Business Tips
Starting A Butcher Shop.
Starting A Butcher Shop.
Why not join one of the fastest, growing markets in South Africa by opening up your own butchery or adding a meat department to your store?
Shisanyama,small to medium convenience or large butcheries can be a highly profitable and equally rewarding business to get into.
Some basic information you need to know about opening up your own butchery:
1.Market Research
2.Location vs Supply and Demand
3.Decide what you want to sell
4.Find a good supplier
5.Choose the best equipment
6.Recruit a professional blockman
7.Storage facilities and cold rooms
8.Butchery Management
9.Marketing
Running A successful butchery requires your 100% engagement, dedication, and most importantly, the correct equipment.
We have put together a basic list of all the equipment that you will require to get your meat business going and growing:
Essential information that you need to know before deciding what equipment to purchase:
Your equipment requirements is based on your procurement capacity and output potential.
If you require higher and more efficient production rates, it's always recommended that you purchase premium quality equipment that can exceed your output projections.
Butchery equipment requires correct usage and maintenance. At Caterquip, we offer maintenance and repairs to your butchery equipment as well as sourcing spare parts that you may require along the way.
Planning, Refrigeration, Electrical and Installation:
Itis essential to have a floor plan that will work to the advantage of the efficiency of the business output and flow of your customers.
The Refrigeration equipment in your business is what will keep your products freshly stored, well-merchandised & managed. All meat processing operations require both individual Freezing & cooling types of equipment.
Get your electrical planned & pre-installed with a qualified electrician, who can issue you with a certificate of compliance once completed. Your isolators/power points must be wired directly from your distribution board. Use the best quality & most suitable circuit breakers, cables & power points for your equipment. Always get extra surge protection.
Installation of your equipment must be done by a qualified technician. If your electrical ports are done accurately, the installation of your equipment should be easy and non-problematic.
Regular Servicing of your equipment, maintaining of blades and collaboration on scales,etc is what keeps your business continuously and producing efficiently.
1. Motor-Driven Equipment:
A High kilowatt motor is required for thicker boned livestock.
A Medium kilowatt motor is more suitable for thinner boned livestock.
A Low kilowatt motor is better suited for poultry and seafood.
Bandsaws
A Bandsaw is your butchery's right-hand man. This is a specialized piece of equipment that is used for cutting your carcasses into its preferred cuts of meat. They have an extremely sharp blade and require a great level of precision& skill to get the job done effectively and safely. They come in variety of sizes (KW) and are available in floor standing or counter top models.
Meat Mincers
A meat mincer or grinder is a much needed piece of equipment in your butchery. Meat mincers grind up your cuts of meat into mince. This machine works quickly and efficiently, and is simple to use. Our meat mincers are available in different sizes and capacities, depending on your needs.
Meat Slicers
Meat Slicers are an essential tool for every butchery. They are used to slice polonies, cold meats, salami and cheeses into thin, equal portions. Compared to using a knife, a meat slicer ensures even and fast slicing of your polony and salami rolls to your desired thickness without damaging the texture, making sure you get least wastage as possible from your products.
Biltong slicing machine
A Great addition to any butchery, a biltong slicing machine slices your cured,dried meat into desired size pieces and thickness. Biltong Slicers are available in manual or electric cutters.
Feather plucker
Poultry based businesses is a growing market in South Africa. If one is functioning as an abattoir, a Feather plucker is essential.Once chickens are slaughtered, they need to be scalded in hot water first to soften feathers. Once scalded and placed in a Feather plucker, it will then pluck Feathers from about chickens 3-5 chickens(depending on size of chickens and the machine),in a record amount of time, saving you time and labour.
2. Manual-Driven Equipment:
Sausage Filler
A sausage filler is a must-have piece of equipment for producing wors and sausages. They hold sausage casings in place while they are slowly stuffed with the prepared sausage filling.
Patty press
A patty press is a handy tool for every butchery. Instead of buying burger patties, producing your own is more profitable. These compress or shape yourmince into its desired size and thickness, based on the size of your patty press machine(100mm or 130mm).Patty presses ensure uniformity as patties will have the same thickness and diameter every single time.
Meat tenderizers
These are highly recommended pieces of equipment as it tenderizes(pokes holes into tougher cuts of meat so it cooks quicker). Adding tenderized meats to your selling products is a way to bring in extra income to your butchery as tougher,harder to sell cuts of meat may be tenderized and sold to your customers. Some Customers may only prefer tenderized meats.
3. Compressor Driven Equipment:
Meat Displays
Displaying your unique variety of cuts of meat in a meat display is the best way of merchandising your butchery. These displays have a cooling function, thus keeping your meat at its optimum temperature for both displaying and selling.It is advisable to use special division trays to showcase all your cuts of meats, poultry, sausages and wors all together, yet without cross contamination.
