Small-batch salami and cured meat maker

Delis, restaurants, cafes, bottle shops and providores, plus food lovers buying at farmers' markets or online.

Wholesale prices per kilo to shops and restaurants, and higher retail prices per pack or whole piece at markets and online. Ageing takes weeks to months, so cash is tied up in stock.

• Food safety and hygiene discipline
• Butchery or meat handling
• Patience and consistent record keeping
• Selling to local shops and chefs

• Cured and fermented meats are tightly regulated, check licensing with your state authority before you buy equipment
• Premises must usually be approved, so a home kitchen is unlikely to be allowed, check with your council
• Public liability and product liability insurance
• Food safety risks if curing is done wrong, you may need a food safety plan and testing
• Stock sits for weeks or months before you can sell it, so plan your cash flow

Startup costs are typically around $25,000 to $100,000, based on estimates, depending on your curing room fit-out, temperature and humidity controls, equipment and licensing. Stock sits for weeks or months, so plan cash flow.

Estimated monthly revenue is typically around $4,000 to $18,000, depending on your volume, the delis, restaurants and markets you sell to, and how long your products take to age before sale.

Check licensing with your state authority before buying equipment, as cured and fermented meats are tightly regulated. Premises must usually be approved, so check with your council. Also check insurance, and whether you need a food safety plan and testing.