[AB] Seeking feedback on starting a small niche food business

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring starting a small food business and would love honest feedback on feasibility, pricing, and potential pitfalls. I’d be producing everything myself in a licensed commercial kitchen.

Products: • Cooking sauce – ~$5–6 per unit • Pre-made meal – ~$7–10 per portion • Chips with a unique flavor – ~$3–5 per bag • Spice mix – ~$5–6 per small container

plan: • Small-batch production in a commercial kitchen (will make sure proper licensing, insurance, regulatory, testing and safety) • Starting out selling at farmer’s markets and online for local pick up only. • Aiming for healthy profit margins.

Questions for you: 1. Is this type of small-scale food business viable? 2. Are these pricing points reasonable for small-batch production? 3. What major pitfalls should I watch out for when producing everything myself? 4. Any regulatory concerns I might be overlooking in Alberta? 5. Anything obvious I’m missing that could make or break this business?

A bit more context: I have a full time job and doing this as a side hustle until I’m ready to scale. I’m currently in the recipe testing phase. My next step is to make sure all requirements are in place including food handling certification. I’ve done my research and can confidently say that the products I’m bringing to market do not widely exist in Canada. Lastly, my start up fund is at 20k.

Would really appreciate honest, constructive feedback.