As an international grocery store owner, you can honor your roots, offer a taste of home, and share your favorite food traditions with your neighbors.
Opening an international market also comes with the chance for huge financial success. Since your store will specialize in ingredients and treats that can’t be found anywhere else, you’ll have a built-in base of loyal customers who will consistently purchase their grocery staples from you.
All international grocery store owners structure their businesses differently, but they generally fall into two categories.
- Regional markets: These stores focus on broader regions, such as Pan-Asian, Latin, African, and Middle Eastern markets, and carry various products found across these regions.
- Single nationality markets: In contrast, a single nationality market specializes in foods and brands specific to a single country, creating a more in-depth shopping experience for those seeking particular items.
Regardless of your store’s specialty, your customers will expect to find a broad range of products to stock their refrigerators, freezers, and pantries. Here’s a rundown of what you can typically find in a well-stocked international food market:
- Fresh produce that is commonly found in the country or region and is difficult to find elsewhere. For example, an Asian market will likely carry things like lemongrass and daikon radish, while a Latin market will stock unique items like jicama and tomatillos.
- Meat and fish that are protein staples in the cuisine. Goat meat is often found in a Middle Eastern Halal market, while certain whole fish could be must-haves in other types of markets.
- Pantry staples that form the foundation of many recipes, including all varieties of spices, dried ingredients, noodles, rice, and beans.
- Specialty condiments that add distinctive flavors and the finishing touches to your customers’ dishes. These include all kinds of pastes, sauces, and seasonings.
Understand Your Target Customer
A booming customer base is the number one ingredient for small business success. Your customers are why your grocery store exists and the key to its long-term success. You provide them with their favorite specialty staples, and in turn, they support your business.
That’s why it’s so important to understand who your customers are. Here are a few key things to research as you consider your store’s location and narrow down your target audience.
- Demographics: Picture your potential customers. What is their age range, income level, and family size? How will this data impact your store’s strategies?
- Cultural background: What is the ethnic, cultural, and national identity of the community where you want to set up your store? How can you balance attracting particular cultural groups and appealing to a wider audience?
- Shopping behavior: Research how your ideal customer generally shops. How often do they purchase groceries? Do they visit one store for everything, or make smaller purchases from several stores? How much are they willing to spend on groceries?
Answering these questions will put you on the path to identifying your target customer and structuring your small business around their wants and needs.
Identify Potential Competitors
Knowing your competition is just as important as knowing your customers.
For success, you need to differentiate your international grocery store from the competition by providing high-quality items that your shoppers can’t find anywhere else, offering competitive pricing, and establishing your business in your area.
Check out these simple steps for sizing up the competition:
- Proximity: Map out the existing international food stores in your potential location. Before settling on a site, ensure that no longstanding competitor already serves your target market.
- Product ranges: Visit competing markets and grocery stores with international aisles to see which products they carry and identify gaps for your store to fill.
- Shopping experience: Observe the running of the store. What is it like to shop in their stores? What aspects of the customer experience do you like, and what can you improve?
Knowing what your competitors offer can help you build a vision for your store.
2. Forecast Your Income and Project Your Cash Flow
Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. It represents the amount of money flowing in and out of your business. Calculating cash flow correctly is critical for creating an accurate financial plan.
To project your cash flow, you first need to estimate all of your expected monthly operating expenses, including:
- Rent
- Utilities
- Payroll and staffing
- Inventory costs
- Ongoing software and technology costs
Next, you’ll need to forecast your income. This means calculating your expected monthly sales by estimating your average transaction value and sales volume.
When forecasting income and cash flow, account for seasonal fluctuations that might impact expenses and revenue. For example, utilities may be higher during the warmest and coldest months of the year, but sales may see a bump around the holiday season.
3. Find the Breakeven Point
Reaching your breakeven point will be the most rewarding and exciting milestone in the early days of your small business journey! Your breakeven point is when your store’s total sales meet your total expenses, and you start to make a profit.
You can determine when your small business will start to generate a profit based on your startup costs and projected cash flow calculations. While your initial estimate may not be 100% accurate, it’s still a handy metric for setting goals and creating other financial projections.
Knowing your breakeven point is critical because it gives you an insight into how profitable your international grocery store will be — and when you can expect to start making money from your venture.
