What is the name of the food preparation business? How I created my own successful food delivery business in a provincial town
* The calculations use average data for Russia
1. PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of the project is to create a food delivery service from cafes and restaurants; region – Rostov-on-Don. Trademark – “Dostav-Ka”. The demand for such services is due to the fact that people often want to eat delicious food, but do not want or cannot go to a restaurant for this. In addition, the service may be in demand when organizing various corporate events, and less often family events. There is practically no competition in the market for this type of service.
The main indicators of the project's effectiveness are given in Table. 1.
Table 1. Integral indicators of project effectiveness
Analysis of the industry and region shows significant interest in this kind of services from potential clients. The location of the enterprise in Rostov-on-Don ensures a target audience of several hundred thousand people. However, due to the fact that the food delivery market is still poorly covered (primarily by competitors), efforts are required to promote this type of service.
In general, the project can be characterized as medium in terms of risk. In terms of the level of interest for investors, it is high.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY
This type of service is new for Russia. There is practically no established competition in the market. With a sufficiently large number of catering establishments, their popularity, and also taking into account the official population of the city of 1.1 million people, we can predict a high level of demand for the project’s services.
As a rule, food delivery services are offered directly by catering establishments themselves; Delivery is carried out in-house. At the same time, the quality of service often suffers. Since this service is not specialized for a restaurant, less attention is paid to quality, the route of couriers with a large load is not planned properly, which is why delivery delays, mis-grading in orders, etc. are possible. In addition, the number of establishments offering delivery is very limited. Usually these are chains whose food quality is relatively low. In general, it is inappropriate to consider this delivery format as direct competition. Direct competitors are enterprises that provide completely similar services, that is, food delivery from a wide range of establishments, without having their own production. Today there are two such companies in Rostov-on-Don. They will be discussed in more detail in Section 4 of this business plan.
The target audience of the project is men, women, couples aged 15 to 50 years, as well as organizations. The income level of the target audience does not play a decisive role, because Russians, even with low incomes, visit cafes and restaurants from time to time. The demand for project services does not have a pronounced seasonality, however, peaks in demand occur on Fridays and weekends, as well as public holidays; A slight decrease in demand is also expected in the summer for the holiday period.
Rostov-on-Don is the largest city in the south of the Russian Federation, the capital of the Southern Federal District and the Rostov region. It is also a major industrial and business center. The level of well-being of residents can be characterized as slightly above average. The number of catering establishments according to the portal www.afisha.ru is currently 1053 units.
The main tool of the project is a website with menus of all partner establishments posted on it. It is possible to order food both through the website and by calling a toll-free hotline number (8-800-…). The site is integrated with a CRM system to ensure prompt interaction between the dispatcher and couriers. Delivery is carried out by the company's couriers within a maximum of 1.5 hours (during peak hours) from the moment of order, of which 0.5 hours are allocated for preparing the dish, the rest of the time for logistics.
Tables a 2. Investment costs of the project
3. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
The main service of the project is the delivery of food from catering establishments (cafes, restaurants, fast food) to the address specified by the customer - to the home or office. At the initial stage, an assortment list of partner establishments is formed, consisting of at least 50 establishments. The establishments are divided into categories depending on the main direction: pizza, sushi/rolls, burgers, kebabs, pies, set menu.
For the fast food categories, payment for delivery is provided in the absence of a regulated minimum order amount. For set menus there is a minimum order amount (depending on the category of the establishment), delivery is free. In the first case, the project’s profit is formed directly from the delivery cost, in the second - from commissions from the establishment (20-25% of the order amount).
Having received an order from the client, the dispatcher contacts the partner to confirm the possibility and timing of the order. If execution is possible, the dispatcher by telephone confirms to the client the possibility and timing, as well as the amount of the order, specifies the delivery address and the preferred payment method. If execution is impossible, the dispatcher apologizes and offers an adequate replacement option.
Payment for the order at the first stage of the project development is expected in two ways: by card on the website, or in cash to the courier. In the future, there will be an option to pay by card to the courier. It is also planned to develop a mobile application for ordering and payment. The cost of dishes on the project website is equal to their cost in the establishment.
4. SALES AND MARKETING
The competitive environment in the region under consideration is represented by three players at the federal level, who can be regarded as direct competitors. At the same time, all of them, in fact, are aggregators and provide intermediary services between the client and the delivery service; They do not have their own couriers, which means it is impossible to control the quality of the delivery workers’ work. This can lead to delays and other unpleasant consequences that negatively affect the reputation of this site. Using our own couriers in the project will ensure more flexible logistics and quality of order fulfillment.
Promotion of the project’s services is carried out both through its own website and through leaflets distributed in partner institutions. There are also periodic image promotions on the radio with drawings for gift vouchers with points that can be used when ordering food. An additional effect is created with the help of branded advertising placed on couriers’ vehicles.
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No difficulties are foreseen when attracting partners. The benefits of cooperation are obvious, especially for establishments without their own delivery service. The argument is based on the fact that the project attracts additional customers and in no way reduces the traffic of visitors to the establishment itself; In addition, additional customers do not put a strain on the service area and its staff.
For establishments that have their own delivery service, the motivation is also quite obvious. Customers ordering food to their home or office can only learn about the company through the corporate website; in case of cooperation, clients get an additional opportunity to learn about the establishment. At the same time, since food delivery is not the main activity for partners, the staff of couriers is usually small, which leads to delivery delays. Cooperation completely solves this problem.
An important point is the use of partners in promoting the project, for example, to place advertising leaflets on the tables of the establishment. The main argument here is the direct interest of the partners in the development of the Dostav-Ka project. It is also possible to conduct joint promotional events.
5. PRODUCTION PLAN
The cost of services consists of fixed and variable costs, wages and depreciation of equipment. Variable costs include the cost of fuel and lubricants. Depreciation is charged on the cost of equipment and software used in the operation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over a period of 5 years.
Office space with an area of 10 sq.m. or more is required to accommodate the dispatcher and administrator. For company cars, secure parking is provided in the immediate vicinity of the office. The office is equipped with computer equipment, a cooler, a refrigerator, and a microwave oven.
