holy smokes this is FUCKING LONG - and THAT is what she said.
first of all, it says prepackaged…so we’d have to package them. hm…my first thought would be those containers that safeway or lucky’s have. i’m worried that this kind of packaging wouldnt be approved, that prepackaged means airtight or something… we’ll see. and then its got a whopping fee for the space O_O but i mean, who doesnt love cupcakes? i could seriously see it paying off in the end.
i didnt even think about it, but…it says gourmet. -_-” i dont think what we’re making is considered “gourmet” so we’d have to look into that, and how leniently they use the term - but there IS a brownie/cookie stand, so that brought my hopes up :) but it also means direct competition….
we do have to keep in mind the potential for a lot of heat, or a lot of rain, which might make things difficult, escpecially when dealing with perishable goods…
we’d have to thoroughly think about and plan out the size, variations and amount of detail of our products, as well as packaging (how much THAT would cost and how many per package, whether we wanna make variatons in quantity per package) and other crucial matters involving making them, as well as quantity in total, like how many we estimate will sell (making too many or not enough would be problematic) prices are also important to establish.
we also want to think about how to store the backstock of our product (the extra items that we wont need until we sell wahts on the table) would we keep them at a nearby house until we need them? or would a cooler suffice? research is in order
since we might need to list ingredients, its not as though we can just use straight-from-the-box recipes…our products would have to be made from scratch, frosting included. we’d have to calculate, based on the price of the ingredients and the quantity we’ll be producing, how many we’d have to bake in order to make this excursion profitable (we have to find out whether or not the funds we’ll be investing are going to be less than what we’ll make, because if theres no profit, perhaps we even end up losing money, then we should pursue this business elsehow). we need to find out how much profit we WANT to make, and then based on that, we need to calculate what prices would be practical/possible in order to achieve our desired profit.
i almost think it would be better to try to rent one of those cooking stands, like the ones that the high schools get to sell hotdogs, because for prepackaged goods i’m pretty sure you have to list ingredients, and it says we have to filll out a “health permit application” which sounds pretty official and not so easy…..
nonetheless i think a year is plenty of time to plan things out, practice recipes and get the funds collected, as well as resolve any issues with the forms that we might have. its worth a shot, not trying would be lame
call me for our first strategy meeting, its never too early to start planning =>
EDIT:::: i was reading through the agreement form, it says that in order to sell in the gourmet food section, no food is to be sold for consumption at the festival (but you can give out free samples) because of the fact that the food stands are run by non-profit organizations (which means we wouldnt be able to rent one of those, so that idea is out the window) , and that only prepackaged foods are to be sold for consumption at the customer’s home. this would be very difficult to achieve unless we boxed them sorta like cakes…but refrigeration is an issue any way you look at it *lip-nibble* this is sort of making me nervous…
also i was correct in assuming that we’d have to make things from scratch - they dont allow “mass produced” or “imported goods”. mass produced would include any boxed cupcake mixes. but i dont see making things from scratch being very difficult. this is definitely worth investing into, but perhaps we should think about the practicality of cupcakes, because of their frosting. their is no electricity….but we could use ice and coolers and stuff. it definitely needs some planning….
EDIT AGAIN:::: oh man….take a look at these three reasons why this dream of ours impossible:
“State Board of Equalization: All vendors are required to submit a valid California Resale Number with application. Exempt vendors must submit for BOE-410-D with completed application. Form BOE-410-D is included with this application.”
-i dont really understand what this section is asking of the vendor. since i dont understand it, i cant turn it in :( and even if i did find out what it was, these other two reasons dont make it worth the effort to find out:
On the Health Permit Application: “All foods must be prepared and stored in a facility with a valid health permit. (no home preparation or storage)”
well that totally ruins everything.
“City of Fremont: The City of Fremont requires any vendor located within the City of Fremont to have a business license. If your business is located within city limits, you must submit a copy of your business license with this application. if your company is not located within city limits, you are required too hold a Temporary Vendor Permit. The fee is $5 and is listed in the fee section of the application. ”
and thats the final nail in the coffin, guys. it goes hand in hand with the one above it - we are NOT a certified business, and therefore we canNOT be food vendors at the festival =( TOTAL SADNESS. but we can still pursue this adventure aside from the festival :) we can start with a bake sale or something lollll every journey starts with a single step, am i right? :)