Choosing a location with the right demographics is crucial, especially if you intend to serve a particular cultural group. Spend time examining government databases and analyzing census information to ensure that your potential location has a strong presence of the ethnic group your store will cater to.
You should also consider the income level of your chosen location. Your grocery store’s pricing and specialties should match the purchasing power and shopping preferences of the people who live there.
Your location should also be accessible and have high foot traffic. Choose a spot near related small businesses, such as clothing stores and restaurants. This will ensure that your potential customers are aware of your business and more likely to stop by.
Important Note: While it’s great to settle into a spot with complementary businesses nearby, make sure your potential location isn’t too close to competing grocery stores (especially ones serving the same market).
Running an international grocery store with limited resources and staff can be intimidating. Fortunately, an increasing number of convenient and specialized business tools are available to help business owners like you operate efficiently, effectively, and profitably.
Here’s an overview of the tools you’ll most likely need:
- A point of sale (POS) system to process transactions
- Inventory management software to help you manage your stock
- A customer relationship management (CRM) system to manage your loyalty program and your customers’ information
- Sales reporting and accounting software to analyze your sales, understand customer preferences, create effective pricing strategies, and identify trends.
Your best bet will be to find an all-in-one system that includes all of these features. Having your POS capabilities, inventory records, customer loyalty program, and detailed sales reports in one place will save you time and streamline your operations.
Last, we recommend using an industry-specific system to ensure it has all the functionality a grocery store needs to be successful. While some general retail systems can be customized, many grocery store POS systems come with scale integrations, perishable inventory management, audit tools, and other key grocery functions built in.
Grocery Store Setup
Let’s walk through some of the essentials to get your international grocery store retail-ready. Along with a clean, well-lit space, here’s what you need:
- Shelving to display your shelf-stable products
- Refrigeration and freezer units to hold your perishable items
- Bins and standing displays for produce and other fresh products
- Checkout counters to put your cash registers on
- Shopping carts and baskets to enhance your customers’ experience
- Eye-catching signage to help customers navigate your store and spot deals
Make your store easy to navigate and give customers a great experience.
Sourcing Inventory
Now that you’ve set up your shelves, refrigerators, and freezers, it’s time to stock them!
Your first step is to select the right suppliers. Reach out to multiple potential suppliers to vet them and ensure they’re reliable. Then, negotiate your contract to secure favorable pricing for your grocery stock.
Once you’ve settled on your suppliers, establishing a solid relationship with them is key. Investing in these connections early on will keep your store well-stocked for years to come, so keep your lines of communication open, pay your invoices on time, and work collaboratively to solve problems.
Pro Tip: Having a few reliable suppliers will help you avoid losses from supply chain disruptions and demand swings.
Effective inventory management is paramount for keeping your international grocery store perfectly stocked and your bottom line healthy. You’ll need to keep detailed records of your stock levels to know when to reorder certain products and in which quantities, preventing waste and ensuring that your customers’ favorites are always available.
Choose a grocery POS system with built-in inventory management tools to track your stock effectively and efficiently. Most modern systems like IT Retail can track inventory levels in real time, identify your bestselling products, and allow you to generate purchase orders within the system to save time.
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Define Employee Roles
While every business has unique needs, there are three necessary roles to fill in a grocery store.
- Cashiers are responsible for accurately ringing up customers’ items and accepting payment. Since they’re usually the last face your customers will see during their experience in your grocery store, your cashiers must understand the importance of creating a convenient and pleasant shopping experience.
- Stockers keep your grocery store adequately stocked. They ensure that the right items are on your shelves, in your fridges, and in your freezers, and they keep these areas neatly organized for an easy shopping experience for your customers.
- Managers ensure that your store runs smoothly when you’re away. They also keep your other team members on track, solve problems on the fly, and step in where needed.
Depending on your grocery store’s specialty, you may also want to hire more niche team members. For example, if fresh meats and fish make up a large portion of your inventory, you may want to consider hiring an expert butcher who can handle these items properly and guide customers to the perfect cuts.
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Tips for Hiring and Retaining Staff
Finding the right person for the job can be tough, but the right approach can help you select friendly, reliable, team-oriented employees to staff your grocery store.
Post detailed job listings that are honest about what is expected in the role and how much it pays. Don’t forget to talk about your store and the atmosphere you want to create — try to find people who can both do the job well and are a good fit for your work culture.
Conduct thorough interviews to learn about potential candidates’ grocery store experience and to determine whether they’ll be the right fit for your business.
