Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010, when healthy takeaway food was presented as a new idea imported from the United States. Healthy fast-casual restaurants and app-based meal delivery are now widespread.
In the times we live in, when the rush of daily life makes us neglect our diet and turn to fast food, reheated meals or high-fat dishes, a business idea imported from the United States is emerging. What if we offered a quick breakfast, lunch and dinner and, at the same time, gave our customers all the nutrients they need for a balanced diet?
Enter the takeaway food business, but with added value. The idea is to offer a wide variety of menus, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, both to people passing by and as a service for business centers.
All of this with the advice of a nutrition expert or dietitian, who makes sure the meals provide the ingredients our bodies need to get essential nutrients.
How to carry out this idea, and what you would need
- A nutrition professional: responsible for preparing the different menus so they provide all the energy a person needs.
- Premises: rented, owned or bought, in a strategic location so the business is visible and gets plenty of passing traffic. I think 100 square metres or more would be ideal.
- An advertising and marketing campaign: this is clearly a new business in a Spanish-speaking country, so we’ll need to get our idea and the benefits of our service across to the public, and make ourselves known in business centers so we can arrange a daily delivery to companies at a set time.
- A good business plan: in it we’ll study the pros and cons, competitive market prices and, most importantly, how many meals we need to sell each day for the business to be profitable. From there, we can analyze objectively whether we’ll be able to hit that target. Here’s the structure of a good business plan.
The idea behind this business is to supply a large number of potential customers: people passing by, company staff, and those who have to get in the car at breakfast or lunchtime, always with a clearly defined minimum number of orders for a delivery service. This business idea is very American, although in some Spanish provinces it is already being run professionally and successfully, with added value for the premises such as vending machines, which bring in profits while you rest. The possibilities with this business idea are many, and the investment is more than viable.
I’d like to point out that in Tenerife (Spain), Martín Hernández is looking for a financial partner or investor to carry out this project, which according to Martín would require no more than €30,000 of investment. Good luck with your projects.
Further reading
- Business ideas related to leisure and tourism
- 10 business ideas with no investment
- Why new businesses fail
- How to start a business with no money
- Common mistakes Hispanic business owners make
Featured image: Sharon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
