How To Start A Meal Kit Delivery Service

Convenience services operators striving to stay in business concern during the pandemic are beingness creative and expanding their options. 1 strategy is establishing a meal kit business.

How to launch a meal kit delivery business Image courtesy of iStock.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article ran on Food Truck Operator, a Vending Times sister publication.)

Every bit people continue to fill up their lives with busy work hours, hobbies and family obligations, the time for creating a weekday dinner starts to dwindle.

For the convenience services operator. this presents a potentially lucrative concern: a meal kit business selection that not only helps local residents with dining choices only can boost revenue and make recognition.

Here are the steps for launching a meal kit business.

What is a repast kit?

A meal kit is a drove of pre-portioned ingredients that make up the components of a recipe. Foodservice operators assemble meal kits, identify the recipe card alongside, and transport it to the customer for them to cook the recipe at domicile — for the convenience services operator delivery can be right from the truck as well. Sometimes the ingredients are partially cooked, the vegetables pre-cutting, or the whole meal is assembled and set up-to-bake. The thought behind repast kits is for customers to salvage time in the kitchen and cook something new while ensuring it'southward a delicious repast they'll bask.

1. Cull your meal prep concept

Now that you're interested in starting a meal delivery service, it's time to choose the concept. The beneath points outline fundamental questions to inquire yourself about how you'd similar your meal prep commitment service to run in terms of the food beingness prepared and who information technology'due south for:

Types of cuisines

So what are yous cooking? Are you an proficient in a certain global or regional cuisine? If so, this could be an exceptional way to introduce traditional recipes and ingredients to potential customers that may be unfamiliar, but want to acquire. You lot can besides create a fusion concept where you have different aspects from 2 or more cuisines and blend them together into new recipes.

If you aren't an good in a specific international cuisine, endeavour framing your concept around ideas like healthy meals or comfort foods. Your meal prep business could also exist nigh experiencing specialty ingredients that your customers have possibly never used in their cooking. Or, if your repast delivery service is centered around making the recipe from scratch, perchance your recipes can bring in various cooking applications so customers can try out dissimilar techniques in their own kitchen.

Dietary restrictions

Whether it be allergies, lifestyle changes or post-obit diverse weight loss methods, millions of people take an altered fashion of eating in some form. To really target all people and demographics, catering to specific needs is a smart business motility and so you never accept to turn down a potential client.

Target market

With all of your concept ideas in tow, think almost who would benefit from this meal kit delivery service. Whether it'due south everyone and anyone, busy families with kids, people who want to learn how to cook, or those who take no interest in cooking at all, make sure yous keep this person in mind. If you're making premade dinners that just need to be heated, market to the families or busy people that don't accept time to cook an extravagant repast at the stop of the mean solar day.

When choosing your repast kit delivery concept, it's of import to find your niche. There are both pocket-sized businesses and national suppliers that offer delivered meal kit subscriptions or fully meal prepped dishes right to a door. So as you call back almost the three points above, think nigh what your niche volition be so y'all can stand out from the competition.

2. Write a meal prep business plan

For any new business, you'll need to write out a business organisation programme. A concern program lays the foundation of your business and tin can help you get loans from investors, forecast your sales, stay organized with the tasks you demand to consummate and map out whatever gray areas about operating your business. Your business program should include the post-obit:

Executive summary.
Company clarification.
Concept and menu.
Direction and ownership structure.
Employees and staffing needs.
Market place and competitor assay.
Advertising and marketing strategies.
Financials.

3. Obtain funding for your meal prep business

Now that you have the financial projection from your business plan, you'll know the amount of funding you'll need to get started. Yous'll need startup supplies to begin your repast kit business. If you're working with a bigger operation, add together upwardly the costs of supplies, hire, utilities, salaries and whatsoever other operational expenses you have. From there you lot can create a budget and forecast how much money you'll need to apply for loans.

4. Detect a repast prep workspace

The side by side pace to starting your meal prep concern is determining a workspace — tin you practice information technology in an existing food prep space or do you demand to tap a ghost kitchen? If y'all're planning to operate a meal prep business on a larger scale, you will most probable need a workspace that has plenty square footage and professional equipment to keep up with the need. A ghost kitchen may be the best fit for your operation as you won't need to worry about impacting your daily business organization operation.

