How To Start A Meal Prep Business: A 10-Step Guide

Do you love nutritious and flavorful meals? If so, you're certainly not alone. Lots of people want to add more variety to their diets, but they may not have the time to cook regularly or the money to eat out a lot. That's where a meal prep delivery business comes in.

Meal prep businesses can make eating better simple for all types of households. Ordering items online and having them shipped to your door is becoming increasingly popular in all industries. So, the demand for meal prep services is on the rise.

If you're passionate about healthy food and looking to start a profitable business, consider this type of meal prep company. Keep reading to find out how to start a meal prep business so you can know what to expect.

What is a meal prep business?

A meal prep business offers a way to ship meal kits right to your door. Instead of having to create a long grocery list and find your own recipes, customers receive a kit with ingredients and simple instructions for how to make healthy meals. Most of these meals are quick and easy to make.

Since food delivery businesses are becoming trendy, there are lots to choose from. Most companies allow customers to pick the meals that fit their diet, whether that's low-calorie, gluten-free, vegan, etc. Every business operates differently, but most focus on convenience and meal variety.

Types of meal prep businesses to consider

More meal prep businesses appear every year. So, if you're interested in starting your own, you need to find a way to make yours stand out from the competition. Below are some options that are increasing in popularity.

A little bit of everything

Most of the biggest meal services, such as HelloFresh, don't have a specific theme. They just have a long menu that includes some of everything. This is great for customers looking to try lots of new foods. While this appeals to a broad audience, it's difficult for a new business to take on that many recipes at once.

Healthy meals

A lot of people turn to meal kits to help them maintain a healthy diet. If you want to cater to people trying to reach a healthier lifestyle, such as fitness influencers, provide a variety of healthy options to choose from. Once your business is established, you can include healthy add-ons like supplements and beverages.

Vegetarian and vegan meals

Popular businesses usually have some vegetarian and vegan meals, but it's often not enough for someone who never eats meat. People who are new to these diets may seek out meal kits because they don't know how to cook vegetarian/vegan meals themselves. So, plant-based and vegan-only meal services are on the rise and cater to specific customers.

Kid meals

Families with kids often turn to meal services as a way to save time while feeding lots of people. Yet, a lot of the meals offered through these services would be considered "fancy" to kids. Offering simpler recipes can cater to a wider audience, including parents and picky eaters.

Ready-made services

Some people don't want any cooking involved in their meals. So, some meal prep businesses offer ready-made or pre cooked meals that you just need to heat up to eat. These are perfect for customers looking for added convenience.

Consider these options when deciding what type of meal service you want to provide. For new businesses, it's often best to cater to a specific audience to ensure your business stands out from competitors.

Benefits of starting a meal prep business

Meal prep services provide lots of benefits for customers, which is what makes them so successful. Here are some positives of these businesses:

• Convenient. These services are shipped right to the customer's home, meaning less trips to the grocery store. Plus, all the ingredients and instructions come with each meal, so customers don't have to collect their own ingredients and portion them out.
• Saves time. Life gets really busy sometimes. People using meal services no longer have to waste time with meal planning and cooking.
• Reduces stress. Without needing to plan meals and spend hours getting ingredients and cooking, people often feel more relaxed around meal time.
• Reduces food waste. These meals are packaging into a certain number of portions, so you won't need to worry about making more food than you can eat.
• Offers variety. Most businesses have a lot of options for meals, and those meals often change every week. So, they give customers the opportunity to try a variety of new meals in a convenient way.
• Helps people stick to specific diets. These companies typically ask customers if they have dietary preferences. As a result, they can help people stick to specific diets that may be hard to find otherwise, such as vegan and low-calorie options.

If you create a meal prep business, you'll be providing all these benefits to customers and more. Plus, these benefits are great areas to focus on when trying to advertise your business.

How to start a meal prep business: step by step

Starting a meal prep business is a lot of work, but it's manageable if you're passionate about it. The following steps will help you find success with your new meal prep service.

1. Set up a business plan

Every great business starts with a plan. Before you bring your vision to life, think about what you want it to look like and how you want it to operate.