Table 3. Variable costs
Table 4. Fixed costs
Orders are accepted 7 days a week. In the first 1.5 years, orders are accepted from 11.00 to 23.00. Then - around the clock. A variable work schedule is expected. In the first months of operation, only one courier vehicle is expected to operate. As the number of orders increases, the number of cars per shift also increases.
Table 5. Staffing and wage fund
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There is a change in seasonality with demand peaks in December-January. The increase in demand is due to the fact that cold weather is not conducive to going to restaurants, as well as the presence of public holidays, during which people tend to spend more money than usual. The decline occurs during the summer holidays, when some potential clients are outside the city, and the other part reduces expenses in order to save for a vacation or restore savings after it.
6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN
The functions of the director of the enterprise are performed by the entrepreneur himself. His activities require knowledge of the basics of entrepreneurship, tax and accounting, as well as the basics of labor protection.
All company personnel are directly subordinate to the entrepreneur. Couriers are also indirectly subordinate to the dispatcher, who directs their actions, controls their movement and forms the most effective routes, based on data from geolocation systems and information about city traffic.
The site administrator accepts orders (during busy hours, a dispatcher is brought in to help) and transfers them to partners. Couriers collect the finished dish from the partner and deliver it to the specified address.
Requirements for a dispatcher: knowledge of the geography of the city and main transport routes, balance. Requirements for a site administrator: knowledge of the administrative part of the CMS used, competent speech, politeness and balance. Requirements for couriers: knowledge of the city, possession of a category B driver's license, at least 3 years of driving experience. A liability agreement is concluded with couriers, within the framework of which their responsibility for the safety and intended use of company vehicles is indicated. To confirm driving skills, before hiring, a test drive is carried out to the point specified by the entrepreneur.
7. FINANCIAL PLAN
The financial calculation takes into account all types of costs associated with the implementation of the project: investment, fixed, variable, depreciation, payroll and social contributions. The production plan takes into account the seasonality of sales. The total amount of investment costs is 1.64 million rubles, of which 1.0 million are the entrepreneur’s own funds. The largest amount of funds falls on the formation of working capital until the project reaches payback. The lack of capital is compensated by borrowed funds received from the bank for a period of 36 months at 18% per annum. The loan is repaid in monthly annuity payments; the loan holiday is three months. The cash flow statement is given in Appendix 1.
Based on the results of the calculations and comparison of the resulting options, the most effective was the use of the simplified taxation system “income minus expenses”.
8. EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS
The evaluation of the project's effectiveness is carried out on the basis of an analysis of integral indicators accepted in the world practice of investment management. A summary table of indicators is given in Section 1 of this business plan (Table 1).
The discount rate set at 20% corresponds to the introduction of a new technological product into a poorly explored market. A fairly high level of related indicators indicates that the project is stable and investment attractive. In particular, the profitability index is 2.7>1.0. The return on investment is relatively low, but given that the project is not limited in time, this is a highly acceptable indicator. The net present value (NPV) indicator significantly exceeds investment costs, which also indicates the prospects of the project.
The minimum net profit of the project after reaching planned sales figures is 100 thousand rubles, and the maximum is 378 thousand rubles per month. In total, the profit over five years will be 10.1 million rubles. In addition, the company has significant expansion potential. In the future, it is possible to expand the staff of couriers, as well as organize branches in other cities of the country.
Summarizing all that has been said, we can make an unambiguous conclusion about the high potential of the project from the investor’s point of view.
9. RISKS AND GUARANTEES
Considering that this area is relatively new for the region, the main risks are related to the promotion and achievement of planned sales volumes on time.
Table 6. Possible risks and measures to prevent them
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In Samara in 2018, there were more than 1,205 organizations in the catering sector. Not each of them has its own delivery service. The new service will help solve this problem. Below is a business plan for a food delivery service with calculations.
Brief summary
To organize a profitable food delivery business, in addition to a detailed business plan for the enterprise, you need start-up investments to organize processing and delivery services for daily orders, a web application for clients, renting premises and purchasing the required office equipment. To bypass cash gaps and expenses in force majeure circumstances, it is better to leave a certain amount (airbag) in the company’s accounts.
Considering low competition in the chosen niche and medium-high demand in Samara, you can quickly increase the influence of a new company in the market and reach the break-even point.
Brief characteristics of the project for Samara:
- Initial investment - 427,890 rubles;
- Payback period - from 5 months;
- Monthly profit (predicted) - 117,442 rubles.
The area described in the business plan involves only intermediary services without organizing your own production.
The volume of the Russian food delivery market reaches $1.5 billion. About 150,000 Russians use food delivery to their homes every day. These data confirm that the industry is growing rapidly, and the presence of demand in this area makes it possible to build a successful business.
The advantages of a food delivery business idea are:
- Locality - large organizations cannot cover the entire spectrum of regional companies. The service is aimed at residents of Samara and provides more accurate local data.
- Convenience - unlike the own delivery service of cafes and restaurants, the service has the functionality of ordering dishes from different catering outlets collected in one place.
- Low competition- the project has no local competitors in Samara.
- Simple business schemes- food delivery business processes have a clear and well-functioning mechanism that is easy to calculate.
Project Description
Food delivery as a business requires the presence of certain structures:
- Aggregator for receiving orders (website or mobile application);
- Call center for processing incoming requests;
- Courier service (own).
When creating such a business plan, the owner must take into account the presence of fixed (monthly) costs to maintain the operation of the enterprise (salaries, maintenance of transport, etc.).
Enterprise characteristics
| Name | Characteristic |
| Organizational and legal form | Individual entrepreneur (IP) |
| Tax system | Simplified taxation system (6%) |
| OKVED | 56 - main, 56.1,56.10 and 56.29, 56.29.1 - if you plan to deliver food to special institutions (transport and construction companies, personnel of the Russian Armed Forces, etc.) Accurate information should be provided by the employee or firm that handles the accounting for your food delivery company. |
| Office | Room of 30 sq.m. for call center and delivery service |
| Hired personnel | 7 people (4 couriers, 2 call center operators, 1 manager) |
| Schedule | from 9:00 - 22:00, seven days a week. |
The location of the food delivery company's office does not matter much, since the work is carried out throughout the city. For the convenience of employees, it is preferable to be located near public transport stops.
