As a restaurant owner, you want to be successful, especially since you are serving your best to all your clients. Have you considered starting a restaurant delivery service? Given the current situation with a lot of your clients self-isolating and restaurants closing, you might find that having a delivery option for your establishment could help you to keep the business up and running.

 The complexity of the food delivery business will have you wondering how to start a delivery service in the first place. We have put together a list of points to assess whether a delivery service is right for your restaurant, because starting a food delivery business will help out your restaurant's progress these days. 

food delivery business

1.Determine If Your Setup Can Handle the Food Delivery Industry

Creating a delivery service for your restaurant means that you could serve not only regulars now sitting at home but also some new people in the area without needing to expand the production. While this can be potentially profitable to begin with, you might wonder, quite correctly, if your current kitchen setup can handle the new pressures brought to it by the influx of customers calling in for delivery. 

Starting a food delivery business, or any new venture means seeing the feasibility of your project. Think about the adjustments you would have to make, any other equipment you would need to order, and if you can keep all your crew members as the orders switch to take out.  

POS systems need to be upgraded to accommodate processing delivery information, so it's worth investing in something more powerful in the long run if you decide to go this route. It's also worth considering if your food lends itself well to delivery. Restaurants that offer tasting menus may find that a delivery system will not be beneficial in the long run. 

There's also the issue of hiring graphic artists to create new branding for packaging and takeout menus if you decide to go that route. There are always ways to go about this, but sometimes the excess is not worth the trouble. Ultimately, it is your assessment that will decide if you move on to the next step.

start a delivery service

2. Assess The Logistics of the Restaurant Delivery System

If you have deemed that this new undertaking is something that your kitchen can handle, then you can most certainly move onto the next step, which is determining the logistics of starting a restaurant delivery service. Your food delivery business model should be based on what you feel is most feasible. 

Would you be willing to open a new sector of your business that caters to direct delivery? That includes getting cars or motorcycles specifically for delivery, plus people to deliver the food for you. If you cannot do in-house delivery, you could consider partnering with a third-party delivery service. 

A third-party service could be the solution to your problems if direct delivery is too difficult but bear in mind that there is a premium that you will have to pay for the service, as the companies you will partner with taking a high cut of the sale you make. 

You will also lose access to customer data should you be going through a third-party service, which means fewer chances to market your business back to them. All-in-all, you have to decide whether the convenience is worth the cost that you will be putting into the service. 

how to start a food delivery business

3. Estimate The Budget For Your Food Delivery Business

If all of this checks out, you must know that you will need to make adjustments in your budget to accommodate the spending you will be doing in order to reach into this new aspect of your business venture. 

It is potentially very costly to dip your toes in the water, but the numbers seem to check out: it is something that is worth trying because the potential returns are nothing short of awesome. 

These are just some of the initial investment that you need to consider: 

  • Insurance - Discuss your needs with a reliable insurance agent. 
  • Dispatch space - Certain expenses vary, depending on the location. 
  • Telephone system, Fax machine, and Computer
  • Business landline with multiple lines and high-speed internet
  • Delivery vehicles
  • Delivery food service bags - Make sure all food is fresh and maintained at proper temperature. 
  • Marketing materials - Menus, coupons, shirts for delivery drivers, etc.
  • Website - You can also consider investing in an interactive website that can grow with your company. If it's within your budget, you can speak with a developer to get a package that includes a mobile app. 

Despite this, get responsible. Make sure that you have someone keeping account of your business and that all your books are in order before you make the big leap if you decide to. There are plenty of potential opportunities for things to go awry, but with the correct management, it should be kept under control. 

Remember that the orders you are receiving from those calling in for delivery may not be the same ones that you had from people who dined in. This means that you are opening your doors to a new market that may not like to head out of doors to eat. 

Getting their business would certainly bring an excellent return-on-investment, so you should take note that you are getting more than just your previous loyal customers in on your delivery service.

In Conclusion

Thinking about how to start a food delivery is a taxing task, and changing your ways of doing things always poses a risk, but there are risks that are worth taking especially given the current situation in food-serving business. 

We hope that this article has helped you determine whether a delivery service system is right for your restaurant, and that you move forward with your venture in the way you feel is best.