Educating potential hires about your international grocery store’s target market and why small businesses like yours are culturally important is critical during the hiring process. You want to ensure your team understands and supports your mission to honor and share your cultural cuisine.
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Training Your Staff
Once you’ve assembled your team, you can start getting them ready for your grand opening. Here are some must-cover topics to focus on in training:
- The importance of friendly, attentive customer service
- An overview of the products you carry and how to make recommendations
- How to use your store’s grocery POS system
Along with these three essential topics, you’ll also want to train your staff based on their specific roles. For example, your cashiers will need to know the proper policies for handling customers’ money, and your stockers will need to know food safety guidelines for handling your perishable items.
Last, there should be a clear policy on returns and exchanges. This will help set consistent rules for employees, improve store security, and avoid some common retail scams.
Define Employee Roles
While every business has unique needs, there are three necessary roles to fill in a grocery store.
- Cashiers are responsible for accurately ringing up customers’ items and accepting payment. Since they’re usually the last face your customers will see during their experience in your grocery store, your cashiers must understand the importance of creating a convenient and pleasant shopping experience.
- Stockers keep your grocery store adequately stocked. They ensure that the right items are on your shelves, in your fridges, and in your freezers, and they keep these areas neatly organized for an easy shopping experience for your customers.
- Managers ensure that your store runs smoothly when you’re away. They also keep your other team members on track, solve problems on the fly, and step in where needed.
Depending on your grocery store’s specialty, you may also want to hire more niche team members. For example, if fresh meats and fish make up a large portion of your inventory, you may want to consider hiring an expert butcher who can handle these items properly and guide customers to the perfect cuts.
Tips for Hiring and Retaining Staff
Finding the right person for the job can be tough, but the right approach can help you select friendly, reliable, team-oriented employees to staff your grocery store.
Post detailed job listings that are honest about what is expected in the role and how much it pays. Don’t forget to talk about your store and the atmosphere you want to create — try to find people who can both do the job well and are a good fit for your work culture.
Conduct thorough interviews to learn about potential candidates’ grocery store experience and to determine whether they’ll be the right fit for your business.
Educating potential hires about your international grocery store’s target market and why small businesses like yours are culturally important is critical during the hiring process. You want to ensure your team understands and supports your mission to honor and share your cultural cuisine.
Training Your Staff
Once you’ve assembled your team, you can start getting them ready for your grand opening. Here are some must-cover topics to focus on in training:
- The importance of friendly, attentive customer service
- An overview of the products you carry and how to make recommendations
- How to use your store’s grocery POS system
Along with these three essential topics, you’ll also want to train your staff based on their specific roles. For example, your cashiers will need to know the proper policies for handling customers’ money, and your stockers will need to know food safety guidelines for handling your perishable items.
Last, there should be a clear policy on returns and exchanges. This will help set consistent rules for employees, improve store security, and avoid some common retail scams.
We hope these tips have given you the confidence to dive headfirst into the exciting world of owning an international grocery store!
International markets serve many purposes. They’re vibrant community pillars, make hard-to-find flavors accessible, celebrate diverse food traditions, and provide a gathering place for shoppers of all backgrounds to come together.
Conduct market research to identify your target audience and learn about their wants and needs.
Create a financial plan that outlines your startup costs, ongoing expenses, sales projections, and breakeven point.
Choose a suitable location that’s convenient for your target market and is easily accessible.
Obtain the necessary permits, licenses, and insurance needed to protect your business financially and legally.
Invest in a powerful grocery POS system to streamline your inventory management, transaction, and reporting processes.
Create a value proposition and develop a marketing strategy.
Hire your staff and make sure to conduct thorough interviews and background checks.
Ready To Dive Into the
International Grocery Store Industry?
Starting your small business from scratch can seem daunting, but with the right tools and processes, you’ll be up and running in no time.
IT Retail is more than a technology company. We’re a reliable partner dedicated to your success. Founded by grocers and backed by over 25 years of experience, we create solutions tailored to grocery stores and specialty markets.
Master your inventory, delight customers, and find opportunities to cut costs with our robust suite of features, including:
- Real-time inventory management and automated purchase orders
- Built-in customer loyalty and marketing
- Pre-built sales and inventory reports
- E-commerce support for online sales and local pickup
- Robust scale and scanner integrations
…and more.