How to open a successful clean food store?

by Abbas Jahangir · June 14, 2024

From reality, I see a lot of people opening clean food stores, but 90% of them close after 2-3 months of opening. After 1-2 years, the remaining 5% – 8% will close, leaving only 2-5% standing. This is also the question I have been searching for an answer for nearly 5 years. From being a part-time employee at a reputable clean food store in Hanoi to opening and developing the SEA WOLF CLEAN FOOD STORE CHAIN as it is today .

Today I will share a very real experience. In fact, I am the one who has gone through it, paying the price with a lot of effort, enthusiasm and money… I hope you, those who want to start a business, will be successful. working with the clean food industry, before entering this field, have a new perspective on the current clean food industry, more specifically in Hanoi.

See more: 5 Suggestions to help clean food business succeed

1. Potential of the domestic clean food industry

First of all, I don’t need to elaborate on the industry’s potential. Because once you want to join this industry, you already know how great its potential is. But why is it that for every 10 stores that open, no more than 2 survive after 1 year? (In my opinion). While the industry’s competition is not really fierce. Currently you can find countless locations in Hanoi within a radius of 2 km without any other clean food stores.

The current demand for clean food in Hanoi is extremely large, almost everyone has it. The highest demand is for people with good income or more and a little knowledge. The profit of this item is also quite good, from 15% to 30% of sales. Turn capital around quickly, almost in a day or a few days, and you can know your profit or loss…

For example, clean meat stores in big cities are springing up like mushrooms and are extremely developed, because clean meat stores are the keywords that countless people search for when many blue-ear epidemics and swine fever occur. go out.

Many food stores have switched to using sales management software because operations are simpler and save more time for sales. You can also quickly sign up for a Free trial here

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One of the things I like most about this field is always being able to live and work true to my nature. True to ethics and not a bit of deception here. Customers are the ones who will evaluate and decide fairly and accurately according to what you have contributed. In short, you and I both see this as an industry that is worthy of business attention, investment of effort and money.

2. Prepare well in each stage so that the store operates stably and develops

In this article I will not specifically present each reason why a store is successful. Because there are indeed so many different reasons. But I will present some of the most core points that affect the existence and development of a store through each specific step. From the time you start preparing to open a store until the store is in stable operation and well developed, what do you need to do?

2.1. First stage: Preparing to open the store

– Name your brand, affirm your mission, vision and what you can bring to society through your business.

Note: Must create a difference and impression in the name, slogan, logo, brand identity must not overlap with other brands or be too long to remember.

For example: The Sea Wolf brand is quite impressed by customers and they often ask why the name is Sea Wolf? (I have the opportunity to tell customers about the story of Mr. Mai Phung Luu, who stuck to the sea, received a reward from the President and opened a store with me… That way customers will understand and remember me very much. long)

You should create your own brand name, logo or ask a friend to help you design it. If you don’t have friends, go to Google and find out for yourself, I’m sure it will be done within 3 days…

See more: Clean food store management solution with sales software

DID YOU KNOW: KiotViet sales software currently has a FREE trial program for all customers with ALL FEATURES.

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– Find a location to open a store: Location to open a store is extremely important, I think it accounts for 40% of the store’s success or failure.

You should note the following locations:

+ Densely populated areas have better income and better knowledge.

+ Areas with lots of traffic and convenient for stopping by to buy food, such as near markets, near schools, near high-rise buildings (office workers).

+ High-income areas still do not have many clean food stores such as districts like Dong Da, Cau Giay, My Dinh… Or some urban areas far from markets or large supermarkets opening stores on the first floor of buildings. High-rise buildings are also very good.

+ The initial store area I think is about 35m2 to 50m2 is nice (Not too big and not too narrow enough to develop business and bring good income)

+ Frontage: The frontage should be as wide as possible, preferably 2 frontages because it can reach customers better and have more parking spaces, the frontage is at least 3 meters.

