Small Business Blog

It’s a funny old time to start a food business, the horsemeat scandal is still a hot topic among the nation and a recent survey by Which? revealed that 60% of those surveyed have completely changed their shopping habits since the incidents, which is good news for the independent start up.

Conversely, in a saturated market you’re going to need more than honest beef to make a lb; a viable business idea, impressive marketing strategy and a heap of common sense are paramount to making it work. So, put down that apron, put your thinking cap on and read our tips on getting that dream food business off the ground.

A marketable business strategy

Even if your speciality lasagne puts Nigella Lawson’s to shame, it’s not worth a dime without incredible business acumen to boot. Instead of spending weeks agonising over a thorough business strategy, use PEST and SWOT analysis to get a quick idea of whether or not your business is marketable and sustainable in the current economy.

Consider your target market and how best to reach the people who may be interested in your business – if you want to tap into the student market, don’t set up shop in the wealthiest area of the city etc.

Thinking outside the box

Thinking outside the box is one sure fire way to get people talking about your business. One butcher from Royston displayed the tongue in cheek banner ‘Only Fools Eat Horses’ in front of his shop front window and later reported a 20% increase in sales. Create a personality for your pizzeria/American diner/bakery and you’ll fare much better than a generically branded business.

Equally important, a great USP can set your business apart from the competition; quality is integral to a successful food business, for instance, if you use organic produce, shout about it in your menus and social media marketing.

Are you a people person?

If you’re just starting out, the chances are you’re going to be the star of the show and you know what that means – dealing with the great British public. You’ll be serving the public 24/7 and will need tenacity, charm and charisma to deal with every eventuality.

If your immediate reaction is to thrash anyone who rubs you up the wrong way, catering might not be the right industry for you. Conversely, if you put your heart and soul into producing good food, value and service, you’re unlikely to receive too many complaints.

Halve start-up costs

Starting your food business on a shoe string? Street food is the latest phenomenon to hit the food industry and with cheap overheads, few restrictions and little specialist knowledge required, it’s easy to see why.

One of the best things about street food businesses is the flexibility on location, for example, if you head to an area with low footfall, it’s easy enough to move on, whereas with a building based business, it’s far more complicated to up sticks and leave.

With a street food business, you’ll have the ability to be your own boss and generate instant profit, however you’ll need to be an extremely passionate and self-disciplined individual to make it a success.

No food business would be complete without a handy dose of business insurance at the ready, just in case it all goes a bit Pete Tong. At ConstructaQuote, we’ve got a number of competitive insurance policies on offer including small business insurance and liability insurance. Request a quote to learn more.

If hijacking a corporate logo and passing it off as your own doesn’t sound like a flagrant invasion of trademark infringement, we’re not quite sure what does – but that’s exactly what a business in Cardiff has done.

Introjucing Facefood, Roath’s newest patisserie and juice bar. With an exhaustive list of juices and all manner of Turkish sweets on offer, the café has received both local and national press attention. Unfortunately, media moguls haven’t been flocking to sample a carrot and cucumber juice, but instead to gawp at the café’s sign which bears a striking resemblance to the almighty Facebook.

With a bright blue background and bold white lettering, the shop front sign comes complete with the all too familiar friend request, notification and speech mark logos. In fact, so similar is the Facefood design to Facebook, if we didn’t know any better we’d assume this was the official café.

Conversely, Facefood manager, Samir Bougaci is one person who seemed unfazed by the logo similarity: “We have not spoken with Facebook – we have not heard from them..[Facebook] is nothing to do with me,” he said.

Bougaci, originally from Algeria, admitted the design had attracted attention: “Business is going ok; lots of people have been coming in and taking pictures.”

A quick scan of Facebook’s terms and conditions reveal that combining the social giant’s logo with new artwork or replicating it in any way is an unacceptable breach of trademark policy.

Somewhat ironically, the media attention surrounding Facefood has filtered into social media platforms, with many taking to Twitter to voice their opinions. Opinions were divided, some tweeters saw the humorous side, some were confused about whether the two businesses were affiliated; however, the vast majority were just curious to see if and what steps Facebook would take.

When asked whether he thought the logo was similar to the almighty social giant, Bougaci appeared nonchalant: “It’s different from Facebook, it’s different words.”
This is not the first Facebook inspired business to hit the globe, in Turkey a waffle restaurant also called Facefood use a similar logo.

Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has amassed a billion users worldwide. The popular social media platform has since reported they are ‘looking into the matter’. Meanwhile, Bougaci is unlikely to be receiving a friend request notification from Mark Zuckerberg anytime soon, ooh er.

If you’re planning to pull a stunt like Bougaci, it’s probably best to have some decent business insurance in place in case you push your luck too far. If you’re looking for small business insurance or liability insurance, ConstructaQuote can provide you with a competitive quote in minutes.

