8 Steps to Bottle and Sell Salad Dressing
How to Bottle and Sell Salad Dressing
1. Optimize unit economics
Before you do anything, you must perfect your salad dressing recipe. You probably already have a recipe, but is it perfected? Can you make any improvements?
For example, can you replace ingredients to lower costs without sacrificing taste or quality?
Can you speed up the preparation process?
You should think about these questions now.
Optimizing unit economics is important for a scalable business.
2. Purchase sauce bottles
Now, it’s time to buy sauce bottles in bulk.
Put your salad dressing in fancy containers and get ready to sell.
Ideally, you should purchase glass bottles even though they are more expensive than plastic. Glass bottles are the more durable choice for acidic ingredients. Also, glass bottles are more aesthetically pleasing.
Make sure you are in a sterile environment before packaging your salad dressing. You don’t want to contaminate anything.
Finally, seal everything tightly to avoid spills and accidents.
3. Create labels
You must label your salad dressing bottles before selling. Provide a comprehensive list of your ingredients. You should also provide nutritional information, such as how many calories and fat each serving contains.
You can get this information by working with a food testing lab. Technicians will run experiments to precisely determine the nutritional makeup of your salad dressing.
In addition to satisfying regulatory requirements, the food label also serves as a marketing opportunity. Come up with a brand name and logo for your salad dressing.
You can design the logo yourself or you can hire a graphic designer. Most importantly, make sure your marketing messages are unique and memorable.
4. Sell to friends
This is how it all begins:
You start by making salad dressing just for fun. It’s a hobby.
You then let your friends try it during a weekend lunch hangout. They love it. They can’t get enough.
So, you wonder, “Hey, maybe I can start selling these.”
Now, you’re reading this article. You’ve decided to take this salad dressing thing more seriously.
It’s time to go back to where it all began.
Sell to the same friends who inspired you to pursue this project. They would be happy to support you. They also want more salad dressing because it’s that good.
Your friends can tell their friends. This means more sales for you.
5. Create a website
The sales process is a two-way street. You can tell other people about your salad dressing. Other people can also come to you. This is what a website is for. It can serve as your inbound marketing engine.
Now, don’t be afraid if you’ve never created a website before. With the technology out there right now, you don’t even need to know how to code. It’s great if you do know, but it’s not necessary.
With drag and drop website builders, you can create your digital home in no time.
You can post images, videos, and product descriptions with a few simple mouse clicks. Then, you will be one step closer to building your salad dressing empire.
6. Show up at food fairs
People love going to food fairs. It’s something fun to do with friends. If you want more customers, then you should sign up to be a vendor at these fairs.
Go get a booth and put your salad dressing on display.
However, it might not be a good idea to just sell your sauce in bottles at these events.
People at food fairs expect ready-to-eat food. So, make something that would go great with your salad dressing.
Sell that dish and casually mention that your salad dressing is the secret ingredient.
Interested customers can buy a bottle of the good stuff right there. They can also jot down the brand name and order some online when they get home.
7. Market on social media
If you want to generate buzz about your salad dressing, then you should be on social media.
Which platforms?
All of them.
However, start with one website so that you don’t get overwhelmed. First, create an account on Instagram. Start posting salad dressing and food-related content.
Be sure to understand food photography techniques. Get a good camera if you don’t already have one. Use relevant hashtags so that people can find you when they browse around.
In addition to Instagram, you can also talk to people in food groups on Facebook. There are also similar communities on Reddit.
Think:
Who would be good customers for my salad dressing?
Where can I find them online?
You should be on different social media platforms to maximize your reach. However, remember to focus on one thing and do it well before moving on to something else.
8. Reach out to restaurants
Restaurants are always looking for ways to make their food tastier. Your salad dressing might help them do just that.
Before selling your salad dressing to a restaurant, you should understand the restaurant’s menu. That way, you can discuss how your salad dressing will enhance the flavors of individual menu items.
How do you find out a restaurant’s menu?
You can eat at the restaurant and grab the menu on your way out. This will also help you get to know the servers and restaurant owners. Building rapport will help when it’s time to sell.
In addition, you can access the menu by simply looking online. Most food places these days have an online presence. You can check the restaurant’s website. You can also check a third-party website, such as Google or Yelp.
So, what do you say when it’s time for you to give your pitch?
Introduce yourself and describe how your salad dressing will benefit the restaurant’s dishes. You can discuss how unique your product is by mentioning its ingredients and preparation process.
Bring samples and let everyone have a taste. If they like it, then they will place an order. If so, then discuss pricing, volume, and delivery times.
However, keep in mind that a lot of people try to sell their products to restaurants. So, don’t be afraid of rejection. Expect it.
If one restaurant doesn’t like your salad dressing, then simply move on to another restaurant.
See if there is any constructive criticism. Reflect on these comments and try to improve your product.
Most importantly, keep your head up and keep selling.