Fish Farming Business Plan Template
If you want to start fish farming company or expand your current fish farming company, you need a business plan.
The following fish farm business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning plan for your own fish farm business. In addition to this template, conducting market research for your target market will help you identify potential market trends and customer segments to better understand the viability of your commercial farming company.
Sample Business Plan For Fish Farm Businesses
Below is a fish farm business plan example with each of the key sections to help you write a fish farm business plan for your own company.
I. Executive Summary
Business Overview
[Company Name], located in [insert location here] is a new fish farming company that focuses on using the latest technology and best practices to produce high quality salmon in a sustainable way. The Company uses recirculation aquaculture technology to filter its water and provide the best tasting salmon on the market. [Company Name] aims to be the premium source for fresh salmon in the area.
Products Served
[Company Name] will raise, grow, harvest, process, and distribute fresh salmon. The salmon is certified organic with no GMOs, antibiotics, or growth hormones. The fish will be sold by the pound.
Customer Focus
[Company Name] will primarily serve food processors, grocery stores, and restaurants throughout the area. The target customer profile is as follows:
- 45 processors
- 130 grocery stores
- 1,500 restaurants
Management Team
[Company Name] is led by [Founder’s name], who has been in the fish farming industry for [x] years. [Founder’s name] graduated from the University of ABC, where he majored in aquaculture. While he was in school, he worked for a small fish farm nearby, where he was able to participate in all aspects of fish farming. Upon graduation, he landed a job with one of the country’s largest salmon farmers, where he worked his way up. This experience equipped him with an in-depth knowledge of common practices in the salmon farming industry, from day-to-day tasks to management.
[Company name] will also employ an experienced sales executive to sell to grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors in the region. This will be a skilled salesperson with extensive experience in aquaculture sales.
Success Factors
[Company Name] is uniquely qualified to succeed due to the following reasons:
- The Company will be providing a valuable product to those seeking the fresh salmon that is sustainably produced.
- There are no other salmon farms in the area to serve the growing needs of local restaurants, grocery stores, and other food processors.
- The management team has a track record of success in the fish farming industry and are proven experts in the field.
- The pricing model is formulated to be slightly higher than the competition as it is a higher-quality product, but low enough that customers will perceive value when consuming.
- [Founder’s Name] has lived in [company location] all his life and has raised his family there. He is well-connected in the community, and has the support of its citizens.
Financial Highlights
[Company Name] is seeking a total funding of $400,000 of debt capital to open its fish farm. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses, and working capital.
Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:
- Build-out of fish farm and equipment purchases: $200,000
- Initial marketing expenditure: $10,000
- Property down payment: $100,000
- Working capital: $90,000 to pay for marketing, salaries, and property costs until [Company Name] reaches break-even
Top line projections over the next five years are as follows:
| Financial Summary | FY 1 | FY 2 | FY 3 | FY 4 | FY 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $560,401 | $782,152 | $1,069,331 | $1,379,434 | $1,699,644 |
| Total Expenses | $328,233 | $391,429 | $552,149 | $696,577 | $776,687 |
| EBITDA | $232,168 | $390,722 | $517,182 | $682,858 | $922,956 |
| Depreciation | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 |
| EBIT | $225,168 | $383,722 | $510,182 | $675,858 | $915,956 |
| Interest | $6,016 | $5,264 | $4,512 | $3,760 | $3,008 |
| Pre Tax Income | $219,152 | $378,458 | $505,670 | $672,098 | $912,948 |
| Income Tax Expense | $76,703 | $132,460 | $176,985 | $235,234 | $319,532 |
| Net Income | $142,449 | $245,998 | $328,686 | $436,864 | $593,416 |
| Net Profit Margin | 25% | 31% | 31% | 32% | 35% |
II. Company Overview
Who is [Company Name]?
[Company Name], located in [insert location here] is a newly established fish farming company that will provide high quality sustainably farmed salmon for local restaurants, grocers, and food processors. The company uses the latest technology and fish farming best practices to ensure its salmon meets the strictest of regulations and exceeds the most discerning consumers’ flavor expectations.