We don’t need to tell you that fuel prices have gone up considerably in the last few years. According to PetrolPrices.com, the average litre of fuel cost 90.8p in spring 2009, compared to 138.8p this March. That’s an increase of over 52% in just four years.

Back in the good old days

But after evidence came to light that some of the world’s biggest oil companies have been colluding and fixing petrol prices, motorists across Britain are coming to terms with the fact that they may actually have been paying over the odds for petrol and diesel for the last decade.

Investigators of the European Commission raided the offices of BP, Shell, Statoil and price-reporting agency Platts after they were tipped off that the companies had been distorting prices since 2002. And although the Commission emphasised that the raids didn’t prove the oil companies’ wrongdoing, they are currently cooperating with the investigation.

“The cost to businesses could run into billions”

Meanwhile, motorist groups and MPs have reacted with dismay. Quentin Wilson, from the petrol action group FairFuelUK, said he wasn’t surprised by the revelations.

He added: “The whole market needs much greater scrutiny. It’s opaque without any real accountability. If the allegations are true and the European Commission do find robust evidence, this is a price-fixing scandal that will make Libor look like overcharging in a sweet shop.

“And the actual cost to businesses and consumers over the last decade could if these allegations are true, run into many billions of pounds.”

Was the petrol market “working well”?

In the light of the new developments, many experts are also asking how the Office of Fair Trading, when investigating the petrol market in January, stated that it was “working well”. The Conservative MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon, said that the “limp-wristed, lettuce leaf” inquiry failed to spot what could all too easily be a national scandal – while he called for the oil companies to recompense the millions of motorists who have been hit by the price-fixing, if it is proved.

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman said it was would be “deeply worrying if prices have been driven up for consumers”, but stressed that the OFT investigation could only investigate petrol prices rather than the larger issue of oil prices that’s dealt with by the European Commission.

What does this mean for small businesses?

Unfortunately, in the short to medium term, this news will have little effect on petrol prices, although small businesses are currently enjoying a recent dip in prices. If the investigation does uncover illegal collusion between corporations, severe repercussions can be expected, as well as legislation to prevent the same thing happening again. To stay updated on the story as it continues to unravel, keep visiting us at ConstructaQuote.

Images: images of money, NedRichards.

Over the last year, British Gas has undertaken extensive trials to bring out a greener van for their fleet vehicles. The energy company selected the electric powered Nissan eNV200 to replace their existing diesel vehicles after they decided that it could no longer ignore the benefits of electric vans.

Testing, testing

Before rolling the green vehicle out to their entire fleet, British Gas carried out rigorous testing to ensure that it would be able to cope with everyday use. The eNV200 was loaded up with weight to simulate the tools and equipment that the gas engineers need at every job and was driven around in a variety of different conditions. Nissan’s green van held its own during these tests, powering through conditions where the temperatures dropped as low as -12 and covering over 1,200 miles! Several large fleet operators including FedEx, Coco-cola and Japan Post Service have already conducted these tests and gave positive comments about not only the reduced environmental impact but also the comfort and carry capacity of the eNV200.

Benefits of electric

With the price of petrol constantly increasing it make sense to look for cheaper ways of running your fleet. A recent study by the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory estimated that fleets running between 430 and 33,000 vehicles could save around £350,000 every year and reduce the Co2 emissions by 5%. What’s more, for larger operators this could be achieved simply by replacing 10% of their existing fleet with electric vans. British Gas plans on completely eliminating the use of diesel vans by 2015, which will see a drastic reduction in the company’s carbon footprint. There is additional financial benefit as the Government are also providing grants to businesses to encourage the use of low emission vehicles.

About the eNV200

Nissan’s eNV200 combines the drive train from the Nissan Leaf with the body of the NV200 to create the most popular electric van in the current market. There have been several improvements made to the van during the testing period including improvements to the battery, which has an expected range of 124 miles on a single charge. This van has attracted a lot of attention from several large fleet operators and provided the testing up to 2014 is as successful, as it has been to date, then it is likely to become a very common sight on UK roads. There are several other electric vans emerging in the marketplace including the Berlingo Electric and an electric version of the Peugeot Partner van.

Cons of electric

There has been a lot of arguments for and against electric cars. Although they do have many good qualities they don’t provide the same performance as a traditional petrol or diesel engine. Here’s a brief list of the cons of electric cars:

• Short range
• Expensive to buy
• Can’t currently buy used
• Difficult to find a mechanic for electric vans
• Public charging spots few and far between
• Home chargers expensive and time consuming

If you’ve been swayed to go green and your thinking about upgrading your fleet to electric vehicles to save money, then may also want to look for a cheaper insurance quote. Constructaquote compares thousands of insurances prices online to get you the best insurance for your fleet.