List of services provided:
- Finding and ordering food to the office and home for consumers;
- Cooperation with catering organizations.
Niche in the market
The target audience
Due to the specifics of the food delivery business from various restaurants, the target audience of the project is all residents of the city of Samara from 18 to 46 years old, which is reflected in the business plan.
For systematization, you can divide your target audience into groups:
- Men (22-46 years old). They use the service due to the lack of personal time for cooking, up to 7 times a week.
- Women (22-36 years old). Mostly unmarried. The service is used to save time spent on work and leisure. They can use the services throughout the working week.
- Office workers. The business plan must include the delivery of food (lunch) to offices. Maximum load up to 5 times a week.
- Married couples. They use the service to diversify their routine cooking, most often ordering 1-3 times a week.
- Students and schoolchildren. Place orders for special events. Orders no more than once a week.
- To events. This can include the rest of the demographic groups.
The volume of the public catering market in Samara with a population of 1.1 million people (data for 2018) is more than 15 million rubles per year. The potential revenue of a food delivery business can be 10 - 18 million rubles per year.
When making forecasts for the development of a niche in the market, it is necessary to take into account the growth in the number of city residents, the level of average wages and the demand for the services of public catering outlets.
The advantage of the chosen type of business described in the business plan is its insensitivity to seasonality in sales.
Competitive Analysis
Competitors in this industry are considered to be similar organizations that provide food delivery services. Samara is a city with a population of one million, but there are few local popular food delivery services in the city, and the major players (Yandex Food and Delivery Club) are not very popular.
The above factors allow us to highlight the following advantages of the current business plan for delivery of lunches and food from restaurants:
- A detailed system of cooperation with partner catering organizations;
- A functional web application - an online service (web and mobile versions) allows you to quickly and easily order any dishes from your favorite cafes and restaurants in Samara;
- Loyalty system for regular customers;
- Payment is not only in cash;
- Cloud CRM system for order control.
- High level of service and support.
Given the size of the existing market, an offer of average quality will be in demand even with the current level of competition.
SWOT analysis
| STRENGTHS | WEAKNESSES |
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| OPPORTUNITIES | THREATS |
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Marketing strategy
The specifics of order processing require the use of online and offline marketing tools equally. However, the effectiveness of investments in attracting new customers and increasing profits from every ruble invested in marketing will depend on the quality of the services provided.
Most of the work needs to be done to develop the quality of services provided and strictly monitor the fulfillment of obligations to clients. An organization needs free funds for “explosive” growth in an actively developing market. This is achieved by allocating free funds in the company's accounts.
Advertising campaign (during the start of the project)
The approximate start date for pre-launch marketing activities can be considered 14 days before the full start of the project.
The following are suitable for pre-launch activities:
- POS materials. You can place advertising materials (flyers, business cards, booklets, etc.) in partner catering establishments. Partners will not refuse this request, as this will increase the number of repeat orders. Accommodation is possible in other organizations in the city (gas stations, car washes, hostels, etc.).
- Advertising in public transport. The target audience is quite large, so this promotion tool will be preferable for you. You can place advertising banners in vehicles or on the walls of the subway (depending on the size of the budget).
- Mass media. This tool can use both online and offline promotion methods. Advertisements can be placed on city notice boards, on social media pages or in Samara magazines.
- SMM and Contextual advertising. Advertising on social and search networks on a paid basis is a quick, uncomplicated and effective way to attract attention to the project.
It is worth allocating at least 75,000 rubles for pre-launch marketing.
Constant advertising campaign
Once orders are processed, you can attach POS materials with your company logo to each order to further promote your brand. The budget for such events can vary from 10,000 to 30,000 rubles per month.
Most of the customers in this food delivery business plan are planned to be attracted from the Internet. Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor the performance of applications. The website should be systematically optimized to meet the requirements of search engines, increasing its position and attracting additional users from the Google and Yandex search engines.
Partnership with catering organizations
The enterprise's income consists of the total revenue from the cost of delivering food to the buyer and commissions from the partner organization. Therefore, promotion and advertising of the second direction should be included in the Marketing Plan.
The following rates are available for partners:
Planning the implementation of services
Planning for the implementation of services is based on calculating the volume of daily orders from website visitors. The average bill varies between 900-1000 rubles.
Depending on the location of the client and his distance from the catering point, the cost of delivery can be 150-300 rubles. If a client orders delivery from several points, then each additional catering point adds 150-300 rubles to the order. The average bill for each order is about 225 rubles.
Below is a calculation for the first six months of operation of a food delivery service with 2 couriers on staff:
This service delivery plan was calculated based on a workload of up to 15 orders per courier.
Production plan
Food delivery as a business consists of several mandatory stages.
- Business registration
It is necessary to select the form of ownership for the enterprise (LLC or individual entrepreneur). The simplest step is to register an individual entrepreneur and select the simplified tax system of 6%.
- Web platform development
A food delivery service website is a one-stop platform for customers. Website development and support can be ordered from a third party (web studio). The website will be filled in-house as applications are received from new partners.
- Affiliate network development
For the owner of such a business, this stage is the most important, as it determines the future success of this enterprise. The more enterprises and types of dishes in your assortment, the greater the potential demand you can cover.
When preparing a business plan, first of all you need to collect a list of all catering establishments and divide them into groups:
- Warm leads. Establishments that require food delivery to your home or office, but do not have their own delivery service.
- Potential leads. Organizations that do not yet feel the need for your services or do not have the capacity to service additional demand.
- Cold leads. Companies with their own delivery service that are already your potential competitors.
Depending on the status, different work is carried out with partners. Warm “leads” are processed first, after that, potential “leads” are processed and trained (we explain the need for growth). The last thing you should do is take on cold leads (only if you have exhausted all groups).
- Office space
For such a business, any type of non-residential premises of 10-35 sq.m for rent is suitable. Employees will need to be provided with office equipment and office furniture.
- Hiring employees
The first start can be made with 6 employees (2 call center operators and 4 courier). One shift involves the work of half of the above-mentioned staff. You can save a lot if you hire couriers with your own vehicles.
