Start A Consumer Goods Company - Business Ideas
Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.
Starting a consumer goods company requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell consumer goods, or selling consumer goods online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Key Stats
Startup Costs
Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
---|---|---|
Office Space Expenses |
$0 |
$7,000 |
Employee & Freelancer Expenses |
$151 |
$352 |
Website Costs |
$223 |
$7,215 |
Business Formation Fees |
$5,600 |
$20,400 |
Equipment & Supply Expenses |
$66 |
$700 |
Retail Business Expenses |
$1,250 |
$11,650 |
Inventory Expenses |
$350 |
$14,750 |
Software Expenses |
$162 |
$3,094 |
Advertising & Marketing Costs |
$75 |
$4,786 |
Food Business Expenses |
$100 |
$500 |
Total Startup Costs |
$7,977 |
$70,447 |
Case Studies
Successful Businesses
Business | URL | Rank | |
---|---|---|---|
Razer |
razer.com |
2,698 |
|
Unilever |
unilever.com |
22,210 |
|
Gopuff |
gopuff.com |
52,739 |
|
General Mills: A U.S.-based food company. We serve the world by making food people love, providing quality brands in more than 100 countries on six continents. |
generalmills.com |
62,312 |
|
Henkel AG & Co. |
henkel.com |
84,117 |
|
Kono Store |
kono.store |
106,137 |
|
Copper Utensil Online |
copperutensilonline.com |
129,583 |
|
Helen of Troy |
helenoftroy.com |
160,067 |
|
Al Meera |
almeera.com.qa |
246,276 |
|
Henkel |
henkel-northamerica.com |
296,562 |
|
Auric |
www.theauric.com |
315,859 |
Pros & Cons
Pros | Description |
---|---|
Flexibility |
You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own. |
Scalable |
With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers. |
Meaningful business connections |
You never know who you will meet as a consumer goods company. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
High customer retention rates |
Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer. |
High margins |
The gross margins for your consumer goods company are typically around 60%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily. |
Easy to encourage "impulse buy" |
In the consumer goods company, you have a much higher chance of encouraging your customers to buy on impulse - you can easily alter the price, placement, packaging, and promotional value to influence the decision of your buyer. |
Cons | Description |
---|---|
Motivation of employees |
If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees. |
High employee turnover |
In the consumer goods company, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment. |
Taxes |
As a consumer goods company, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it. |
High overhead expenses |
With starting a consumer goods company, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below. |
You may need to charge sales tax |
If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article |
Time commitment |
With starting a consumer goods company, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business. |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Affiliate Program
Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.
-
2
Direct Sales
Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.
-
3
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings