How to Start Meals on Wheels Business
Meals on wheels, also known as the food delivery business, has spiked up in recent times. Many restaurants today have adopted this model of business, thereby creating an entirely new market for them. Join us as we discuss how you, as a business owner, can take advantage of this business opportunity.
If you enjoy cooking but can’t imagine working restaurant hours, the meal-to-go business provides the advantage of operating a food service, but it also has great versatility. Nevertheless, you will most likely need systems and a commercial kitchen, but you won’t need front-of-house trappings and decorations, and you can still cook tasty meals and feed grateful customers.
Basic Requirements of stating your meals on wheels business:
- A Licensed Kitchen: Very Necessary
It’s more than likely that your meals-to-go business will need a commercial kitchen to operate legally. Food companies regularly test this requirement.
For instance, an online company, Lily’s Kitchen, which connected home cooks with neighbours interested with eating their offerings, ran into trouble with health department requirements for home kitchens, and eventually, the business shut down.
Many states have cottage kitchen laws, which allow you to produce a limited range of foods out of a licensed home kitchen. Still, the possibilities are usually limited to low-hazard processes, such as baking and high acid canning, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to do much with a meals-to-go business unless you’re working out of a licensed commercial kitchen.
Although working out of a commercial kitchen will make it more expensive to operate your meals-to-go business, it will open opportunities to make a higher quantity of food efficiently and safely.
- Commercial Kitchen Alternatives
In case you wouldn’t want to spend thousands of dollars in kitchen decor, equipping and licensing a kitchen, your best shot would be finding a previously rented kitchen then. Typically, these cooking facilities are fully equipped and rented based on hour, day or month.
A shared kitchen is also a fantastic option, especially when you’re still getting your meals on wheels business off the ground too if the long-term vision of your meal on wheels business is relatively small and limited.
If your business strategy involves continuous improvement and colossal investment, consult your state health department and make inquires about the licensing requirements, afterwards begin searching for a place with while keeping these rules and regulations in mind.
If you see a place that housed a Commercial kitchen or eatery earlier, you’ll probably have a secure infrastructure in place, including ventilation, hookups for plumbing and adequate electricity.
- Menu Planning
Concentrate the menu on a specific type of food or a particular kind of customers, such as vegetarians, new mothers or office workers in the downtown area. If you have a simple idea, it’ll be far easier to find consumers who want the kind of food you’re selling.
Decide whether you’re offering fresh or frozen food, and how often your menu changes. If you already have a kitchen, make sure it has enough refrigerator or freezer room to store the amount you intend to produce.
- Connecting with Customers
There are several options to get meal-to-go into the hands of consumers. You can set up a delivery route and deliver it on a scheduled basis, such as monthly, weekly or even daily. Your delivery schedule is likely to affect whether you offer food cold or frozen, or hot and ready to eat. You can also get wholesale refrigerated meals-to-go to stores in your city. It will also include delivery, and the pricing strategy will be different because you need to leave space for the retailer to add a discount without making the final cost-prohibitive. Opening your meal-to-go store is also an option.
15 Savoury Meals on wheels Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business
For many years, the food economy has evolved significantly due to the invention of the latest social norms, technology, and advertising. With more restaurants providing delivery services, it’s become the trend for consumers; dining has now become a rare occasion.
Gloria Food’s ordering statistics show’s that 86 per cent of the Adult population gets meals brought to their front door at least once every month. Not to mention also, the online food delivery market has increased by 20 % in 2018 and is expected to increase as restaurants adopt new innovative technologies and services, including collaboration with food delivery services.
This is simply both good and bad news; it’s good news because consumers highly demand the delivery service, whilst the bad news is many delivery companies are aiming and striving to fulfil that surge in demands.
Here’s an insider’s guide on how to promote your food delivery services cleverly and outstrip your competitors.
- Keep enhancing the quality of your service offering.
Most companies believe that the quality of their services is what defines then and distinguishes them from their competition, well that’s a 50 – 50 chance.
Quality of service will always attract more customers; however, the continuous improvement of your service will help you to retain your customers. Far more than speedy service, here are three services that your food delivery company can continually develop whether you are a start-up or a delivery veteran:
Outstanding Customer Service:
This particular service is a crucial feature of your business that your business needs to master. Recall that your customer service representative and delivery workers are the business’s face, what they do and tell customers from the initial enquiries to the disparity between an enraged or long-lived customer.
Quick delivery:
Approximately 27 per cent of individuals who place orders are willing to spend more money on quick delivery. People don’t use a sluggish delivery service, despite the cost.
Figure out a way of increasing the delivery speed by adding more workers or mapping out alternative routes.
Tracking & Updates:
Next to customer service, make sure you check and monitor when food is delayed, excess orders, or a lost delivery man in need of direction—request for e-mails or phone numbers to update customers when their meal is on the way.
