How to open a cheese factory: where to start, equipment, technology, paperwork

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Cheese is an extremely needed product on the Russian market. The demand for it is constantly growing every year. And this means that a private cheese factory with the appropriate organization of the company will become quite a profitable business. It is only necessary to take into account a number of nuances.

First of all

First you need to create the tactics of the future company. To do this, you will need to develop a detailed business plan for the cheese factory. It must be remembered that a stormy start is not a guarantee of success.

This business plan first addresses the following issues:

• search for milk suppliers;
• financial settlements;
• Choosing a marketing strategy.

Register

Those who wonder how to start a business from scratch will need to keep in mind that the future enterprise must be registered. Otherwise, very soon the company begins to have problems with the tax authorities.

You can register a private cheese factory as an LLC or an individual entrepreneur. In this regardLLC form will be considered. In the case of an individual entrepreneur, you will need to be responsible for the company with your personal property. The company will apply a simplified taxation system, in which the tax rate is from 5%.

In the future, you will need a certificate for cheese, a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion, licenses and other documentation allowing you to open your own enterprise.

Market Research

Before you open a cheese factory, you will definitely need to find your niche in which you can get the appropriate income. To do this, you can invite a marketing specialist or do it yourself. Required:

• research the work of future competitors;
• analyze all your products;
• set the price;
• learn about the level of solvency of the population.

Research will help to identify which varieties of the product are lacking, how high the demand for them is at the moment. Taking into account international standards, such a product is classified according to three main features:

• depending on maturity;
• depending on the proportion of moisture;
• depending on the percentage of fat in terms of dry weight.

According to Rosstat, the average Russian eats 6.4 kg of cheese a year. While the consumption rate for 1 person is 6.5 kg per year.

In the Russian Federation, taking into account the sanctions, the largest market share belongs to Belarus. Currently, the Russian market is 90% filled with domestic goods.

Most popular inthis country the following varieties, arranged in descending order: Russian, Dutch, Poshekhonsky, Gouda, Edam. The interest of Russians is growing in exotic products, sheep and goat cheese.

The variety you decide to make will determine the type of equipment, such as maturation chambers, that you will need to buy or rent. Equipment and tools are not cheap. More on that below.

Choose a room

The room for the production of this dairy product does not have to be downright huge. For starters, you can take a building with an area of \u200b\u200babout 30 square meters. It is important that all communications are carried out in it - water, ventilation, heating. Sewerage is also needed.

There are general requirements for food production facilities: tiles on the walls, windows for natural light. Furniture must be made of metal or plastic.

You can equip a cheese factory for home cheese making with your own hands, and in the case of rent, you need to pay attention to the mandatory competent conclusion of the contract. Otherwise, problems with the law will quickly begin. To avoid them, it is recommended to consult a lawyer.

This calculation takes into account that the business owner will buy the premises and restore it so that it is suitable for a cheese factory for home cheese making. The approximate cost of repairing the building is 200,000 rubles. For the organization of production, a building with an area of 120 square meters is suitable. The purchase price is about 650,000 rubles. This amount includes the sale of the adjacent plot of 20hectares.

Equipment

Among the products for cheese making, the most important place is occupied by equipment for:

• grain formation and mass;
• s alting.

Also, refrigerators are installed in places of maturation and storage. Several accessories are needed: 50-liter steel tank, shelves, tables, filters and so on.

You can purchase a ready-made assembly for the production of the product and install it in a prepared room. Assemblies have different performance. For example, they can process 120 or 500 liters of milk per day.

The production specialist will determine the entire production cycle, which is different for different types of product. Any innovation can simply spoil the cheese. As a result, there will be no demand for it.

It's important to remember that production equipment doesn't have to be the cheapest. It must be of very high quality. Why? The quality of the future cheese directly depends on it. Before opening a cheese factory, it is recommended to purchase equipment from Italy. After all, this is the birthplace of cheese.