+ Rental price/month: Range from 6 to 12 million for suburban districts, while central districts with prime locations are usually at least 15 million to 35 million. Depending on the initial investment capital, you can decide the rental price. But in my opinion, the first store should rent for 6 to 15 million to be safe.

How much capital do you need to open a successful clean food store?

I have been asked this question by many people and have also witnessed many clean food stores opening for only about 60 to 80 million. But it sells quite well and is getting more and more crowded. After that, they reinvested in the store and after about a year they were successful. However, there are also some very large stores that opened just a few dozen meters from Soi Bien location, investing more than 400 million but after only 4 weeks they closed.

The problem is not how much capital you have to open a store, but whether you have enough dedication, diligence and determination to open a store? In my opinion, with current cost calculations (2014), you should open a new store at least around 80 million or more, up to 250 million is a reasonable number in my opinion…

See more: CLEAN FOOD PRESERVATION – A difficult problem for business people

– Find sources of clean food products, learn in advance how to prepare, package, preserve…

+ Your store is required to have its own sources of goods, quality, difference and the profit margin on that item is higher than other stores. If you don’t have this, it will be very difficult to survive in the first 6 months.

=>> This seems difficult but it is not difficult if you take the time to find out in practice. For example, you can go to the countryside, contact reputable production and farming facilities and ask about exclusive distribution with them to have a stable and quality source of goods… Black tiger shrimp at Soi Bien is 100% pure. Wild caught shrimp.

Finding clean food supplies is extremely necessary because people are currently very concerned about food hygiene and safety. You can find reputable suppliers of clean fruits and vegetables in the suburbs of Hanoi with Dong Anh, which is very reputable by applying advanced farming technology. Finding clean food suppliers, finding fruit and vegetable suppliers should be a priority before deciding to open a store.

+ How to prepare, pack trays, use food wrap and preserve food in the refrigerator or freezer??? It’s best to find out through Google, if there’s anything you don’t understand, go to other clean food stores and ask them for help…

+ Find the address that provides the best price for consumable items at the store such as plastic bags, food trays, wrapping film, tape… In Hanoi, it’s best to go to Hang Chieu Street with countless items. You can choose products at the best prices.

– Recruitment and training of personnel:

In the beginning, you are the one who has to work directly at the store and only need to recruit 1 or 2 people to support you. Many stores fail because from the beginning they hired other people to work, were not well managed, had too much inventory, were not dedicated to customer care… You are the one who does these things best and after about After 6 months of directly doing everything at the store, understanding everything about the store, you can write down the working process and train employees to do better than you…

– Marketing: Before opening a store, you need to prepare about 2,000 to 5,000 leaflets and brochures about the store. Find out and communicate in advance with people around the store area, local authorities, especially ward police… Prepare a plan to distribute leaflets and promote the store by word of mouth.

– Purchasing equipment: The store needs to have at least 1 glass-top freezer to display frozen goods. In my opinion, you should always buy the 800 to 1000 liter type to make it more eye-catching when displayed than the 300 liter type.

+ 1 cooler for pork, beef, chicken, duck, salmon… and other animal meats.

+ 1 to 2 fruit cabinets to display and sell fruit and preserve vegetables when not sold out…

+ Anyone in Hanoi needs to buy an electronic scale | Freezer | If the refrigerator is not damaged, you can send an email and I will help you find an address that sells those items at a very good price.

There are also many other items such as counters, shelves, cashier desks, computers, printers… It is best to buy liquidation at other stores where they liquidate the store and buy it about 30% cheaper.

– Store decoration : Clean food stores should choose bright colors, white or green to create a clean and friendly feeling rather than dark colors when displayed, which will not be eye-catching.

+ The store’s frontage has systems of horizontal and vertical signs and signs outside on the sidewalk to attract customers. (Signs on the sidewalk are very attractive but are often collected by the ward police so you need to work with them first)

+ In the store, you should hang some pictures of you actually going to the input food sources, the certificate of product origin, a few sayings affirming your mission, vision and enthusiasm in these places. where customers can see it most….

