{"id":20523,"date":"2023-01-20T14:30:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/?p=20523"},"modified":"2025-11-17T12:44:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T07:14:40","slug":"how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to consider when starting a meal prep business- A step by step guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Last Updated: 29th December, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The past decade witnessed the emergence of unique eCommerce businesses. A few of them are meal prep websites, led by incumbents like Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, and Plated. There are various reasons behind the success of meal prep businesses, some of which are still relevant in 2024. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Firstly, the Millennials and Gen X population are the top demographic profiles amongst meal prep consumers, comprising around 63.7% of all buyers. They also constitute the population with maximum control over their monetary decisions. Secondly, the general consumers of meal prep businesses belong to high-income families with an average annual income up to $80,000, making the business highly lucrative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why are consumers attracted to meal prep websites?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Numerator, a leading market intelligence organization, the three primary reasons why people like to order food from meal prep businesses are:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such a business has three primary models as explained below:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ordering from meal prep sites saves time in meal planning<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reduces time in grocery shopping<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">introduces food from diverse cuisines<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from these, <\/span>the Ikea effect<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (stating that people add value to things that they help create themselves) also justifies the consumer psychology and desire behind ordering ready-to-cook meals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All aforementioned stats and factors indicate the immense business potential in the meal prep industry. Considering the favorable market scenario and lack of meal prep businesses in several towns and cities, it is safe to conclude that 2024 is a right time to set foot in the meal prep industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Table of contents<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#latest-trends\">Latest trends of meal prep business in 2024<\/a><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#vegan-meals\">Plant-based\/vegan meal prep business model<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#kids-meals\">Kids\u2019 meal prep business<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#business-models\">Viable business models for a meal prep website<\/a><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#meal-kit\">The meal-kit delivery model (followed by Freshly and Hello Fresh)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#goal-oriented\">Goal-oriented meal delivery model (followed by Magic Kitchen and Fresh N Lean)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#pre-cooked\">Pre-cooked storable meal delivery model (followed by Healthy Choice and Smart Ones)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#things-to-consider\">Things to Consider Before Starting an online meal prep business<\/a><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#financial-planning\">Financial planning<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#licenses-permits\">Licenses and permits<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#competitive-analysis\">Competitive analysis<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#software-technology\">Software technology<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#server-hosting\">Server and hosting<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#human-resources\">Managing human resources<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#business-insurance\">Business insurance<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#GTM\">Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a class=\"tb-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business\/#faqs\">FAQs<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"latest-trends\"><b>Latest trends of meal prep business in 2024<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses that cater to demand that is gaining traction amongst consumers have an increased opportunity to onboard customers. Considering the advantages of starting with popular meal choices, listed below are latest trends of the meal prep business in 2024:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"vegan-meals\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Plant-based\/vegan meal prep business model:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers who follow a vegan diet avoid all animal products. For instance, meat, dairy products, eggs, and even honey.\u00a0 Such meals require only vegan-friendly ingredients that are selected carefully and are at times hard to find.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These meals are peculiar with long preparation times and extremely expensive when consumed on a daily basis. Vegan meals are crafted with care, as missing ingredients may put people on vegan diets at nutrient deficiencies. The plant-based\/vegan meal prep model assists consumers in adhering to their special vegan diets by bringing forth meal kit subscriptions lasting a week or a month-long. Such meal subscriptions are more affordable as compared to placing a single order every time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through a meal prep business the following provisions can be made for consumers following a vegan diet:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers can eat their meals with the assurance of the authenticity of the vegan ingredients used to prepare the meals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vegan meal delivery reduces the meal prep time by saving costumes time to shop for exclusive ingredients.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A vegan meal prep business can connect chefs who specialize in vegan meals to consumers who wish to follow the vegan diet on its platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 id=\"kids-meals\"><strong>Kids\u2019 meal prep business<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The business of kids\u2019 meals is gaining popularity as it lessens the efforts of parents regarding planning and preparing meals for their kids. Customers can easily subscribe by choosing the type and number of meal kits they want to get delivered per week and the business gets them delivered accordingly.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through a kids\u2019 meal prep business the following value can be added for customers wishing to order meals for children:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customers will be able to\u00a0 select from a list of meals as per the kid\u2019s nutritional requirements and tastes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can make it easy for customers to give a proper diet to children with their busy schedules.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can save customers\u2019 time on meal planning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can bring variety to the child\u2019s food and makes meals an exciting part of their routine.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"business-models\">Viable business models for a meal prep website<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Entrepreneurs interested in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/cooked-meals-ordering-system.