How to open a cheese dairy: business plan, step by step instructions, profitability

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

The goal of the project is to organize a mini-cheese dairy with a capacity of 20-24 kg / day. Products - high quality hard cheese of premium price category. Location - Rostov-on-Don. The project is distinguished by low investment costs and high investment attractiveness (Table 1).

Despite the general drop in the purchasing power of the population against the background of the economic crisis, the premium segment in almost any industry is highly stable and shows minimal rates of decline. This also applies to food products. The high demand for the company's products is due to the food embargo imposed on Western suppliers of food products, including elite types of cheese. Retail trade is experiencing an acute shortage of premium goods; the existing offer has an unreasonably high price.

Table 1. Project performance indicators

Discounted Payback Period (DPP), months

Net Present Value (NPV), rub.

Return on investment ratio (ARR),%

Internal Rate of Return (IRR),%

Investments are aimed at purchasing equipment for production, purchasing the first batch of raw materials, as well as forming a working capital fund before the project reaches recoupment.

COMPANY AND INDUSTRY DESCRIPTION

Milk and dairy products are among the most consumed food products both in the world and in Russia. Milk and dairy products are usually understood to mean liquid whole milk and sour milk products, cream, cheeses and cottage cheese, butter, dry milk (skim and whole), dry milk fat, whey, condensed dairy products, milk-protein concentrates, ice cream. Among the fermented milk products, the most popular are kefir, yogurt, acidophilus, yogurt (including Greek), tan, ayran, and koumiss. Buttermilk, fermented baked milk, varenets, sour cream.

Experts predict that in the next ten years the consumption of milk and dairy products in the world will grow by 35-40%. Their consumption in Russia has been declining over the past years. In 2021, according to Rosstat, it amounted to 244 kg per person per year, which is almost 100 kg less than the consumption rate recommended by the Ministry of Health (320-340 kg). According to a survey conducted by Index of Dairy Products Market, the majority of Russians note an insufficient range of dairy products in stores.

In 2021, there is an increase in demand for dairy products. According to the National Union of Milk Producers, in the first quarter of 2021 consumption of dry whole milk increased by more than 30%, cheese and cheese products - by 5.8%, whole milk products and skim milk - by 3%, butter - by 2% ...

If we consider the human diet, then various types of cheeses play an important role in it, since it is a healthy and tasty product. If you paid attention to the composition of cheeses in supermarkets, then there are often various chemical additives present, and this often frightens off consumers who care about their health. Against this background, in recent years, the format of private family cheese making has been actively developing with the subsequent sale of a natural product on the Internet or on the shelves of eco stores.

You will not be able to compete with large cheese-making enterprises, especially regarding the price issue, but it is quite possible to launch your own mini cheese factory and sell several types of cheese for residents of your region and not only using the Internet. If, in addition, you have your own goat or cow farm, then this is a huge plus, due to a reliable source of milk necessary for cheese production. In addition, you can organize a whole tourist route with a tour of the farm, workshop and cheese tasting.

The health benefits of cheese

Cheese is one of the most popular dairy products, besides, it is in constant demand on the market, which makes its production even more relevant. Cheese, as a product, contains all the useful elements and vitamins that are part of milk, but in a concentrated form. Cheese includes fats, in combination with which fat-soluble vitamins, necessary for the normal functioning of the human body, enter the body. These fats contain fatty acids that are not produced by the human body. The share of fat in cheeses is 20% - 50%.

The second useful component of cheese is calcium, it is perfectly absorbed in the human body.

Additionally, cheese includes protein - about 25%, organic salts - 2.5% -3.5%, as well as vitamins of groups A and B.

The above facts make cheese one of the healthiest dairy products ever, often included in diets and nutritional therapy programs.

At the moment, there is a huge number of varieties of this product on the market, as experts note the numbers of 500 - 2021 varieties of cheese. They all differ in taste, smell and appearance.

Types of cheese

The classification of cheeses that are produced by mini cheese dairies is divided into several parameters.

Production method. There are two main types:

Today the shelves of our supermarkets are rich in various types of products. However, not all of them are in demand by the consumer. The fact is that the modern consumer is most interested in information about proper nutrition, preferring to buy only the highest quality food. People appreciate natural food. In it they find not only taste, but also benefits and health. The list of such products includes vegetables and fruits, fresh fish and meat, eggs, and dairy products. At the same time, cheese is especially loved by consumers. However, finding this product of high quality and at an affordable price is not an easy task. Many manufacturers choose to add milk fat substitutes and flavor enhancers to their products. And many do not even think about how to properly withstand the cheese for a long time. Indeed, in this case, the finished product cannot be classified as budgetary.

All this leads to the fact that an ordinary buyer is increasingly starting to pay attention to products produced by private cheese dairies. They position their cheese as environmentally friendly, and prices are quite reasonable. And if there is a demand, it is necessary to put forward a proposal. That is why many are thinking about how to open a cheese dairy, the business plan of which should be drawn up at the preparatory stage of organizing their business. This document will allow an entrepreneur to estimate the amount of investment, the approximate payback period, and also to find out the cost of cheese. In addition, a cheese dairy business plan with detailed calculations will make it possible to assess risks, analyze the competitive environment, etc. If an entrepreneur wishes to receive a subsidy from the state or a loan from a bank, then this document will be simply necessary for him.

