Eating habits are changing, and the market for food delivery services is booming. Would you also like to benefit from it as a restaurateur and tap into another source of income in addition to the normal restaurant business? We’ll tell you what to look out for when setting up a delivery service, what additional costs can be expected, and how to advertise your new delivery service. We will also help you with a checklist.

Create A Concept or Business Plan

Are you a restaurant operator and would like to set up a delivery service? Then you should think carefully in advance and put together a workable concept for the new service in a business plan. Because without that, the attempt to sell food and drinks online will either end in chaos or your money will be senselessly wasted.

You can take help from a professional food delivery business plan writing service to help you write your plan seamlessly. In the concept, answer the following questions in particular:

How Is the Competitive Situation?

Competitive analysis is essential to the success of your delivery service. Research on the Internet which delivery services are already available in your community or in your catchment area and get their brochures: Which regional kitchens and promotions do they offer? Can you keep up with the prices? How do you differ from the others? You can also browse through gastronomic review portals to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

How Big Should the Delivery Area Be?

The definition of the delivery area depends on various factors. If your restaurant is in a village outside of a city, you will likely need a large delivery area to attract enough customers.

Your own budget also limits the expansion of the delivery service: How much do you want and can you invest in setting up the delivery service? Delivering the food by bike is, of course, cheaper than by car. It also has the advantage that you are perceived as environmentally friendly.

Tip: Offer to regular customers who live at different distances from your restaurant that you can deliver something to them. Then ask for honest feedback.

What Should Be On the Online Food Delivery Menu?

Which dishes are suitable for delivery service? Think about whether it’s worth offering your full takeaway menu – or just a selection. Because the new additional sales channel should in no case bring you to your capacity limits or impair the quality of the food. It is important to only offer dishes for the additional service that can be prepared quickly and that do not lose their taste or quality during delivery.

Which Packaging Is Suitable for The Delivery Service?

Since the topic of sustainability is gaining importance for potential customers, it would make sense from a marketing point of view to completely avoid single-use plastic. Instead, rely on environmentally friendly alternatives made of wood or bioplastics (CPLA) – even if these are a little more expensive. Plastic and aluminum bowls are also not eye-catchers and do not present your food optimally.

Tip: Cook your food in a test run, pack it in the packaging provided and taste it after half an hour. Is the quality still good?

Who Is Your Target Group?

Only the restaurateur who knows his customers and knows what they want is successful in the long term. Think about which guests come to your restaurant and how the division changes on the different days of the week. How high is the proportion of singles, families, seniors, or groups? The establishment of delivery service may result in new target groups and thus new sales and revenue opportunities.

Are The Capacities Sufficient?

Setting up a delivery service and simply running it on the side, parallel to your own restaurant, unfortunately, doesn’t work. What you need to know as a restaurateur: The online business is a completely separate process in your company. Determine which capacities are available – both spatially (storage space, size of the kitchen, etc.

Set up your processes for the delivery service, ranging from order acceptance to payment, serving of food, and delivery, and train your employees for the new requirements. You may need special software to organize your orders transparently and for new staff.

How Do I Calculate the Food?

So that your delivery service pays off, you have to calculate each of the dishes you offer for the online concept. Please note that a lower VAT rate applies for meals sold outside the home.

Define a minimum value for the contribution margin for your online meals. The contribution margin is the amount that you receive from the difference between sales and variable costs and with which you cover your fixed costs. As a rule of thumb, the price of the products must be at least as high as the contribution margin.

Caution: You can attract customers with competitive prices, but with insufficient profit margins you deprive yourself of the wages of your work. Remember that prices always subconsciously also send quality features.

Check The Legal Framework

When you have developed the concept for your delivery service, you need to look at the legal requirements. The following points are particularly important:

Commercial

If you already run a catering business, it is advisable to contact the regulatory office and the commercial registration office if you want to set up a delivery service. Since you are expanding your field to hire business plan writers UK to kick-start the journey, your commercial license may also have to be expanded accordingly.

Packaging

A new packaging law has been in effect since the beginning of 2019, which regulates product responsibility for packaging. Anyone who puts food-filled packaging, for example, containers for keeping dishes warm, on the market for the first time is subject to what is known as a licensing requirement.

You are therefore only allowed to use licensed sales packaging for delivery service use. The licensing costs depend on the type of packaging materials used and the weight of the packaging.

Tip: Make sure that you receive a receipt that the packaging has already been licensed and keep it in a safe place for possible checks.

Hygiene

As a catering establishment, you are subject to the regulations of food and hygiene laws as well as food monitoring. This includes, for example, compliance with regulations regarding the rooms and the self-control system (HACCP).

In addition, all employees in the delivery service who come into contact with food must receive initial instruction in accordance with the 43 Infection Protection Act from the responsible health authority and food hygiene training following the food hygiene ordinance taken part.

Insurance

If you’re building a delivery service, you will likely need a driver to bring the food to customers by car or another delivery vehicle. If you are providing a car for your co-worker, you will also need to take care of the appropriate car insurance. In this case, you may need insurance that also covers commercial transport services.

Important before you set up a delivery service, you should always bring a lawyer or tax advisor on board and ask the regulatory office, chamber of industry, and commerce in your community. You can inform them about further legal requirements.

Build Delivery Service: Equipment, Advertising Costs

If you are starting you need a business plan writing services and want to generate additional revenue, you also need to consider investments in equipment and advertising.

Furnishing

In addition to the existing rooms and the kitchen equipment for food preparation, you need at least one delivery vehicle for the delivery of warm, but also chilled dishes. This can be a normal car if you deliver over longer distances, but also a bike or scooter.

If you need a motorized vehicle, include the fuel costs in your costs. If you don’t deliver the food yourself, you will also need a driver. Alternatively, you have the option of commissioning a service provider with the delivery. For this, however, you pay up to 15 percent of your sales as a commission to the partner delivery service.

Promotion of The Delivery Service

When the preparations for setting up the delivery service are complete, hit the drum. After all, what use is the best delivery service if nobody knows that pizza can also be enjoyed at home? Targeted advertising is important so that the delivery service is used. So think about how you are informing guests and prospects.

Social Media

Do you already have a Facebook page for your restaurant? Then use the portal’s wide reach to advertise your delivery service there free of charge. Share current offers and promotions with your followers here. You also have the option of placing ads on Facebook. You are already there with a daily budget and reach a relatively large target group.

Website

A good website is also essential to attracting new customers to the online business. In order for you to be found on the Internet for relevant search terms, you not only have to have an appealing website but also operate local search engine optimization. The website should contain up-to-date information, be displayed optimally on mobile devices, and have a menu available for download.

Google My Business

Also add your website to the most important local directory, Google My Business. There you can enter photos, opening times, and contact information and point out your delivery service. Customers can also rate your delivery service there.

Building A New Delivery Service: Start with A Test Run

As you can see, setting up a delivery service needs to be well thought out. In the beginning, keep your investments within limits and only start with a small offer. This test run shows you whether everything fits and you can make changes to the concept if necessary. Test your delivery concept with friends and acquaintances and listen to their feedback. Then continuously develop a strategy for how to start a restaurant delivery service.

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