An Exotic Way of Money Making

It's a strange way to make money. Rather, it's a way to make money selling something strange. This is a business where you don't need to think about creating a niche for yourself since the business is a niche in itself. However, you need an important qualification for this business and that is - 'the urge to earn'.

We are talking about importing and selling exotic food such as Alligator meat, kangaroo jerky, chocolate covered ants, etc. This is something, which will not just satisfy but delight the food aficionados. They will love you for serving their platter with something, which is not easily available.

The first step would be to learn a bit about exotic foods and their varieties (check the resources section at the end of this article). There is a whole range of exotic food that you can import. However, you may start with a narrow range initially and move on to find out what is more in demand before adding more varieties.

To begin, utilize the market research already done by current businesses. So start with exploring what is being offered by local restaurants. This exotic food would be available at very select places (big restaurants/hotels), so you would have to explore a bit. Since most of the big restaurants and hotels have a website too, you might start your exploration on the internet. As always, the yellow pages are a handy tool. Your target is to get 3 very basic pieces of information from these restaurants/hotels:

1. What exotic food & varieties are served there
2. How long have they been serving it
3. The price of each.

Tip: Always keep all the researched information in well-organized manner i.e. a proper document or a spreadsheet. This will be useful for you in the future

Tip: Once you know which exotic foods would sell best, check the import laws/ restrictions etc. Seek professional advice from someone who is into import-export business.

Procuring the exotic food is the next thing you need to do. The Internet is the best resource to look for various avenues of procurement. There might be a good deal available nearer to you. Check the shipping, packaging, transportation costs, and import duty before arriving at your final cost for procurement. Check the credentials of the company/person you intend to buy from. With all this information in place, you can arrive at the terms that are the best deal for you.

Tip: Don't neglect the storage needs for the exotic food you are importing.

As with any business, selling is your main challenge. Creating a simple website for your business will not only give a more professional look but also propagate the news about your business. Yellow pages advertisements are necessary and so are appealing brochures. The brochures should be distributed at celebration spots/places, libraries, food courts/centers, fairs and other places where there is a large influx of people. You can also collaborate with local event organizers for supplying exotic food at parties etc. Allure them with a commission. Set up your stall at food festivals. Moreover, personal contacts and acquaintances are always handy when you are starting a new venture. They can trust you because they know you. So make sure that they know about your new venture. Just build as many business contacts as you can.

Having said all that, it's important that you calculate your fee, with all due respect to your business (and also your competitors). Don't forget the advertising expenses and the time you spend on propagating the business.

Tip: Account for all the expenses when pricing your product/services.

Once you become known as an exotic food supplier, the sky is the limit.

Resources:

1. Buy alligator meat: http://www.gatorama.com/meat.htm

2. Buy/learn-about exotic meat: http://www.exoticmeats.com/

3. Learn more: http://www.foodreference.com/html/artunusualdelicacies.html

4. Other resources can be found at the link below:

http://www.edathlon.com/cgi-bin/apexec.pl?etype=odp&passurl=/Shopping/Food/Meat/Exotic/