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">starting a meal prep business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> require to understand its viable business models. The existing meal prep businesses are relying heavily on the following models and as per our expertise in the eCommerce industry, we also suggest you to assess them for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Note: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though the actual business model varies from organization to organization, its workflow remains similar. Business owners need to scrutinize and replace some processes in the model to align it with their organization. They also need to ensure that their meal prep software supports the selected business model. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"meal-kit\">1. The meal-kit delivery model (followed by Freshly and H<strong>elloFresh<\/strong>)<\/h3>\n<table style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; padding: 25px; background: #e86a5a; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; font-size: 17px;\" colspan=\"5\"><b>Freshly &amp; Hello Fresh<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #e87c64;\">\n<th style=\"text-align: center; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 39px;\"><b>Brand Name<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 21%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>Year of Foundation<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 20%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>CEO<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 16%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>Revenue<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freshly<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2012<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Wystrach<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$430 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hello Fresh<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2011<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dominik Richter<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$1.17 billion<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Under this business model, consumers demand meal-kits on an on-demand and subscription basis. In subscriptions, they can select how many kits they want to be delivered per week and the business delivers those kits accordingly.<\/p>\n<h4>Business flow:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers browse recipes\/meals on meal prep websites<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They add a recipe\/meal to their cart or select how many meals they would like to be delivered along with the frequency of delivery<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers make the payment and the business owner delivers the meal(s) <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>How does this model work with multiple vendors?<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Various vendors\/chefs register on the eCommerce platform and enlist their recipes\/meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers browse the enlisted recipes\/meals\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They add a recipe\/meal to their cart or select how many meals they would like to be delivered per week<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers make the payment and the business owner deducts a commission before transferring the rest to the vendor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The respective vendor\/chef delivers the meal(s)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>Why the meal-kit delivery model holds value for consumers?<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It saves their time on meal planning<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meal-kit delivery saves time shopping<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Makes it easy to cook festive meals such as on Easter and Christmas Eve<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teaches exciting recipes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-cut veggies\/meat, accurate proportions and disposable packing reduce clutter and shorten clean-up time<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"goal-oriented\">2. Goal-oriented meal delivery model (followed by Magic Kitchen and Fresh n Lean)<\/h3>\n<table style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; padding: 25px; background: #e86a5a; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; font-size: 17px;\" colspan=\"5\"><b>Magic Kitchen &amp; Fresh N Learn<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #e87c64;\">\n<th style=\"text-align: center; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 39px;\"><b>Brand Name<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 21%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>Year of Foundation<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 20%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>CEO<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 16%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>Revenue<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magic Kitchen <\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2005<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greg Miller <\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$1 million<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fresh n Lean<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2010<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laureen Asseo<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$40 million <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers with special diets and health goals require cautiously prepared meals made with handpicked ingredients. Not only these meals have long prep times but are also expensive for daily consumption. Goal-oriented meal delivery model assists the consumers requiring special diets by subscribing them to week or month-long meal deliveries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meals subscriptions also tend to be more affordable in comparison to placing one-time orders on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">food delivery platforms<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Some examples of goal-oriented meals for consumers with health issues are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diabetic-friendly meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gluten-free meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low sodium meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low fiber meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low uric acid meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vegan meals<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, gym and fitness enthusiasts can subscribe to lean-protein, high carbs and keto diet meals as per their fitness requirements. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Business flow:<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers browse goal-oriented meals on the meal prep marketplace<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They subscribe to a meal<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers make payment and the business owner delivers the selected meal(s) routinely<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>How does this model work with multiple vendors?<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Various dieticians\/nutritionists\/chefs register on the platform and enlist goal-oriented meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers browse the enlisted meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They subscribe to a meal and make the payment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The business owner deducts a commission from the payment and transfers the rest to the respective vendor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The business owner or the respective dietician\/nutritionist\/chef ensures the routinely delivery of meals<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>Why the goal-oriented meal delivery model holds value for consumers?