Yet putting up a restaurant is not the only option for those planning to go into the food business. If capital is an issue, one can start small. The following are the small-scale yet in-demand food businesses that sell in the Philippines:

Coconut Milk Beverage. A cheaper and healthy alternative to milk and other beverages is coconut milk. With just a little creativity and resourcefulness, you can come up with different yet interesting flavors such as coco-chocolate, coco-pandan, and coco-lychee. Ask help from the local government agencies concerned. You can sell your products to office and school canteens. Your rate of return is 80 percent.

Ready-to-Cook Meat Products. Especially in rural areas where people can’t even squeeze in time to prepare their meals, selling ready-to-cook meat such as spicy wings and Korean barbecue to office workers and other people can be a hit. Contact local manufacturers of ready-to-cook meat products or better yet, take food preparation and cooking lessons. Distribute flyers in strategic places where your target market is located.

Smoked Fish. Consider this food business venture especially if you live in the coastal area where the price of fish is relatively cheap.

Fruit Juice Concentrate. With this food business, all you need is a good location and the fruits and ingredients you will need. Seminars and modules from different government and private agencies are available containing all the necessary information to get you started. Since production is mobile, it allows the easy transfer of the fruits from your business location.

Ham Retailing. Sell ham in foils and ribbons and sell them to friends and relatives. You can buy them wholesale or make them yourself. Try incorporating different flavors.