Get a general idea of the food you want to sell, who you're selling to, what locations you'll ship to, and how the meal kit subscriptions will operate. Try to get in the mind of potential customers to determine what they would look for in an online meal prep business.

With a solid meal prep business plan, you can ensure all aspects are covered, from sourcing ingredients to marketing your service. Once you have a general plan for what you want to achieve, you can flesh out those ideas further by looking closely at each one individually.

2. Figure out what makes your business unique

In 2023, there were 323 meal kit delivery services in the US. That number increased by 10.2% since 2022. With hundreds of current companies and many more to come, you need to ask yourself what makes your option different than the competition.

The best way to do this is to study other businesses in the meal prep industry. Look at reviews of ones that are similar to what you're planning to make. Take note of what people like best and make sure to include those aspects in your business.

More importantly, focus on what people dislike about the competition so you can ensure your business doesn't make the same mistakes.

For example, people might love the variety of meals from a popular business, but they might be disappointed with the shipment method. Maybe the company has a hard time keeping shipments cold enough in the summer.

You could use that insight to ensure that your shipments are better insulated and/or include more ice packs to show that your meals stay colder longer when shipped.

3. Determine your target audience

While most people can benefit from a meal prep business, it's best to focus on a specific audience. To determine your target market, consider where you'll sell food to and what types of meals you'll sell.

For example, you wouldn't want to market your meals to vegetarians in the Midwest if most of your meals include meat and are shipped to the West Coast only.

4. Find recipes to use

Recipes are the most important part of any meal prep business. When choosing a service, most customers favor variety above all else. So, make sure you provide lots of options and switch them up every once in a while.

If you or someone you know is a chef, you may already have some recipes in mind. However, if you're not a cooking expert, you should work with someone that is. Find chefs to help you prepare recipes to send to customers.

Having an experienced chef on board can give your business more credibility and lead to more flavorful and unique dishes.

5. Consider how and where you'll produce the food

As you move forward with your business, you'll need to find a facility to make the food in. It should be in or near the area that you plan to ship to. If you want to ship to a large area, you may need more than one facility.

While choosing a kitchen for your products, make a list of all the supplies you'll need. Ovens, fridges, storage containers, cooking utensils, and food processors are all things to collect. Also, make sure there's more than enough counter space for your employees to work on.

6. Obtain business licenses and permits

Familiarize yourself with the licenses and permits needed for a meal prep delivery business. The requirements could vary by location, but most places require the following:

• Seller's permit
• Business license
• Employer identification number (EIN)
• Food handler's license
• Food service license
• Building health permit
• Employee health permit
• Catering license
• Zoning permits
• Health department permits
• Dumpster placement permit

The chamber of commerce and local committees can help you obtain necessary permits. For more information, here's a list of business license/permit types, along with more information on them by state.

7. Get Insurance

Business insurance is extremely beneficial for new meal prep services. Depending on the type of insurance you get, it could cover damage to business assets and protect you from unintentional damage caused during shipping.

Familiarize yourself with the types of business insurance to decide which one is best for your meal prep business.

If you need help deciding what insurance to get, consult a business lawyer.

8. Figure out pricing

Next, ask yourself how much you want to charge for your service. Most services have a price per meal plus an extra fee for shipping. However, the price per meal goes down as the number of meals in a shipment increases.

Look at the prices of similar companies to decide how to price yours. Ideally, you'll want your meal kit delivery to be equal to or a little more affordable than the competition. Yet, don't make your business model so cheap that you don't make much of a profit. For best success, you'll need a balance between affordability and profitability.

9. Also think about shipping

While focusing on prices, also think about your shipping. How big of an area do you want to ship to? Shipping long distances can reach more customers, but it may cost more and make it harder to keep the food cold during shipping. So, consider the pros and cons when deciding where you'll ship to.

Packaging is also a big part of shipping. How will you keep your ingredients fresh and cold? Insulation and the number of ice packs play a huge role in that. Will you use packing supplies that are reusable and recyclable to reduce waste?