The following devices are planned to be purchased for the production of the product. Firstly, this is equipment for receiving, cleaning, accounting and storing milk:

• set for coarse milk cleaning - 77 500;
• pump for pumping milk ONK-1, 5 / 15K5-0, 55 / 2 - 34 000;
• pump starter - 3500;
• weight of rod VSP-1000 - 47 000;
• milk storage tank VTM-0, 3 - 175,000;
• control panel for TMB-0, 3 - 26000.

Prices are in Russian rubles.

Second is the production equipment:

• centrifugal pump ONK-1, 5 / 15K5-0, 55 / 2 - 34 000;
• mini cheese factory for home - 186,000;
• container with molds - 97 540;
• moulds for self-pressing (40 pieces) - 17 200.

Thus, equipment for the production of such a dairy product will cost 737,400 rubles (including VAT). Plumbing work costs 150,000. In addition, the creator of the project will need to purchase two refrigerators. The total cost of the devices, including delivery, is 205,000 rubles. To deliver finished products, you need to purchase a Gazelle truck worth 700,000.

Raw materials

Cow, goat and sheep milk is used for the production of various types of goods. In the business plan of the dairy industry, along with the calculations, you must immediately indicate the suppliers of this raw material and their average prices in annual terms.

In agriculture, the easiest way to get everything for cheese making is to have your own herd of cows, sheep or goats. But you can buy the freshest raw materials from individuals, farms, large enterprises of the dairy industry.

Of course, the best option is to have your own herd. In this case, raw materials are much cheaper, and the products themselves are completely free of additional margins, so other goods can be sold. This calculation assumes that everything for cheese making is bought from local farms at a price of 25rubles per 1 liter.

Production technology

It includes the following stages:

1. Adding milk to cheese equipment.
2. Cooling raw materials and adding acids.
3. Adding an enzyme diluted in water to thicken the milk.
4. Cutting a hardened clot.
5. Separation of grain from whey in a special bath.
6. Putting the product in saline.
7. Product ripening in a special chamber.

Hard varieties have the longest maturation stage. This may take up to several months. Hard cheese sometimes matures from several months to a year.

Choice of employees

In the case of a small dairy, several employees are required - no more than three. It should be borne in mind that in order to get good products, you will definitely need to follow cheese production technologies. This means that before you open a cheese factory and hire employees, you need to carefully check their education, skills and experience in this industry. The technologist will become the main figure, the core of this business. He knows all the intricacies of cooking popular and elite varieties, he can come up with an author's product. Much depends on the right choice of this worker.

The sale of manufactured products with maximum benefits will fall on the shoulders of the project initiator. In the future, thanks to the creation of an efficient farm, it will be possible to open a small company store.

So, before you open a cheese factory, first of all, you need a production operator. Worth Hiringalso a handyman to maintain the premises in proper condition. 3-4 untrained people will be able to cook cheese according to the instructions. They will supervise the placement of the product into the cheese maturation chambers. At this point, the staff at the initial stage is exhausted.

Sales

In Italy, which is a model for many Russian beginners and experienced cheese makers, the production and sale of this product has been carried out from generation to generation for centuries. Each family had their own secret of making it.

The entire cycle of production and marketing is carried out within a particular family. This is the maintenance of a dairy herd, milking cows, curdling milk, shaping, pressing and s alting. All ordinances are performed by family members. The sale is carried out in a family shop on the farm.

In Russia, manufacturers of this sector work differently. They supply food to catering, retail chains, urban, wholesale and retail, or find resellers to sell their product in food markets and so on.

Restaurants and retail outlets are supplied with both regular and elite types, depending on the level of the catering company itself. In today's Russia, there are few people who sell these products through their stores. The culture of the production of these dairy products is not developed: no one has century-old own brands.

