if several of them turn on at the same time, then if the meter is weak, it will “cut out”. The noise from 5 operating units is also a problem, not so much for you, since you are interested, as for neighbors - well-wishers.

It is not worth storing meat in a “modernized” refrigerator, if it is not in the freezer, for more than a week in its raw form; it is better to smoke it and store it in this form with preservatives (ascorbic acid or potassium sorbitol) in plastic wrap, it will be stored for at least a month.

By the way, contrary to public opinion, frozen meat can also be used for smoking. Only laboratory analysis can distinguish a product obtained from fresh or frozen meat.

Spoiled meat or sausages at meat processing plants are subjected to disinfection with chemical reagents and recycling; mainly for sausages, but this technology at home is quite labor-intensive, so try not to let it get to that point.

Salt, sugar, spices - wholesale bases.

Preparation of necessary documents.

Paperwork: forms at the executive committee, bank services, a health record and its registration, a business license, stationery for the pension fund - in my case, and other little things cost me 250 UAH.

A quality certificate for products is not yet realistic for a home business, it is long and troublesome. The best way out is to agree with the market administration about laboratory testing of the products. You will need quite a lot of ready-made product for “analysis” from the “expertise” itself, they are different in each market, as you agree - it’s up to you, it’s better to use connections, if you have them, no - it’s not scary, it’s also beneficial for them that you trade with them. There you can also get, as I said above, a certificate stating that you prepare products from normal meat.

The next one is a place on the market, in my city (population 200,000 people) renting a normal (but not the best) place on the market costs I50 UAH. per month. Plus you need to take “tested” market scales daily - 5 UAH. There may be additional problems in the market of your city, and a variety of them. We do not yet require EKKA, but everything is moving towards this.

It would also be nice to put a display refrigerator on the counter; a used one costs about $150, but if you look for it, you can find it cheaper. But it is better to buy a new, modern one; they are small in size, do not take up much space on the counter (which significantly affects the cost of the retail space), and have a stylish design and attractive appearance. Works very well on buyers. But you can do it without a display case - a refrigerator, as I did at the beginning, if in the summer you don’t keep a lot of food on the counter, but bring it from your home refrigerator as needed. In this case, preservative additives, although products can be stored for quite a long time due to the preservative properties of smoke smoke, should not be rejected.

And they may also come to your home from the SES (well-wishers snitched on you or you didn’t plan for something), so keep an eye on the equipment and keep it clean. Cockroaches do not cause much harm, except for the additional investment of material resources in the pockets of inspectors.

In general, I’ll tell you, the business is quite profitable, I don’t pluck stars from the sky, but I earn money for my family consistently. The most difficult thing was to start, then it gets easier, the main thing is not to give in to difficulties, and there will be plenty of them, but they are all solved one way or another. Try to smooth out all conflicts, keep your emotions in your hands, especially for officials and various inspectors; always speak calmly, think first and then act. Sometimes it’s better to remain silent and give an answer later than to mess things up and then regret it.

And most importantly, remember that we and they are all people too, and everyone wants to make money, and whatever one may say, we all make money from each other. Some are more honest, some less, but business is business, no matter what it is, even “home-based”.

Connections play a very important role in business, and this must be remembered. Make connections everywhere, take business cards and give them yours, you can persist, and sooner or later the connections will be converted into material values.

Let me give you my example. I met the owner of one of the restaurants in a cafe, had a drink, as they say, talked about this and that, moved on to the topic of business, and shared our problems. In general, although our heads ached in the morning, we remembered the conversation and did not forget each other. Result: I started selling my products, referring to this person's restaurant, to various stores and cafes. Conditions: I give him a share of the proceeds, he is the name of a restaurant that is quite famous in the city, solutions to minor issues, as well as practical advice (good advice is sometimes easily converted into a good amount of money). In case of major problems with me, he doesn’t know me, I don’t know him.

My friends sell kebabs this way in a summer cafe (or rather, next to it). Make connections and don't be afraid to use them.

For everyone interested in the question “Smokehouse as a business: profitability, reviews,” we offer a brief overview of the enterprise, and also provide a business plan with calculations.

Business overview and market features

Today, the market offers special solutions designed specifically for small businesses. With the help of such smokehouses you can cook meat, fish, lard, etc. This option does not require significant investments, but at the same time can bring a potentially large income.

To successfully develop a business, you will need to conduct marketing research. It will be necessary to establish a general pricing policy in the area, the range of competitors’ products, identify the smoked products most in demand among buyers, and get acquainted with an example of each. It will also be necessary to find partners through whom all products will be sold.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

1. Independence, which will allow you to plan your work schedule.
2. Easy to learn technology.
3. Compactness.
4. Possibility of working from home.
5. Stable income.
6. Good profitability - the initial costs for a small production of smoked food products can pay for themselves in just six months.
7. Possibility of scaling - to increase the production of smoked meats, it will be enough to purchase a second smokehouse.

• financial risk;
• difficulties in obtaining permits;
• constant rush, as the batch has to be prepared quickly;
• rapid decline in product quality;
• difficulties with finding suppliers and buyers.

Here you can download it for free, ready to use as an example.

Documenting

In addition to the obvious registration of an individual entrepreneur or LLC (the best option is an individual entrepreneur with the simplified tax system), to successfully start a smoking business, you will need a number of permits. Among them:

1. Permission from the sanitary and epidemiological station.
2. Permits from Rosprirodnadzor and Rostechnadzor, fire service.
3. Conclusion of the veterinary organization.

