A butchery business is a very profitable business to operate in Zimbabwe. Meat has always been considered an important part of diet. Centuries ago, communities would gather and also hunt for meat. In the Zimbabwean culture, meat was usually really important during events and celebrations. Now it is so affordable that almost every meal contains meat. Over 16000 tonnes of meat is consumed every month in Zimbabwe.  It is evident that there is a business market that you can explore. Consider opening your own butchery shop. You can have stable clients who will always buy your product especially if your meat products are of a good quality. You need to carry out market research and have a good butchery business plan before you venture into this business.  This article will explain how to start a butchery business in Zimbabwe, and the butchery business plan.

What you need

Select your niche

You may have limited capital or perhaps prefer a particular line of meat products you wish to sell. It may be a good idea for you to sell the most sellable meats. Amongst these are beef, pork, chicken, sausages and beef offals. These meat products move quite faster especially towards weekends when people buy more braai packs to go to party areas such as e.g. in Harare: Warren Park, Hillside and Norton. If capital allows and depending on your location you may also specialize on the scarce meat products such as venison meat, kosher meat, goat meat, rabbit meat and lamb meat. This is a very unique niche if its own. Another niche could be that of providing processes meats such as bacon and ham. However, it is expensive start up.

Location of your Butchery Business

You will definitely have to invest your time in selecting location of your butchery business because a good location is required to succeed in the butchery business. If you poorly locate your shop then your business will not flourish much and it might mean that you would have put money down the train. Considering the amount of road traffic, find an easy accessible location where people can stop and quickly get service. You may locate your butchery shop at the main business center in your local resident area. High density areas have many people and that is a market of its own. You may also locate your butchery business in the medium and low density shopping centers.

 

Knowledge of where to get meat supplies

You need to know the best distributor or supplier for your products. The best places to consider are bulky meat wholesalers, cattle farms, poultry farms and other meat farms which provide pork, sausage and various meats. It’s cheaper to deal directly with the wholesalers and farmers. Have your buying prices for various kinds of meat when sourcing meat from the farmers. It’s better to buy meat per KG slaughtered weight, than buying a live animal. Ensure that you slaughter the animals at registered abattoirs, and the suppliers have the papers proving ownership especially for cattle. Beware of buying stolen cattle.

In selecting suppliers, consider the cost per kg and the quality of the meat and the cleanliness of the supplier. Hygiene is a major factor to consider because the type of product is quite sensitive. After selecting suppliers enter into an agreement and be sure that your supply will be steady over time to avoid any shortages in future. The meat wholesalers where you can buy your meat from include Montana Carswell Meats, Koala Park Abbatoir, Colcom, and Surrey Meats.

License and Insurance

You should get a shop license from the City Council for your butchery business. Your shop will first be assessed by the health inspectors to check if the shop meets all health requirements and standards. If the health requirements are met, the shop license is approved and you can start operations. Also note that from time to time, the health inspectors carry out inspections to check if one is maintaining the required hygiene standard. Do not be found on the wrong side of the law, lest your license be withdrawn.

After acquiring the license, secure your butchery business by getting an insurance cover. Every type of business has risks and you cannot take chances. For example they might be a break in, theft or an electrical fault which may cause fire. Always be on guard and pay your insurance. There are several insurance companies to consider here in Zimbabwe. Select one where it is easier to claim.

Target Market

Your market is wide. You can target all homes within your vicinity of operations. It is best for you to understand the type of meats they like in order to increase your sales. You may also target other individuals who come for braai in your area or location. It may be an advantage if you have your own braai stands just outside the butchery. It will draw much attention and people to come and buy your meat products.

Capital for a butchery business

You need various equipment for your butchery business. Your shop needs proper butchery equipment and refrigeration. The equipment needed include cold room, display fridges, freezers, meat slicers, scales etc. Purchasing all these equipment will be costly. You will need an operations truck to transport your meat products from the farms/wholesalers to the shop. Applying for a loan would make sense and would facilitate you to easily start your butchery business.

Profitability and costs

A butchery shop is a very profitable business if properly managed. Start up costs maybe high but monthly costs are for salaries, rent and rates, electricity, purchases for meat supplies and other small costs such as cleaning materials and soaps. Remember to do regular purchasing, selling fresh meat is feasible and it keeps your customers happy. To tap in on profitability, increase awareness and marketing for the butchery.  At startup distribute fliers and offer specials and discounts. After gaining the loyalty of the customers you may then offer your meat products at a competitive price. You need to push volumes to be profitable in the butchery business. Thus why it is important to have a good marketing strategy.

Is the butchery business viable?

