Charcuterie Board Business

Want to know why you should consider starting a home-based charcuterie board business? During Covid, pre-packed charcuterie sales went up in volume over 80%, and by Q2 of 2021, pre-packaged charcuterie boards remained 40% higher than in previous years. Charcuterie boxes and boards are all the rage now, and sales don’t show any signs of slowing. 

Though the charcuterie board started in France in the 1400s, they are seeing prominence in culture now. Charcuterie board ideas range from the classic meat and cheese presentation to the inclusion of pickled beets, honeycomb, flavored honey, teas, chocolate, boiled eggs, crackers, toasted bread, nuts, mustards, and many more delicious combinations. 

If you need to know how to make a charcuterie board, look no further. There are ideas at every fine-dining restaurant and even online at places like Williams Sonoma or Goldbelly. You can start your own charcuterie board business, charge far less, and offer much more than online competitors in a food niche that is trending. The next best charcuterie board could be yours!

How to Start a Charcuterie Business From Home

Let’s get down to brass tacks and talk about how to start a charcuterie business from home. You’ll need to start with a few simple steps:

• Figure out if your state requires a charcuterie business license or kitchen inspection to get started. You can look at this interactive map to figure out which states have friendly cottage food laws that would let you start right away and which will require you to do a few preemptive tasks first before you can start selling charcuterie boards from home. [2]
• Write a charcuterie board business plan. Your business plan is your cottage food business “recipe” for success. In it, you’ll talk about what you do, the costs and possible profit margins, the materials you’ll need including cutting boards, packaging, labeling, and ingredients, etc. It will include an executive summary as well. You can find online business plan templates for food businesses at Lawdepot and other sites. 
• Look at charcuterie trends in your area. If you live in New York, the charcuterie trends might be very different than they are in the deep South in states like Tennessee or Texas. Cater to your audience. If they want locks and bagels on their board, then give it to them. If they prefer jalapeno sausage and bluebonnet honey, then offer that as well. Starting a charcuterie board business also requires that you know your customer well. 
• Make a few test charcuterie boards and “market test” them with friends and family. If you’ve never created a charcuterie board before, try creating a few different types and send them as holiday gifts. Ask for honest feedback about the taste of the items, the presentation, the packaging - all of it!  If your friends and family love them, then you know you can sell them in the marketplace.
• Set up a website, online store, and start marketing your product. Castiron is a great web app that can help you run a charcuterie business from home. It will help you take orders online, market on social media, and even track your sales with ease. 

How to Price Charcuterie Boards

Pricing strategies for your classic charcuterie may be quite different from the pricing for a specialty themed charcuterie board. Your charcuterie profit margin is vital to your start-up business’ success, so learning how to price charcuterie boards is important. Here’s a simple strategy:

Add up:

• The cost of labor
• The cost of ingredients (including the board itself) You may want to charge higher and create your own mesquite wood cutting board that your charcuterie is delivered on if you or someone you know is handy with woodworking, or keep it simple and deliver your board on a recycled tray or board. 
• The cost of labeling and packaging
• The cost of shipping if you’re not going to deliver them locally

To this total, we add a 20% profit margin, which is healthy in the cottage food industry. If you have a higher-end product, you can charge up to 50 - 70% profit for fine foods and an excellent presentation.  Charcuterie boards are highly sought after for holiday parties and New Year’s celebrations too, so if you’re ready to get started quickly, you can take advantage of a thriving holiday food market and charge a premium for your goods.