A little history
Even when ancient people were just starting to make fire, even then they seasoned their food: they mixed raw meat with the roots and fruits of plants. This is where the history of spices and their role not only in human life, but also in the culture of many nations begins.
Initially, people used only those seasonings that grew in their region. But with the development of trade, the geography of distribution of spices expanded, making them a valuable commodity.
The Egyptians rightfully occupy one of the first places in the world in the use of seasonings. Even 5 thousand years ago, calamus was actively used there, although today it is more often used as a folk medicine.
In the ancient world, the spice trade was mainly carried out by Arabs from the Middle East. Caravans of camels and donkeys carrying cassia, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and jewelry followed a very dangerous route from China, Indonesia or India.
Thanks to the rapid development of trade turnover, spice capitals emerged: Carthage, Alexandria, Venice and Byzantium. Today they have been replaced by London, New York, Hamburg, Singapore and Rotterdam.
Well, a very spicy business: how to make money producing proprietary spices
For many years, Ekaterina Ozhal was an office employee, but at one point she gave up everything and moved from Yekaterinburg to Istanbul. There she taught Russian and did translations, and also discovered the wonderful world of oriental spices. When she returned to Russia, she took up the business that Turkey inspired her to do - she began creating her own spices. Now she is not only engaged in production, but also grows most of the raw materials for it. Ekaterina Ozhal told the Biz360.ru portal about how to sell spices in a country where the culture of their consumption is not developed.
Dossier
Ekaterina Ozhal
, entrepreneur from Anapa, founder of a company (production of proprietary spices). Born in Kurgan, from 6 to 14 years old she lived in the Far North. Until 2008, she worked as an office employee in Yekaterinburg. Then she lived in Turkey for six years, taught Russian at a private school, and did translations for a publishing house. In 2014, she returned to Russia and launched spice production in Yekaterinburg. In 2020 she moved to Anapa.
How it all began
Ekaterina Ozhal was an office employee for a long time. But at one point, she got tired of the routine work, which she had to spend most of her time on, and Ekaterina decided to radically change her life. I took the “Russian as a Foreign Language” course at Moscow State University and went to live in Turkey. There she began teaching Russian to residents of the country.
“In Istanbul I was completely responsible for myself. I learned to take responsibility and not be afraid. I think this experience helped me develop an entrepreneurial spirit,” says Ekaterina.
When she returned to Russia six years later, she realized that she was no longer interested in working for someone, so she decided to start her own business, which was inspired by Istanbul. While living there, Catherine noticed how masterfully the Turks knew how to use spices, adding them to any dish. And she herself became addicted to spicy food.
When Ekaterina became homesick for Istanbul, she decided to go on a trip and bring something to order from there - in this way she wanted to compensate for part of the flight costs.
“While I lived in Turkey, for several years I sent or brought a variety of spices to my friends as gifts. When I returned to Russia, my friends joked that they couldn’t live without my parcels. Their interest gave me the idea that there are others who want to receive Turkish gifts,” says Ekaterina.
She is on VKontakte, posted photos from the Internet and her old photographs of the Turkish market - and collected about 20 orders. So it occurred to Catherine that it was possible to deal with spices on a larger scale.
First experiments
It was not difficult for Ekaterina to purchase spices in Turkey; she knew the language and local traditions well. First she came to the market and began collecting business cards from those sellers who interested her. “That’s how I met a family that has been making spices since the 19th century. We became friends, and I started buying sun-dried tomatoes, pomegranate juice, and mixtures of various seasonings from them. I took everything I bought to Russia in suitcases in my luggage,” recalls Ekaterina Ozhal.
Gradually she began to become interested in ingredients and see what interesting things there were in the world of spices. Then I got inspired and wanted to not only carry ready-made seasonings for sale, but also create spices myself and try different combinations. This is how her original mixtures appeared, including those containing those herbs that can be grown or found in our country.
“I studied the market and realized that only large enterprises operate in it. We do not have the same culture of spice consumption as, for example, in eastern countries. Because of this, seasonings sold in stores often have the simplest, inexpensive compositions, few components, and the main ones are garlic, onions and the cheapest pepper,” says Ekaterina.
Seeing that there were no such offers on the Yekaterinburg market, Ekaterina took part in the local market with her first experiments and sold everything outright. Then she realized that with a skillful approach and good presentation, people are ready to buy designer spices.
Retrained as a farmer
To expand the range and be able to produce raw materials for spices herself, Ekaterina sold her apartment in Yekaterinburg and bought land in the village of Tokarevo, not far from the city. The site was planted with garden trees, but neglected. The new owner immediately began to put it in order, planted it with herbs and began to create not only spices, but also fruit and berry teas.