Chillers and Freezers
Meat And poultry products have a poor shelf life and thus require adequate and accurate temperature control to prevent any spoilages and health hazards. You may choose between upright wall chillers to keep some of your unfrozen fresh meats chilled, and invest in showcase island freezers or upright freezers which keep your frozen meat products well merchandised, fresh, on display and easily accessible to your customers. They come in a variety of sizes to suit the floorspace of your butchery or depending on your floor plan.
4. Organization and Storage
Cold Rooms/ Freezer Rooms
A Cold Room is a fundamental part of your butchery. Harmful bacteria begins growing on meat products as soon as an animal is slaughtered, and a fully functional cold room will ensure that your meat carcasses are stored at the correct desired temperature, and extend the shelf life and quality of yourcarcasses. Cold rooms are crucial for compliance with health and safety requirements as they keep meat cool at temperatures between 0 to 2 Degrees Celsius,for a shorter time, for all fast moving meat produce. Freezer rooms are great for storing your bulk purchases as it stores your produce at temperatures of -18 Degrees.
Hooks
Heavy duty hooks are indispensable to a butchery. These hooks are utilized to hang carcasses in cold rooms.
5. Meat Preparation
Uniforms
A butcher's uniform is extremely important. A butcher requires a hair-net, plastic gloves and a plastic apron. These are vital to maintain good hygiene and health and safety practices. Plastic is easily disposable and can be sanitized accordingly.
Vacuum sealer
A vacuum sealer is a staple in every butchery. Vacuum sealer removes any air that can contribute to food spoilage. Processed meats(cold meats, polonies and salamis) once sliced, may be vacuum sealed to maintain freshness and to sell in smaller quantities.
Wrapping machine
A wrapping machine is important for packaging your customers meat. Once they have made their selection, a wrapping machine is used to cling film trays of meat quickly, with a heated wire for easy cutting, thus improving efficiency and fast customer service
Stainless steel table
Stainless steel tables are invaluable to a butchery Once meat is chopped, it needs to be packaged or requires cleaning, a stainless-steel table is a perfect surface to work on as it is strong, durable and large meat can also be sanitized easily and does not absorb any germs or bacteria, ensuring health and safety requirements are met.
Heavy duty trays
Carcasses and portioned meat are quite on the heavy side. It is important to have trays to make movement of your meat from one station to another easy, and prevent cross- contamination.
Pot sinks
Working with meat requires impeccable hygiene practices to prevent any health and safety violations.Pot sinks are deep, large, durable sinks which are utilized for all your washing up of knives, trays, thongs and other butchery tools used. These sinks have an expansive space which allows for washing and cleaning of larger tools and kitchenware.
Knives and magnetic knife stands
A skilled butcher and his knives cannot be separated. Sharp, well-maintained knives are crucial for a butcher to cut meat and poultry. To make knives easily accessible, a magnetic knife stand is used next to the butcher's work station. Professional Butcher knives need to be handled with utmost care, and professional knife sharpening is encouraged to extend your knives life-span and sharpness.
Chopping boards
A butcher requires large chopping boards for cleaning and cutting of meta. plastic chopping boards can be easily washed and sanitized with each use, making it ideal for butchery use.
Insect killers
Flies and other pesty insects can carry germs and bacteria. Naturally, they are attracted to meat and poultry, and insect killers are an efficient way to keep them away from produce.
Baskets and shopping trolleys
Baskets and shopping trolleys are crucial for good customer service. It makes in convenient for customers and accommodates goods and products while customers are shopping. These make for an easier shopping experience, thus increasing sales.
Scales
Butchery scales are vital for ensuring that meat is accurately weighed whilst takin into consideration health and safety requirements. A hanging scale is used to weigh out your carcasses. Smaller electric scales are used to precisely pack your customers meat orders according to what weight or price they desire. These scales are available with a printing function to print out a receipt or label.
Marinades and sauces
Marinades and sauces are the best complement to meat. It not only imparts flavour, but helps to achieve the desired texture on cooked meats. You can purchase them for resale in your butchery or use it to prepare marinated meat for selling to customers or for the meats that you choose to braai.
Drum Braai Stands
Why not turn your butchery into a shisanyama as well? Just the smell of braaiing eat is sure to bring in more customers. You may sell prebraaied meat and keep it hot and fresh in our heated displays or chaffing dishes, readily available to all walk-in customers.
A butchery is not limited to just selling 'meat' or 'sausages'. One of the ways to expand your business and bring in more income is to braai meat to sell, and also prepare marinated meats. Customers will appreciate the convenience of coming into your butchery, buying ready marinated meats for their braai.