A butchery business can be easy to manage and run if you develop the right business processes. The main area of concern is in purchasing the right type and quality of the meat products, setting up a competitive price and maintaining hygiene in the shop. The butchery business is not too demanding and you can employ at least two people, a butcher and a sales person. The income stream is steady and if you properly manage the funds then the business will flourish and you may end up opening several shops in different locations. Just maintain a routine planning pattern and it will be much easier to do your business and keep you in line.

Pre-Written Butchery Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel) : Comprehensive Version, Short Bank Loan Version, Automated Excel Financial Statements

For an in-depth analysis of the butchery business in Zimbabwe, purchase our butchery business plan. We decided to introduce the business plans after noting that many Zimbabweans were venturing into the butchery business without a full understanding of the industry, market, how to run the business, the risks involved, profitability of the business and the costs involved, leading to a high failure rate of their businesses.

Our business plan will make it easier for you to launch and run a butchery business successfully, fully knowing what you are going into, and what’s needed to succeed in the business. It will be easier to plan and budget as the butchery business plan will lay out all the costs involved in setting up and running the butchery business. The business plan is designed uniquely for the Zimbabwean market.

Thanks for the business plan, it’s good, it gives me a good direction of my journey, with this I hope I will prosper,  it’s helpful i learnt a lot.
F Makotose

Uses of the Butchery Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)

The butchery business plan can be used for many purposes including:

  • Raising capital from investors/friends/relatives
  • Applying for a bank loan
  • Start-up guide to launch your butcher shop business
  • As a butchery project proposal
  • Assessing profitability of the butcher shop business
  • Finding a business partner
  • Assessing the initial start-up costs so that you know how much to save
  • Manual for current business owners to help in business and strategy formulation

Contents of the Butcher Shop Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)

The business plan includes, but not limited to:

  • Market Analysis
  • Industry Analysis
  • Automated Financial Statements (monthly cash flow projections, income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, break even analysis, loan repayment calculations, start-up costs)
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Risk Analysis
  • SWOT & PEST Analysis
  • Operational Requirements (e.g. equipment required,  license requirements, handling meat e.t.c.)
  • Management of a Butchery Business
  • Operational Strategy
  • Why some Zimbabweans in the butchery business fail, so that you can avoid their mistakes
  • Ways to raise capital to start your butchery business in Zimbabwe

The butchery business plan includes technical aspects of how to manage a butchery successfully. It also includes a mini-directory with contacts which will prove to be helpful in launching and running your butchery business. E.g. We will provide the contact details of the companies that sell meat (wholesalers) ,companies which sell cold rooms and refridgerators  e.t.c.

The Butchery Business plan package consist of 4 files

  1. Butchery Business Plan – PDF file (Comprehensive – 84 pages)
  2. Butcher Shop Business Plan – Editable Word File (Comprehensive – 84 pages)
  3. Butchery Business Plan Bank Version – Editable Word File (Short version for applying for a loan – 38 pages)
  4. Butcher Shop Business Plan Automated Financial Statements – (Editable Excel file)

The business plan financials are in USD currency. 

The financial statements are automated. This implies that you can change eg the amount of meat sold, price per KG etc, and all the other financial statements will automatically adjust to reflect the change. 

Get the Butchery Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)

We decided to make them affordable for anyone who would want a business plan, and the price for pre-written business plans is only ZWL$200 000 for soft copies. When you pay via PayPal, Mastercard or Visa Card, the soft copy costs US$25.

You can purchase via Paynow using Ecocash, One Money or Telecash. You just click Pay Now (scroll down)  and you will then be taken to Pay now website where you make the payment. Just follow the instructions; you will be done with the payment process in 2 minutes. We will email the business plan (PDF format, Microsoft word format, and a Microsoft Excel file with the financial statements)  to you within 24 hours, using the email address you provided when you were paying.

If you have a PayPal account, MasterCard or Visa Card, you can purchase the business plan via PayPal.  You just click Buy now (scroll down) and you will then be taken to PayPal website where you make the payment. Just follow the instructions; you will be done with the payment process in 2 minutes. We will email the business plan (PDF format, Microsoft word format, and a Microsoft Excel file with the financial statements) to you within 24 hours, using the email address you provided when you were paying.

You can also purchase hard copies and/or soft copies at our offices in Harare. Visit  StartupBiz Zimbabwe, Suite 201, 2nd Floor, Morgan House, George Silundika Avenue (between 1st Street & 2nd Street), Harare . The cost of the business plan is ZWL$200 000 (soft copies).

For any questions, other payment options, email us on shop@startupbiz.co.zw , call/whatsapp us on +263778798072 (Whatsapp us by clicking the link https://wa.me/263778798072.

Butchery Business Plan 

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