How To Do This? (market a recipe idea)

[skyy38]

Couldn't find anywhere else to put this,but it IS a question so,here goes.

I have an idea for a new flavor of fried chicken and I feel that it is unique enough to pursue on a local level. I'm also doing national research to make sure my idea remains unique.

I've put out an initial feeler on Craigslist to see if I can stir up any initial interest. I'm also working on refining my idea to the nth degree so I can repeat my recipe with consistency.
My question is this: If someone DOES bite and allows me to whip up a sample batch of chicken for them and they decide to go for it,what and how do I charge for this?

Do I take a percentage of sales for just my recipe alone or do I go a little higher,taking into account that their total sales would be driven up considerably by my idea? Should I look into licensing and do I get a lawyers advice too? Should a contract be drawn up?

And lastly, how does someone protect their idea over the long haul? I know that I'm going to take the first step,which is a fairly easy one to do but after that...?

Do I go in every day and make the fixings myself, so I'm assured my secret is safe or do I delegate?


In closing, I'm sure I'm on to something here because I made this recipe for some friends a few nights ago. One actually exclaimed "Wow,did KFC come up with a new flavor?" and some others chimed in with stuff like, "Got to get your recipe" and "You should market this." I had also applied this same recipe to the salmon fillets with the same responses.

So,what do I do?

Any and all help,suggestions and advice appreciated.

 

[quicksilver]

You need a lawyer that specializes in this field. Trademark, licensing, patent, copyright etc. The recipe will be yours unless you decide to sell it and it's name. I'm sure others can get more detailed, but that's the jist of it. It will have to be looked into, weither someone else already has the rights.

 

[Andy M.]

As soon as yu give your recipe out, you've lost any ability to make money from it. Others will copy it and you'll be out of the picture. Copyrighting the recipe will not protect you. It will cost you more to pursue a copyright violation than it's worth.

Make it yourself and sell the mix to restaurants. If you have to farm out the making of the mix, split it into two parts and have two different companies make up the different parts. Then they get combined by the users to make the magic blend they want.

 

[quicksilver]

So Andy, then how did the Colonel do it?

 

[Grillncook]

There is quite a bit more to it than just what you have mentioned.

If you want to sell it ANYWHERE, you have to have a nutritional analyzes done by a laboratory, you have to have one big momma insurance policy to protect yourself from liability from anything having to do with the product from packaging down to the final taste.

It used to be that you could just make it up and sell it, but the laws are such, that now there are a bunch of hoops that you have to jump through just to get it on the market. Once you get it on the market, there is no guarantee that it will sell and that no one will steal it. Food products are quite easy to reverse engineer and copy. If your product is really good, a big gun regional distributer is needed to get the product on the shelves. At major retailers, anymore you have to buy the shelf space or your product will languish on the bottom of aisle 17 on the lowest shelf in the corner. There are some serious players in the retail market, and it's a dog eat dog world.

 

[BigDog]

So Andy, then how did the Colonel do it?

That is how the Colonel did it. For mass production he split the blend up and had different companies make partial blends, then combine them at the store. The Food Network show Unwrapped (or was it The Secret Life Of . . .? ) did a show on it. It was quite interesting.

If I recall correctly just recently the executives at the parent company of KFC moved a document being preserved related to the recipe. I don't recall all of the details, but it was a pretty big to do.