“I had neither equipment nor experience in fermenting teas, but when I became interested, I started reading, studying the topic and trying it. On a wave of inspiration, I began to do something with my hands, and I succeeded,” says Ekaterina.
She also made chips and marshmallows from the first harvest of apples from her garden. She continued to sell all her products at food markets. These events were not only the main sales channel, but also an opportunity to network with like-minded people and find regular customers. When quite a lot of such buyers appeared, and the demand for goods became constant, Ekaterina launched the OnlineBazar online store and opened a goods delivery point, which worked twice a week.
At this point, the production of spices became a full-time job for Catherine. In this regard, she had to greatly expand the assortment - the store now has cooking salts, mixtures for making mulled wine and hot chocolate, gift sets and much more.
“If I had left a small assortment, my business simply would not have survived - spices are not bought every day, this is a product that is not needed so often, so it was necessary to offer something else. With such a set of goods, I found my niche in Yekaterinburg and worked quietly in it. For me alone, the demand for the products was sufficient. The business brought me income comparable to a good office salary,” says Ekaterina Ozhal. It was possible to sell 50-70 kg of spices and the same amount of tea per year.
But with the expansion of the range, a new problem appeared: there was not enough time and free hands, and a shortage of raw materials became apparent. Large influxes of buyers occurred before any holidays; it was especially difficult to cope with orders before the New Year.
Change of location
In order to be able to grow other types of plants, store large volumes of herbs for the winter, so that the assortment would include even more teas and a variety of fruit salts, in the spring of 2018, Ekaterina moved from Yekaterinburg to Anapa. She bought a plot of land there near the city, which, according to her idea, could provide herbal production for the entire winter. “But for a year now I haven’t been able to defeat the local water utility and supply water to the plot, so I planted the land with wild plants that do not require watering,” notes Ekaterina.
A season later, she rented a plot of land in Sochi and began transporting her vegetable garden there. But even in Sochi, the conditions for plants, as it turned out, are far from ideal: bad soil, on which nothing grows without humus fertilization, and also slugs that eat everything that gets in their way.
“I was just glad that my fenugreek took root and started sprouting - a herb with a very pleasant mushroom aroma, which I add, for example, to suneli hops and other seasonings - as literally overnight only stems remained of it,” says Ekaterina Ozhal.
Now the girl is in the busy season, when she is primarily engaged in gardening in order to provide herself with raw materials for the whole winter. “In addition to growing familiar plants, I try to plant something new so that I can later invent something interesting out of it. For now, I’m at the stage where I’m looking for edible plants with a pleasant taste and growing them to create combinations that nature will tell me.”
Ekaterina does most of the work herself: this concerns the gardening, the creation of spices, the promotion of the company, and the organization of sales. There are also helpers: the husband helps with hard work in the garden; my mother remains in the Urals, who looks after the first plot, collects the harvest and sends it to Sochi, for example, currant leaves and meadowsweet.
Ekaterina orders some of the herbs for her mixtures from Altai. Now she has a trusted supplier - a local family. But it was not easy to find them; I had to make a lot of mistakes: “What they sent me from Altai initially was of terrible quality. It got to the point where pickers added sand to the herbs to increase the weight. The family we work with now helps me a lot. If the raw materials are not of sufficient quality, they will definitely warn you. I really value my contact with this supplier.”
Now Ekaterina tries to use only those herbs that grow in Russia. In case something else comes in handy, there are contacts of trusted suppliers. There are only two of them, each specializing in something.
For chicken, smoothies and pie
From all the variety of raw materials, Ekaterina Ozhal created about 50 types of products for her online store. These are not only different mixtures of spices and seasonings, but also culinary salts evaporated in wine or fruit juice; herbal and fruit and berry teas; spice cards; mixes for baking, making mulled wine and hot chocolate; vegetable chips; granola and dried fruits; jams and mustards with spices and even fragrant bath bags.
“I constantly experiment and always look to see what niche is not occupied. I want to embrace different cuisines, I try to create universal mixtures that will suit different dishes. For example, “Thai mixture” with lemongrass goes well with chicken, fish, and any seafood. Mixes for baking with almonds are also used as a seasoning for smoothies and even for chicken,” explains Ekaterina.
Depending on the season, different products are in demand in her store. In winter, these are, first of all, teas, spicy mixtures for mulled wine and hot chocolate. In summer, mixtures suitable for smoothies or picnic dishes.
