- Delivered meals can consist of delivered fast food, but it is more common for them to consist of three or more courses and offer a healthy alternative to fast food. A typical delivered meal may offer a meat, two or more sides, bread and a dessert. Meal delivery services can offer a simple meal, a week's worth of meals delivered at one time or catering services.
- Meal delivery service businesses can offer something as simple as a single meal delivered at a specified time. These businesses can vary in size from those who offer just a few meals to a few select families to mass delivery that goes on throughout the day. For smaller meal delivery business owners, offering a limited number of choices to their customers makes more sense. However, some of the larger operations offer several different choices. Some have expanded into retail locations that offer create and take meals. These businesses offer meal components, such as choice of several types of meat, sides and dessert. The consumer goes in, puts together his family's favorite choices and pays for the meal. This scenario is similar to take out, but with a home-cooked twist.
- Another type of meal delivery consists of longer term meal options. This might be a diet program, such as Nutri-System, where meals are prepackaged and bought a month in advance. However, there are also home-grown options where the small business owner prepares a set number of meals and delivers for the week. These can consist of frozen meals that can be reheated or two or more deliveries during the week. This type of meal delivery typically offers an ongoing client base a regular delivery service.
- Another twist in the meal delivery business is the demand from businesses to cater in a meal once a week or during certain times of the year. This is typically a large meal, meant to serve more people. By combining the different types of catering, you can expand your business and cover the needs of consumers. Some meal delivery businesses specialize in items, such as pies or cookies, and may have an excellent side or add-on sale business delivering these products each week.
- Not sure if a meal delivery business is right for you? Many communities and organizations have come up with meal exchanges. This is a program where a set number of families sign up. If 10 families sign up, each family would make 10 servings of a specific dish. That person would then take nine of the 10 dishes to a set location at a set time and pick up his or her nine different dishes in exchange. The meals would be frozen and reheated when ready for use. This reduces cooking time and costs because each family buys ingredients in bulk. This a good way to see if you enjoy cooking on a larger scale and to learn about packaging methods and what foods freeze and reheat well.
