FREQUENT QUESTIONS

Upon opening a new restaurant, there are several cost sources to consider that must be specified in the financial planning part of the business plan. These cost aspects cover the direct founding costs as well as the operating costs.

When founding a business, the greatest costs categories relate to:

• Store and Location: Reaching from the broker fees required for the search to the rental payments or purchase price of a suitable location, this is one of the most costly parts of founding a business. Commercial lease contracts further often require deposit payments of three to six monthly rents.
• Interior and Equipment:Prior to purchasing the actual equipment such as furniture and kitchen tools, there are often necessary renovations to be made. Further costs are incurred for the installment of electricity, internet etc.
• Restaurant systems: For the daily restaurant operation, you need to invest in the necessary soft- and hardware that enables smooth operations. This includes, amongst others, POS and workforce planning systems as well as payment terminals and receipt printers.
• Personnel costs: How great the personnel expenses will be, ultimately depends on your service model as well as the business size.
• Licenses and permits: In obtaining the necessary permits, there are administrative costs that are incurred. These, for instance, refer to the actual registration but also specific licenses to operate in the F&B industry.
• Marketing: Especially in the beginning, you must plan a higher marketing budget to create awareness for your company.

The operating costs mostly include

• Rent payments
• Additional costs
• Assortment (stock)
• Taxes and insurances
• Personnel costs
• Marketing costs

We support you creating a cost projection that is targeted towards the individual needs and requirements of your business model.

You seek to open a food business but lack the necessary experience?

• Business idea and concept:Every successful idea starts with a concept. At this point, you specify the business model and organization but also define your position on the market. It further includes aspects such as the branding and corporate identity that differentiate your business from competitors.
• Location:The location of your food business is a decisive factor for ist ultimate success. Location scouting and analyses are therefore important steps in founding a business.
• Business plan und financing:Once your concept is developed and you found a suitable location, you need to cover aspects of financing your business. This requires the creation of a business plan that specifies all costs and expected returns and thus forms the base for obtaining financing.
• Permits, Licenses, Insurances: Apart from the actual registration, there are specific licenses and permits as well as insurances needed for operating a food business. It is important to plan ahead as such administrative processes usually span over several months.
• Equipment of the store: The equipment of your store, apart from the overall interior design, further includes purchasing kitchen tools and accessories.
• Hiring of kitchen and service personnel
• Suitable Marketing measures for the opening and ongoing attraction of customers

The details of what you need to consider when starting a food business, are covered in our free whitepaper „Opening a food business – The checklist for your business idea”.

In order to create a sufficiently detailed concept for your food project, you need to answer a few questions, such as:

• How do you position your business on the market and what is its USP?
• What is your target groupand the associated price sensitivity?
• Which location considerations do you need to make when choosing an appropriate locationfor your business?
• What is your food and beverage assortment? How is your supply chainorganized?
• What is an appropriate branding strategyfor your business model? What is the visual identity of your business? What is the color palette and imagery that must be created?

The concept is the key to your business and must therefore be planned in detail. To support you in answering these and further necessary questions of successful concept creation, we developed a special workshop that covers all relevant aspects of founding a business.