[Company Name] is led by [Founder’s name], who has been in the fish farming industry for [x] years. [Founder’s name] graduated from the University of ABC, where he majored in aquaculture. While he was in school, he worked for a small fish farm nearby, where he was able to participate in all aspects of fish farming. Upon graduation, he landed a job with one of the country’s largest salmon farmers, where he worked his way up. This experience equipped him with an in-depth knowledge of common practices in the salmon farming industry, from day-to-day tasks to management.
[Founder] began researching what it would take to create his own fish farming company and did a thorough analysis on the costs, market, demographics, and competition. [Founder] has compiled enough information to develop his business plan in order to approach investors.
[Company Name]’s History
Once his market analysis was complete, [Founder’s Name] began surveying the local available commercial properties and located an ideal location for the fish farm. [Founder’s Name] incorporated [Company Name] as a Limited Liability Corporation on [date of incorporation].
Once the purchase is finalized, construction can begin to build-out the facility.
Since incorporation, the Company has achieved the following milestones:
- Located available property for sale that is ideal for salmon farming
- Developed the Company’s name, logo, and website located at [website]
- Hired a general contractor for the build-out of the packaging warehouse, small farm, and distribution area
- Determined equipment and necessary supplies for the fish farm
- Began recruiting key employees with previous fish farming experience
[Company Name]’s Products/Services
Below are [Company Name]’s product offerings:
- Fresh salmon by the pound
- Bulk packaged salmon
III. Industry Analysis
The worldwide fish farming market is valued at $286 million and is forecasted to rise to $378 million over the next 10 years. Market growth is driven by changes in food consumption worldwide. The expansion of retail food channels allows more customers to be able to buy packaged fish. Additionally, consumers expect to be able to purchase fresh fish on demand, which contributes to the growing need for more fish farming operations in order to meet this demand.
The fish farming industry can be segmented by environment and fish type. Fish farming environments are fresh water, marine water, and brackish water. Fresh water is the highest revenue generating environment, followed by marine water. There is a wide range of fish types that can be farmed including grouper, snapper, milkfish, salmon, tilapia, catfish, tuna, tilapia, catfish, and sea bass. The most popular fish type is salmon.
Veganism and stringent animal cruelty regulations are some of the primary challenges for the fish farming industry, while increased popularity of protein rich diets is a major opportunity for industry operators.
IV. Customer Analysis
Demographic Profile of Target Market
[Company Name] will serve the community of [company location] and its surrounding areas. The Company will primarily sell its salmon to local restaurants, grocery stores, and food processors.
The community of [company location] has lots of restaurants that serve fish and other seafood, hundreds of grocery stores with fresh fish sections, and around 45 food processors that could benefit from a local source of fresh salmon. Fresh fish is becoming a popular choice for many people in the community and there is currently no other local salmon farm to meet this growing demand.
Customer Segmentation
The Company will primarily target the following three customer segments:
- Food Processors: Food processors represent the largest proportion of industry sales. The emergence of large fish farming operations has increased processing capabilities, and consumer demand for ready-to-cook fish has grown with the availability of such processing.
- Restaurants: While this segment represents a relatively small proportion of industry revenue, fish remains one of the most common ingredients in many local restaurant dishes.
- Grocery stores: Demand from this segment has remained relatively steady, accounting for nearly 19% of sales.
V. Competitive Analysis
Direct & Indirect Competitors
The following businesses are located within a 100-mile radius of [Company Name], thus providing either direct or indirect competition for customers:
Freshly Fish
Established in 1958, Freshly Fish is a fish farming company approximately 60 miles outside [location]. Freshly Fish began its operations as a traditional fishing business. Over time, the company transitioned to become a sustainable fish farm, offering locals a selection of fresh fish and other seafood products.
Freshy Fish delivers fish to restaurants, wholesalers, and food processors across the area. The company raises and sells tilapia, tuna, and milkfish as well as other seafood products like shrimp and scallops. Pricing for Freshly Fish is based on quantity purchased. Customers who regularly purchase the fish in bulk get a 30% discount.
Freshly Fish is widely known for its varied selection of fish and seafood products, but the company doesn’t sell salmon.
