How to Start a Polish Store

Normally a Polish Store is food related. Domestic and foreign demand for Polish food products is quite large. This is evidenced by the shortage of 10,000 Polish store workers; though it is partially due to the fact that many Polish workers are seeking better employment abroad.

As a result, there is a move to attract Ukraine and other workers to fill the Polish labor requirements.

Domestic food and beverage consumption is high, as a result of improving Polish labor wage and per capita income. In BMI’s Business Environment Ranking for 2008 4th Quarter, Poland is on the 4th place, from 6th place in 2007- now tied with much bigger Russia.

Though there are bureaucratic, logistics and other problems, Poland still have an attractive business environment for Mass Grocery Retail (MGR) players. German firms- Rewe Group, Makro, Cash and Carry; French companies-Malteurp, Danisco, Lactalis; and the American Malting ADM Corporations are expanding its domestic operations in Poland. This mainly due to lower operational and wage costs.

Polish food is ideal for vegetarians. Green Way is a Polish food store chain that specializes on vegetarian foods. Potato pancakes, Pieorogi, Barszc (beet soup) and Buckwheat are some of the popular Poland dishes that are most sought of.

Dairy food products are also best selling items in Polish food stores. There are several brands of yogurt with varied flavors. Cheese comes in soft and hard varieties with wide selection of flavors. Chive, bell peppers, ham, salami, mushroom are a few of these flavors.

Polish street foods are also with high demand. Doner Kebabs are found all over Europe. Another is Zapiekanka, which is essentially a baguette with mushrooms, cheese- toasted and topped with ketchup and mayonnaise. Another popular Polish street food is a cross between and pretzel and a bagel. It is made of dough with poppy seeds, sesame seeds and salts. These are sold in small carts by Polish food sellers.

Vodka is the Polish alcoholic drink. Bison Vodka is a drink with cinnamon flavor that is usually mixed with apple juice.

The above data is sufficient enough as incentive to think and plan of starting a Polish food store. The products to be sold are identified and existing demand. The technical requirements and the necessary manpower are available. Though it is a fact that there are problems in logistics and bureaucratic red tapes in operating a Polish store, the rewards are plenty that can overcome these problems.

It is well known allover Europe and the Americas that it is cheaper to buy food products in Polish food stores; thus in planning to start a Polish food store, profit margin must be considered to survive.

1 Comment

  • Michael Dabrowski said on April 19, 2011
    I live in Valparaiso, Indiana, and can't get many Polish items. Must drive into Chicago, and pay a higher price. I have many people who want wild dried Polish mushrooms from Poland, and would like to start with this, in bulk. Can you help me. If this goes over good, will plan on opening a small store, and sell other Polish items from Poland.

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