– Regarding business registration procedures: registering a facility that meets safety and hygiene conditions and documents proving the origin of goods should be complete. This is to avoid any problems when state agencies come to inspect. However, in the first 3 months of opening, you don’t need to worry too much about this (usually after 3 or 6 months they will check, so after 3 months of good operation, you can complete it).

2.2. Phase 2: Opening, maintaining and developing the store

– Opening : On opening day, you must do something important. That is to make the store very crowded and create attraction and attention for surrounding people, potential customers and other interested people.

It doesn’t matter if you lose money during the opening days, but what matters is how many potential customers come to the store and hear about the store.

Attract visitors to opening day by:

+ Shocking discounts from 30 to 50% (products you are confident in the best quality) within 3 days or 1 week of opening.

+ Free product sampling

+ Unique and meaningful customer gifts

+ Distribute discount coupons and VIP customer cards

+ Hang banners and banners around the store, turn on music speakers to attract customers, invite lots of friends to support…etc… =>> Do everything possible to make the store look crowded on those days The grand opening creates curiosity for potential customers.

– Maintain the store’s break-even point: About 1 week to 2 weeks after opening the store is the most difficult time, the time that tests your tenacity and business bravery. Usually it lasts until the 3rd or 6th month so you can get the store to increase sales and return to the break-even sales point. During this time, you must do the following if you do not want to close your store.

+ Find out and record customer information, preferences and needs.

+ Regularly organize programs to attract customers to the store such as promotions and opening sales of new products (That day, I slaughtered fresh tuna up to 90 kg every week, causing very hot news for potential customers. )

+ Build close relationships with customers: Remember names, addresses, needs, occupations, personalities, interests… From as many customers as possible to facilitate better customer care and understanding.

+ Train employees to be dedicated to their profession, honest and sincere in every action and word to customers to create a good impression of service…

+ Improve product quality, eliminate items with a lot of negative feedback, actively explore and import more diverse new products…

+ Find sources to supply food to the restaurant, helping to maintain effective revenue.

See more: 4 tips for managing the quality of agricultural and food products using software

How to manage the store?

First, you alone have to do everything from ordering from suppliers every day. Check the quality when they deliver to evaluate the quality of each supplier. After a few months, you can assign someone else to take charge.

+ Regarding the types of books, you must have the following books:

# Customer book: Save customer information such as name, age, address, interests, needs, occupation, phone number…

# Order book: Save customer order information daily to avoid forgetting

# Debt number: Save debtor information…

# Receipt and expenditure book: Save the store’s income and expenditure information…

And other types of books if you find them necessary for management…

Too many books to remember, what to do?

Currently, most clean food stores have switched to using sales management software to manage all work items. You do not need to keep many different types of books or create many excel files to manage, they are all available on KiotViet software.

+ Manage list of goods/inventory/new arrivals

+ Send warnings about items that are running out and need to be restocked. Warning about expired goods.

+ Automatically summarize revenue, profits, and update expenses

+ Unlimited storage of customer data, transaction history, and promotion information

+ Easily look up point programs, loyalty programs, debt, etc.

See more: What is sales management software? Why do clean food store owners use books instead?

How to train sales staff and sell clean food?

I intended to write these shares down, but today I happened to read Tony Morning’s share on this topic, which was very good and exactly what I thought, so I would like to quote it for convenience…

“Here are some small sales skills that Tony saw taught on Korean television, so I’ll tell you again…