Tilapia Time
Tilapia Time is a tilapia farm that is approximately 30 miles away from [company location]. This fish farm operates a closed cage system, which is one of the less eco-friendly types of aquaculture systems. The company sells its fresh tilapia to local restaurants and grocery stores. Tilapia Time also allows the public to purchase fish directly from the farm. Tilapia Time focuses its farming operations solely on tilapia production, which allows the company to be the go-to source for fresh tilapia in the area. The company currently has no plans to introduce other types of fish into its inventory.
Super Salmon
Super Salmon is a salmon farming company that is located approximately 50 miles outside [location]. The company sells its salmon primarily to large wholesalers and food processors across the country. Super Salmon has been in business for about ten years and has developed a large b2b customer base due to its efficient production and distribution processes.
While Super Salmon has a strong branding and following, it is a large operation that works with national customers on large scale contracts and does not serve small, local restaurants or independent grocery stores.
Competitive Advantage
[Company Name] enjoys several advantages over its competitors. Those advantages include:
- Taste: [Company Name]’s salmon tastes refreshing, healthy, and delicious. Due to the company’s use of technology and fish farming best practices, [Company Name] is able to provide the tastiest and healthiest salmon on the market.
- Known Expertise: Part of the marketing strategy is to showcase the founder’s expertise and knowledge in the salmon farming industry. As a proven fish farmer, he will be able to run a highly sustainable fish farm that produces the highest quality salmon on the market.
- Management: The company’s management team has [xx] years of fish farming and business experience that boosts credibility and builds trust in the quality and value of its products.
- Relationships: Having lived in the community for [xx] years, [Founder’s Name] knows all the local leaders, media, and other influencers. As such, it will be relatively easy for [Company Name] to build brand awareness and an initial customer base.
- Location: [Company Name] will serve local restaurants, grocery stores, and food processors throughout the region. There are no other salmon farms nearby that cater to local businesses.
VI. Marketing Plan
[Company Name] seeks to position itself as a high-quality premium source of fresh salmon in the fish farming market. Consumers can expect the best tasting salmon on the market grown and harvested by skilled fish farmers in [location].
The [Company Name] Brand
The [Company Name] brand will focus on the Company’s unique value proposition:
- Fresh, healthy, organic salmon
- Contains no GMOs, antibiotics, or growth hormones
- Farmed sustainably using the latest technology and best practices
- Service built on long-term relationships
- Transparency of operations to achieve customer assurance of organic quality
Promotions Strategy
[Company Name] expects its target market to be food processors and local restaurant and grocery store owners within a 50-mile radius of its location. The Company’s promotion strategy to reach these customers includes:
Targeted Cold Calls
[Company Name] will initially invest significant time and energy into contacting potential customers via telephone and then by visiting their facilities. In order to improve the effectiveness of this phase of the marketing strategy, a highly-focused call list will be used; targeting food processors, local restaurant owners, and independent grocery stores with an expressed interest in organic salmon. As this is a very time-consuming process, it will primarily be used during the startup phase to build an initial customer base.
Industry Events
By attending regional fish farming and aquaculture conferences, association meetings, and other events, [Company Name] will network with industry leaders and seek referrals to potential customers. [Founder’s Name] will often attend with the company sales manager, but both may attend separately in the future as they gain experience in this type of networking.
Networking
Networking is one of the most effective methods for improving brand awareness in the fish farming market. The Company will attend seminars, trade shows, conferences, and other gatherings of the aquaculture community.
Local Directory Marketing
[Company Name] will announce details about its products in local directories to keep readers informed about the Company’s offerings.
Social Media
[Company Name] will invest in a social media advertising campaign. The marketing manager will create the Company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted social media marketing tactics to appeal to the target demographics.
Local Publications
The Company will also invest in advertising in selected local publications until it has achieved significant brand awareness. Publications such as local newspapers, magazines, and advertisements will be used to introduce the community to the company.
Website
[Company Name] will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all the benefits of its fish farm and the quality of the salmon it offers. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.
Special Offers
Offers and incentives are an excellent approach to assisting businesses in replenishing the churn in their customer base that they lose each year. The Company will introduce special offers to attract new consumers and encourage repeat purchases, which will be quite advantageous in the long run.
Pricing Strategy
[Company Name]’s pricing will be premium and higher than competitors due to the products being better quality. Consumers will feel they are getting the best value when purchasing salmon from the Company’s fish farm.