Fashion also influences sales. For example, if a popular blogger starts saying that turmeric is healthy, interest in this product increases: “I see how a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition have become fashionable, so I try to show that spices can be added to a variety of healthy drinks, with They are good for making steamed dishes, I talk on social networks about the benefits of spices. For example, that spicy spices speed up metabolism.”
Ekaterina does not consider the prices of her goods high. 30 grams of a mixture of spices now costs her 125 rubles, and 50 grams of cooking salt with seasonings costs the same. 30 grams of herbal tea and a mixture for mulled wine will cost 150 rubles.
Sell the unsellable
The market in which Ekaterina works remains difficult; selling unusual spices in Russia, where there is no rich culture of their use, is not easy.
“I tried making spices and naming them after the nationalities that created them. For example, in the USA there is the Cajun nation, their cuisine is famous for seafood. I took their paprika seasoning as a basis, added something of my own to it and called the mixture “Cajun”. But it didn’t work out for me at all, because people didn’t know where to use it. Then I renamed it “Paprichnaya”, things began to go better, it was more understandable. After that, I began making mixtures with simple and understandable names: “For Breakfast”, “For Salads”. This is understood best in our country,” Ekaterina analyzes.
“We have a very low purchasing power of the population, which means that people have closed taste buds. We don’t think about trying different foods and discovering different tastes, but about how to pay the mortgage and feed our family.”
But, Ekaterina adds, it’s enough to try the product offered by Online Bazar once to understand that spices help diversify even a poor diet, and this can also bring joy. Often, having accidentally tried Ekaterina’s spices, people become her regular customers.
Hope for wholesale and regular customers
Over the past two years, after moving to the Krasnodar region, Online Bazar sales have decreased. The bulk of the buyers remained in Yekaterinburg; not many regular customers appeared in the new location. Therefore, now Ekaterina is striving to establish cooperation with wholesale buyers and through them look for her client throughout the country.
Already now, the main sales channel for spices is the retail outlets with which Ekaterina cooperates. In Yekaterinburg, these are the Clearbarn chain of detox bars, Greens healthy food stores and cafes, and the Zhiznmart store of the famous Ural restaurateur Ivan Zaichenko. Online Bazar spices are also sold in the healthy food cafe “Taste of Life” in Gelendzhik. In St. Petersburg, the brand is represented in the specialized store of Anastasia Blizkaya.
“To sell this product, you have to love it with all your heart. All the owners of these points are ideological people who are able to convey to the buyer the essence of my product. Thanks to the same sellers, my spices can be found in other cities of the country,” says Ekaterina Ozhal.
She is always open for cooperation, so new sales points are constantly appearing in the geography of sales. The only condition for starting work is payment for the order immediately: “I don’t give anything to anyone for sale, although there are a lot of such offers. I’ve been through all this and I know that when people take responsibility, that is, buy goods for resale, everything works out much better.”
Some regular customers - mainly residents of Yekaterinburg and big cities - still order spices directly through the company’s website. But for now, an online store is not the right place to attract new customers. People who go there are mainly those who have already become acquainted with the product offline - at festivals and markets or saw it at a retail outlet.
What's next
Now the girl continues to invest all her earnings in the development of the business - in plants and infrastructure on the site. In order to move to a new level and begin producing and selling spices in large volumes, Ekaterina needs not only to resolve issues with her new land plot, but also to purchase expensive foreign equipment - grinders and packers.
“Such equipment is not produced in our country, because there are almost no small companies like mine. All other productions are large, and all the equipment is designed for them,” explains Ekaterina Ozhal.
“Now I am coming to the conclusion that my interest in this business is closer than material gain and, probably, it will remain so. True, now it has become harder for me. To be able to live, engage in this type of creativity and satisfy your ambitions, you have to put in a lot of effort. We have to think more about how to monetize our talents.”
She sees the possibility of additional income in developing a new direction of her business. In the future, Ekaterina wants to engage in agritourism. Open a small hotel or bungalow on the ground where travelers can come, run a small cafe, and sell spices there.
“Yes, this is not a business in the Russian sense. Usually, with us, people earn money to buy pleasure, but with me, on the contrary, pleasure comes first, then money,” says the entrepreneur.
Subtitle
The spice trade brings in millions of dollars a year, so spices are carefully inspected before being stored in huge warehouses before being sold or sent for processing and packaging.
The leader in popularity is black pepper, followed by chili and cardamom.
The largest producers of spices today are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Madagascar. The spice trade brings an impressive portion of income to the economies of these countries and the development of business in the regions. And by the way, history knows many examples of how empires fought in battles only so that today jars of spices, beloved by many housewives, stood on our kitchen shelves, and our taste buds were surprised by new tastes. For this reason, some shell out incredible amounts of money for the rarest plants, while others make a successful business out of them.
