A meat shop, or karnehan, buys pork carcasses from the slaughterhouse, cuts them and sells by the kilo to households, carinderias and suki buyers. Most start with a stall in a public market, a freezer and one skilled cutter. The money is made on buying carcasses at the right price, cutting for the best yield and selling everything before it spoils.

This guide walks through what it takes to start a meat shop in the Philippines: the capital, the monthly costs, the permits and the first 90 days. The peso figures are sample estimates for a public market stall in Cebu as of October 2026; get your own quotes before you decide.

How much capital you need

The sample comes to about ₱201,700 including one month of fixed costs kept as a cash buffer. It splits into equipment (₱67,500), stall setup (₱34,000), permits and deposits (₱28,400), opening stock (₱39,000), launch (₱2,000) and working capital (₱30,800). Other ways to start: street-front meat shop at ₱400,000–₱700,000 and meat supplier to eateries at ₱600,000 and up.

Monthly costs and break-even

Fixed costs in the sample are ₱30,800 a month; the biggest are cutter wages (₱15,600), market stall rent (₱4,500) and electricity (₱3,500). Each kilo sold earns about ₱31 after its own costs, so the break-even is 33 kilos a day, and the startup capital comes back by month 9 if sales start slow and build up.

Permits and registration

Register the business name with DTI (or SEC or CDA), then get the barangay business clearance, the Mayor's permit through the city or municipal BPLO, and BIR registration; register with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG once you hire. A meat shop also needs: meat from an inspected slaughterhouse, market stall lease, sanitary permit and health certificates and meat hauling rules (ask). Requirements and fees differ by city, so ask each office for its checklist first. DTI Negosyo Centers help for free.

Where to set up

  • A stall in the meat section of a busy public market
  • Near carinderias and eateries you can supply
  • A residential area with no meat shop nearby
  • Close to the slaughterhouse, to cut hauling time

Mistakes to avoid

  • Meat left unsold and spoiling. Buy to your daily sales, keep everything cold, and mark down late cuts before they turn.
  • Buying uninspected meat. Buy only from inspected slaughterhouses and keep each meat inspection certificate.
  • Carcass prices rise suddenly. Check prices daily, update the board the same day, and track the yield of every carcass.
  • Suki credit that piles up. Set a limit per buyer, record every charge, and collect each payday.

Plan it with the starter kit

The Meat Shop (Karnehan) · Negosyo Starter Kit has every worksheet behind this guide in a 26-page PDF, plus an Excel calculator: type in your own quotes and it works out your capital, break-even, profit and payback month. It costs ₱349 and downloads right after payment.