Starting a Food Business
How to Start a Food Business – A Technical Perspective
Developed by our technical team here at BIA, our step-by-step guide breaks down complex processes into manageable steps, helping budding food entrepreneurs take their product from concept to reality while minimizing risks.
Whether you’re refining your HACCP plan or preparing for regulatory approvals, this guide offers practical, industry-backed insights to make your food business journey smoother and more successful.
More Useful Links
Visit the Food Safety Authority of Ireland website to learn more about starting a food business.
Visit the Teagasc website to read their document about starting a food business.
Visit the HSE website to read their advice on opening a new food business.
Register your Food Business
Let's get you started
Before you start your food business (even from home), you legally have to let the right authorities know—usually this is the HSE’s Environmental Health Service. They inspect food businesses like restaurants, food trucks, market stalls, food factories, breweries and distilleries. If you’re running more than one food business, you need to register each one separately. Once youre up and running, and you decide to relocate your business or use an additional food production unit, you must inform your Environmental Health Officer of this change.
Registration is FREE. Register via their online portal or by contacting the local Environmental Health Office where your food business is located. For further information on registration email foodbusinessnotification@hse.ie.
One-to-One Food Labelling Training
Skillnet Training & BIA Innovator Campus
For personalised labelling advice, BIA in partnership with Taste4Sucess Skillnet, offer affordable bespoke training tailored to your product label.
Learn more about the personalised labelling training by clicking here.
Food Safety Advice & HACCP
Food Safety Requirements
You will need to have a Food Safety Management System (also known as a “HACCP plan”) before you can sell to the public or carry out significant food tastings for market research.
Safefood is an all-island organization dedicated to promoting awareness and knowledge of food safety and nutrition on the island of Ireland. It’s essentially a government body working to improve public health through food-related education and research. They offer free training in food safety regularly at the BIA Innovator Campus (sign up to our Newsletter using the link at the bottom of this page for information on when the next training session is taking place!).
Safefood for Business is a FREE online training programme in basic food safety for small food businesses in food service, catering, retail and manufacturing
The FSAI has three FREE food safety plans designed for caterers and small food business operators. The documents are a fantastic resource and can be downloaded for FREE on the following links:
Food Safety Management System Guide for Small Meat Manufacturing Plants
Suppliers
Ingredients
The following suppliers are merely suggestions and not endorsed in any way by BIA Innovator Campus. If you are an ingredient supplier, please contact us to be included on this list:
Packaging
The following suppliers are merely suggestions and not endorsed in any way by BIA Innovator Campus. If you are a packaging supplier, please contact us to be included on this list:
- Alert Packaging (bags & pouches)
https://www.alertpackaging.com/ - Alpack
http://www.alpack.ie/ - Avoncourt (plastic trays)
http://www.avoncourt.com/ - BoxPak, Belfast
www.boxpak.co.uk - Brow Pack (Belfast)
www.browpack.com - Bunzl
http://www.bunzlireland.com/ - Dollard Packaging (cartons)
http://www.dollard-packaging.ie/ - Down 2 Earth Materials (food service)
https://www.down2earthmaterials.ie/ - Corcoran
https://corcoran-group.com/products/ - Esmark Finch
https://www.printandpackaging.ie/ - Irish Papers
http://www.irishpapers.ie/ - Jenpack Ltd (disposable tableware)
http://www.jenpak.co.uk/ - J.J.O’Toole
https://www.jjotoole.ie/bia - Kiernan’s Food Ingredients Ltd.
http://foodpackagingandingredients.co.uk/ - Lawco Packaging (bakery)
http://www.lawcopackaging.ie/ - NJB Sustainable Packaging & Machinery
https://njb.ie/ - Pack n Wood (grab&go; sealing)
http://www.packnwood.com/ - Quality Labels
http://www.quality-labels.com/ - RH Packaging & Machinery
https://www.rhpackaging.com/food-manufacturers-packaging - Silver Stream Packaging Ltd
https://www.silverstreampackaging.ie/ - The Packaging Centre
https://thepackagingcentre.com/ - Versatile Packaging
http://www.versatilepackaging.ie/ - Zeus Packaging
https://global.zeuspackaging.com/packaging-solutions/food-beverage-packaging/
Labelling & Barcodes
Labelling
Food labelling, under the EU Food Information to Consumers (FIC) regulation, is required to make sure consumers have clear, accurate, and useful information about the food they buy. It helps consumers make informed choices based on ingredients, allergens, nutrition, and where the food comes from. FIC also ensures consistency across EU countries and holds food businesses accountable for what they sell, helping to protect public health and prevent misleading claims.
The following list details mandatory information that must appear on the packaging of the prepacked foodstuffs or on an attached label:
(a) The name of the food1
(b) The list of ingredients
(c) Any of the 14 allergens (whether used as an ingredient or processing aid) listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011
(d) The quantity of certain ingredients or categories of ingredients (QUID)
(e) The net quantity of the food1
(f) The date of minimum durability (i.e. ‘best-before’ date) or ‘use-by’ date (determined by shelf-life testing)
(g) Any special storage instructions and/or conditions of use
(h) The name or business name and address of the food business operator, i.e. the food business operator responsible for the food information must be the operator in whose name or business name the food is marketed
(i) The country of origin or place of provenance of the foodstuff where failure to indicate might mislead the consumer
(j) Instructions for use where it would be difficult to make appropriate use of the food in the absence of such instructions
(k) With respect to beverages containing more than 1.2% by volume of alcohol, the actual alcoholic strength by volume1
(l) A nutrition declaration
1 These details must appear in the same field of vision on the label.
However, not every food product requires the same labelling information. There are exceptions and specific labelling rules depending on the type of product you produce, e.g. alcohol, food supplements, foods with health claims, foods of animal origin, infant formula etc.
Food Safety Authority Ireland
There are a range of helpful links below from the FSAI to help when it comes to labelling and information on nutrition and allergens.
Information on Prepacked Foods (PDF)
General requirements for labelling of prepacked foods and food supplements
Barcodes
To sell your products instore or online most retailer partners require products to have barcodes with Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) – these are the unique identification numbers seen below most barcode symbols.
Barcodes using GS1 Standards make it possible for companies to speak the common global language and enable visibility in the supply chain. There is only one provider of GS1 barcodes in Ireland.
Visit their website: https://www.gs1ie.org/
Laboratories & Testing
The following labs are merely suggestions and not endorsed in any way by BIA Innovator Campus.
Advanced Laboratory Testing – Newbridge
Phone: 045 491600
Web: http://altesting.ie/
ALS Life Sciences – Clonmel
Phone: 052 6178100
Web: http://www.alsglobal.ie/
Complete Laboratory Solutions (CLS) – Galway
Phone: 091 574 355
Web: https://cls.ie/
Eurofins Food Testing – Dublin
Phone: 01 431 1306
Web: https://www.eurofins.ie/
Fitz Scientific – Drogheda
Phone: 041 984 5440
Web: https://fitzsci.ie/
Business Support & Funding
Enterprise Ireland & Local Enterprise Office
Local Enterprise Office
Reach out to your Local Enterprise Office for mentorship and information on funding and grants available for start-ups and growing food businesses.
Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland Innovation Vouchers are a support scheme designed to help small businesses in Ireland access research and innovation expertise from public knowledge providers, like Universities or research centres (e.g. Teagasc). Each voucher is worth €10,000 (SME’s can avail of 3 vouchers) and can be used to develop new products or services, or improve processes. For more information and how to apply check out their website.