With goods, we do it gently, with care and with the heart of the farmer. I just imagined that it was mine to grow, from seed, to seedling, to flowering and fruiting, and watching it every day. I have to love the goods so my movements will adjust accordingly.
While there are no customers, I put it in a bag of scales first. For example, people mainly buy 1kg or 2kg of black fungus, so I weigh it first and tie it with a rubber band to leave it there. If you don’t do anything, you have to clean and clear away the trash so you won’t be tired at the end of the day. Don’t just stand there, some of you say it’s okay, don’t just stand there, whatever the group leader tells you to do, your face looks so dazed and foolish, you feel like you want to be confused.
Also prepare change and plan for change plans. For example, 1kg of tomatoes costs 12,000 VND, if customers buy 2kg, they will give 25 thousand or 30 thousand, so 1 thousand and 6 thousand bills must be prepared. For example… Don’t call out loudly at that moment.
When guests arrive, I run out and take their car to the curb. Smiling as he greeted his sister, his face exuded intelligence and intelligence. After buying, they bowed their heads and said in unison, “Thank you for supporting clean Vietnamese agricultural products”. Speak honestly, without embarrassment. Everyone loves it when they’re cute, they get whatever they want. If you want to be cute, you have to think about others first and yourself second.

Give in, ignore, don’t talk nonsense, don’t make a fuss, don’t give an eye for an eye… let yourself be better. When customers buy a lot, I tell them to let me take them home. Always tell your heart, always smile, and look at others with warm eyes. If we love others, they will love us back. Sorry, thank you always… Keep smiling. Don’t be angry when you’re tired. Irritation is the uncivilized behavior of those young boys “…

How to handle inventory that is not sold out on the day?

For example, pork is sold on the same day so it must be imported in moderation and preserved well. If it is not sold on the same day, freeze it immediately and sell the frozen portion at a discount. If you freeze too much, take it out and make clean floss.

Vegetables are sold the same day, there are some vegetables that can be sold on a daily basis such as Malabar spinach, Malabar spinach… Continuously process and remove wilted vegetables to make the vegetables look attractive and easy to sell. If you sell daily, the selling price will be lowered… The most important thing is to determine the correct quantity of goods to import.

The general formula for all types of items is:

Import goods in standard quantity, check and return defective goods immediately upon receipt, well packaged and preserved. During the selling process, the products are constantly checked and processed to ensure that the goods are not as fresh as when they were first imported, pushing them to sell at lower prices. If the price can’t be reduced, then let them process it into other products or sell it cheaply to a restaurant….

Should store management software be used immediately?

When starting to open, in my opinion, if you are not sure of high success and determine to open 1-2 stores, you should buy subscription software. Currently, I highly rate KiotViet sales management software .

Many clean food stores have switched to using management software because operations are simpler and save more time for sales. You can also quickly sign up for a Free trial here .

Should surveillance cameras be installed?

Initially, it is not necessary if you are often at the store, but after you leave the store, it should be installed to facilitate store monitoring and management. You can view the camera via your phone anytime, anywhere with 3G, wifi…

2.3. Phase 3: Develop, reinvest and promote the brand

– After the store escapes the break-even point and begins to make a profit, bringing you income, I advise you not to spend that profit. Reinvest in the store to increasingly improve product quality, management processes, product inspection and supervision, expand new products, invest in brand, customer care… Like that , the store is developed stably and sustainably.

– When your store has grown well, you should invest in online channels to earn more customers and promote your brand. Because initially the product is not guaranteed and the service is not good, we should not promote and sell online…

In short, according to my experience, to successfully build and develop a clean food store you need to have:

– First, you must really have a heart for the job, be truly dedicated and determined to do it well.

– Second: Choose the right, good location suitable for a clean food store

– Third: Obtain many good sources of goods, ensuring stable, differentiated quality and exclusive distribution.

– Fourth: Inspect and monitor quality well, build a dedicated and honest working team and listen to customer opinions, putting customer benefits as the number 1 priority.

In addition, to be able to do business successfully, especially when the epidemic is raging, shop owners should also focus on selling clean food online. Facebook, Website, e-commerce platform… are all potential online clean food business channels. In the future, people’s need for online shopping will certainly increase exponentially, so finding a clean food business online is definitely something you need to do.

Above is everything I just thought of and wrote with all sincerity and sharing, hoping that you will soon open a clean food store more successfully than expected. If you can read this to the end and still enjoy it, I believe you will successfully open a clean food store. Wishing you a good start and a smooth business!