- Start of pre-launch marketing
This stage involves preparing all the necessary POS materials. The next step will be to search and conclude agreements with contractors for the placement of advertising products (online catalogues, billboards, organizations for advertising in the metro, etc.). After selecting the required sites for placement, a budget is allocated and an order is placed for the development of the required advertising materials.
- Beginning of work
At this stage, it is important to trace each link in the order processing chain, track errors, check the coordination of staff work and set up customer processing scripts (refusals, complaints, questions, etc.).
Customer Journey Map
Organizational plan
Functions of management personnel:
- Participation in signing contracts with partners and contractors;
- Planned work with the web application. Regulation of assortment, control of the functioning of the web resource, control of the process of feedback from users and promotion of the web resource;
- Financial management (expenses, budgeting, salaries, etc.);
- Business development, preparation of a promotion strategy to scale the enterprise and connect new contractors.
- The employee's salary is within 35,000 rubles.
Call center operator functions:
- Receiving incoming applications and communicating with users;
- control of the work of couriers;
- Notifying the partner establishment about a new order;
- crisis management (resolution of disputes and negativity from clients).
One call center operator is available for each shift. Work schedule 2/2. Salary 12,000 - 15,000 rubles. To measure an employee’s performance, you can link his KPI to revenue per shift (30,000 rubles). If an employee fulfills the quota within a month, he must be given a bonus (1,500 rubles in addition to the salary).
Courier functions:
- Must receive an order from a partner’s establishment and pay for it;
- Deliver the previously received order on time, receive payment and issue a receipt;
- Transfer the received funds to management personnel.
One work shift involves two couriers, each working 2/2. For greater efficiency, we split the salary into two parts. The fix is 1,000 rubles per shift and an additional bonus of 70 rubles for each delivered order. Employee performance is measured based on 15 deliveries per shift. If an employee fulfills the quota within a month, he must be given a bonus (1,500 rubles in addition to his salary).
If you don’t want problems with the tax office, you will need to keep accounting for your food delivery service and submit all reports on time. The easiest way would be to delegate this function to an outsourcing organization. It is better to choose companies with experience in accounting and a good reputation, for example service.
Financial plan
Below is a table of initial investments for a successful start of the project. The financial plan includes the cost of developing a web application, purchasing the required inventory and expenses for the first months of operation of the enterprise.
We estimate the development of a web version of our platform at 180,000 rubles.
Project payback
To calculate the return on investment, you need to analyze the costs and revenue of the project in the first 5 months of life.
| Operating costs | 1m | 2 m | 3m | 4 m | 5 m |
| Renting premises | 8000 | 8000 | 8000 | 8000 | 8000 |
| Contributions to the personal wages | 165500 | 174000 | 180200 | 192000 | 192000 |
| Taxes and social contributions funds | 21053 | 21053 | 21053 | 22058 | 22058 |
| Internet and communication expenses | 3000 | 3000 | 3000 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Communal payments | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 |
| Marketing | 75000 | 30000 | 15000 | 8000 | 8000 |
| TOTAL | 274 553 | 238 053 | 229 253 | 235 058 | 235 058 |
| Enterprise revenue | |||||
| Delivery revenue | 105000 | 130 000 | 160 000 | 180 000 | 200 000 |
| % of the order value | 80000 | 112000 | 138000 | 175000 | 175000 |
| TOTAL | 185 000 | 242 000 | 298 000 | 355 000 | 375 000 |
| Profit before tax | -89553 | 3947 | 68747 | 119942 | 139942 |
| Taxes | 11100 | 14520 | 17880 | 21300 | 22500 |
| Net profit | -100653 | -10573 | 50867 | 98642 | 117442 |
| TOTAL | -100 653 | -10 573 | 50 867 | 98 642 | 117 442 |
The table does not take into account the costs of gasoline and maintenance of vehicles, since the business plan involves working with couriers with a personal car.
The table above shows that this enterprise will begin to make a profit from the 3rd month of operation. The payback period of the project is more than 5 months.
- Initial investment - 427,890 rubles;
- Payback period - from 5 months;
- Monthly profit (predicted) - 117,442 rubles.
Risk management of food delivery business
| Name | Description | Risk level |
| Risks associated with finances | The situation is due to the risk of a possible drop in demand, which will affect the prices of similar services or the catering industry as a whole. | The degree of risk can be considered “medium” due to the flexibility of demand for similar services (it is not flexible). Which makes it impossible for there to be a sharp decline in demand. |
| Risks associated with operating activities | Possibility of fraudulent activities by visitors | The degree of risk is reduced by introducing personal account registration with account confirmation |
| Market risks | The possibility that your service will be unnecessary | This factor can be considered “missing”, since the catering industry shows positive growth, and maintaining your own food delivery service is expensive. |
| Commercial risks | The possibility that your operating expenses will not be covered by income. | The factor does not cause concern, since the financial plan showed a payback period for the project of 5 - 6 months. |
| Risks within the organization | Possible problems in the functioning of the company due to unscheduled sick leave, errors in the work of partners, etc. | The degree of risk can be considered “medium”, because these unfavorable factors can be prevented by carrying out planned preventive measures. |
The table above shows that the selected niche has a low degree of risk and has no interference with its functioning.
Three months of accounting, HR and legal support FREE. Hurry up, offer is limited.
Recently I received two letters almost identical in content. One is from a resident of a rural area, the other is from a native city dweller. The first one complained that in a big city it is much easier to open a business, even a small one, than in the countryside. The second one said exactly the opposite - that organizing your own business closer to the village would be easier than ever. I answered to both that it was not at all a matter of the geographic location of the aspiring entrepreneur, not of his social status, and especially not of the initial capital, but of their desire to change something in their lives. The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said: “Whoever wants, looks for an opportunity, whoever doesn’t want, looks for a reason.” I wish all my readers to find the first, and forget about the second forever.
The business idea that I propose for consideration today is intended exclusively for implementation in urban environments. This is lunch delivery to the office. How many office workers do you think work in cities with a population of, say, 100 thousand people? Of course, there are no official statistics on this issue, but if you rummage around on the Internet, you can find figures of 4-6 thousand, depending on the city.
