A Foodie’s Guide to Joining a Food Bazaar

It’s time for gift giving and food bazaars. For interested but clueless beginners, here are the basics to get you started in the food bazaar business. 1) Know what to sell Do you love baking sweet goodies or do you prefer preparing quick and hot foods on site? The key thing to note is that if the food is not prepared on site, it should have a relatively long shelf life. 2) Get in touch with the people in the business. Once you know what you want to sell, get in touch with food bazaar organizers like Mercato Centrale (09178401152) or Banchetto (09228800861) for a slot. Once a slot is secured, it’s selling time! 3) Money matters and staffing There are four things you have to fund: food to sell, staff (if any), space rental and publicity materials. You have to set aside money for recipe development and making them in bigger batches plus the packaging. Given the type of food you’re selling, you may also have to employ additional help. For food bazaar space, the rental ranges from Php 2,500 to Php 3,500 per day for a 2 x 2 meter table at a minimum. Lastly, for publicity materials, leverage on social media to get the word out that you have a business. You may also produce a few flyers and banners which would roughly cost around Php 3,000. 4) Know your food safety Bad reputation on food can easily destroy your business, so make sure you follow strict food safety guidelines from preparation to handling. An important but most often neglected step is proper hand washing. Also, follow the 4-hour rule which states that food can only be safely kept at room temperature (5°C to 60°C) for a maximum of 4 hours unless it’s shelf stable. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold not only to maintain its freshness but also its quality. For the seller, it is important that s/he is wearing gloves while handling food and changed every 2 hours. And it is important not to handle both food and money at the same time. Now that you’re equipped with basic information, why don’t you try the food bazaar business now! Here’s an example of a business recipe idea that’s sure to be a hit among future clients.