WAHM > Stay at Home Mom Work Ideas > Selling a Service > Healthy Meal Service

Start a Healthy Meal Service from Home

What you will be doing.  Want to eat better but you have no time? Consider a meal service that is local and delivers to work and home. For many busy professionals, it is worth the price to use such a service. As the owner, you will be delivering frozen meals to a variety of clients on a daily or weekly basis. People will get a balanced meal each day.

How to start.  The biggest question is how to structure the business. There are several ways to go with this. You can contract with a food service to provide meals for you to serve to others. Better still, contract with a facility that will put together the dishes that you want to offer. The meals will come to you and be stored in a freezer until ready to be shipped to the customer.

Will you deliver daily, like lunchtime orders or on a weekly basis for bulk meal customers? The answer makes a difference in how deliveries are scheduled and how many you can accomplish in a day.

Money will be needed to set up contracts with the other facilities so a small business loan is warranted here. The business plan should specify what types of meals will be served (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and plans for refrigeration. Check with local agencies about health regulations for storing food in your home that will be distributed to others. They may require a special type of refrigeration unit for storage and transport.

Starting costs.  The major costs will come from complying with regulations and contracting outside help. You will have regular inspections to be sure the refrigeration and work area are in compliance. The vehicle driven to deliver meals must also have a way to adequately cool the food.

Insulated bags like the pizza delivery guys use will keep the cold in well for lunch time or evening deliveries. A small business loan of around $15,000 or more will give you enough money to outfit your business space, contract with suppliers, and have a cushion to get started.

Skills needed.  This type of business is more about marketing than cooking. To create the meal plans you desire, knowledge of nutrition is a plus. Combining the right amount of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into meals that people will enjoy is a skill that brings in the money. Read up on nutrition.

Business savvy is going to get this enterprise off the ground. As a local business owner, you can supply meals for less than the big commercial chains and with fresh local fruits and vegetables. You will have the option of rotating meal plans depending on seasons. But, you must convince people of the benefits of your service as opposed to cooking for themselves or eating fast food. Zero in on your target market and work some magic.

Marketing.  Everyone might be interested in a meal service but only certain groups will buy into it. Advertise to single professionals, single moms, busy parents, and the like. Develop a brochure and attach business cards. It’s worth it to buy lists of prospective clients that meet certain interest criteria.