Do you want to start a profitable business in Hungary as a foreigner? If Yes, here are 50 best small business ideas and investment opportunities in Hungary. Hungary is a European country that is located in Central Europe. The capital and largest city of Hungary is Budapest. Hungary shares borders with 7 European nation; Austria, Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.
It is important to mention that Hungary is a landlocked country. Hungarian is the official language of Hungary and English and German are also widely spoken in Hungary. In 2013 Hungary recorded about 10.675 million tourists and it impacted positively on their economy. Tourists come to Hungary to visit the largest thermal water cave system in the world, to visit Lake Heviz (the 2nd largest lake in the world), to visit Lake Balaton and to visit Hortobagy National Park (the largest natural grasslands in Europe).
Hungary is a member of the Schengen Area and also the European Union single market. The major contributor to the economy of Hungary are the Construction Industry, the Mining industry, the textile industry, the chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, the automobile industry, the food processing industry and the agriculture sector. Chief amongst the crops cultivated in Hungary are corn, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, sunflower seed.
Other Agric products are dairy products, poultry, cattle, and pigs. It is important to state that the economy of Hungary is said to be liberal and it enjoys loads of foreign investors. Let us quickly go through the top 50 business opportunities that are available for investors who intend starting a business in Hungary;
50 Best Small Business Investment Opportunities in Hungary
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Car wash business
Car washes fulfill very vital needs in our modern society. Most adults in Hungary own cars and those cars transport them to various places. They are used as a major source of transportation. But cars don’t run or sustain themselves; they require upkeep.
While some of this comes in the form of mechanical maintenance and service, some of it is cosmetic: Cars get dirty. Regardless of location, weather or usage patterns, cars require cleaning to maintain a pleasant appearance. This means that car washes can be a profitable, rewarding business opportunity for entrepreneurs looking for something new in Hungary.
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Graphic Design Business
Also, if you have the talent or will spirit for art related businesses, then you can look into the graphics design business. One unique thing about this business is that you can acquire the skills that is involved from the scratch and then expand on what you have already learnt.
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Power Washing Business
Power washing or pressure washing businesses make use of high pressure washing machines to carry out their washing services and a pressure washer or power washer as it is also called is a high – pressure mechanical sprayer that is used to remove clogged oil, greasy stains, unwanted graffiti, loose paint, mould, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces like building facilities, bridges, ships, vehicles and concrete surfaces.
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Textile manufacturing business
The textile industry can be regarded as one of the most active in recent times, especially Central Europe. Hopefully it will continue to gain strong ground in times to come. If the idea of opening a textile business has fascinated you, it is time to take some action. Have it in mind that being in the textile industry means having close connections with the world of fashion and designing since textile businesses supply fabrics to these subsidiary industries.
There are two types of textile businesses, one that includes chains of stores selling all sorts of fabrics and the other that includes small stores that sell only a few, particular types of fabrics. Therefore, if you are planning to venture into the Hungarian textile business, you must first decide what kind of textile you want to sell. Before you get the idea rolling, make sure you are sure about where you are headed.
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Online trading
In Hungary, you can start this type of business and trade your stocks to people on online platforms like eBay and Amazon. If you start to sell other goods, focus on things you can get easily, or are passionate about. Think about what will be selling well in a few months’ time. This is also a business idea for families to dabble into.
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Airport Shuttle Services
To start an airport shuttle in Hungary, you have to first make enquiries from the airport authority to know if private companies are allowed to run a shuttle service in the airport, and the rules and regulation governing shuttle operators.
Airport shuttle service is all about transporting passengers and their luggage within the airport, or from their hotels to the airport and vice versa. Depending on the kind of permit you obtain to operate your airport shuttle, you would need to acquire standard and comfortable automobiles for this kind of service.
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Computer Repair Business
Everyday, a lot of individuals are in need of repairs/troubleshooting for their computers/laptops. If you have the knowledge and expertise to handle computer repairs, then you can set up a computer repair/troubleshooting centre. This service and many more can be offered to many people who still find computers complicated to maintain and terrifying if they go wrong.
