The meal prep industry has been steadily growing in recent years, and it’s expected to reach $28 billion by 2028. Whether you’re a hungry entrepreneur or a gifted cook ready to share your dishes with the world, the market appears ready and willing to give meal prep businesses a shot. Learn how to start your own unique high-quality meal prep business—from scratch.

1. Establish your business and obtain permits
– Since you’ll be handling food, the licensing process for a meal prep business will be more involved. In addition to a business license and employer identification number, you’ll likely require a food handler’s license (or catering license), health department permits, and compliance with safety regulations. Specific regulations vary state by state, so make sure to check your specific area’s requirements. In some cases, you may need to take courses to attain these certificates and permits.

2. Rent space in a commissary kitchen
– Working out of your own kitchen is legal in some states, with caveats and classifications. However, a commercial kitchen, also known as a commissary kitchen, will provide you with the equipment and optimal refrigeration storage space to prepare meals at scale.

3. Choose a niche
– Focus on a specific niche to target a particular audience and culinary specialty. This allows you to hone your marketing strategy and demonstrate your commitment to a distinct customer base.

4. Find suppliers
– Depending on your menu, you’ll likely use ingredients from various suppliers. Find suppliers that suit your budget, verify their health and safety standards, pricing, and reliability with orders and delivery.

5. Choose a format
– Decide on whether you want to offer ingredients or pre-assembled meals, use a subscription model or offer on-demand meals, and provide pick-up or delivery options.

6. Streamline packaging
– Getting meals safely from your kitchen to your customers’ tables requires thoughtful packaging. Consider the best packaging options to maintain the quality and safety of your meals during transportation. When operating a meal prep business, whether you are providing local pick-up or working with a food delivery service, it is essential to have insulated cooler bags, ice packs, and sturdy containers to prevent leaks and heat loss. This will ensure that your customers enjoy their meals.

Additionally, include cooking or reheating instructions and recipes for meal kits. While nutrition labels are not required unless you make over $500,000 in annual gross sales, it may be beneficial to include this information if your brand focuses on healthy food and fitness nutrition. If you make any health or nutrition claims, such as “sugar-free,” you must include nutrition information. You can use meal prep software services like GoPrep to generate this information and print labels.

To expand your reach, consider partnering with delivery services like Postmates, DoorDash, or UberEats. You can also deliver meals yourself on certain days as your customer base grows. As you expand your delivery radius, you can also consider shipping through national carriers like UPS or FedEx.

Invest in high-quality photography for your meals to attract customers visually. Professional product photography can enhance the appeal of your meals and attract more customers to your business.

Set up an ecommerce store to showcase your meals and make it easy for customers to purchase. Platforms like Shopify allow you to customize your website, create product categories, write compelling descriptions, and provide a seamless checkout experience. Incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) best practices to improve your website’s visibility on search engines.

Develop a marketing strategy to attract customers to your ecommerce store and encourage them to make purchases. Utilize various marketing tactics and channels, such as social media, content marketing, email marketing, and print advertising, to reach potential customers.

Finally, gather customer feedback to improve and evolve your business. Monitor social media, review sites, and customer feedback surveys to understand how customers feel about your products and services. Use this feedback to make informed decisions and continuously improve your business.

Eat Well Nashville’s Evolution and Customer-Centric Approach

Eat Well Nashville initially targeted fitness-focused individuals seeking healthy recipes, with a menu heavy on brown rice and plain chicken. However, customer feedback revealed a need for more variety and flavor.

Spencer and his team actively sought out customer input and revamped their offerings accordingly. They discovered a broader market beyond just fitness enthusiasts, including busy executives and families with limited time for meal preparation. This led to a shift towards creating delicious and diverse healthy recipes.

The company elevated the flavor profiles of their dishes, introducing more spice-forward recipes for tastier meals. They also emphasized visually appealing food photography to showcase their culinary creations.

Listening to customer preferences, Eat Well Nashville incorporated text message marketing for convenient ordering reminders. This customer-centric approach proved essential in adapting their business model to meet diverse needs.

Spencer’s story underscores the importance of letting customers guide the direction of a meal prep business, ensuring that meals align with their lifestyles and preferences. Following their success, Eat Well Nashville was acquired by My Vibrant Meals, fellow entrepreneurs from Tennessee.

How to start a meal prep business FAQ

following sentence: “The cat sat lazily in the sun, enjoying the warmth on its fur.”

The lazy cat sat in the sun, relishing the warmth on its fur.