Brief business analysis:
Costs of setting up a business:10,000 - 300,000 rubles
Relevant for cities with the population: from 100,000 people
Industry situation:the market for service offerings is saturated
Difficulty of organizing a business: 1/5
Payback: from 1 month to 1 year
Work is work, and lunch is on schedule
Several thousand people who spend 8-9 hours at the workplace, leaving for needs and lunch breaks. Not every office has a kitchen for employees; many are shy about taking food for themselves from home. Why! Fiddling around with jars, containers, etc. in front of colleagues. not everyone will. Also, have you ever heard the saying, “Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you how you live”? Tell. How would you feel eating a chicken leg with pasta when your colleague at the table next to you is eating shrimp in batter, or deer kidneys in white wine? Right! I would feel uncomfortable too.
And the prices in nearby cafes are usually such that it is easier to endure lunch until the evening than to leave a very significant “piece” of your salary on your stomach every day.
Maybe this is why, or maybe for some other reasons, services for delivering lunches to the office are in great demand in cities. It’s tasty, filling, and reasonably priced. In addition, employees often order the same thing for themselves, so it will be difficult to “fall” in the eyes of their colleagues by eating the same thing. In general, I hope that you have already “ripened” to the idea that ready-made food for delivery is a great business idea worth trying to bring it to life. Moreover, it belongs to the category of projects with small initial capital.
Cooking or buying?
There are two options for running such a business. The first is cooking your own food to order. This is more troublesome and involves much higher costs than the next way of doing things. In fact, this option can be attributed to opening your own cafe. I have already written about some types of this business (cafe on wheels, children's cafe, internet cafe).
The second option is to purchase and deliver dishes from inexpensive cafes. Ideal for those who want to open their own business but are short on funds. In this situation, you can even try to enter into an agreement with the cafe owner for a price discount in exchange for daily purchases at his establishment. But you can still sell on your own behalf.
We create an assortment
Of course, one pie and a glass of tea won’t fill you up all day, but I suggest you start with this:
- Tea, coffee, juices, mineral water
- Pies and other baked goods, pizza. By the way, you can read about the latest culinary “fashion” - pizza in cups, and how to organize such a business.
Once you understand what this business is, you can create a more extensive and “substantial” assortment menu, consisting of first, second, and third courses.
What you need to open a business
Let's look at organizing the technical part of our own production of various dishes, since all that is needed for delivery is transport (even a bicycle).
- Firstly, you will need room for cooking food. This means that it must meet all the required SES criteria.
- Secondly, your kitchen should have everything you need inventory, starting with dishes and ending with microwave ovens and electric stoves.
- For food delivery it is better to have your own automobile. As I already wrote, it could even be a bicycle, which, by the way, is a very useful means of transportation in traffic jams, but a car, in my opinion, would still be preferable.
We register your business
Unlike the pie vendors on the street, you still have to formalize your business. You will work with a lot of people, and sooner or later rumors about your trade will still reach the “right” ears. Therefore, registering as an individual entrepreneur will be the best option - both you will be calmer and there will be more trust from customers.
A few words about the staff
There will be just a few words, because there is nothing special to describe here. All your employees working in the kitchen must be professionals in their field, have health certificates, and proof of their qualifications.
In addition to cooks, couriers will be required to deliver orders. It is advisable that the courier has a driver's license and combines the position of driver and order deliverer.
How to find clients and make them regular customers
How to attract clients? You can start with banal walks around office buildings when it’s approaching lunchtime and offering your products. And what?! No wonder they say “the feet feed the wolf”! Buyers need to talk about it. That if they like the dishes prepared, they can place an order over the phone. And leave your contact information.
Try to apply a few simple tips in your work that will allow you to succeed in this business:
- Always deliver orders during! Lunch time is limited, and spending it waiting for delivery is a failure for your business.
- Make a website, through which you can accept orders. This way you will significantly expand your circle of clients.
- Periodically carry out various promotions, practical jokes. Make discounts for regular customers.
- Food, in addition to quality and taste, must also be warmed up.
It is, of course, impossible to take into account all the nuances of business in one short article. But all this should be reflected in a business plan, which you must draw up before launching your business. You can find out how to write a business plan here -
Today, most people find it difficult to find time to go to the supermarket for groceries and prepare home-cooked meals. In such situations, various services for the delivery of food and ready-to-eat dishes come to the rescue. This means that business in this service segment will become profitable and quickly recoup the initial costs. However, before investing in a food delivery service, you need to create a detailed business plan and evaluate your capabilities.
Analysis of the feasibility of investing in a food delivery business
Modern society is characterized by a high pace of life; many people have irregular work schedules that do not allow them to stand at the stove for hours. The average city dweller is forced to reduce the time spent on food, and in most cases, an hour of working time is valued more expensive than ordering ready-made food. This is why the demand for food delivery services is increasing.
These factors have made the food delivery business the fastest growing segment of the restaurant business. Data from the analytical agency RBC.Research and statistics from the Delivery Club service suggest a rapid growth in demand for home delivery services for ready-made lunches and dinners.
Every day in Russia, food delivery services deliver 150,000 orders
Table: information on the development of the business area in 2017
It is obvious that the demand for delivery services still far exceeds supply, which means that the quantity and quality of the service can be improved. This statement is an external prerequisite for starting your own food delivery business.
Internal reasons for investing in this segment include:
Ideas for starting a food delivery business
A food delivery business can be opened in 2 formats, which require radically different approaches and an incomparable level of initial investment:
- wok noodles;
- pizza;
- sushi and rolls.
Photo gallery: the most popular dishes for home delivery
The highest incomes, subject to proper customer attraction, are observed among catering companies serving banquets and corporate parties. Such an organization requires high skill of cooks and the availability of expensive equipment.
To reduce costs at the initial stage, you can:
Video: how to make money delivering food
Own production and delivery
Its production requires obtaining a full set of permits from regulatory authorities and resolving issues with the operating procedure:
Self-production requires renting large premises, purchasing expensive equipment and obtaining permits to work with food.