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Travel and Tourism Business
The travel and tourism industry is one of the key contributors to the Hungarian economy, especially Budapest. Have it in mind that you can start by trapping potential domestic and international tourists to become their guide or you can set up your own travel agency that would cater to their every need and make their visit a memorable one.
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Beauty Salon
There is much to consider before opening a salon in Hungary, and it can all get far too confusing especially if it is your first go at any kind of business. Before you do anything else, determine your target audience, study it, and analyse the competition.
The results you get from your analysis will define what kind of services are in demand and which ones are lacking. It will also help you define your concept and distinguish what services your salon can provide. It might also help you grab clients attention from the get-go and offer something none of the salons in your area can offer.
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Fruit Processing Business
Pálinka in Hungary is a fruit brandy, distilled from fruit grown in the orchards situated on the Great Hungarian Plain. It is a spirit native to Hungary and comes in a variety of flavours including apricot (barack) and cherry (cseresznye).
It is important to point out that fruit processing plant business is one the businesses that can’t go out of fashion because people eat or drink processed fruits in different forms on a daily basis. The start up capital you need for this business will depend on the scale you plan to start with. The start-up capital for this type of business can be considered to range from moderate to high.
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Catering Business
When entering the catering industry, you’re expected to obtain special permits, issued in accordance with the services provided to the customers. For example, if the catering company – which can be set up as a small restaurant, pub or bar, serves alcoholic beverages, the investors will need alcohol licenses.
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Pest Control Business
If you are thinking of starting a small-scale business in Hungary that can guarantee you steady income, then one of your options is to consider starting a pest control business. Pest control business involves removing or eradicating potentially harmful insects, rodent and reptiles from farms, commercial and residential properties.
Note that before you can start a pest control business in Hungary, you must apply for a pest control license and pass an exam to demonstrate your ability to properly handle chemicals and other means to exterminate pests.
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Language School
Note that a language school is another lucrative small-scale business you can start in Hungary. Language schools offer language instruction ranging from conversational skills for personal enrichment to intensive training courses for career or educational opportunities.
The official language in Hungary is Hungarian. There are migrants and students who intend working or studying in Hungary who would need to first pass through a language school before they can be fully integrated into the society. You can also teach other languages like English, French, Spanish etc.
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Financial Services
There are so many businesses in Hungary, both indigenous and foreign, which creates a massive demand for professional financial services such as accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping. So, if you have a solid background in any of these services, you can make a lot of money in Hungary by helping other businesses with the skills you have on offer. Take your time to research your location, target market available and your competitors. But even with all the pitfalls and challenges, this is a business opportunity to consider.
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Food Processing Plant
The Hungarian food industry has been expanding steadily in recent years. Food industry enterprises are capable of continuously modernizing production procedures, adapting themselves to market demands and providing high-quality products for customers.
Hungary’s food industry has had to face various challenges in the past decades. The regime change in 1990, the opening of the county’s market required for EU accession and the global economic crisis have created some major hurdles for the sector.
It has to be noted though that even the global economic crisis could not derail the industry; it could remain stable and continue to be a net food exporter. Since 2010 the sector’s output has been steadily on the rise. In 2017, the value of output was up by 4.8 percent year-on-year, totaling HUF 2982bn (EUR 9.3bn) which accounts for 10 percent of total industrial sector output.
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Online Retail Consultant
As an individual who understands and knows how popular selling platforms like Amazon and eBay works, you can help other people in Hungary turn their online businesses into a success. You can help sellers set up and improve their stores, advise them on product photo, best practices and how to write better product descriptions. You can also show clients how to use social media to promote their shops and how to get their products featured in publications to help them boost sales.
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Veterinary care
These businesses focus on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both domesticated, and wild, with a wide range of conditions which can affect different species especially the pets.
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Laser Engraving Business
You can comfortably start a laser engraving business in Hungary. Laser engraving permanently marks an item, providing a check and balance against counterfeit products or replicas. In ID cards, multilayer formats are used to alter the colour of the lower layer’s pigments without affecting the top transparent layer.
One critical fact to note is that the laser engraving business can be dangerous due to the chemicals involved, and so the facility being used must meet certain standards. It must be located in an industrial area and not in a residential part of the town. This is done to protect people from inhaling the very harmful chemicals.
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Honey Bee Farming Business
In Hungary, a honey bee farm is easy to start, cheap to maintain and it takes a shorter time to get a good return on your investment if you know the ropes. Farmers cum businesses in the industry raise bees and also collect and gather honey, sell live bees, royal jelly, bees’ wax, propolis, pollen, venom and other related bee products.
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Gift Shop
One interesting small-scale business that can be started in Hungary is a gift shop. These shops sell wide range of gifts, novelty merchandise, souvenirs, greeting cards, party supplies and seasonal and holiday decorations. One good thing about this type of business is that you don’t need to enroll in a conventional school to learn how to run this type of business; it only requires basic business skills such as customer service, accounting skills, bargaining skills, etc.
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Poultry and Egg Supply Business
Poultry business is one of the lucrative ventures in Hungary. Consider starting your own poultry business if you are thinking of an agricultural related business to start in Hungary. The truth is that poultry and eggs are widely consumed in Hungary. It is indeed a profitable business enterprise especially if you have outlets where you supply eggs on a daily basis.
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Post-Construction Cleaning Business
Post construction cleaning business is a type of cleaning business that cleans out newly constructed buildings or structure. After a building must have been constructed, before the facility will be put to use, a thorough post construction cleaning will be carried out in order to clear the debris, clean the floor, railings, toilets, windows, roof and the entire compound. As a matter of fact, no construction work will be commissioned if post construction cleaning is not carried out.
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Errand Services
The constant strive to make ends meet have pushed a lot of individuals to forgo some certain responsibilities and errands. You can comfortably start a business that helps these individuals organise and run those errands. A service that runs errands (including dropping off dry cleaning, paying bills, etc.) requires just a car and cell phone. Start small, do a good job and word of mouth will spread quickly.
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Meat Mart
Starting a meat mart in a country like Hungary is indeed a lucrative venture. All you need to do to make your meat mart a one stop shop for meat shoppers is to ensure that you sell different varieties of meat in your meat mart. Always make sure your customers get what they want and you will make good profits.
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Consignment Shop Business
A Consignment Shop is known as a shop where fairly used goods are sold at giveaway prices. These goods includes clothes, shoes and other fashion accessories, sport wares, electronics, furniture, toys, books, tools, musical instrument, office equipment, machines and a host of other stuffs.
Note that you can start this business without money because you would only be required to collect goods from people who are cleaning and clearing their wardrobes, houses, offices or garages at no cost at all. In other words, you would be automatically helping them get rid of the items they do not want and in turn make your profit.
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E-Commerce
Note that you don’t need to be a big-box retailer to start an online store. Whether you sell directly to consumers or use a drop-shipping service, all you need is a website and the right e-commerce software to get started. You can sell your own products or items from niche suppliers. Alternatively, if you’re crafty, you can also sell your own handcrafted creations on online marketplaces.
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Frozen Food Store
Have it in mind that this business is a retail outlet where different frozen foods are sold and this business can be started in any location in Hungary. A frozen food store is a very easy business to start and it is not so capital intensive.
Getting the right products that people want to buy and good stock keeping records are the secrets of running a frozen food store. A frozen food store can be run offline in the conventional retail store or online on an online e-commerce retail site.
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Information Technology Services
Note that a lot of globally-renowned IT firms have already set up businesses in Central Europe owing to the growing potential and skilled labour available in this zone. You could set up a business that provides a variety of IT services such as wireless networks, or web development, social networking, website designing or other businesses depending on your interest. Cyber laws here are well-equipped to regulate the internet and are updated on a regular basis.
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Car Accessories Store
If you are looking for a small-scale business to start in Hungary and you know you have an interest in the automobile industry, then you should consider starting your own car accessories store business. Have it in mind that you don’t need a college degree to start your own car accessories and auto spare parts store, but you would need some form of informal training, you might have to work as an apprentice with someone who owns a car accessories and auto spare parts store. It makes it easier for you to learn how to manage your own car accessories and spare parts store.