VII. Operations Plan
Functional Roles
[Company Name] will carry out its sales operations through phone calls and visits to customer offices. The sales manager will increasingly direct sales activities, although [Founder’s Name] will be heavily involved at first.
The assistant manager will run the day-to-day operations of the fish farm, including scheduling and assigning the work of fish farm personnel, sourcing and purchasing supplies and basic equipment, keeping the Company’s books, maintaining legal licenses, handling insurance, and ensuring that the Company meets government regulations. He will contact specialists for equipment repairs when needed.
In order to execute on [Company Name]’s business model, the Company needs to perform several functions. [Company Name] anticipates using the services of X employees, divided into the following roles.
Service Functions
- Fish farming personnel
- Office staff
- Drivers for distribution
- Operations manager on duty
- Processing and packaging staff
Administrative Functions
- General and administrative functions including legal/compliance, marketing, bookkeeping, etc.
- Hiring and training staff
- Delivery coordination with clients
- Brand management/social media
- Supply and materials procurement
Milestones
The following are a series of steps that lead to the Company’s vision of long-term success. [Company Name] expects to achieve the following milestones in the following [xyz] months:
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| [Date 1] | Finalize lease agreement |
| [Date 2] | Design and build out [Company Name] |
| [Date 3] | Hire and train initial staff |
| [Date 4] | Kickoff of promotional campaign |
| [Date 5] | Launch [Company Name] |
| [Date 6] | Reach break-even |
VIII. Management Team
Management Team Members
[Company Name] is led by [Founder’s name], who has been in the fish farming industry for [x] years. [Founder’s name] graduated from the University of ABC, where he majored in aquaculture. While he was in school, he worked for a small fish farm nearby, where he was able to participate in all aspects of fish farming. Upon graduation, he landed a job with one of the country’s largest salmon farmers, where he worked his way up. This experience equipped him with an in-depth knowledge of common practices in the salmon farming industry, from day-to-day tasks to management.
[Company name] will also employ an experienced sales executive to sell to grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors in the region. This will be a skilled salesperson with extensive experience in aquaculture sales.
Hiring Plan
[Founder] will serve as the Owner and Manager of [Company Name]. In order to launch, he needs to hire the following personnel:
- Assistant Operations Manager: 1 full-time employee to manage the day-to-day fish farming operations and assist [Founder] with managerial duties.
- Processing & packaging staff: 5-6 full-time facility employees who will work every day from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.
- Delivery staff: 3–4 full-time drivers who will be responsible for delivering the salmon to the grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors.
- Fish farming staff: 3–4 who will manage the day-to-day operations of the fish farm.
Office staff: 3–4 employees who will manage the phone calls, scheduling, accounting, marketing, clerical, bookkeeping, billing, and any administrative task required. - Sales and marketing manager: 1 full-time employee who will be responsible for developing and launching the brand; manage the website, and social media accounts.
- Janitorial staff: 2 employees who will clean the facility once it has closed for the day.
IX. Financial Plan
Revenue and Cost Drivers
[Company Name]’s revenues will come primarily from its salmon sales. The Company will sell salmon by the pound to local restaurants, grocery stores, and food processing companies.
The property purchase and build-out, equipment, supplies, and labor expenses will be the key cost drivers of [Company Name]. The major cost drivers for the Company’s operation will consist of:
- Salaries
- Fish farming supplies and equipment
- Business insurance
- Purchase of business location
- Utilities
- Taxes
Ongoing marketing expenditures are also notable cost drivers for [Company Name].
Capital Requirements and Use of Funds
[Company Name] is seeking a total funding of $400,000 of debt capital to open its fish farm. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses, and working capital.
Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:
- Build-out of fish farm and equipment purchases: $200,000
- Initial marketing expenditure: $10,000
- Property down payment: $100,000
- Working capital: $90,000 to pay for marketing, salaries, and property costs until [Company Name] reaches break-even
5 Year Annual Income Statement
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | ||||||
| Product/Service A | $151,200 | $333,396 | $367,569 | $405,245 | $446,783 | |
| Product/Service B | $100,800 | $222,264 | $245,046 | $270,163 | $297,855 | |
| Total Revenues | $252,000 | $555,660 | $612,615 | $675,408 | $744,638 | |
| Expenses & Costs | ||||||
| Cost of goods sold | $57,960 | $122,245 | $122,523 | $128,328 | $134,035 | |
| Lease | $60,000 | $61,500 | $63,038 | $64,613 | $66,229 | |
| Marketing | $20,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | |
| Salaries | $133,890 | $204,030 | $224,943 | $236,190 | $248,000 | |
| Other Expenses | $3,500 | $4,000 | $4,500 | $5,000 | $5,500 | |
| Total Expenses & Costs | $271,850 | $412,775 | $435,504 | $454,131 | $473,263 | |
| EBITDA | ($19,850) | $142,885 | $177,112 | $221,277 | $271,374 | |
| Depreciation | $36,960 | $36,960 | $36,960 | $36,960 | $36,960 | |
| EBIT | ($56,810) | $105,925 | $140,152 | $184,317 | $234,414 | |
| Interest | $23,621 | $20,668 | $17,716 | $14,763 | $11,810 | |
| PRE-TAX INCOME | ($80,431) | $85,257 | $122,436 | $169,554 | $222,604 | |
| Net Operating Loss | ($80,431) | ($80,431) | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Income Tax Expense | $0 | $1,689 | $42,853 | $59,344 | $77,911 | |
| NET INCOME | ($80,431) | $83,568 | $79,583 | $110,210 | $144,693 | |
| Net Profit Margin (%) | - | 15.00% | 13.00% | 16.30% | 19.40% |
5 Year Annual Balance Sheet
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | ||||||
| Cash | $16,710 | $90,188 | $158,957 | $258,570 | $392,389 | |
| Accounts receivable | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Inventory | $21,000 | $23,153 | $25,526 | $28,142 | $31,027 | |
| Total Current Assets | $37,710 | $113,340 | $184,482 | $286,712 | $423,416 | |
| Fixed assets | $246,450 | $246,450 | $246,450 | $246,450 | $246,450 | |
| Depreciation | $36,960 | $73,920 | $110,880 | $147,840 | $184,800 | |
| Net fixed assets | $209,490 | $172,530 | $135,570 | $98,610 | $61,650 | |
| TOTAL ASSETS | $247,200 | $285,870 | $320,052 | $385,322 | $485,066 | |
| LIABILITIES & EQUITY | ||||||
| Debt | $317,971 | $272,546 | $227,122 | $181,698 | $136,273 | |
| Accounts payable | $9,660 | $10,187 | $10,210 | $10,694 | $11,170 | |
| Total Liabilities | $327,631 | $282,733 | $237,332 | $192,391 | $147,443 | |
| Share Capital | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Retained earnings | ($80,431) | $3,137 | $82,720 | $192,930 | $337,623 | |
| Total Equity | ($80,431) | $3,137 | $82,720 | $192,930 | $337,623 | |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY | $247,200 | $285,870 | $320,052 | $385,322 | $485,066 |
5 Year Annual Cash Flow Statement
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS | |||||
| Net Income (Loss) | ($80,431) | $83,568 | $79,583 | $110,210 | $144,693 |
| Change in working capital | ($11,340) | ($1,625) | ($2,350) | ($2,133) | ($2,409) |
| Depreciation | $36,960 | $36,960 | $36,960 | $36,960 | $36,960 |
| Net Cash Flow from Operations | ($54,811) | $118,902 | $114,193 | $145,037 | $179,244 |
| CASH FLOW FROM INVESTMENTS | |||||
| Investment | ($246,450) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net Cash Flow from Investments | ($246,450) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING | |||||
| Cash from equity | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Cash from debt | $317,971 | ($45,424) | ($45,424) | ($45,424) | ($45,424) |
| Net Cash Flow from Financing | $317,971 | ($45,424) | ($45,424) | ($45,424) | ($45,424) |
| SUMMARY | |||||
| Net Cash Flow | $16,710 | $73,478 | $68,769 | $99,613 | $133,819 |
| Cash at Beginning of Period | $0 | $16,710 | $90,188 | $158,957 | $258,570 |
| Cash at End of Period | $16,710 | $90,188 | $158,957 | $258,570 | $392,389 |