<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does not require consumers to be health-conscious while eating meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goal-oriented meal delivery saves time shopping and reduces the meal prep time<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-cut veggies\/meat, accurate proportions and disposable packing reduce clutter and shorten clean-up time<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assist consumers in achieving their health goals<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"pre-cooked\">3. Pre-cooked storable meal delivery model (followed by Healthy Choice and Smart Ones)<\/h3>\n<table style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; padding: 25px; background: #e86a5a; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; font-size: 17px;\" colspan=\"5\"><b>Freshly &amp; Hello Fresh<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #e87c64;\">\n<th style=\"text-align: center; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 39px;\"><b>Brand Name<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 21%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\"><b>Year of Foundation<\/b><\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 20%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\">OWNER<\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; width: 16%; background: #e87c64; color: #fff; border-color: #fff; padding: 20px;\">COUNTRY<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Healthy Choice<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1985<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark Harper<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #ee9581; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United States<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart Ones<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1992<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Kraft Heinz Company<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; padding: 38px 10px; background: #f9a693; color: #fff; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United States<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the ease and flexibility meal-kit delivery and goal-oriented meal delivery models provide, they are not preferred by extensively occupied consumers. Working professionals and students living alone cannot always be available at their residential address to accept routine delivery of meal-kits containing various raw ingredients. Thus, they are more inclined towards pre-cooked frozen meals like:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instant noodles and rice<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lentils and beans<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Porridge<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steak<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mashed potatoes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Condensed soup<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frozen burritos<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frozen pizzas<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-cooked storable meal delivery websites differ from <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">grocery delivery websites<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as the products sold on them require the bare minimum efforts to prepare for eating (like<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reheating or adding seasonings).<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Business flow:<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers browse pre-cooked meals on the website<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They add meal(s) to their cart and select the order quantity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers make payment and the business owner delivers all the meals at once<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>How does this model work with multiple vendors?<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Multiple restaurants, food services, and eateries register on the platform and enlist pre-cooked meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers browse the enlisted meals and add them to their cart<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers select the quantity and make payment\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The business owner deducts a commission and transfers the rest to the vendor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The selected restaurant or food services deliver the meal(s)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>Why the pre-cooked storable meal delivery model holds value for consumers?<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Easy to preserve and requires bare minimum efforts to prepare for eating<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-cooked storable meals save time shopping<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Properly packed containers ensure the least possible clean-up time<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assist consumers in achieving their health goals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suitable for consumers with busy life schedules<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All meals are delivered at one-time delivery<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Checkout the following figure to view the revenue streams compatible with the aforementioned business models.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business.png\" alt=\"Revenue Streams for Online Meal Prep Business\" width=\"800\" height=\"725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business.png 800w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business-300x272.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business-768x696.png 768w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business-30x27.png 30w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business-624x566.png 624w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Revenue-Streams-for-Online-Meal-Prep-Business-500x453.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cta_box\">\n<div class=\"cta_title\">\n<h2>Ready to Launch your Online Meal Prep Business?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cta_button\"><a class=\"button customBtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/website-design-company\/requestaquote.html?q=meal_prep_blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Get Started Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"things-to-consider\">Things to consider before starting an online meal prep business<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an ever-changing world, it gets difficult for business owners to select the correct options to launch a new business. The presence of so many variables, like supply chain setup, delivery process selection and funding options, make it difficult to validate the pre-launch actions. Thus, to speed up the business launch and refine the startup process for entrepreneurs, we have shed light on the constants that are nearly applicable on all eCommerce businesses.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"financial-planning\">1. Financial planning<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial planning assists business owners in estimating and meeting the business\u2019 financial requirements. To begin, you need to calculate the gross margin of your meal prep business, which is the total sales forecast minus the cost of delivering meal prep orders (cost of ingredients and preparation also in case of single-vendor meal prep businesses).