Hey Hot Potatoes,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hot Potato Newsletter. Now, are you one of those people that have a passion for all things hospitality? Do you feel adventurous enough to have a go and launch your own brand but are not sure where to start? Well, I am delighted to share that in today’s newsletter, we’re going to explore the ways in which you can launch a brand from scratch and the steps involved. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but after reading this article, you’ll be on your way to building your own mini restaurant empire.

In today’s email: How to launch a food brand, from scratch.

Read Time: Approx 7 mins

Define your niche and concept.

Undoubtedly, there is a huge variety of food and drink brands out there all vying to get paying customers through the door. What you need to do is find your niche, and give customers a reason to specifically come try your brand.

Key Points:

1. Define your USP (Unique Selling Point): What is going to make you stand out? Are you going to focus on one ingredient and make it the star of the menu? Is there a cuisine gap in your area that you could fill? Could you take a typically unhealthy concept and put a healthy spin on it? Either way, define what will make you different and go from there.

2. Market research: Get yourself out on the streets and go see what’s already out there! The guys at Crunch in their R&D phase would taste and rate what others were doing to see how they could do it better. You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel, just do it better than anyone else.

3. Build your brand identity: Once you’ve got an idea, one that has some legs, start to build your brand identity. How do you want to position yourself and what customers are you appealing to? Are you going to be a sleek and stylish brand or one with a more fun and playful tone?

4. Establish your offering: Start to think about what your menu and offering could look like. What ingredients and dishes are going to be at the forefront of the menu? I always find the best ideas are the simplest, no need to over complicate it.

There is a lot to consider when defining your USP and concept. From the type of cuisine you want to work with, the ingredients you want to use, the area and demographics you want to target, and even the competition you are about to go up against. My best advice is to get hands on… research the market, experiment with ideas, and always reach out to other founders to get invaluable insights. It’s a great opportunity to learn how they started out, and hear about the challenges they have faced and overcome along the way.

The important stuff to know.

Source: FSA

So, you’ve got yourself a concept and a brand identity, first step sorted… happy days! What else is important for you to know? Let’s find out.

Key Points:

1. Commercial viability: You’ve got an idea, but is it an idea that could make money? To get to the bottom of that question, start by building yourself a business plan. For all the novices out there, you can check out a guide here on Start Up Donut. Understand everything from your costs, to profitability, as well as making sense of how your idea could work operationally too. How many staff will you need? How big does your kitchen need to be? How will this affect your profit margins? Consider all the possibilities!

2. Apply for a food hygiene rating: When you launch a new food business, the first thing you need to do is register with the local council for a food hygiene rating. At some point after filling out your application form, someone from the council will turn up and check your place out, hopefully giving you a 5* rating!

3. Check additional licenses and permits: Depending on the type of business you decide to launch, there may be additional documents to check and licenses or permits to apply for. For example, if you’re planning on selling food on the street or at a market to begin with, you may need an extra permit. Check with your local council and make sure you’ve crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s.

Be that person who does their homework in the early stages, be prepared and have your business strategy set. The FSA has a guide on their website that’s worth checking out. Go here for more information, it will cover everything you need to know when getting started.

Bring your brand to life!

Source: Toast

Right, at this point you’ve decided on your USP, started to develop your concept, built your brand identity and understood all the boring bits. It’s now time to figure out what route you want to take to bring your food (or beverage) to people and how to market it.

Key Points:

1. Different routes to market: When considering how to launch your food brand, it’s important to acknowledge the different routes you can go down. The most obvious places to start are dark kitchens, pop ups, events and market stalls. All options work well, especially as a way to trial your concept without as much long term commitment. There are however pros and cons for all routes, so really think about your offering and what setting would work best. I’ll be doing a more in depth article on this in due course!

2. Marketing and launching: At the start, it is likely your marketing budget will be pretty slim, so make sure to harness the power of social media and build an online presence. Shout about your brand to all your friends and family and get them to spread the word. See if you can collaborate with any complimentary brands and leverage their audience. Do whatever it takes to reach as many people as possible. Ultimately though, if you focus on a brilliant and unique offering, the word will eventually get out there... like this newsletter ;)

3. Long term: Hopefully the launch went well and you’ve managed to establish yourself on the food scene. Customers are queuing in numbers and your concept has been a great success. Your next move now is to find a permanent home, so you can continue to build on the success you’ve created and grow even further.

I know starting can be daunting, but the most important thing is to do just that, take the plunge and start. For those of you who still might be stuck, it’s worth checking out companies like Sessions. They work with early stage brands and help them scale. Sessions have venues such as Shelter Hall in Brighton, allowing you to bring your concept directly to market. You can also find pop up spaces with appear here, helping you get short term leases, without any long term commitment.

Case Study: Bangers

Let's be real - We've all had those mornings when only a greasy breakfast sandwich will do the trick. You know the ones I'm talking about, where a certain golden arches' muffin seems like the answer to all of life's problems. Well, the guys at Bangers thought ‘why don’t we take the humble McMuffin and elevate it to new levels?’

Key Points:

1. Niche and USP: The sausage, crowned to be the focal ingredient on the menu. Having spoken with Will, one of the Co-Founders, he knew that there were loads of good burgers out there. He also started seeing a rise in popularity of breakfast as an occasion. So with that, he decided to create a breakfast style brand where instead of burgers, it focused on sausage style muffins and sandwiches.

2. Route to market: The idea was a long time in the making, many years to be exact. Having trialled the concept at events, they decided to really test the demand and open a dark kitchen unit, solely delivery only. Over time they saw the demand was consistently growing and they knew they were onto something.

3. Growth: Fast forward a couple of years, Bangers now has it’s own breakfast bar in Shoreditch, and the team have their eyes firmly on expansion. They have built a pretty steady following on their socials, however they’ve seen a large chunk of their success come down to the fact they’ve got a super unique proposition, with a big focus on real quality ingredients. This has allowed them to build a loyal following of fans that keep on coming back for more.

It comes as no surprise that Bangers has been successful. They identified a gap in the market, kept things simple, trialled the concept and created a loyal fanbase. By the time the two Founders (both named Will), launched their first brick and mortar site, they hit the ground running. If you want to get your hands on a sausage (no pun intended), go check them out in Shoreditch at 5 Leonard Circus, London EC2A 4DQ.

Today we’ve run through the steps needed to get a brand launched. I want to know, if you were going to launch a food brand, what would your idea be?

Now, we know that AI has already started to shape our daily lives, but have you been wondering how it’s been impacting the hospitality industry? Next week we explore how AI is transforming the industry… for better or worse, you won’t want to miss it. If you have any questions you’d like me to address, or if there are any specific topics you’d like to know more about, send them over!

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe to stay updated weekly on all things hospitality!

Bon appétit,

Max Shipman, Editor-in-Chief, Hot Potato

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