Selling Lumpia for Profit

The crisp outer shell with the juicy bits of meat and vegetables inside make lumpia a delicious treat. Although lumpia is an adaptation of the eggroll, which originated in China, the appetizer-sized rolls are primarily known as a food popular with Filipinos. One of the attractions of lumpia is its low price, so you must sell high volumes of lumpia to make a reasonable profit.

As you prepare to make lumpia to sell, decide if you want to make them out of your own kitchen or need to lease space in a commercial kitchen. Leasing space bites into your profits, so if you’re starting small, use your own kitchen. Find out if there are any state or county regulations pertaining to selling food from your own kitchen. Labeling and packaging are key to helping people remember your company when they want to buy more lumpia, so use labels that show your company name, contact information and the ingredients. Also, to make the most profit, buy bulk ingredients at wholesale stores to save money on the meat, vegetables, spices and wrappers.

Add up the cost of ingredients, utilities to cook the lumpia, and the packaging supplies to determine your overhead. If you rent kitchen space, add the cost of your lease to your mix. Then you’re ready to figure out a price based on the costs and what you hope to make as a profit from making lumpia. If you plan to sell to businesses that resell the rolls, keep in mind that they tack on a 35 to 50 percent margin on top of your price. Plan to charge more if you sell the lumpia directly through your own storefront, food cart or delivery service.

Selling a high volume of lumpia at wholesale prices to retail customers lets you focus on making the rolls instead of spending the day hawking the rolls one at a time. Approach Filipino grocery stores, cafes and bakeries to sell your lumpia. Look for caterers interested in using international foods in their menus. Approach restaurants that prefer to buy their lumpia from you rather than make it themselves. Talk to restaurants that want a new appetizer on their menu.

Prepare platefuls of lumpia for friends, family and acquaintances who pre-order for their parties and celebrations. Charge by the dozen, giving a discount compared to if rolls were bought individually. Another way to sell lumpia is to buy a cart from which you sell your food at lunchtime near businesses or a college with lots of foot traffic. Even if you only spend weekends making and selling your rolls at flea markets and festivals, you’ll put extra cash in your pocket. Plus, you’ll meet people who can’t wait to see you again at the next event so they can buy more of your delicious lumpia.