Do you have a passion for cooking or baking? Are you sick of your current job and looking for a challenge? Then now might be a good time to launch a home-based cooking business. Despite almost 10,000 licensed premises closing their doors for the last time last year, the demand for food delivery services has never been higher.
Why you should start a food business
The foodservice delivery market was worth around 8.5 billion GBP in 2019, in part thanks to the rise of online delivery concepts like Deliveroo that have made the whole user experience easier. And following lockdown, this figure is only set to increase as people want to enjoy their favourite restaurant standard meals at home.
But there are plenty of other reasons why you should start your busines from home this year, including cost. Home-based cooking businesses are relatively low cost because you generally have most of the equipment or can easily upgrade equipment like pan sets and knives, as well as ovens and fridges. You could complete a professional cookery course to improve your skills but it’s not necessary if you already have the knowledge and expertise to produce your goods.
What you need to start a home-based food business
But before you dive in and create your Deliveroo profile, there are certain legal requirements you’ll need to meet when setting up a food business.
Create a business plan – Having a business plan is a really important starting point for any busines as it makes you think about what you want your business to be, where you see it going, what you want to achieve, and how you’re going to make it happen.
Registering your business – Once you’ve worked out your business plan, you’ll need to register your business. This needs to be done before you sell your home-cooked foods to the public. Ideally you should register your business with your local authority at least 28 days before opening.
Get premises approval – You need to make sure you home is fit for purpose, and this includes preparing for an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) visit, as well as completing your food hygiene training.
The next steps for getting started
Once you’ve registered your business and you’ve successfully passed your food hygiene inspection it’s time to think about how to spread the word about your new home-based cooking business. Social media is perhaps the easiest way to get your brand out there – and it’s free.
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are great for business as they allow you to not only showcase what you do, but also interact with customers. Look at local food businesses and see who is following and engaging with their accounts to give you an idea of what works.
You may find that your target audience uses one platform more than the other, so you should focus more of your efforts on that platform.
Once you’ve found your audience and decided on the best way to communicate with them – is through images, blog posts, videos, or posting recipe ideas? – you’ll want to think about how you will deliver the food. Will it be collection only, will you deliver it personally, or will you use a courier delivery service?
And don’t forget is something doesn’t work – you can change it, it’s your business after all!
