How do I go about selling my homemade beef jerky?

Question

I make my own beef jerky and would like to try to sell it. What do I have to do as far as getting a license or permit to package and sell online and in rented stalls at flea markets and such? Or even to stores if I find some willing to buy it.

Answer 1

If you are making jerky out of your home, you will need to contact your county health department and establish a separate kitchen from your normal kitchen and keep all pets out of this "work" kitchen. You will only be able to sell product to end customer and only within the state that you reside. If you are selling loose unpackage product (by the pound), you will need to have a scale that is made for this and calibrated by the county that you reside and be careful if you are doing this at a show/flee market as the health department will consider this a food item and you will need sanitation, fire extinguisher, hairnets, etc. If you are packaging product, you will need to included your ingredients by decreasing weight on your label.

Regardless, at you place of manufacture, you must abide by the health department's sanitation, lighting, health and safety regulations as well. They might actually visit you once a year....

Talk to someone already under the direction of the health department in your town; local deli, mcdonalds, etc...ask them who their inspector is and their number and make your initial contact from there.

If you are thinking about selling through stores, ship throughout the US, ebay, etc. you will need USDA approval and FSIS approval along with a crap load of other things. This is way too involved and cost prohibitive, unless you have about 50k in seed money. This is outside the scope of your question.

If you are serious about this, you should consider selling another brand name of product that you enjoy and really can get behind. From my experience it is very difficult to manufacture and market products successfully and profitably. Once you get enough sales to live on, or feel that this is right, then you could consider investing in your own brand, by coming up with your own label and private labeling someone elses product.


Good Luck,

Toxic Tommy

Answer 2

First and most important, you need a board of health certificate - go to your county and find out what they require.

While you're at the county, stop by the county clerk and get a DBA (doing business as) license - it helps keep separate your personal from business, and you can give yourself a snazzy name. Then you can open up a business checking account, which is great because then you can buy your beef at wholesale places because you'll have business checks.

Once you've got board of health certs - you can sell within state - if you want to sell between states, you have to check if there are any statutory regulations - because it's food, there might be. I would not recommend trying to sell to another country, you'll never make enough profit to try to get the stuff to another country.

Then, market, sell, and after you make your first million, give me my commission!

Answer 3

I wanted to do that.

First....copyright the recipe.

Then...give away samples ...trade shows, stores , radio stations.

Get a catchy name and a price that you can make enough to keep going.

The key is to hit a chain that will carry you product. 7/11 stores ,now there is a score.

When you need a warehouse supervisor/ planner /production scheduler , production buyer, material manager, forklift operator, Purchasing manager, IT , programmer, musician, writer, poet, contact me . I can do it all.

Great for a start-up.

Do I hear IPO?

Answer 4

selling homemade beef jerky: https://bitly.im/c19/how-do-i-go-about-selling-my-homemade-beef-jerky

Answer 5

First hurdle the Health Department....then go from there with any and all idea's