Organization of food production is an independent topic with many nuances, so in this article we will consider only issues related to food delivery itself.
Mediation between catering establishments and clients
Many restaurant and cafe owners are forced to abandon the organization of home delivery services due to the high costs of this method of increasing sales. Delivery requires hiring additional personnel, who need to be paid money, regardless of the number of orders per day; in addition, you will have to advertise the service and allocate funds for disposable packaging and repairs of transport.
Most restaurants are not ready to organize their own delivery service, which means you can enter into an agreement with them to provide intermediary services
If a consumer likes the menu of an establishment that refuses to provide delivery services, all he can do is come and place an order in person or use delivery elsewhere. But not everyone has time to go to a restaurant, and therefore customers, including potential ones, get lost. The problem is resolved after concluding an agreement with the delivery service - this is beneficial to both parties.
Table: advantages of cooperation between catering establishments and food delivery services
The advantages of this food delivery business model are:
How to open a food delivery business: step-by-step instructions
To start your own food delivery business to homes and offices, follow the instructions below:
Business registration
First of all, you need to register your business, otherwise the activity will be illegal, fines for tax evasion will follow, and it will be impossible to conclude an agreement with public catering establishments.
To open a food delivery service, it is better to register a legal entity
Russian laws prohibit the sale of takeaway prepared food, with the only exceptions being pizza, pies and some baked goods. And while large companies are often forgiven for such violations, individual entrepreneurs will not be able to register such activities.
A serious approach to organizing a business involves registering a legal entity - doing business becomes more difficult in terms of taxation, accounting, reporting and large fines for violations, but LLC still has its advantages over individual entrepreneurs:
Also pay attention to the choice of taxation system - if you do not indicate during registration that you would like to switch to a simplified system (USN) or a single tax on imputed income (UTII), the general system (OSNO) will automatically be applied to you, which involves paying a large number taxes and preparation of many reports, which will significantly complicate running a business for a beginner.
Preparation of documents and obtaining permits
In order to start a legal business activity, you need to have the following documents on hand:
The full list of documents depends on the current requirements of regulatory services. Do not forget to save all accounting reports and primary documentation (checks, invoices, etc.), otherwise fines from the tax office will follow.
All documents relating to the financial aspects of a businessman’s activities must be kept in perfect order.
Menu creation
In the case of delivery of ready-made dishes from restaurants and cafes in your city, you create a menu based on the offer of establishments with which you were able to conclude an agreement, replenishing the assortment as new agreements are signed.
If you organize your own production, everything will depend on the financial capabilities of the business owner and on the catering establishments available in the city. See which kitchens are the most in demand, conduct a survey on the website or on social networks. If, for example, Chinese cuisine is chosen, and there are no lovers in the city, you will have to completely re-equip the kitchen and start all over again.
A varied menu will attract a large number of customers
It is best to offer customers variety, but remember that this will require large financial investments, hiring many employees and having a warehouse. Therefore, to begin with, it is worth focusing on one thing, and it is desirable that there are few similar offers in the city.
Selecting a room
In fact, any small office space is suitable - 10–15 m2 is quite enough. There is no point in renting a place in the entrance part of the city - there is no point in attracting the attention of passers-by; only call center dispatchers will work in the office itself. Therefore, choose a premises that does not require large expenses and is equally distant from the outskirts of the city - this will allow you to adjust the cost of delivery for customers living far from the center.
For a food delivery service call center office, it will be enough to rent a room with an area of 10–15 square meters. m
Own production will require large areas (50–100 m2) and a location near busy streets - this will allow, in addition to delivery, to sell takeaway food.
Equipment purchase
If you plan to work as an intermediary between catering establishments and customers, then you will only need to buy thermal bags and, possibly, a computer for the dispatcher to receive orders. If you plan to make cashless payments, you will have to purchase 2 terminals.
For a food delivery service without your own production, it is enough to purchase 4 thermal bags
But the full production cycle will be expensive and will increase the initial investment many times over. The list of equipment in this case depends on the menu - the more varied it is, the more clients you can attract, and the more expensive equipment you will have to purchase. For example, let's take a standard set of equipment for preparing and delivering pizza.
Table: equipment for pizza production and delivery
Recruitment
When the delivery service is just opening, a large staff is not required - it takes time to form a customer base and enter into contracts with as many catering establishments as possible.
First, you should hire two call center operators and four couriers with a personal car - they will work in shifts, changing every 2 days. Then one dispatcher and two couriers will work simultaneously.
Even if potential employees convince you that they are ready to work every day, seven days a week, do not take only one operator and two couriers - employees can get sick, the machine sometimes breaks down, unforeseen situations happen, and overtime hours according to labor law are paid at one and a half and double times.
Finally, it is better to hire a full-time programmer. Of course, if the site fails, you can contact a third-party IT company, but this will take a lot of time, and a non-working site means direct losses and loss of customers. To save on a specialist’s salary, you can hire an employee to work remotely and part-time, with the condition that he will be in touch at the right time.
It is better to hire a full-time site administrator than to contact third-party companies every time
It is worth noting that dispatchers are initially hired on a remote work basis - this way you can reduce your salary and not buy your own laptop or computer.
Business plan for home food delivery
Registering your business and investing money should always be preceded by drawing up a detailed business plan. Remember that your goal is to rationally and impartially evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of a food delivery business, and not to try to convince yourself of the merits of opening such a service. This way you can protect yourself from unjustified costs and ruin even at the planning stage.
Description of the sales market
When studying the sales market, you need to focus not only on statistical data, but also on the conditions for doing business in a particular city. Before you fill an empty niche or compete with existing delivery services, pay attention to the following factors:
The target audience
Since, regardless of the economic situation and food prices, the demand for food does not decrease and is not seasonal, and the wide range of ready-made dishes offered can satisfy any taste, the target audience for this market segment is quite diverse.
Table: food delivery service clients
Competitor analysis
The only competitors of the food delivery service are similar services. The market capacity for this type of service is quite large, so there will always be demand. In addition, competition will not hinder the development of the new delivery service due to the fact that there are several times more catering establishments whose menu items will be offered for home delivery than delivery services.
