tips for getting company out of the kitchen

From the baiana tray to fit lunchboxes, for centuries the home kitchen has been an important springboard for female entrepreneurship. After all, if the house and the care of children and family is, historically, “a woman’s thing”, nothing more natural that it is from the home space that many women start their businesses. And what often appears as a way to supplement income or buy daily bread, over time goes beyond the walls of the house and can soon become an important player in the local economy.

This is the story of the deep-frozen bakery company Doce D’ocê, from Chopinzinho, in western Paraná. The company, which turns 30 in 2023, started in the simple kitchen of Noeli Bazanelli’s house. Today, it is an industry in the food sector that employs almost 750 employees in the municipality, being one of the main employers in the city.

“I’ve always liked to cook. But when I started doing things outside, in the kitchen at home, it was out of sheer necessity. And that’s natural. It’s very difficult, especially in the food business, who hasn’t started that way ’ says Noel.

At the end of last year, Noeli and her husband Carlos opened two stores of the fine confectionery brand of Doce D’ocê: Frülling. Created to be a replicable model – that is, already thought to become a franchise -, the brand works with pies, snacks and sweets produced at the Chopinzinho factory and is a rescue of the times when Noeli produced cakes of this type in her home kitchen, in the beginning of the 1990s.

Technology is an ally to accelerate business

Also with a company that started in the kitchen at home, businesswoman Jackeline Castilho took advantage of technology to accelerate the growth process of her brand. If in the past, quituteiras hired people to sell their sweets through the streets of cities, today delivery apps play this role.

In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Jackeline started making cakes and brigadeiros at home. Always thinking about delivery, after a few weeks she switched to iFood with the brand Doce Castelo Doceria. Jackeline now has two physical points, one in Água Verde and the other in Boqueirão, but delivery continues to be the brand’s strong point.

Revenue from the two stores in February this year was BRL 121,000, just from iFood. In May 2020, when the company started, it earned R$5,000 on the platform. “iFood has been the main sales channel since the beginning. Delivery has helped me grow in attracting customers and promoting the brand. The partner delivery logistics, a platform service, facilitated the sale and delivery of the product to the customer” , comments.

Planning and formalization help in the success of female entrepreneurship

In addition to transforming the kitchen at home into a business, Jackeline and Noeli have two other points in common: planning and formalization. And following this path is precisely the advice of consultant Patrícia Albanez, from Sebare-PR, for women who are starting the journey of female entrepreneurship from the home kitchen.

“It’s normal to start informally, with the things you have at home, and test them out. But from having a successful business in gastronomy, there are some steps. The first one is formalization”, he says.

Yes, Patrícia is talking about making a business plan and creating a CNPJ. In short: dreaming in an organized way and, of course, putting the plan into action. As an established company, Patrícia explains, the entrepreneur is able to negotiate better terms with suppliers, apply for cheaper lines of credit and is, personally, more protected from any problems that may occur with the company.

For those who don’t even know where to start on the path of formalization, Patrícia’s suggestion is to seek official channels, such as Sebrae itself and the Federal Revenue Service. Find out what type of economic activity your business best fits into, learn about the legal requirements that will come with formalization and study the future possibilities for your company. For this, Sebrae’s Entrepreneur Room can help you.

And, most importantly, don’t be afraid to go pro. Unfortunately, it is still common that, when a woman intends to take a step that seems a little more daring, voices arise to put the decision in check.

For these moments, listening to the experience of other women entrepreneurs is a path. There are several felt female entrepreneurship groups – virtual and with face-to-face meetings. Class associations, such as Abrasel, can also be an important point of support, advises Patrícia.

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