Introduction to start a food delivery business from home in India
In the past years, you could have enjoyed cooking meals and getting lunch to work. However, currently, in this busy schedule with short deadlines in your work, it has made cooking a luxury, and thus food delivery businesses have acquired widespread popularity.
A guide on How to start a food delivery business from home in India (Investment, License & Permits, and Profit-margin)
More and more people are now getting habituated towards meal delivery subscriptions, mainly for their comfort. Additionally, food delivery businesses commonly offer home-cooked meals, which are healthier choices than what their fast food and restaurant delivery counterparts provide.
If you’re planning to be an entrepreneur this year, one perfect idea is to start a food delivery business from home. Here in this article, we have summarized a few things that will help to start a food delivery business:
Research your target market first in your area
Similar to any other business, you should also start with market research to analyze the target market. Find out what it is in your target market what they would prefer for their meals. Study also the area in which your target market is situated. For example:
- If your target market is the students of a nearby college, you may stress more on light and heavy snacks.
- Or, your target market is the staff of an adjacent office building, you could prepare healthy lunch meals and snacks.
- If your target market is the residents of a society or apartments nearby, then you may check out their meal needs, and even verify if they have children or not.
- Once you decide what market you’re planning to target then select a trendy name for your business to attract that target audience. Then plan your meals as per the target market necessities.
In this way, you can ensure that you will have a steady following of orders for meal deliveries. When you research your market’s food needs, you will make them happy and satisfied with the costs as well that they pay for the service.
Business plan to styart a food delivery business in India
Even though you plan for a small business, a business plan is very much important. Along with this business plan is actually a meal plan for every week. When you design a business plan, you can predict if your food delivery business will have a return or if you will only be getting a break-even amount. We have listed a few important things that could be added in your business plan:
- Charge of selling each pack of food, per meal and per area
- Grocery inventory and charges of each ingredient
- Other required costs, such as utility bills such as electricity, and salaries of labor
- Labor expense for your employees if you need one, such as a part-time worker for delivery and chef.
With a weekly business and meal plan, you can distinguish your returns each day. You can note if you may be going negative or if there’s even a continuous possibility for growth.
Registration, license and permits to start a food delivery business in India
Are you in a desire to start an online food delivery service in India? While it is definitely a lucrative business opportunity, you also should abide by some regulations. More important than anything else, it is essential to acquire a number of important licenses for starting an online food delivery service in India legally.
If you are planning about starting online food delivery services in India, there is no doubt that you can never fail with a food business. The demand for good food will always be there, particularly in today’s ‘microwave generation’ where students and professionals stay far from their families and should survive on either nutrient-deficient hostel food, fast takeaways, or worse, stale food that’s almost unpleasant and usually from the night before. Many times, hygiene, taste, and nutrition are compromised – which are the primary elements that substantiate food as edible. Hence, the demand for good quality food, especially for online food delivery which can be enjoyed in the comfort of one’s home after the daily hustle and bustle at work or college.
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List of mandatory licenses required to start a food delivery business in India
Once you’ve determined to enter the food delivery services industry, here are the mandatory licenses you may need to acquire.
Shop Act License
Be it food on wheels, a fine-dining restaurant, or an online delivery service, obtaining a Shop Act License is mandatory. It must be applied within 30 days of resuming the business. Regulated by the Department of Labour, this license is mainly state-specific and thus, must be registered with the corresponding State Government.
Health Trade License
For businesses whose, goods and services may have a straight effect on public health such as storage and sale, manufacturing units, and eating outlets, acquiring a Health Trade License is mandatory. You may acquire this license from the respective Municipal Corporation in your area.
FSSAI License
Since FSSAI is accountable for ensuring the safety and quality of food products in India, obtaining an FSSAI License is crucial. You can acquire this license by filing an application with the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) itself.
Trademark Registration
A trademark is a name, or part of the cuisine or proper logo will make your product apart from your contenders. This will distinguish services and is known as a service mark. Since it is an e-commerce business, you must ensure that you have a registered trademark to safeguard your logo against any form of forgeries or malpractices.
GST Registration
Even though there is a threshold limit of Rs. 40 lakhs has been set for other businesses, it is obligatory to acquire GST registration for all e-commerce businesses need to mandatorily acquire the GST Registration as stated under Section 2 (44) of the CGST Act in the year 2017, irrespective of the annual turnover.
Signage License
The necessity for marketing your brand be it through word of mouth, feedback from clients, banners, and the poster is definitely understandable. After all, having an online presence is crucial to your business sustenance. For using various marketing strategies, you may require a Signage License that can be acquired from your local municipal corporation.
Requirements to start a food delivery business in India
An important thing about a food delivery business is that you need not invest much here. You don’t even have to buy a lot of materials or appliances and utensils. Many utensils that you will need for your meal preparations are already there in your home. You may require only the following:
- Plastic or cardboard meal containers or wrappers and utensils are required for delivery.
- Big pots and pans used to cook meals in large batches.
- Big food containers where you will store your food after will be cooking them.
Investment to start a food delivery business from home
You can start the business with little investment as you need the minimum basic investment to start the business. You can just start the business with Rs. 30,000 just for the packing materials and other utensils required. If you have a bike, then your investment costs can be decreased.
Profit margin in food delivery business from home
In the initial stages, you first need to plan to attract customers. Later, depending upon the number of customers, your profit margin will increase. So, you can expect 10-15% in the initial stages, and later your profits will increase based on the number of customers and the quality of the food you offer.Â
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Marketing strategies to promote your business
Every business always requires a marketing strategy, and your food delivery business is no exception. You should plan for a marketing strategy to know how to reach your target market properly, mainly if you’re still starting the business.
Your marketing strategy can be based on the following:
- Word of mouth by relatives, friends, or neighbors
- Digital marketing by social media, like an Instagram page or a Facebook page
- Leaving posters and flyers in nearby colleagues, coaching centers, offices, or residential areas
- When it comes to starting your own food delivery business, or any business for that matter, you must be careful to have a great looking, catchy, trendy logo design. For this, you can even opt for a traditional logo designer, or just do it yourself from an online logo maker.
Conclusion of food delivery business in India
A food delivery business is a suitable business opportunity for those who plan or are willing to work from home. It is best for such as stay-at-home women. The same also is correct if you dwell near the actual office area, where the nearby offices are your target market. Keep all these things in mind and as you plan on your food delivery business from home.
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