When looking for your workplace, detect a suitable institution that has separate areas for the post-obit:

Kitchen: This is the most of import room of your business. There should be enough room in this kitchen for the size of the operation you will handle, besides equally all of the necessary amenities to recipe test or prepare your repast kits.
Packaging station: A specific identify for packaging and putting together your meal kits is needed for proper organisation, handling and keeping runway of orders.
Shipping and distributing: Make sure you accept optimal refrigeration storage infinite to keep your meal kits cold before loading them onto the truck or taking information technology to a aircraft eye.
Part space: A designated place for desks, computers and phones for your bookkeeping, marketing and customer service teams.
Coming together rooms: If yous would like to host potential clients or business concern investors, having an on-site coming together room to carry business is a corking investment. It's the perfect identify to kickoff or terminate your bout of the facility.

5. Obtain permits if needed

Starting a meal prep business organisation typically requires special permits. Your concern may already take some or all of these permits depending on your existing foodservice operation. If not, we've outlined which potential permits you lot volition need to get your business off the footing and running:

Employer identification number.
Seller'southward let.
Business organization license.
Nutrient handler's license.
Catering license.
Health department permits.
Zoning permits.
Dumpster placement permit.

6. Club supplies for your meal prep business concern

To brand your production, you volition need the correct supplies to get-go making meal kits or meal prep nutrient deliveries. Below are a few necessities you lot'll demand to become started on your repast kits:

Ingredients: Based on your projected sales, figure out how much ingredient inventory from your recipes you volition demand to make your meal kits. Buying in majority is a cracking way to proceed costs downwardly, just throwing out spoiled nutrient at the terminate of the twenty-four hours is throwing money in the garbage.

Portion packaging supplies: Before purchasing your meal packaging supplies, think about how you would like your partially cooked meals or pre-prepped ingredients to be presented when your customer opens upward the box. Keep that presentation image in mind when you cull the size, material and shape of your containers. If y'all're non irresolute upward your card too frequently, consider buying this type of container in bulk to save on costs.

7. Create a meal prep business ordering platform

Your website is 1 of the most important customer channels. Therefore, your website needs to be elevation-notch and performing at its best. If you oasis't already washed so, investing in a great website that'due south user friendly is the best mode to obtain sales. Yous tin create websites for free by using Squarespace, Weebly or Wix, and yous can pay a small amount for domain names and cool business features. These types of websites also provide pre-made templates, so you can browse and select one that speaks to your business'southward aesthetics.

When choosing your template and creating your website, call up about the colors, pictures and fonts you will use to target your key demographic:

If your concept prioritizes unproblematic ingredients that make the repast easy to put together, endeavour to keep the website minimalist.
If your concept prioritizes plant-based eating, employ bright, fun colors that match the hue of fresh vegetables.
If your concept prioritizes omnivore eating, studies have shown that warm colors such as red, orange and yellow make people hungrier rather than cool tones. You could also put drawings of animals and vegetables together in your design.

Six tabs for your website

How it works: Explain how the process goes in case your customer is new to purchasing from a meal prep concern: pick the meals, go them delivered or picked upwards, and how to cook them. Help your client come across how easy it is to utilise your service.
Pricing: Whether y'all're showing the price per repast or your set repast plans, information technology'south of import to exist upfront near your cost. Use this page to help your customers understand that they can salve on the toll per meal when they shop in a bundle.
Gifting: People dearest to give gifts that share a moment and make memories, and that's exactly what your repast kit does. Providing this selection to gift a meal or week'southward bundle can drive upwards your sales. When someone buys the repast(s), provide a printable east-gift card option or a scheduled email.
Near united states of america: This is where you tin draw the story of your business concern and convince your customer to pick your meal prep delivery business organization over the contest. Show the faces of the people that made it happen and then your customers tin can have a more than personable relation to your business.
Contact us: Give customers the ability to vox questions, comments or critiques which can help to improve your meal prep business organization in the long run.

8. Advertise your meal prep business concern

Once you lot have your target demographic identified and found ways to market place yourself to be dissimilar from the contest, it's time to take that information and offset ad. Beneath are some peachy and ofttimes gratuitous ways to market and advertise your meal prep business: