7 Things You Should Outsource In Your Food Business

Running a food related business can be stressful at times. You might be constantly worrying about finding the right people to work for you, making sure that your fridges and machines are working and you can meet your orders, and then there are those suppliers you will have to sit down with time and time again. If you are too busy focusing on the small issues, you will never be able to grow your venture and find a strategy that will increase your productivity and profits. Outsourcing is necessary, and below you’ll find a list of things you might consider leaving to the professionals.

1. Marketing
You might know your food and ingredients, but this doesn’t make you a marketing expert. You have to make sure that you get help with creating unique selling propositions and stand out from the competition. You can get a local marketing expert to automate your online promotions, so you don’t have to worry about thinking about press release topics of new blog post ideas and can focus on growth and sustainability.

2. Web Design
Your talents might not necessarily lie in creating websites and programming plugins. You can save a lot of time and hassle if you find a professional web design company to create the image you would like to communicate. Remember that your website is your online shop front, so the more professional it looks the more likely you will impress customers and business partners. Choose a designer who has experience in creating similar sites and has an impressive portfolio of sites in your industry.

3. Accounting
When you have dozens of suppliers and hundreds of customers, you simply don’t want to be bogged down with invoices and accounts. Instead, get an app or outsource your bookkeeping completely. You will have to make sure that everything is in place in case there is an audit, and you don’t want to pay more tax than necessary, either. A good accountant can take the weight off your shoulders and save you money at the same time.

4. Supplier Auditing
It is also important that you know where your ingredients are coming from in the food business. You owe the responsibility to your customers to be able to give them this information. You shouldn’t rely on what your suppliers are telling you, though. There are several supplier auditing companies and industry organizations that can do the job for you. While the final say is yours, it is good to have the full picture and make sure that you don’t miss any important details.

5. Cleaning
Of course, you don’t want to pay your employees to clean the workshop or machines after the shift, especially if their job is highly skilled and paid. You can get a professional commercial cleaning company that will take care of it all, and offer flexible rolling contracts. You will get better prices if you order weekly or daily service, as well as deep cleaning and one-off visits to stay on top of the jobs in the workshop. You might want to check out this free comprehensive checklist for interviewing commercial cleaning services before you choose a contractor and trust them with your business.

6. Safety Training
If you are working with food, it is important that you comply with the current regulations when it comes to health and safety. However, you might not have the time and resources to deliver the training and test all your employees’ knowledge. There are some companies offering health and safety training accredited by government organizations, and they can be flexible and come to your office instead of holding the training away from the workplace. You will also get help with creating your personnel policies and risk assessment guides.

7. Equipment Maintenance
When producing food items, it is important that you keep your equipment in a good working order and clean. It is best to talk to specialists who know the ins and outs of your machines and identify the problems early, before your business suffers from downtime due to equipment failure. You should check the maintenance requirements and regulations in your area before you approach companies and ask for a quote for a regular service.

The food industry is highly regulated, and you need to make sure that your business is not only productive, but also compliant. If you would like to focus on the big picture and avoid spending too much time on administration, outsource these business processes. Your time is better spent developing new products and technologies than keeping your books in order.