- Create your Delivery Business website
It has become incredibly easy for businesses to build their website to represent their online presence. And without this, local and international customers will not be able to interact with your brand as successfully on social networks or via e-mail.
You should have a website, so if you do have a website, pull it out of the early 2000s and update it for potential millennial customers and up-to-date advertising.
Read Also: 8 Reasons Why Small Business Need a Website for Your Business
- Promote your delivery Service on Social media
Social media advertising is no longer an alternative; your business could either take part or be left behind. Social media is no longer all about the selfie. It’s where your customers reside, a place to make sales and strengthen your brand as a go-to online food brand.
Approximately 40 % of consumers are now gaining more knowledge about food online than it used to be. Seeing as your delivery service is now in the food industry, construct food-based content.
Brandon Gaille has discovered that 72% of food photos on social media are the national meal. Individuals are interested in sharing, liking and exploring pictures of food.
Whenever an individual observes that a brand is active on social media, they are more likely to interact and buy the product later, eventually. When they enjoy your content, you can focus on creating a group of dedicated brand customers who can promote your brand on and offline.
Choose a social media site and begin posting content on your profile. If you aren’t sure of which social media marketing site is the perfect one for your business?
Why don’t you kick off with the big guns! There’s the best place to connect would-be Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
- Create a mobile App
A mobile app will open a whole door to possibilities for your food delivery service. Business insider found that orders placed via Smartphones and mobile apps would become a $38 billion industry by 2020. People now see apps as a resource or business extension for them to link to services with just a fingertip conveniently.
Mobile applications will enable first-time users to be loyal customers as well, allowing them access to order whenever and wherever they want, without having to go directly to your website. Its basic math: the less it works to get in touch with you, the more order you get.
Next, you must invite and host a list of restaurants on your app to allow people to place orders. You’re going to have to pick up local and famous restaurants.
- Work cooperatively with Food Bloggers & Influencers.
Food Bloggers and influencers could be your surest referrals or your biggest enemies. As we know, people consider their food (suggestions) quite seriously, so that also applies to their delivery.
Not everyone can get much attention from an a-list celebrity, so we have to compromise and make use for influencers and food bloggers who are pretty much as good.
Connect influential influencers and give them a discount or a deal in return for review or post.
You should know that many influencers with a large number of followers, who have been in the game long enough, will demand a commission or money. Influencer marketing is, after all, a multi-billion dollar business.
- Print and Handout Business cards or Fliers
A business card or a flyer helps a lot in advertising your delivery service.
By making use of tools such as Venngage and Canva, you’ll be able to create flyers, business cards, and posters without having to deal with the stress or work involved in hiring a graphic designer.
You can tell your workers to give out brochures or flyers while delivering goods or to give them to other stores in your city.
- Attend or fund a local food festival
When you’ve related with some of the eateries, you’re delivering meals to, reach out to them and host a local food event. Set up booths for every eatery, offer free samples of food, and co-promote an event to attract a broader audience.
If organizing an event is entirely out of budget or too hard to manage, consider attending a food event or festival. Set up a booth and give out gift bags, flyers with discounts, and urge people to follow you on social media.
- Do More Restaurant and Food Establishment Outreach
Throughout 2018, in accordance to Statista, there had been 13251 new eateries in the US. With a 2% rise compared to the earlier year, the restaurant market has hit 660,755 companies. It is estimated to rise every year.
Now, what does this signify?
This implies that the food delivery company seems to have more restaurants to add to its outreach list. However, what if you have a good number of restaurants?
Whenever it comes to placing an order for a meal, almost 54% of consumers switch to an app having a particular restaurant in mind.
The more choices consumers have to choose from the more purchases your food delivery business will receive, the more sales, and the more restaurants that would like to collaborate with you.
Create a list of new restaurants or local preferences and proceed from there. You may also place social media ads urging food vendors to try signing up for your app or to use your services.
- Offer Deals for Local Workspaces and Businesses
Find nearby workspaces, co-working centres and companies and notify them with food delivery offers for their workers. Note that lunchtime is among the most critical time of the day for any worker. Some might be considering heading home! Your food delivery service will tackle two problems that workers face every day:
Where they’ll get lunch and how much time they have enough to have lunch still?
Providing your service makes it possible for them to presents them with a choice to pick their preference and save them the hassle of running back and forth between destinations.
Give discounts on delivery over a certain amount, so every business is compelled to send bulk orders your way. You may also create long-term contracts to sustain a business relationship. It helps you to have a constant income that can rely on overtime.
Furthermore, if eateries see you delivering bulk orders to businesses on their behalf, they might want to do business in the future with you.
- Promote your services with creative advertisement
It’s time to find new ways of doing things, and grab a pair of box cutters to match it. Creative advertising for your business will enable your brand not only get recognized, but it will also get popular.
