The Little Welsh Deli

Starting a Home Based Deli Business

Clare does all the cooking while Ryan looks after the web site, photography and packaging. Ryan’s father Huw provides some extra financial expertise.

Clare started the business part time but soon decided to give up a 22 year career in nursing as the business expanded.

Hi Ryan, welcome to Successful Home Based Business.com

What prompted you and Clare to start this business?

Ryan: The deli business started as Clare's hobby. The idea was to sell some homemade produce at a local market. Clare always wanted to try selling her homemade food and the idea was further prompted after watching a programme called 'This Little Piggy went to Market' which showed people making produce in their home kitchens and selling at farmers' markets.

Why did you base the deli business from home?

Ryan: We had no overheads or costs apart from buying raw ingredients. Clare continued to work as a nurse in the first six months of starting the business.

How did you find your first customers?

Ryan: We generated business from selling at local produce markets. Our first business customer, The Gower Wildflower and Local Produce Centre, came as a result of them seeing us at a local market.

How did you find more customers?

Ryan: We started going to food festivals throughout south, west and mid Wales and again customers who bought from us owned businesses and asked about us supplying them. We also attended the ‘supplier to buyer’ trade show in Haverfordwest in 2010 which generated a new customer in Pendine. We attended the buyer to supplier event as part of the Swansea Rural Action Group - so it was free to attend.

Do you supply shops or just sell direct?

Ryan: We supply to shops and direct at farmers markets and food festivals or agricultural shows. We've found that selling the produce ourselves gives us feedback on the products and price points for our products. Selling direct has also given us the finance to re-invest in the business.

How does Clare cope with all that cooking?

Ryan: We've converted our cellar into a bakery to cope with the demand. We've had a grant from the Welsh Assembly and invested profits from the business. We now have the capacity to increase trade customers.

Does Clare still enjoy cooking?

Ryan: Yes - Clare enjoys the mix of cooking as well as selling at markets and festivals.

What is your role in the business?

Ryan: My role in the business is book keeping, delivering, packing, washing dishes etc etc. Both Clare and I sell at festivals. We don't employ anyone at the moment. I am currently employed and work 4 days a week for another business.

Did you have to invest your savings or borrow much money?

Ryan: We reinvested profits from the business to help with equipment for the bakery. All our equipment is fully paid.

Please say a bit more your father's role in the business.

Ryan: My dad goes over all figures at the end of the month looking at the mix between selling direct and trade, ingredient costs, market costs, profit etc. We are now looking at the costs for our own shop or restaurant premises.

What is your advice to anyone else starting a home based food or catering business?

Ryan: Invest your time and energy not money. Don't take out loans! We started our first market with £100 worth of ingredients and had the opinion that if we didn't sell the produce we'd eat it ourselves! Make and sell products that you're passionate about.

After our first market we realised that some of our packaging and products didn't work. We further developed both our packaging and products and we were selling out at markets and building up a loyal customer base.

How do you see your home based business expanding?

Ryan: We've continued the business by always looking at new products and new ideas. We've looked at other food that is sold hot at festivals (generally burgers and hot dogs) so we sell our hot pasties and pies with homemade gravy, curry pots (our award winning curry) and sticky toffee pudding for desserts.

We have recently supplied our pasties and puddings to Freshwater Inn (as a result of the supplier to buyer event in Haverfordwest). We would now like supply more pubs with our pasties. We also sell at a caravan club site in Gowerton, Swansea. I am also looking at the possibility of supplying fridges into caravan sites and stocking them with our produce.

Last week we sold our produce in the supporters’ village at the Scarlets rugby ground in Llanelli. We are looking to attend more events at the Parc Y Scarlets.

At the Scarlets ground we were lucky to be filmed for Ffermio (which was shown on S4C TV last Monday) and Clare has also been interviewed for Wales This Week (which was filmed at the supplier to buyer event). Hopefully this will be shown on 1st March.

Thank you Ryan. Clearly you and Clare have built The Little Welsh Deli into a very successful home based business in a short time. Thank you for all the useful tips and good luck for the future.

You can find more details about Ryan and Clare's home based deli business - and some more photographs of some their food at The Little Welsh Deli web site

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