<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27382\" style=\"font-size: 1rem;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning.png\" alt=\"Formula_Financial _Planning\" width=\"800\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning.png 800w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning-768x192.png 768w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning-30x8.png 30w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning-624x156.png 624w, https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/fab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Formula_Financial-_Planning-500x125.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Based on the gross margin, you can create a budget of all expenses (such as software cost, licensing cost, delivery cost, building maintenance, utility bills and salaries) and maintain a balance sheet. Doing so will allow you to track your expenditure on various assets and liabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"licenses-permits\">2. Licenses and permits<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The official registration of a meal prep business will ensure legal protection. It will validate the business obligations towards the government and vice versa. Once a business owner obtains the license, he\/she can avail tax benefits and government schemes to acquire leverage over non-registered businesses. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several private investors also offer funding to registered businesses only, which is a massive advantage of obtaining a license. Business registration and licensing details can be acquired from state or industry-specific statutory bodies. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some important licenses and permits that are required to launch a meal prep business are: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business license<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employee Identification Number (EIN)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liquor license (in case if an entrepreneur wants to deliver liquor through his meal prep business)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Food establishment permit<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seller\u2019s permit<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employee health permit\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building health permit <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"competitive-analysis\">3. Competitive analysis<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In-depth competitive analysis is required to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of other businesses in the same industry. The analysis will allow entrepreneurs in the meal prep industry to identify key competitors, understand competitor pricing, analyze the existing customer experiences and evaluate the competitors\u2019 unique selling points. Based on these details, a startup can devise a marketing strategy and revise prices to take over the existing businesses in\u00a0 targeted market(s). <\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"software-technology\">4. Software technology<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eCommerce websites developed using page builders have a captivating front end. They are decent for creating eye-catching websites but lack the dedicated features to conduct smooth online business operations. For a meal prep business, back-end features are required for order management, catalogue management, user management, and handling deliveries. Websites developed by page builders often don\u2019t have the required backend support and the website owner has to rely on third-party meal prep software. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another issue that arrives when selecting the software technology is budget restrictions. Scratch development of software to support a meal prep business involves programming and testing of too many features. These features vary in prices. Thus via the scratch development method, startups and SMBs can only afford a few essential features, not all. A simple solution to this problem is to opt for readymade <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/cooked-meals-ordering-system.html\">meal prep software<\/a> that require minimum customizations to get started.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"server-hosting\">5. Server and hosting<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are different ways by which a business can host its website. Information technology firms describe them as hosted and self-hosted. When a business owner opts for an eCommerce software with a hosted server, the software provider firm is responsible for managing the server and hosting. The firm ensures the uptime of the website and maintenance and upgradation of the server. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, a downside of hosted eCommerce solutions is that the website can go down when the server crashes. The solution for this problem is self-hosted services. Solutions that are labelled as self-hosted, leave the choice of hosting with the customer. He\/She can opt for any type of hosting he wants. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most popular types of self-hosting services for which entrepreneurs opt for are SaaS hosting, cloud hosting, dedicated server hosting and on-premise hosting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out the following table to understand the benefits of these hosting types.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"border-color: #eaeaea;\">\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; width: 30.3333%; background-color: #e87c64; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 15px; padding: 15px; border-color: #eaeaea; text-align: left;\">SaaS Hosting<\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; width: 30.3333%; background-color: #e87c64; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 15px; padding: 15px; border-color: #eaeaea; text-align: left;\">Cloud Hosting<\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; width: 30.3333%; background-color: #e87c64; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 15px; padding: 15px; border-color: #eaeaea; text-align: left;\">Dedicated Server Hosting<\/th>\n<th style=\"vertical-align: middle; width: 30.3333%; background-color: #e87c64; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 15px; padding: 15px; border-color: #eaeaea; text-align: left;\">On-Premise Hosting<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In SaaS hosting, a hosting service provider (other than the eCommerce solution provider) hosts the website on a shared server and charges for it on a recurrent basis. <\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In cloud hosting, the website is hosted on a network of several virtual and physical servers. <\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; #ffffff; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In dedicated server hosting, the website owner gets a dedicated server to host his\/her website.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; #ffffff; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The website owner purchases and allocates the server at his\/her own physical address.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hosting service provider is responsible for the maintenance of server and software\/hardware upgrades.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hosting service provider is responsible for the maintenance of server and software\/hardware upgrades.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hosting service provider is responsible for the maintenance of server and software\/hardware upgrades.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The website owner is responsible for the maintenance of server and software\/hardware upgrades.