All these papers will be required even if you plan to run a business of smoking chicken, fish or meat at home. Without them, it is almost impossible to organize sales of products to retail chains. You should also be prepared for periodic inspections by the SES, which will take samples of finished products to assess quality.

Selecting a location

Home smoking or meat can be organized right on your site. To do this, you will have to set aside a garage or find a small nook in your garden plot. A large company simply cannot do without its own workshop.

When choosing premises, it is necessary to take into account that old buildings are almost guaranteed to require repairs and re-equipment for production needs. There are also quite clear state regulations:

• The area of ​​the room must be at least 100 square meters.
• The minimum distance to residential facilities must be at least 300 meters.
• All major communication systems must be connected to the workshop.
• It is necessary to install bathrooms, changing rooms, etc. on the territory.
• Facilities must be provided for storing raw materials (and all production components), salting them, and packaging them.

Choosing a smokehouse

There are many types of smokehouses available in stores. Despite their similar appearance, they can run on coal, electricity or gas. Electric smokehouses are the best option for small production, as they are economical and their installation is not difficult.

Capacity varies depending on the model and can range from 5 to 100 kg. It is recommended to give preference to options made of stainless steel. They belong to the middle price segment, and the service life of the device reaches 15 years.

Combined installations are often equipped with a special smoke generator. They allow both hot and cold smoking, and the built-in generator automatically loads new chips to create smoke.

Such devices use special briquettes with sawdust for their work (by the way, the production of wood chips for smoking can also become a successful business). This idea allows the device to work without interruption for up to 8 hours. The average price of the described smokehouse is 150 thousand rubles.

Alternatively, you can order the creation of a smokehouse from private craftsmen, but then there is a high risk of receiving a low-quality product. You should only resort to this method if you are really confident in the quality of the craftsman’s work. You will also need to get the drawings.

In general, when choosing a smokehouse, you should rely on the material from which it is made, the capacity of the chamber, the type of fuel, possible smoking methods, the type of wood chips, the presence or absence of a water seal and additional functions.

All of the above is also true for large smokehouses designed for entire production workshops. Such giants are capable of processing up to 10 tons of products per day or more.

Hot or cold smoking?

Depending on the temperature, there are two types of smoking: cold and hot. In the first case, the temperature inside the smokehouse is set at 55-120 degrees, in the second it does not exceed 35 degrees.

Methods also vary in terms of product processing time. For the hot method, a few hours will be enough; in the case of the cold method, the time goes by a day. At the same time, the shelf life of a hot smoked product does not exceed 3 days, and that of a cold smoked product exceeds this period several times.

It is important to understand that there is a buyer for any product. However, the features of the technology show that in practice it is still better to prefer hot smoking, since its technology is simpler to calculate. In this case, it is cost-effective to prepare products in relatively small batches and to order.

Workshop equipment

In addition to the smokehouse itself, a number of other devices will be required to complete the workshop. You shouldn’t immediately buy the most expensive models; you can easily get by with cheaper equipment, especially at first. A good option would be to purchase a full-fledged industrial line that will ensure proper performance. The following items will also be useful:

1. Refrigeration units.
2. Tables for cutting smoked products.
3. Knives, boards and containers.
4. Scales.
5. Skewers.
6. Carts.

Of course, the list is far from complete - it will vary due to the characteristics of the enterprise itself.

As for working from home, a mini-line will suffice. The purchased equipment will take on most of the tasks and will delight you with a productivity of up to 5 tons per day.

Sales of products

Experts recommend adapting to the buyer whenever possible, that is, starting with popular products and then expanding production. There is no need to limit the assortment - there is a buyer for any product, so the wider the choice, the greater the profit it promises.

At the initial stages of work, you should not even try to create competition with large manufacturers. It’s easier to start on a small scale, at least until sales points are established. For example, you can sell products yourself in markets, through friends or via the Internet. Finally, you can try contacting stores directly.

Over time, you should think about advertising, placing ads on boards, offering goods on specialized forums on the Internet. A good move would be to emphasize that everything is made according to your own recipes from environmentally friendly raw materials (which can be purchased from the farm, if we are talking about working with chickens, for example). If the product really turns out to be tasty, there is no doubt that word of mouth will spread the news about it.

As production grows, it will be possible to open your own store, and then a retail chain. However, this will require a completely different level of expenses, because you will need to buy a lot of equipment, as well as hire staff.

Revenues and payback

Let's consider the situation using the example of smoking mackerel, which is always in good demand.

With an average wholesale price of fish around 150 rubles per kilogram, the finished product can be sold for twice as much. However, it is worth understanding that the raw material shrinks during the process. Weight loss can reach a third depending on the smoking temperature.

Let's take smoking at a temperature of 55 degrees as an example. If you smoke 50 kg of fish, about 40 kg will remain, which will give about 12 thousand rubles when sold. At the same time, the purchase of raw materials will cost about 7 thousand rubles. The production time for a batch is several hours, so it is possible to establish daily production. In a month you will be able to earn about 150 thousand rubles.

Part of the amount will be spent on taxes, rent and paying bills, so in the end there will be about 100 thousand rubles left.

In a similar way, you can calculate the profitability of the production of other types of smoking. According to statistics, the purchase of a smokehouse pays for itself in a couple of months, and all initial expenses can be reimbursed within six months, as numerous reviews indicate.

Business plan

Briefly, the costs can be entered into the table:

These numbers are approximate.

Video: smokehouses for small businesses.