The following improvements will help you stand out from your competitors and surpass them:
Prospects for food delivery business development
If you have reserve funds or third-party cash injections into business development, you can think about the prospects:
Sales and Marketing
The main thing in the development strategy of a new food delivery service is to assess the shortcomings of such services and offer a convenient customer service scheme. It is necessary to continuously work on the speed and quality of service and control over these indicators. And you should also organize reserve funds from the very beginning of the business, since only the availability of resources for rapid expansion as the sales market increases will allow you to cope with growing demand and remain at the forefront.
Opening advertising campaign
Distributing booklets is an effective method of advertising food delivery services.
It would also be useful to attract customers with discounts provided to first customers - this way the largest number of people will want to try their luck and be one of the first to use the service.
Creation of a website and mobile application for a food delivery service
From the first day of operation of the service, the site must be in working order - this is the face of the delivery service. The assessment of an enterprise whose services the client has not yet used will be given based on the first impression of the design of the Internet resource - it should be as simple as possible, load quickly, and contain high-quality, clear and bright photographs of dishes that arouse the appetite.
It is imperative to provide a catalog divided into categories - the customer cannot be forced to view the entire assortment, it should be hinted with an inscription like “this dish is perfect with...”. The client should be able to register a personal account, which would display the order history and the current discount - this will save him from having to fill out a form and address for each order.
The website of a food delivery service should be as convenient as possible, and the pictures should whet your appetite
Many people browse business offerings on their phones and tablets while on the bus or car on the way home and planning dinner. Sites that are not oriented towards mobile phones are not displayed fully or seem inconvenient - in this regard, it would be worthwhile to order the development of a mobile application. The money spent will be repaid many times over.
Today it is possible to purchase a ready-made website and order a complete development of the resource “from scratch” according to an individual design. Of course, the second option is more preferable - the client will immediately notice your corporate style. Although the first one saves time and money.
Current Marketing
Advertising is required for a business not only at the start, but also on a regular basis in order to maintain the interest of regular customers, disseminate information about current promotions and expand the range, as well as to attract new customers. For a food delivery service, advertising on the Internet and social networks would be ideal, where people could leave comments and ratings, helping to dispel the doubts of potential customers.
It is effective to distribute booklets by promoters and attach them to each order by couriers. But the main thing is the smooth operation of the site and its promotion to the forefront of search engines. It is for this purpose that a programmer is hired - he must monitor for failures in the system, quickly solve problems, carry out SEO promotion of the resource and buy advertising in Yandex and Google.
Cooperation with catering establishments
The revenue of the ready-made food delivery service consists of payments directly for home delivery services and commissions from orders received by restaurants thanks to its service. It is advisable to think through several options for cooperation, in which the percentage of sales depends on what services the delivery service is ready to offer the partner. It is expected that couriers will independently pick up orders from restaurants and cafes. Such cooperation will bring the food delivery service about 22% of sales revenue.
Additional options may include:
Sales plan
When drawing up a sales plan, you should focus on the number of orders per day. To begin with, while the business has not yet taken a stable position, you should limit yourself to hiring two couriers, each of whom is capable of delivering a maximum of 15 orders per day. The average check will be 1 thousand rubles. Calculate how many kilometers the courier will travel when delivering food to different areas of the locality. You can also develop a simple application, like those installed in taxi services, which will allow call center operators to instantly calculate the price of delivery.
You should not set a delivery cost of more than 500 rubles, otherwise ordering food at home with an average bill of 1000 rubles will be unprofitable
Delivery cost should not exceed 500 rubles. You can increase the price if the courier simultaneously delivers an order for all office employees or picks up dishes from several restaurants. On average, the delivery service will cost 250 rubles per customer. Make a sales plan based on the indicated indicators, but do not count on a large number of orders in the first two to three months.
Financial plan
A financial plan is also necessary to determine the amount of initial investment, monthly recurring expenses, tax expenses, and so on. This will help assess the feasibility of opening a food delivery business with the resources available to the entrepreneur, the payback time and the size of the reserve in case of unexpected costs.
Start-up capital
What investments will be needed to start a food delivery business project? It is assumed that the company is being created from scratch, not as a franchise - otherwise you will have to count on additional costs of about several hundred thousand rubles. And we also do not take into account optional expense items, for example, printing development, legal advice, intermediary services, etc.
Table: components of initial investment
Monthly expenses
It would seem that a food delivery service is just a call center and several couriers. But, if you look at it, this business, like any other, requires certain regular costs.
Table: Monthly Costs of Running a Food Delivery Business
Profitability calculation
According to the latest results of the work of marketers, 1 million residents of a locality account for almost 20 million rubles in the annual income of public catering enterprises, and the potential revenue of food delivery services varies from 12 to 20 million rubles per year. Indicators may vary depending on the popularity of cafes and restaurants, the city’s population and the average per capita income of its residents.
With proper business organization, the initial investment can pay off in just 2 months
Table: profitability analysis of food delivery business
Risk factors
The food delivery business is characterized by moderate risks.
Table: risks of food delivery business
Starting a business
At the initial stage, it is necessary to check the coherence of the teamwork of customer service personnel. The business owner must check whether the instructions are followed and whether there are any delays in order fulfillment. At first, constant monitoring will be required until employees gain experience, learn the assortment by heart and are able to resolve conflict situations.
At the initial stage of business development, the manager must continuously monitor the work of employees until the performance of job duties reaches automaticity.
The quality of service determines whether the customer will remain on the list of your regular customers or choose another food delivery service. At the initial stage, it is especially important to establish yourself and show that you are the best. No one can take better care of your business than you. If you want to motivate your staff, provide bonuses and allowances for good performance at the end of the month - otherwise, employees will work “from paycheck to paycheck” without particularly caring about revenue.
Service delivery process
The customer service flow looks like this:
Every year, food delivery services to your home, office, and during holidays are gaining popularity. Students, single and unmarried people, overworked employees, fast food lovers, as well as anyone who simply does not like to stand at the stove, often buy ready-made dishes and ask for their order to be delivered. Thanks to this, the business of delivering ready-made food does not lose its relevance and will always find its client, despite the fairly high level of competition in the market.