Assortment of spices and seasonings
Assortment of spices and seasonings for a food kiosk and stall
If earlier kiosks were used only for selling magazines and newspapers, today there are also grocery stores on the city streets. One of the main features of kiosks and stalls is their small area, so the volume and range of goods is significantly limited. When it comes to herbs and spices, your best bet is to use all-purpose seasonings, bouillon cubes, and ready-made instant mixes. Such popular seasonings and spices as dry dill and parsley, bay leaf and black pepper are also suitable for a business of this format.
Assortment of spices and seasonings in a convenience store format
In this case, there are much more opportunities for diversifying the assortment. In addition to the products that can be sold at the stall, the grocery store can also offer special seasonings for meat, fish, vegetables, first and second courses. You should also pay attention to mixtures of peppers, garlic, mustard, adjika and so on. The main rule is not to purchase products in large quantities. The popularity of a particular product depends on the traffic of the store and local preferences. Over time, it will become clear what the buyer is interested in and what is not needed at all.
Assortment of spices and seasonings in a grocery supermarket
The main advantage of the supermarket is that customers stay there much longer. And bright packaging of goods always attracts attention, even if they were not on the shopping list. The large area allows us to offer a wide range of seasonings and spices. Among other things, here you can sell dried spicy vegetables and herbs, mixtures of various components, and a wide variety of manufacturers. This format allows for the option of selling expensive seasonings by weight and in jars.
Some of the most popular classic spice mixtures are curry mixture, Indian, Siamese, Chinese mixture, hops-suneli, dolma and so on.
Nutmeg mace
The price range of this spice is very wide and depends on the form in which it is sold - petals or powder. The price varies from 100 to 700 dollars per kilogram.
Nutmeg color is a red film that is removed from the fruit of the nutmeg tree and dried on wooden layers. Those. extremely careful and delicate work, which is performed entirely by hand.
Where to get the goods and how to sell them?
In fact, in your city or region, most likely, there is a wholesale supplier of spices - it is convenient to buy from such companies, since they have excellent trade relations with producing countries and have documents confirming the quality of the goods. By the way, you can grow some spices yourself - this does not require much space; even ordinary pots for ornamental plants will do. Of course, this will take much longer.
If you are interested in the question of how to open a spices and seasonings store, then you should know that profit will depend primarily on how much customers like your store. You and all working personnel (if any) should know everything about your own product: in which country it is grown, what dishes it is used for, how to store it correctly, etc. And you should be willing to share this information with your clients.
By the way, if we are talking about dishes, you can hire a person who will personally make various mixtures of spices. If a famous chef talks about some mysterious cooking secret, then in most cases he means a unique combination of spices.
Try to provide a similar benefit to your customers. Create several universal mixtures for different types of meat, desserts, fish, salads, etc. You can also offer the service of creating a unique combination on an individual order.
As you know, fruits have a short shelf life, so selling dried fruits is a more profitable and less expensive business. At the same time, dried fruits have the same amount of vitamins as fresh ones.
- Pros and cons of the dried fruit trading business
- What dried fruits are profitable to sell?
- How to start your own business selling dried fruits
- What documents are needed to open a business selling dried fruits?
- How much can you earn
- How much money do you need to start a business?
- What equipment to choose for selling dried fruits
- What is the OKVED code for a business selling dried fruits?
- Sales technology
When a person with limited financial resources is thinking about starting his own business, he should take a closer look at options that offer quick returns. Experienced businessmen recommend trading as the most low-cost but highly profitable option.
But here a serious problem of choice arises, because not every product guarantees good business development. Food products always sell best. However, there can be a lot of competition here. Therefore, it is worth choosing a product that will always be in demand.
Considering that a healthy lifestyle has become increasingly popular recently, consumers are increasingly interested in healthy products. Trading fruits and vegetables can bring good profits, but these products can spoil quickly, and specially equipped premises will be needed to sell them and preserve their shelf life.
But all these expenses can be avoided if you choose dried fruits as the object of trade. They are in demand in the winter-spring period no less than natural fruits and vegetables. The thing is that out of season, prices for fresh fruit can reach incredible levels. And here dried fruits come to the rescue, which contain a lot of vitamins and microelements necessary for the human body.
Cardamom
Cardamom has been known to mankind since the times of Babylon. This name was indicated for the first time on clay tablets of that period. A kilogram of this spice costs $350-400.
It is grown in many countries, but the central suppliers are Sri Lanka and India. It is believed that this seasoning is a cure for all diseases. Cardamom also has another, more popular name - “king of spices”.