Those who think about how to open a cheese factory, it is important to understand that the result will not be immediately. Consumers have to get used to the new product,taste, bring to your friends and acquaintances. It takes time. It’s worth starting with small batches, gradually increasing them, and only then can you start thinking about a branded outlet.

To promote the business, it will be necessary to organize advertising. You will need your own website, pages on social networks, contextual advertising, e-mail newsletters, sometimes ads on local television, radio, press, discounts, promotions, and so on will do. Tastings recommended.

It will be possible to place an automatic cheese factory in a room with enough space to start producing many new varieties of the product over time.

Market entry

When a new production enters the market during the first two months, advertising will be aimed at creating a positive image and positioning it in accordance with the established format. Finished cheese products will be transported by the company's own transport.

The monthly budget for the advertising campaign will be 30,000 rubles and will include:

• advertising in the local press;
• distribution of printed booklets;
• advertising on the Internet.

It is necessary to pursue a flexible pricing policy that will make products available to virtually any segment of the population. There is demand in this area both for elite varieties, and for the simplest and cheapest.

Prospects

Cheese production is a promising direction. Demand is always high. The proposal has not yet been finalized. At the same time, the production cost of the product is low. However, the difficulty lies in obtaining documentation. Also expensive is the equipment itself.

Potential market capacity is 10 times larger than the current production volume. It should be noted that cheeses are popular among absolutely all segments of the population. The peculiarities of the national cuisine in Russia have made it an indispensable component for many dishes. It is added to salads, eaten with wine, in restaurants many menu items are associated with cheese products.

At the same time, you need to consider that it does not apply to goods with a high margin. The cost of its production will be significant, and the margin will not be high. However, when creating a unique product, this shortcoming will be corrected somewhat, especially in the case of elite varieties.

Russians believe that the choice of cheese products in stores is too small since 2014. The country has stopped exports from the European Union, the United States and Canada. Cheese imports from Europe were somewhat balanced by products from Belarus, Serbia and Armenia. Many products of Belarusian manufacturers have recently appeared.

At the same time, domestic producers and importers have not yet managed to replace the supply of elite European varieties, in particular, Swiss cheese. For this reason, this industry is considered a very promising direction. Revenues and profits of producers of this category of goods are constantly growing.

Additional recommendations

The cheapest manufacturer of cheese making equipment, of course,considered to be domestic. Equipment that produces 35 kg of cheese in an 8-hour shift will cost 350,000 rubles.

It is believed that the most expensive Italian-made conveyors: the cost starts from 1 million rubles, but the quality is not a fact that it will be much higher than domestic counterparts.

Most major suppliers are willing to provide loans and leasing on favorable terms, and also offer free related services: equipment installation, configuration, staff training and maintenance. So when buying a technological base, an entrepreneur should not have problems. The quality of the equipment directly affects the result of the final product.

The cheese factory, equipped with modern technology, is fully automated and does not require a large amount of work. Enough 3-5 people, including:

• chief technologist with experience;
• technologist assistant;
• advertising manager;
• handyman.

Also, in every enterprise in which there is interaction with money, an accountant is required. Initially, the services of an accountant can be used on outsourcing: connect a person to remote work. This maneuver can reduce your monthly expenses.

And if the functions of a manager in the field of marketing are assigned to the owner of the enterprise, it will be possible to cross one more employee off the list. The choice of supplier of raw materials, dairy products also largely determines the quality of the final product.

Out of 10liters of milk makes 1 kg of cheese. Therefore, if you plan to receive 35 kg of finished product in an 8-hour shift, you need to find a supplier who can supply 350 liters of raw materials daily at wholesale prices. The price of cheese will depend on the contract with it, including.

First of all, you should pay attention to:

• regional farms containing sheep, cows and goats;
• individual farms,
• opportunity to create your own herd.

For greater reliability, you need to correctly conclude an agreement with suppliers, where the conditions, quantity and amount of orders will be clearly defined. This may require a lawyer, and this is also worth considering.