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the server crashes, all websites hosted on the server go down.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A single server crash does not affect the uptime of the website<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Server crash can affect the uptime of the website.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Server crash can affect the uptime of the website.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to multiple websites, the chances of server problems and inadequate resource allocation are high.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resource allocation is managed easily due to the interconnectedness of various physical and virtual servers.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chances of server crashes are comparatively lower than SaaS hosting and all storage and memory resources are allocated to a single website. <\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chances of server crashes are comparatively lower than SaaS hosting and all storage and memory resources are allocated to a single website. <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High security issues<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High security issues<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low security issues<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f9f4ee; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low security issues<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left; padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suitable for entrepreneurs testing MVPs of their eCommerce websites or still in the initial years of startup.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; color: #0e0e0e; border-color: #fff;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suitable for solopreneurs, startups, SMBs and mid-size businesses.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; #ffffff; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suitable for entrepreneurs requiring large-resources and reliable security for their website.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 15px; background-color: #f5f2ee; #ffffff; border-color: #fff; color: #0e0e0e;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suitable for entrepreneurs requiring large-resources and reliable security for their website.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3 id=\"human-resources\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>6. Managing human resources<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on the marketing strategy and estimated sales of a meal prep business, the owner will need to hire various employees. A big challenge that the business owner may face is to make business professionals trust his startup. Without the trust, it can get difficult to acquire talented individuals, which will be followed by the problem of low employee retention. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following options can assist startup meal prep businesses overcome the aforementioned staffing problem:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recruit managers who have experience working in startup firms<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hire a virtual assistant for daily administrative work such as scheduling appointments, making phone calls, allocating tasks, accounting, handling payroll and managing social media handles\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tie up with a human resources firm to assist fill positions for non-managerial roles such as delivery personnels, office boys, warehouse assistants, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hire remote <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dedicated teams<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or professionals for digital marketing, graphic designing, customer support and IT. Dedicated teams will reduce expenditure on providing hardware resources and daily utilities like water, restroom and electricity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hire freelancers on websites like Fiverr for one-time designing, marketing and programming. (If you are hiring a virtual assistant, you can let him\/her find and manage freelancers for your business.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use an employee referral program to encourage existing employees refer their friends and previous colleagues to become your employees<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"business-insurance\">7. Business insurance<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business insurance is extremely valuable for startup businesses. It has various advantages for a meal prep business, like cover against major losses and damage to important business assets. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several business insurances also provide coverage for third-party liability, i.e., if your business causes unintentional damage or loss to a person, business or property. Other than benefits, coverage for filing lawsuits, unintentional violation of third-party copyrights and damages and losses due to natural disasters is also included in business insurance. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note that all insurance policies are not equal and may not carry the same benefits for a meal prep business. For this reason, a 10-days or longer free-look period is provided with the insurance to policyholders. Within this period, policyholders can review the terms of the insurance and make any amends they want. They can also cancel the policy without facing any penalty in the free-look period.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"GTM\">8. Go-to-market (GTM) strategy<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Go-To-Market Strategy involves the identification of the value proposition that a business wants to provide to its consumers and a deep understanding of buyer personas. GTM strategy involves how you want to roll your meal prep business in the market and the impression you want to create on your buyers. The GTM strategy is inclusive of several factors such as the development of MVP, pricing, selecting value proposition, marketing, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>The 7Ps of go-to-market strategy will help you understand it better:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Product<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To launch an online meal prep business, entrepreneurs require a website, which is the firstmost requirement in GTM strategy of an eCommerce business. The website will both validate the business idea and attract the first few customers. The easiest way to get a website for idea validation is either <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/minimum-viable-product.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MVP development<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or using a readymade software.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Price<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next step in the strategy is to set the pricing of the product in order to maximize profit margin. In case of a multi vendor business, the website owner should select the amount of his\/her sales commission. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Place<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the eCommerce sector, place refers to the channels through which a business distributes its services and products. In 2024, selecting an omni-channel approach is the most relevant. Omni-channel approach includes distribution via social media websites, third party advertisement, IVR system and several other online and offline channels.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Promotion<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This step refers to the identification value proposition and formulation of marketing strategy. For startup businesses (both multi-vendor and single vendor) in the meal prep industry, we have outlined the following approach for business promotion. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>People<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business must identify the minimum skills and experience its employees should have to make the business viable. By outlining the key requirements for employees in both major and minor roles beforehand, a meal prep business can hire the employees required to speed up the market launch. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Processes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Processes refers to the steps and measures taken to deliver the services and products to the end customer. It involves the finalization of the business model with all changes and personalization, preparation of a sales funnel, selection of payment methods and delivery procedures. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Physical evidence<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physical evidence is the proof of successfully conducted business operations. The proof is required for various reasons such as research and analytics, funding and for statutory reasons. The physical evidence for a meal prep business can be receipts, invoices, packaging order tracking information, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6>How to attract consumers on a meal prep website?<\/h6>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For startup businesses, the first marketing objective is to make the consumers aware of the existence of business. For this, publishing ads in newspapers, magazines, billboards and social media profiles can help. Publishing press releases and paid promotions via Instagram and Facebook influencers is also a tested strategy for introducing newly launched businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the business is introduced, it should convey the value proposition, i.e., the offerings of your meal prep business to the consumers. Successful meal prep businesses are providing the following propositions:<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First time discounts<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free first meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reward points for successful friend referrals<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insulated food packaging<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Video directions for meal cooking<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gift cards<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Student discounts<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the sales begin, the meal prep business can retain customers by dropping offers in their inbox. It can also create a VIP subscription or offer corporate discounts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quality of photos used to describe the food will play a quintessential role in attracting consumers. Media plays an important role to build temptation and anticipation by providing customers with the necessary visual feedback. Steller photo-editing service providers such as fixthephoto.com that specialize in food photography can give your meal photos the requisite professional edge.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h6>How to attract vendors on a multi-vendor meal prep business?<\/h6>\n<ol>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After introducing the business via advertisements and press releases, the next challenge is to convince vendors to register on the marketplace. This can be done by offering them assistance in uploading listings on the platform as vendors already selling on other websites would be reluctant to do double efforts in uploading their product catalogues.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the marketplace owner, you can deduct smaller commissions from vendors or charge no commission for the first few orders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use email marketing to attract chefs, dietitians and nutritionists on the platform. When approached properly, they will take pride in selling their meals through your meal prep business. If these people are not business owners, you can also promote your meal prep website as a lucrative side hustle to them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"conclusion\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a survey conducted by the global business consulting giant McKinsey, Millennials are 6 times more likely to find new brands more innovative. They are also 400% more likely to avoid purchasing from big brands than their parents. Ensuring continuity to disruptive patterns, the above-mentioned statistics highlight the scope for new businesses to enter in the meal prep industry and compete with the incumbents. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To match the customer experience of existing businesses, newly established meal prep businesses require to focus on the value proposition, customer support and scalability of their eCommerce site.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"cta_box\">\n<div class=\"cta_title\">\n<h2>Readymade Solution to Launch a Meal-Kit Delivery Website<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cta_button\"><a class=\"button customBtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fatbit.com\/cooked-meals-ordering-system.html?=MeHow_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Try Demo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"faqs\"><strong>FAQs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h4><b>How to start an online meal prep business?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For an overview of the blog, see the steps below:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do financial planning, accounting all factors such as gross margins and expenditure on licenses, utility bills, operation costs, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Obtain business licenses and permits<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do a competitor analysis to find out the pricing and customer values offered by your competitors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invest in a software technology to launch your meal prep platform<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deploy the platform on a server and go live<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purchase business insurance to secure your business from third-party liability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prepare and execute a Go-to-Market strategy to finally step in the market<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Is starting a meal prep business a profitable business idea?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering the annual revenues of meal prep businesses like Hello Fresh, Freshly, Blue Apron and Fresh N Lean, along with the highly impressive growth rate of 17.7% in the forecast period 2023-2030 as per the <\/span><b>Globenewswire <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">report, launching a meal prep business is a profitable business idea in several global markets.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning for a wholesome, nutritious, and delicious meal adds to our anxiety levels. A meal prep service offers nutritious and healthy food, according to the customers\u2019 choice of ingredients, style of preparation, as well as their choice of menu. In this blog post, we share suggestions concerning how to start a meal prep business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":30651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2215],"tags":[2108],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Start Meal Prep Business - A Step by Step Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to start a meal prep business? 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