Outlook

Should a budding entrepreneur open a cheese dairy? Based on the opinion of experts, this business will become quite profitable. The high profitability of the cheese dairy is due to several reasons, namely:

• cheese is a consistently demanded product;
• eco-products, the category of which will include the considered one, are in trend today;
• due to the sanctions, the volume of cheese imported from abroad has decreased, which has led to a decrease in competition;
• the state seeks to financially support businesses that are associated with import substitution and agriculture.

As you can see, the prospects are bright. All that remains is to draw up a business plan for the cheese dairy with detailed calculations and get down to business.

Production specifics

Experienced entrepreneurs recommend that their novice colleagues, when drawing up a business plan for a private cheese dairy, decide on the varieties of products that they will produce. The choice of the necessary equipment will depend on this in the future.

First, it is advisable to choose 2 or 3 varieties. The best option at the start of production will be the preparation of soft varieties of the product. After all, such a cheese does not require many months of aging. This approach will allow you to start selling faster. But it should be borne in mind that higher prices are set for hard cheese varieties, and the demand for them is higher.

According to the available production technology, product preparation consists of several stages:

• Purchase of raw materials and their preliminary preparation. For the production of cheese, milk is purchased, which is cooled to 7 degrees. Achieve this temperature of the product will allow the use of a plate cooler. At the same time, the milk is filtered and purified.
• Getting a workpiece with a granular consistency. After cooling, the milk needs to mature. This process takes 12-14 hours. At the same time, the raw material is gaining the required acidity. At this stage, it is necessary to use a leaven. It is a special mixture of bacteria. Calcium chloride can also be used. Today rennet is increasingly being used. The use of this component makes it possible to shorten the ripening period of cheeses.
• Product shaping.
• Pressing cheese.
• Salting.
• The process of ripening cheese to a hard state with a dense structure.
• Storage of products with their subsequent sale.

A mini cheese dairy can become a reliable source of permanent income. Since 2021, the domestic cheese market has experienced a crisis that has not yet been resolved. Our producers began to produce their own products, but they could not completely replace imported varieties. As a result, we have a poorly developed niche and a hungry consumer.

Is it possible to comprehend the science of cheese making and make a really high-quality product that will be no worse than an imported one?

Cheese making in Russia: prospects

Official forecasts for the development of the cheese market contain some optimism. The research company BusinesStat has published a detailed review of the domestic dairy market, which speaks of the increased popularity of hard cheeses among the Russian consumer. We all know that a tug of war by politicians led to an embargo on dairy products in 2021, which were previously imported from EU countries and occupied almost 50% of our domestic market.

This was the impetus for the development of domestic industries, which flooded store shelves with their own goods, having lost most of their foreign competitors. During the period from 2021 to 2021, there was an increase in domestic production by almost 45%. Many businessmen, as if on cue, rushed to master the area of ​​cheese making, which promised considerable income. Although they had machinery and raw materials at their disposal, untrained entrepreneurs lacked the most valuable - experience.

For example, in France (the unspoken capital of cheese making), the recipe is carefully preserved, and the production of cheese is an exclusively family business. The accumulated knowledge and experience are passed on from generation to generation.

The growth rate of cheese production peaked in 2021, when it increased by almost a quarter when compared with the statistics of the previous year. Then the growth gradually began to decline.

It might seem that the competition in this area should be fierce, and newcomers are literally swept off their feet, not allowing them to get up. In practice, this is not the case. The niche is occupied either by middle-class businessmen who supply only the local market, or by larger enterprises, often producing low-quality products. When the excitement subsided, only those who managed to gain a foothold and find a buyer remained in the cheese making, and only a few managed to do this.

To saturate the market, according to all the same statistics, the production of cheese had to increase by half. In fact, this did not happen, and buyers are still looking for their favorite varieties of cheese on the shelves between the pieces of Russian and Artur.

The cheese market (especially hard varieties) has become poor. To be convinced of this, it is enough to visit the nearest grocery store yourself. There are prospects in this niche, it is only partially occupied and other entrepreneurs can move forward if a worthy competitor comes to the market.

Recipe selection

Cheese is an extremely popular product on the Russian market, while the demand for it is constantly growing every year. And this means that a mini-cheese dairy, with the proper organization of the business, must definitely bring a good income to its owner.

Many farm owners are trying to organize such a business, mini-workshops for the production of cheese are opening, so some positive and negative practices have accumulated in this area, which we want to share.

How to open a cheese dairy in Russia

First of all, you should formulate the strategy and tactics of your cheese-making business, develop a detailed business plan for a mini-cheese factory with different development scenarios: positive and negative. A stormy start doesn't guarantee a happy ending.

In our business plan for the launch of cheese production and the first steps in the development of a mini-cheese dairy, the following issues should be resolved:

organization of financial settlements;

organization of business advertising;

Registration of mini-cheese dairy

First of all, the future enterprise should be registered with the tax office in order to register with the tax authorities, otherwise you will quickly start having problems with the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, the Pension Fund, and the Social Insurance Fund.

You can register a mini-cheese factory as an LLC or individual entrepreneur. For the implementation of our project, a newly created legal entity will be used - LLC "Syr", with an authorized capital of 10,000 rubles.

The company is on a preferential tax regime and uses a simplified taxation system, with a tax rate of 5% with the object of taxation - “income minus expenses”. The tax rate is for the Sverdlovsk region for 2021 and may differ from the rate in another region of Russia

In addition, in the future, permits from the veterinary service, sanitary and epidemiological supervision, a license, quality certificates and other permits for opening a mini-cheese dairy are required for the products manufactured and the production facility.

Cheese Market Research