SPECIALTY FOOD'S BEST RESOURCES TM
The Free Resource Directory for Everyone who Creates and Produces Specialty Food Products
How to Make a Profit Creating & Selling Your Own Specialty Food Products in the USA
Book Description
Publication Date: October 20, 2009
2nd Edition: May 2013
Much has been written about getting started in the specialty food business. I've been creating and selling my own specialty food products in the USA since 2002, and have never seen a book or website which came close to telling you everything you need to know to make a profit doing this, so I decided to write one.
If you check to see who has written any other book or website on this subject, you'll most likely find that the author has never created and sold any of their own specialty food products. I'm sure they all did the best they could, but without having actually having experienced all the day to day events which unexpectedly arise, some valuable pieces of the puzzle always seem to be missing. That's why, from everything I've seen, read, heard and experienced, your odds of ever making a profit at this potentially fun business, are about 1 in 100, if you're lucky.
Why did I write this book? Over the past several years of traveling all over the six New England states, including my home state of Massachusetts, I've frequently met many others selling their own specialty food products, and all seem to be asking each other the same questions. And what's worse, it's rare that there are ever any answers to be found. Also, it's been very common for others working at stores I sold to, or customers trying my products at store samplings, to ask how I got started doing this, and mentioning that they had an idea they'd like to bring to market too.
After digesting all this for quite a while, and finding that I've found a lot of the answers myself, through all these years of learning by trial and error, I decided it would be a very satisfying thing to try to make it easier for anyone else who wants to do this to find some of the answers, without needing to learn everything the hard way.
For more information about the book, click on the cover of the book above.
Below are reviews of the book by customers who have read it.
Great Insight!
By M. Bruno
Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow... Easy to read, simply explained and well thought out advice for those of you who ever thought about marketing Grandma's Apple Sauce or what have you! What is nice about this author is not only his easy to comprehend writing skills but the fact that he's "Been there - Done that" and willing to share his experience. Having already toyed with the idea of marketing my product myself, I was familiar with some of the stuff he mentions. But just he started out, I was flying blind and had very little experience in this field, so I decided to buy his book and glad I did! He leaves very little, if any stone at all unturned, making you look at virtually every aspect of marketing your product so that you are not only much more aware on the internal workings of the business machine that you will eventually have to face, but you will also know how and where to turn a profit. This book was the best $30 I ever spent. In it, he also provides several links to websites to companies and organizations that you would probably never come across starting out from scratch. This alone pays for the books in not only time saved but guiding you down the right path...
The book is well written by someone who has been there, done it, and succeeded
By Brian R. Wingrove
Amazon Verified Purchase
I have information that I have gathered from people who are involved in the food packing industry locally.
The information in this book confirms and details what I have already learned. This is a ruff business to make a buck in. I also have previous experience in a small business of my own that was similar to the system of middle men that you have to deal with if you are going to make a profit. If you are thinking of getting into marketing your own food products, buy this book. It was one of the best investments I ever made.
Good Insider Information
By Kerri Mackenzie "info junkie" (Tucson, AZ USA)
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: How to Make a Profit Creating & Selling Your Own Specialty Food Products in the USA: Specialty Foods for Beginners
This is probably the most complete and useful information I've seen about bringing your own homemade specialty food product to market. The author, Harvey P. Clark, speaks from his own decade-long , hands-on experience as a seller of specialty foods to give you a realistic snapshot of this industry. He takes you step-by-step through the entire sequence and process, beginning with product feasibility through actually selling your food product. Included are a variety of resources, including links to make it easy for you to find what you need to get started. Mr. Clark's style is straightforward -- he doesn't sugar coat or make it sound like anyone can do it. In fact, he lays out all the pitfalls and problems you're likely to encounter and how to deal with them. You'll get a clear picture of what it takes to be successful selling your own product. If you have any ambition of selling your own specialty food product, this is the book to read. It's definitely worth the investment.
The Naked Truth!
By Nadia's Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: How to Make a Profit Creating & Selling Your Own Specialty Food Products in the USA: Specialty Foods for Beginners
I've been in the specialty food business for about a year now and the best word to describe this book is OUTSTANDING! In certain parts the book is repetitive, but it is absolutely necessary to stress some very important points to the beginner in this type of business. Based on my experience, I've been thru most of the situations that he presents on his book, but luckly due to previous business (not food related), I was able to avoid some pitfalls. I highly recommend to anyone that starts thinking about commercializing family recipes dreaming about making great money. I would say read this book sooner than later. That's the best way to know the game! With the knowledge obtained in advance, you will be better prepared to win or to realize that your venture, the way you first imagined, would never be profitable. I would also recommend The Intelligent Entrepreneur - Harvard School of Business and good luck to everyone!
Good Book to Have
By Robert S. "R J,NYC
This review is from: How to Make a Profit Creating & Selling Your Own Specialty Food Products in the USA: Specialty Foods for Beginners
First I'd like to say that this book is a very good starter for people looking to get their product into supermarkets. I was smiling because I go through the same scenario since I am a food broker. I have recommended it to some of the smaller manufacturers I consult as a starting point because most are so clueless on even how to begin, and more importantly, how much they item costs to produce.
Solid Advice
By J. Makelim
This review is from: How to Make a Profit Creating & Selling Your Own Specialty Food Products in the USA: Specialty Foods for Beginners
The book was very informative on how to make a profit in the Specialty Food industry. This is the only book I could find that really showed the pitfalls of producing your own product. It appears that the distributors and retailers make all the money. Well worth the time to read.
Review By R. Palenzona, Florida
Firstly, congratulations and thank you for writing such a magnificent, informative, realistic and easy-to-read book. It's truly refreshing - not to mention incredibly useful - to read a book that doesn't sugar-coat the topic and tells-it-like-it-is. As someone who is entering the "New Age Beverage" industry for the first time, I can't thank you enough for the genuine and valuable information you have passed on to me and others. Your book will probably be the best investment I will have made in this new venture that I'm going into.
Review by Melissa, PA
I would like to begin by thanking you for caring enough to take the time to write your book "How to Make a Profit Creating and Selling Your Own Specialty Food Products in the USA". This is a well written book with real, practical, honest information- a refreshing change from most of what I have been reading. I am so glad I found it, my only regret is that I did not find it sooner!
Review, Oceanside, CA
The author goes into great detail covering most things relating to the food business and getting started. I wanted to start making barbecue sauce, and am learning that I'm much better off not making it the cheapest sauce out there, but the best and charging accordingly and finding a smaller niche of loyal customers. He walks you through the right setup protocol, regulatory agencies, etc.. and that's what I needed to get started. But don't totally depend on stores to carry you all the way, do some marketing yourself also.
Review by C. Roberts, CA
A must read for anyone entering this business. It has so very much more information than I received from The Fancy Food Show seminars, and for a fraction of the cost. This is an in depth and candid discussion and training for how to actually make money in this business. I was most impressed that there was one question I still had, and after I emailed the author, he actually emailed me back several times and has been genuinely interested in my success.
Review by qv3853 Amazon.com
No fluff, straight forward, not a waste of time. Everything is written in a way so you could almost go through it and make your own list of things you need to do to get the information you need to not only get started but to know if you really want to get started doing this. He doesn't sugar coat anything which is great because you get the reality of the business which is what you need to know. Also gives you links on where to get more information instead of going on about it in his book and making it unnecessarily long. I'm so glad I found this now while I'm in my planning stage. This is going to make planning easier and help me in the long run by helping me craft a solid foundation
Review by B. Wingrove
I have information that I have gathered from people who are involved in the food packing industry locally. The information in this book confirms and details what I have already learned. This is a ruff business to make a buck in. I also have previous experience in a small business of my own that was similar to the system of middle men that you have to deal with if you are going to make a profit. If you are thinking of getting into marketing your own food products, buy this book. It was one of the best investments I ever made.
Review by J. Makelim
The book was very informative on how to make a profit in the Specialty Food business. This is the only book I could find that really showed the pitfalls of producing your own product. It appears that the distributors and retailers make all the money. Well worth the time to read.
By Amazon Customer
This is the most revealing book I ever read. So powerful that I stopped wasting time on my "hobby" business, and looked for something more profitable to do. This is required reading for everyone interested in starting a food business or any business. The most important thing is to know and control all your costs. If not, you will not make a profit. Without a profit, it's only a hobby. Except it and move on.
