Online italian pantry and gift boxes

Households wanting hard-to-find Italian products, gift buyers, and small businesses ordering corporate gifts.

Mark-up on products and boxes, delivery fees, and subscription boxes or seasonal bundles for repeat customers.

• Product sourcing
• Online selling and social media
• Packing and organising orders
• Customer service

• Food handling rules for storing and packing food at home, check with your local public health unit and municipality
• Labelling rules for prepackaged food, including English and French, check with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
• Wine and other alcohol cannot usually be shipped freely, check your provincial liquor rules before offering it
• Shipping costs, breakage and winter freezing for some products
• Commercial general liability and product insurance, and GST/HST registration once you pass the threshold

Startup costs are typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on your stock range, website setup and packaging. Monthly revenue is estimated at roughly $1,000 to $5,000, depending on sales and gift box demand. These are estimates only.

Check food handling rules for storing and packing food at home with your local public health unit and municipality. Also check English and French labelling for prepackaged food with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and provincial liquor rules before offering wine.

Shipping costs, breakage and winter freezing for some products can hurt margins, so test them first. Also check commercial general liability and product insurance, and GST/HST registration once you pass the threshold.