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High-quality service, including delivery of goods, is the first rule of a successful business. Company owners are interested in ensuring that customers receive their orders quickly and safely. But not everyone runs their own courier service; more often they attract outside companies.
Courier service as a business is one of the options for starting your own business with minimal initial investment. This type of business does not require deep special knowledge, large capacity or complex legal procedures. However, there are nuances, knowing which, it will be much easier to start and succeed in this business.
Logistics trends: business relevance
To understand whether the business of delivering goods is profitable, let’s consider the main latest trends in the field of logistics - the process of moving goods, documents, valuables from the seller (manufacturer, supplier) to the buyer (customer, consumer).
- According to the research agency Data Insight, online trade is growing by at least 25% per year even during a crisis, at the same time, most online stores use outside courier services to save money. The result is an increase in the number of parcels that require courier services.
- In 2016, the demand for delivery of goods to pick-up points and post offices increased significantly.
For example, customers prefer to pick up almost 90% of orders in the Svyaznoy online store from pick-up points. Buyers reserve goods on the website with the opportunity to pick them up within 48 hours from the most convenient store location. Third-party courier services are used to deliver such orders.
- 2016 was a year of growing demand for the delivery of specialized goods: large cargo, food products (including ready-made meals from restaurants, cafes, and specialty bars).
- Many large companies announce tenders for courier services.
- The authorities are discussing the topic of legalizing online trade in medicines, alcohol, and jewelry. If this happens, then a surge in demand for services for the delivery of these goods is inevitable. Some of them require special conditions, for example, temperature conditions for medications.
Business registration
You can work both as an individual entrepreneur and as an LLC. Taxation - simplified tax system - 6% of income or 15% income minus expenses. OKVED codes according to the current classifier: 53.20.3 Courier activities; 53.20.31 Courier delivery by various modes of transport; 53.20.32 Delivery of food to your home (if you plan to deliver food); 53.20.39 Other courier activities. A license is not required for this type of activity.
At first, you can use your own home as an office, and your personal mobile phone as a communication device. In the future, it is advisable to hire a dispatcher (manager) who will take orders and rent office space.
It makes sense to open a courier business in large cities, since in small towns, where everything is within walking distance and there are no constant traffic jams, it is easier for people to pick up the goods themselves or send an employee.
It is necessary to decide on the format: will it be delivery within the city or intercity courier services. Use personal transport for work or hire couriers with their own vehicles: trucks (when transporting large cargo), cars, scooters, bicycles (when organizing the delivery of documents, postal correspondence, printed materials and small goods).
If you plan to deliver by public transport, you need to purchase travel tickets for couriers, this will reduce transportation costs.
Unusual formats - setting yourself apart from competitors
Courier services in large cities are not a novelty, therefore, there is competition, and to successfully enter a niche you need your own “tricks” that allow you to find, and possibly lure away customers from competitors. How to achieve this? For example, a unique unusual offer could be:
Velopochta. Fast delivery of documents by bicycle (or scooters and mopeds). Students can be hired to work during the summer. The disadvantage is seasonality, since it is not very convenient to ride a bicycle in snowfall in winter and in autumn through slush and rain. But you can make this idea an additional service for the warm season. Pros: low costs (no need to spend money on gasoline or travel documents), students are always interested in additional income, and among them there are many cycling enthusiasts.
For example, the American express mail UPS delivers packages not on conventional trucks, but on bicycles with a trailer.
Congratulatory courier service for the delivery of flowers, gifts, sweets, balloons and other holiday attributes. People don’t always have time to congratulate loved ones in person, and with proper advertising, such a service can be in good demand.
24 hour delivery. Not every courier service can boast of 24 working days. This can play into the hands of a novice entrepreneur: orders at night are valued higher and are delivered faster due to the absence of traffic jams. But here you will need to hire additional employees to work in shifts.
Delivery of women's small items or children's goods. Girls can be absent-minded and they have situations when it is not possible to go to the store, for example, tights are torn at work, hairspray has run out, diapers for an infant and many other options. You can position your service as a delivery service for the necessary little things or make it an additional service.
Delivery of auto parts , construction materials or large cargo, help with moving. In this case, additional loaders and cargo transport will be needed.
Delivery of products grown in summer cottages(can be organized in the summer-autumn season) or in greenhouses: potatoes, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes and other crops.
And old as the world, and, nevertheless, working methods of setting yourself apart from competitors - offering a more loyal pricing policy, speeding up delivery times compared to competitors.
Participants in thematic forums, sharing their own experience in opening a courier delivery service, advise the aspiring entrepreneur to “get to know this kitchen from the inside.” That is, get a job for a short period of time in a successfully operating courier delivery service and learn all the nuances of the business.
Where to look for clients
A natural question arises: is it difficult to find clients for a delivery service? We answer: if you know how and where to look for them, then it’s not difficult. Of course, advertising costs need to be included in the courier service business plan, but if you are smart, they will be small.
So, here is a list of options for finding clients that work, and most importantly do not require large investments:
Such customer search channels will definitely help you find customers for the first time; in the future, you shouldn’t stop advertising. It’s better to immediately include an item in your monthly expenses: advertising. When profits begin to grow, you can think about expanding, creating a website, and placing contextual advertising.
Courier service franchises
Another option to simplify your start is to open a franchise business. Below is a brief overview of two franchise offers from Russian companies.
1)CDEC
The Novosibirsk company SDEK Logistics Solutions offers a franchise on the following terms:
- Lump sum payment- 150 thousand rubles.
- Royalty: paid from the 7th month of work - 10%.
- Amount of investment to start: from 200 thousand rubles.
- Return on investment: from 3 months.
You can fill out an application or send a questionnaire on the company’s official website.
2) Express.ru
The company's franchise offer is valid for the cities: Krasnodar, Volgograd, Kazan. The conditions are as follows:
- Entrance fee: from 75 to 200 thousand rubles depending on the city;
- Payback: 14-21 months.
- Royalty: 8% (paid from the 4th month).
The company's head office is located in St. Petersburg. Partners are provided with comprehensive support, consumables, training, descriptions and instructions for all business processes.