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Paper Prototyping Business
Paper prototyping business is a lucrative business that will surely succeed in Hungary. In human–computer interaction, paper prototyping is a widely used method in the user-centred design process, a process that helps developers to create software that meets the user’s expectations and needs.
It is off-the-cuff prototyping and involves creating rough, even hand-sketched, drawings of an interface to use as prototypes, or models, of a design. While paper prototyping seems simple, this method of usability testing can provide a great deal of useful feedback which will result in the design of better products.
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Scrap Metal Recycling Business
Scrap metal business is a small-scale business that is highly lucrative because there is hardly any country or city that you won’t find used and abandoned metal scarps.
Have it in mind that what you would need to put in place in other to successfully launch a metal scrap recycling business is the machines and equipment needed and how to operate them, a good knowledge of where to collect used and condemned metal and where to sell the raw materials generated from the recycling process, the legislation guiding the industry as well as strong entrepreneurial skills and determination.
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Grocery Delivery Business
You job in this business will be to help your clients shop groceries and get it delivered to them in their homes or offices or any location they want it delivered. With this type of business, you can choose to own a Grocery Store if you have the financial capacity to or you can choose to operate without a grocery store. But the key point is that you should know how to source groceries and how to get them delivered to your customers.
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Recording Studio
Without doubt, the hip hop lifestyle is slowly meeting up with the younger generation of the Eastern Bloc and Hungary is not left behind. Many of the youths in Hungary aspire to become music celebrities and the easiest ways to make profits from this growing trend is to start and run your own recording studio. Remember, if your recording studio is well equipped and it is situated in the heart of the city, you will surely enjoy huge patronage.
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Online Marketing and Advertising
With the growing need for businesses to attract customers and sell their services and products, comes the need for innovative professionals and businesses that offer online marketing services. These services range from copywriting to search engine optimization. If you are a seasoned copywriter, or a website designer and developer, or a search engine optimization specialist, or a social media marketing expert, you can start this business.
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Paper Bag Manufacturing Business
Another lucrative business in Hungary is the paper bag manufacturing business. It is a known fact that paper bag is one commodity that is used mostly in the retailing industry. Although polythene bags are also used, but most people prefer paper bags for obvious reasons. You can start a business that produces paper bags and supply them to retail shops and other businesses in your area.
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Plumbing Business
The plumbing industry in Hungary is growing at a much faster rate. Many business owners in the field are reaching retirement age, leaving opportunities for more entrepreneurs to break into the industry. But one crucial fact to note is the need for you to specialize in a particular niche.
You should consider which tasks you’re best suited for and what types of jobs you enjoy working on. You could serve as a residential plumber that fixes leaky pipes or clogged drains. Or you could perform sewer line inspections, complete large scale projects for home renovations, or work mainly with commercial clients.
Also, depending on what specialty you opt for, you may be able to start a plumbing business fairly inexpensively. You’ll need pipes, fittings, and a variety of basic tools. The main expense is likely to be a van or truck that you can take to jobs.
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Gourmet Popcorn Shop
These shops can easily be located in any part of town as long as there are children, events, and adults who enjoy popcorn. Note, gourmet popcorn shops are located in schools, parks, shopping malls, hotel lobby, railway stations, bus station, campuses, sport centres etc. as long as you have the approval to sell there.
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Fast food business
Hungary is a fast modern economy that offers a safe business environment for those who want to open a food business. If you intend to start a fast food business in Hungary, you must do it according to the Hungarian regulations regarding health standards and taxation laws.
The Hungarian state has several regulations regarding the functioning of a fast food. Some of them concern the employment of qualified personnel, others refer to kitchen standards.
You will have to be careful regarding the quality of your products and it is recommended to hire certified cooks. There are certain conditions that are imposed on the opening hours of your fast food that you must keep in mind when you open your company in Hungary.
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Internet Radio Business
With the advent of technology and modernisation, many things became possible and many businesses sprang up. One of those is the internet radio business. Before starting this business, you should know what topics you would need to discuss to appeal to your target market, and what kinds of news you will be concentrating on.
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Ad Agency
A good Advertising agency creates advertising campaigns for periodicals, newspapers, radio, TV and other media platforms such as social media. Note that through the internal capabilities or delegating, ad agencies provide advice, creative services, account management, production of advertising campaign material and of course media planning and buying ad placement et al. You will help your clients place the advertisements in periodicals, newspapers, radio, TV and other media outlets.
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Dairy Farm Business
In Hungary, you can successfully start your own dairy farm and grow the business to an international business exporting your milk and cheese throughout Europe and other parts of the world. Dairy farms are known to engage in the sale of raw milk and excludes the production of drinkable fluid milk and processed dairy products like butter, cheese and powdered milk.
A dairy farm is without doubt a lucrative business because of the usefulness of beef and milk. People eat beef, drink their milk, and use their fur and skin. With cattle milk, cheese can be made, along with other dairy products.
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Tanning service business
Spray tanning is a temporary bronzing service offered at salons and spas to people who don’t want to go through the natural process of tanning. You can also run this business from your home. Spray tanning is done in a booth and these specially-designed booths have multi – functional nozzles or jets that spray the entire body with the spray tanning solution.
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Equipment Leasing Business
Note that one of the businesses that you can successfully start in Hungary is an equipment leasing business. There are several equipment that people can rent to accomplish the task they have at hand.
Equipment such as, mower, hand drillers, heavy duty drillers, welding machines, forklifts, light construction equipment, medical equipment, audio-visual equipment, industrial energy equipment and pumps and theatrical and motion picture equipment, power saw, filling machine, scaffoldings, etc. So, your responsibility is to look for such equipment and ensure that you have them in your store.
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Property Maintenance and Management
As a property manager in Hungary, your core business responsibility is to maintain and renovate building facilities and to liaise with landlords, tenants, and in some cases, various contractors.
Note that to effectively conduct your business, you are expected to have a full understanding of the law when it comes to landlord and tenant relationships. As a property manager, it is your responsibility to create efficient and effective protocols that will make you relate well with your clients (landlords, tenants and contractors).
Note that beauty supply stores will never go out of fashion, especially in central Europe, because of the role it plays in the society. Depending on the scale you want to start, the start-up capital for this type of business can be considered to be moderate. As a matter of fact, you can start your own beauty supply store and then grow it big within a short period of time by reinvesting your profits back into the business.
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Nanny Services Business
A nanny services business is one of small but lucrative businesses anyone can start and perhaps with a functional home office without breaking the bank for cash. This business is a must-consider because it gives you the opportunity to leverage on the high demand of nannies by larger households in highbrow areas.
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Bicycle Dealership and Repair Shop
Note that the basic things you would need to have in place to start this business is the knowledge of how to fix bicycles, tool box, a good location, easy access to wholesale supply of bicycles and bicycle spare parts and good customer service skill.
If your shop is located in an area with good human and vehicular traffic, and you have different types and sizes of bicycles from different brands, you may not have to struggle to get people to visit your shop and make purchase and repairs.
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Day Care Services
Starting a day care business in Hungary is relatively easy as you don’t need a license to run a babysitting service from home if you keep your child headcount below a certain number. With the Hungarian employment rate reported at 68.3% in 2017, it creates a room for your day care business to start and build up as your students increase.
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Organic Fertilizer Manufacturing Business
This is one of the top agro related businesses to consider in Hungary. Organic fertilizer which is also known as compost or manure is produced from human excreta, animal matter or decomposed vegetable/plants.
There are various sources of organic fertilizer; they are a mineral source (peat et al) which is the main source of organic fertilizer, others are animal sources, plants, and sewage sludge (bio – solids). An organic fertilizer production company can be considered to be capital intensive, but it is indeed a money – spinning business if it is well located.
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Lead Generation Expert
Lead generation is a marketing term that talks about deploying strategies that will help you identify potential customers that may likely be interested in your goods or services. It is the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business.
Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition or for sales. If you are a sales expert and you are looking for a sales related business to start in Hungary, then one of your options is to start a lead generation business.
More Small Business Investment Opportunities in Hungary
51. Food Processing Plant
There are loads of businesses that are open to investors in Hungary, and Food Processing business is one of them. If you are thinking of a business to establish in Hungary, you should consider establishing your own Food Processing Plant. All you would need to do is to carry out your feasibility studies so that you are able to know the commodity that is of high demand in the market.
It is profitable to process foods that are in high demand not just in Hungary but also in other countries. For instance; if you discovered that processed tomatoes is in high demand in the market, then it would pay you a great deal if you start producing canned tomatoes.
52. Poultry and Egg Supply Business
Poultry business is one of the prominent agric related businesses in Hungary. You should consider establishing your own poultry business if you are thinking of an agric related business to start in Hungary. The truth is that poultry and eggs are widely consumed in Hungary. It is indeed a profitable business enterprise especially if you have outlets where you supply eggs on a daily basis.
53. Meat Mart
No doubt if you open your meat mart in any of the cities in Hungary, you are sure to enjoy good patronage. All you need to do to make your meat mart a one stop shop for meat shoppers is to ensure that you sell different varieties of meat in your meat mart. There are people who are cool with beef, some with pork et al. just make sure your customers get what they want and you will make good profits.
54. Car Wash Garage
Car wash garage is another profitable business you can start in Hungary. It requires low start – up capital and no technical skills. It is easy to establish a car wash garage in Hungary and you won’t have to apply for any license from the government before opening this kind of business.
The truth is that if your car wash garage is close to a major road, and you have facilities in place that ensures that your customers are comfortable while their cars are being washed, then you may enjoy wide range of customers and that obviously would translate to good business deals for you.
55. Hospital and Pharmacy Business
Hospital and Pharmacy business is one of the businesses that can succeed in any part of the world simply because people are concern about their health. If you are a doctor or a pharmacist and you are looking towards establishing a business in Hungary, then you don’t need to think too far.
If you establish your Hospital alongside a pharmacy outlet within the same facility, you can be sure to make good returns on your investment. The truth is that if you are hard working and focused, you can end up opening other branches of your hospital in other cities in Hungary.
56. Textile Manufacturing Company
Hungary is notable for the manufacturing of some of the finest textile. If you go into the business of textile manufacturing and you have business contacts outside Hungary that can guarantee exports of your textile, then you can be rest assured to generate huge returns on your investment. No doubt textile companies in Hungary do well when their textiles are demanded by other countries.
57. Recording Studio
The hip hop lifestyle is rapidly catching up with the younger generation of the Eastern Bloc and Hungary is not left behind. Loads of youth in Hungary aspire to become music celebrities and the easiest ways to make profits from this growing trend is to establish your own recording studio. The truth is that, if your recording studio is well equipped and it is situated in the heart of the city, you will surely enjoy huge patronage.
58. Dietary Supplement Wholesale and Beauty Business
If you are not interested in the manufacturing sector and you have what it takes to convince people to buy stuffs from you, then you should consider going into Dietary Supplement Wholesale and Beauty business.
59. Plumbing Business
If you are a plumber and you live in any of the cities in Hungary, then you should consider starting your own plumbing business. The truth is that the services of plumbers are in high demand in Hungary. Even if you are not a trained plumber, you can get trained and then establish your own plumbing company.
60. Recreational Park
If you have huge financial base as an investor, you should consider building your own recreational park in Hungary. This type of business is indeed a profitable business in Hungary especially if you build your recreational facility to carter for both the young and the old.
These are just some of the viable and profitable businesses that are available to both aspiring entrepreneurs and big time investors in Hungary.
It pays greatly to have investment of different sorts and you can be rest assured that Hungary is a wonderful place to do business, but be sure to weigh your possibilities and seek professional help before investing your finance. Also, research on the necessary requirements you need to start your business to avoid business shutdown and loss of income.