Frozen seafood distributor run from a home office

Caterers, small grocers, restaurants and specialty food shops that want reliable frozen products without buying a full pallet.

You earn the gap between your buying price and your selling price per case, after storage and freight. Focusing on a niche, such as a certain species or a region, can help you stand out.

• Sales and phone or email follow-up
• Inventory and ordering discipline
• Understanding seafood grades and labelling
• Comfort with spreadsheets and invoicing

• Check whether you need a Safe Food for Canadians licence from the CFIA, especially for importing or selling between provinces
• Check whether your municipality allows a home-based business licence for office work, and whether provincial rules apply to a food business that doesn't handle the product itself
• Labelling rules, including bilingual labels and Quebec language requirements if you sell there
• Commercial general liability and product liability insurance, and check what your cold store and carrier cover
• Tied-up cash in stock and slow-paying customers
• Check GST/HST registration once you pass the small supplier threshold

Startup costs are estimated at typically around $8,000 to $35,000, depending on your opening stock, cold storage and carrier arrangements. Treat this as an estimate. Cash can get tied up in stock, so plan working capital carefully.

Monthly revenue is estimated at typically around $6,000 to $30,000, depending on your customers, product range and order sizes. The estimate starts at about 20 hours a week. Slow-paying customers can affect cash flow, so check payment terms.

Check whether you need a Safe Food for Canadians licence from the CFIA, especially for importing or selling between provinces. Also check municipal home-based business licence rules, labelling rules including bilingual and Quebec language requirements, insurance, what your cold store and carrier cover, and GST/HST registration.