Costs of Canning...

I always expected quite a lot of comments about the cost of the cans, and I am sorry they are not supermarket prices, but I am neither a supermarket, nor a huge factory with hundreds of staff, producing hundreds of thousands of cans per day, for more than a hundred years... On a good sunny day, 'I can' produce 2 x 84 cans 

A huge amount of time, effort, development, testing and regulatory hurdles have been overcome in the past +2 years, just to get a few small batches to market... and even then, I have had several challenges, including a 'precautionary recall' due to my inspector's concern that "can distortion could compromise seam integrity", which is why the main products have been 'sold out' for the past few months, while I conducted some root cause analysis investigations...

being a 'pioneer' in something is always tough, and despite getting a bit of funding in May 2022 for the seaming machine, and Crowdfunder's supporting the can cooker, I missed the first 2022-23 oyster season waiting for the equipment, then had to validate the equipment, not just as it was a new machine for my cannery, but as I was the second UK customer, for general use in the UK... This was not something I was either expecting, nor costed...

Following two conditional approvals from EHO, the inaugural product was launched in July 2023, basically at 'cost' (6 oysters served anywhere will cost £2.50-£7.95 each, so £3.33 is a reasonable price), then as the second 2023-24 season started, I had some equipment failures, and due to lack of technical support from the UK distributor, which lead to great frustration, I had to wait another few months for a replacement machine, then do all the validation again!

Eventually, following months of development and validation, I was confident I was able to produce safe cans for the generous Crowdfunder supporters. I hired a hand, produced, tested and dispatched some 300 cans, only to have a report of a "blown can", which started the recall process. 17 cans were returned as they fitted the recall distortion criteria, all were sent off and microbiologically tested and results came back "satisfactory"... but that was just the beginning of the root cause analysis investigation, and then second new inspector was "unsure", so withdrew some 180 of 200 remaining can stock... 

I visited the retort manufacturer in May 2024, and also went via Portugal to visit canneries, purchased 3 cans from 3 different manufacturers, that had similar distortion, and worked on a reduced temperature/pressure that was suggested. After more development and validation, I concluded the distortion was due to the shape of the can, and not a sterility risk, so hired a chef and produced almost 800 cans with much less distortion in May/June... only to be handed a 'Remedial Action Notice' (RAN) (luckily, not a 'Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice', which would have had to be served through the courts, but the inspector could not issue this as he "had no evidence to support an imminent risk to human health")... The RAN prevented "any sales of any can, when any one can, in any batch, had signs of distortion"... 

After consulting some very technical specialists in the industry, and another visit to the manufacturer in October, we set a new program with changes to the 'counter pressure', not temperature, before the cooling phase started... after some further equipment validation tests, and more product temperature validation tests, on the 31st October I finally concluded I had found the root cause... just in time as I had the unique opportunity to go fishing for Cornish Bluefin Tuna on the 1st November, so had to arrange another inspection, this took place on 5th November, the inspector was happy and withdrew the RAN two days later...

So, the numbers above outline the cost per can (obviously I cannot give all the details of my business costs, but the numbers are there), cost per can of product, and cost of labour, but don't include any costs of all this investigations...

But I have added 10% as every batch has at least 3 cans with temperature loggers, one can is sent for testing, one for archive, one for tasting, and a moderate 25% mark up on the cost, if you see a 25% discount code, then this means I am selling at cost, but like all businesses, I will need to put a bit aside for new equipment and contingency. I don't expect to make any profit, at least not in the first year or two, I just want to preserve our unique food & seafood from the local area, and ultimately I really just want to reduce food waste, especially when it is sourced from low yield small producers...

I am sorry if your budget doesn't allow for purchases like this, but it costs what it costs, especially as I pay a fair price and a fair wage, and the cost of living crisis effects me too, so I have to budget what I spend on food, and I can only afford one meal a day, so that is what I eat, sometimes it is a £1 pot noodle, sometimes a £10 steak, or maybe a £25 can that I have made. If this concept starts to manufacture larger batches, affords a full time employee or several employees, then the economy of scale will kick in and the cost per can will reduce, so will the RRP, but I have to survive until at least 2025, and hopefully recover some losses, maybe find an investor, or it might be then end of the idea anyway...

Thanks for reading all this and hopefully it all makes sense, even if you don't buy a can right now, they have a long shelf life, and I hope you do at least try one at some point, maybe someone will treat you for a special #TinnedFish occasion. Ranger x