For many customers, environmentally-friendly materials are a huge appeal.

For many meal prep delivery services, packaging and shipping are what sets them apart from the rest. If you can stand out by offering faster shipping, better packing materials, and/or a broader shipping range, that can help appeal to new customers.

10. Focus on quality control

Quality is crucial for a food business, more so than other business types. Before you begin operations, come up with a plan for quality control to ensure safety and consistency in your ingredients.

Determine where you'll source ingredients, how the ingredients will be stored, how you'll ensure proper food temperatures, and how the ingredients will be prepared.

Every step of quality control should follow necessary health codes. To enhance your food quality, invest in helpful devices, such as food thermometers and digital scales.

Without a plan in place, the food may arrive perfectly for one person but have lots of issues for another. The goal is to have as many satisfied customers as possible. Having consistent quality control and making sure all employees are on the same page can help you reach that goal.

11. Create a user-friendly website

Every good business needs an easy-to-use website. This is especially important for a meal prep delivery service. Since these businesses typically function as subscriptions, customers will need to visit the site frequently to choose their desired meals. If the website is confusing to look at, it may turn away potential customers.

So, when setting up your website, make it easy to browse the menu and sign up. If it's unclear how the subscription works, customers may choose a different company instead. If you don't have experience creating websites, work with a website designer to build a site that's user-friendly.

12. Find ways to reach new customers

There are many meal prep services out there, so how will you get your new one to reach people? To get started, you'll need a meal prep marketing plan to determine how you'll spread the word about your unique business.

Advertisements are the key to getting your new service noticed. Think about where your target audience will likely spend most of their time. If you're focusing on a younger demographic, stick to social media marketing or YouTube ads. If you want to appeal to older generations, print advertising might be the way to go (although you'll likely still want some virtual marketing).

Once you get your company's name out there, you'll eventually start receiving reviews and getting recommended by word of mouth. You may always want to run some type of ads, but over time, you should discover more organic traffic coming your way.

13. Introduce add-on items, like supplements

Once you have an established meal prep delivery business, consider including special items customers can add to their orders, such as desserts, health drinks, and supplements. We offer private label supplements to make it easy to include health supplements with your own branding. Health supplements can attract a certain demographic, such as fitness influencers.

Having add-on items is a great way to make your meal prep business stand out. If your business has something extra that the competitors don't have, customers are more likely to be drawn to your service.

14. Engage with customers

Most customers love when businesses are transparent and honest. So, don't forget about customer service. If someone reaches out with questions or concerns, respond in a timely manner and find ways to help them have the best experience whenever possible.

Being active on your social media pages can also help customers connect with you. Post about your new recipes, discounts, and procedures so customers never feel in the dark about what's going on with your business.

15. Make adjustments as needed to follow trends

Trends are constantly changing in every industry. If there are certain types of meals that are more popular than normal, consider adding those to your weekly menu. If customers reach out to you asking for certain products, add those menu items if it's doable.

To stay ahead of the meal prep trends, follow social media accounts related to food, read current food articles, and attend food-related events and conferences. Discovering what's up and coming before the competition can give you an opportunity to stand out in the meal prep industry.

Also, pay attention to trends within your own business. If certain meals are constantly selling out, make those appear on your menu more frequently and offer similar recipes. However, if some meals are rarely chosen, you might want to replace them with something new.

Is starting a meal prep business right for you?

Now that you know how to start a meal prep business, you need to decide if it's ideal for you. Are you passionate about food and have unique ideas for an online meal prep business? If so, that's a great place to start.

Once you have an idea in mind, familiarize yourself with the necessary permits and decide how and where you want to produce and ship your products.

This type of company requires an in-depth business plan and it can be a lot of work. Yet, if you're someone who loves food and improving the lives of others, it's likely the perfect route for you to take. However, there are plenty of other businesses you could work on if food delivery doesn't sound right for you. For example, if you're interested in skincare, we offer private label skincare products to help you start a business.

As long as you take your time coming up with your own business ideas and how to execute them, you'll be headed in the right direction. So, if the meal prep industry appeals to you, go for it!