Small-Batch Sauce and Condiment Supplier

Independent cafés, restaurants, delis, farm shops and small grocers who want a distinctive local product.

You sell by the case, tub or litre at a wholesale price, ideally with repeat weekly or monthly orders from the same customers.

• Cooking and recipe development
• Food safety habits
• Selling to local businesses
• Costing and pricing

• Food premises permit and inspection from your local public health unit, check what applies to you
• Rules on shelf-stable and acidified products, which may need a process review, check with your provincial or federal food regulator
• Labelling rules, including allergens and bilingual labels, check with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Quebec's language rules if selling there
• Commercial general liability and product liability insurance
• Check whether you need a Business Number and GST/HST registration

Estimates suggest startup costs are typically around $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the kitchen rental, ingredients, packaging, labels and insurance. Your range of products and batch sizes will also affect the total.

Check food premises permits and inspection with your local public health unit. Ask your food regulator about shelf-stable and acidified products, and check labelling rules, including allergens and bilingual labels. Also check insurance, Business Number and GST/HST registration.

Estimates suggest monthly revenue of typically around $800 to $5,000, depending on how many cafés, restaurants and grocers you supply. The time needed is estimated at a minimum of about 10 hours a week.