Store decoration
The first thing a buyer encounters when deciding whether to enter a store or not is its name. You can find out how to come up with an attractive name for your store here.
The interior design of the “spice shop” must correspond to the “spirit” of the product being sold. Hewn shelves made of natural dark wood, forged iron elements, and rough fabric should create the impression of exoticism of the countries from which the goods were brought.
If the sale will be carried out from a tray or from a stand, also use natural wood in the design. This will subconsciously tell the buyer about the naturalness of the product. There will also be soft oriental music playing from speakers throughout the store.
It is better to divide all seasonings and spices into groups:
- By the countries of the world
where they come from: India, China, Turkey, Italy, etc. - According to the categories of dishes
for which they are intended: for meat, for fish, for fruit, etc.
How exactly to divide is up to you. Each container of seasoning must be labeled and have a description of its qualities.
Another nuance is the container in which the goods will be displayed on the display. There are only 2 options here:
- Trays
. The advantages of such containers are an impressive presentation in front of customers, the disadvantages are that the container is not airtight, due to which the taste of the product will be lost. In addition, the mixed aroma of a dozen spices, which is not always pleasant, is unlikely to please neighbors in the trade and certainly will not attract buyers. - Tightly closed glass jars
. This is perhaps the best option. The effect of serving seasonings to the buyer is not lost, and the inherent disadvantages of the trays are solved by an airtight lid.
Seasonings and spices can be sold either in packaged form - bags of 3, 5, 10, or more grams, or by weight. Of course, for this you will need accurate electronic scales.
Vanilla
Vanilla is considered another most expensive spice. One kilogram of real vanilla (in pods) costs about $800.
Not everyone knows that vanilla is an unripe orchid fruit. But if you go to injure your home orchid in the hope of finding an expensive pod, then the success of this operation is unlikely. After all, the fruits of only one type of orchid are considered a spice.
In addition, if vanilla is stored correctly, its scent lasts for up to 40 years. And the main producer and supplier of vanilla in the world is Madagascar.
Trends
The improvement in the well-being of the Russian population and the increase in income also has an impact on the market for spices and seasonings. In recent years, interest in these products has grown significantly. Buyers are paying more attention to premium products, and manufacturers operating in the lower price segment have begun to grow and develop new ones.
There are also trends in packaging segments. With the rise in living standards, buyers began to pay more attention to product packaging. So popular among them are spices and seasonings in jars and in colorful and durable bags.
Saffron
Back in the Middle Ages, people were ready to pay a fortune for saffron. After all, Cleopatra herself, who knew a lot about beauty, often took a bath with saffron. And Alexander the Great healed his wounds in this way.
One kilogram of saffron costs 6 thousand dollars. Iranian saffron is considered to be the cheapest; its price is also not so low - about 400 dollars. The most expensive is Spanish. Real saffron is sold exclusively by the gram.
Wild ginseng root
Not so long ago, saffron was overtaken by another plant in the list of the most expensive spices - wild ginseng, or rather, its root. Because just 30 grams cost over 100 thousand dollars.
Accordingly, the price of one gram is about 4 thousand dollars. Why do businessmen sell this spice at huge prices? It's all about its rarity, because it takes not days or months, but years to find it.
Only 4 kilograms of wild ginseng roots come from China per year. It is also listed in the International Red Book.
How to open a spice shop
A retail space for selling spices can be small and compact, but the store should be located in a crowded place, for example, in a shopping center or supermarket. Spices are considered a related product, so they are most often purchased along with other products. The pavilion can be decorated in an oriental style, which will immediately attract the attention of both exotic lovers and fans of good cuisine. It is best to store spices in transparent glass jars. It is imperative that they are hermetically sealed. Such packaging retains the aroma of spices longer and, at the same time, looks impressive on the display.
It is very important to properly organize the sales system. In addition to a store that provides retail sales, you need to look for wholesale buyers among restaurants, cafes, and hotels. To gain a competitive advantage, the range of additional services is very important. They can be gift packaging, accepting orders over the phone and the Internet, or organizing a delivery service. Some
Stores sell seasonings by weight starting from 1 gram as an advertising ploy to attract customers. For this purpose, special ultra-precise scales are used. The vast majority of buyers will prefer packaging of 10 grams or more, but the very opportunity to sample a minimum amount of expensive seasonings should attract people’s attention.
To purchase the initial batch of goods you will need at least 2-3 thousand dollars. plus transportation costs. In addition, the total cost of rent, production of signs, purchase of commercial equipment and packaging will require at least 5-6 thousand dollars. The markup in this segment is heterogeneous and ranges from 50 to 100%. These indicators make it possible to talk about the return on investment in no more than a year.
