Rice and grain supplier to local restaurants

Restaurants, takeaways, caterers and independent grocery shops, especially Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern ones that use a lot of rice every week.

You sell at a small margin over your bulk buying price, so profit comes from regular repeat orders and delivering to many customers close together. Figures shown are sales, not profit.

• Sales and relationship building
• Organising stock and delivery routes
• Basic bookkeeping and pricing
• Comfortable with heavy lifting

• Check with your local council whether you need to register as a food business, and whether home storage is allowed
• Food storage and labelling rules (Food Standards Code) apply if you repack or relabel bags, so check before you do
• Public liability and product liability insurance, plus goods in transit cover
• Margins are thin and stock ties up cash, so avoid buying more than you have orders for
• Customers may pay on credit terms, so check payment terms before extending credit
• Lifting heavy bags is hard on the back, so use a trolley and plan loads carefully

Startup costs are typically around $5,000 to $25,000, depending on your vehicle, opening stock, storage and insurance. These are estimates, and margins are thin, so avoid buying more than you have orders for.

Monthly revenue is typically around $8,000 to $40,000, depending on the number of regular customers and order sizes. Revenue is not profit, as stock costs and thin margins apply.

Check with your council whether you need food business registration and whether home storage is allowed. Check Food Standards Code labelling rules if you repack bags, and look into public liability, product liability and goods in transit insurance.