You do not have to be a genius to create innovative ads for your brand of food delivery. You only need a desire to switch things up and invest in it.
Here are three different ways that you can creatively advertise your food delivery business.
Billboards
Traditional marketing is also as effective as social media marketing. Invest a little in the billboard labels and out of home marketing.
Social Media Channels
According to Lyfe Marketing, the money that’ll be invested or spent on social media advertising in several years to come will surpass TV advertisements.
Social media plays a significant role in a consumer’s life; therefore if you plan to enjoy all the benefits of using it to boost sales for your brand, you’ll have to arrange an advertising budget.
Branding Publicity
Add your name and logo to your worker’s uniform, bikes, luggage, and caps. Promotional branding will bring your business to mind when people see your branding on the road.
- Give Discounts and Deals
Approximately 93% of customers use a voucher or discount code during the year.
Despite what people might think discounts are certainly going to give you more money in the long run. Why not use discounts to earn more.
But it would be best if you tried to prevent consumers from getting used to the discounts so that they don’t become reluctant in paying the full value for purchases.
Develop a discount strategy to make your services more appealing to your customers. Consider giving discounts to first-time customers or on special occasions.
- Loyalty Points & Cashback
Loyalty points and Cashback offers can be used as an alternative for deals and discounts. NRN (Nation’s Restaurant News) discovered that 45 per cent of customers believe that a mobile shopping and loyalty program encourages more people to do business with a company.
- Master Search Engine Optimization
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a skill that every business owner or marketer should develop and master in this modern age. Yet SEO mastery doesn’t have to be technical. This can be as easy as placing the appropriate words in a suitable place.
- Create an e-mail marketing Campaign
Please create a list of e-mails from existing and prospective customers and send messages to your website, app, or call for an order.
Almost 40 per cent of B2B marketers claim e-mail newsletters are the key to the success of their marketing content. The E-mail also has a role to play irrespective of social media and online ads, mostly because 73% of consumers prefer corporate communications through e-mail.
- Reward Ratings, References, and Feedback
What consumers think about your online company can affect your sales. Don’t underestimate the importance of negative feedback and reviews from unhappy customers in marketing your content online.
Take full control of the narrative people to have about you online, though not all of them, but at least almost all of them. Whenever customers leave terrible reviews on your website and social media, try contacting them and ensure you address the issue.
Honestly, you should know that some people write a bad review and complain a lot about your business just because they’re “haters.” however; there are some who only want to know that their opinions count.
Tips for Making More Efficient Meals on Wheels Program
- Fundraising:
Raising funds not only includes requesting for donations, but it can also entail the contribution of food and cooking services. To effectively raise funds and food needed, you should make your community aware of the importance of your organization. Collect reviews from your clients and create a brochure that explains your services from beginning to end. It could be gotten from local companies who support you.
Read Also: Funding Options for Small Businesses
- Support Staff
Those you would like to collaborate with ought to have the same degree of commitment to supporting others like you. When forming a volunteer team if they are chefs or member of the delivery team, search for qualities that demonstrate a high degree of concern for others.
Express your care for your staff by involving them in the organizing and implementation of your everyday activities. Let all of your volunteers opt-in to a volunteer outreach program that you use, like DialMyCalls, to make it easy to keep in touch. And then, you can provide them with work schedules details to enable continue the delivery goes smoothly.
- Maintenance service
A large part of your success relies on the vehicles being used as means of transportation to help reduce your business’s expenses, talk to the manager of the local auto repair store about helping with their services by maintaining and fixing your automobiles. Regular vehicle maintenance can hopefully keep these essential vans and trucks functioning correctly. It is far more proactive to avoid problems than to spend time and resources on solving them.
- Lending a Hand
Were your services affecting as many people? It’s hard to figure out who’s going to need them. Let your presence be felt by all the older adults of your society in nearby hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices. Create a positive relationship with other businesses in your community that are mainly involved in helping the elderly so that they might refer you to the people they meet who need extra support.
- Emergency Calls
Are your Meals on Wheels business capable of dealing with emergencies? Make sure you have an active volunteer communication system in place, like DialMyCalls, that will help you communicate regularly with your volunteer teams. During bad weather, the number of individuals requiring your services will significantly raise, forcing you to request for extra volunteers instantly.
Not only do mass notification systems help you to send messages to a vast number of people simultaneously, but they also offer an excellent medium for your volunteers to respond to you and let you know if they are interested in helping.
Because of the population of people that your Meals on Wheels support, and the reliance you have on charity, to satisfy the demand, it is necessary you take full leverage of every opportunity you can to help your business operate efficiently. If you do so, you’ll have the funds to serve many low-income people in your society.
To sum it up…
Managing a business and taking control of your marketing might make you feel like you’re riding a bicycle for the first time, however when you understand the basics of your craft, then you become invincible.