Lunch delivery business

[Chris Ashdown]

I think you need to get real, the insurance for using your car for commercial activities will be far more that you would make profit on selling 20-30 sandwiches,

People will want to come out and see what you have and buy not look in a small box at a small assortment,

Either do your research and have enough money to start up professionally or your just kidding yourself

What are your plans, have you signed up to a cash and carry to find commercial prices for the food you sell to estimate how much your costs will be, the time taken to make up and deliver, your real profit after all costs

Sorry but your plans are just silly, not the idea which others have proven to work, but unfortunately you need to be able to invest money to do it properly

 

[Socio South West]

What scares me about this plan is the apparent lack of consideration of the costs of delivery: yes, use your own car... but every mile, especially short trips, are going to cost around 70p.... You will need to alter your insurance to cover business use if not already... and then there is the time to do the deliveries: How many can you fit in during the peak hours of 10h30 - 13h00?

You need to pursue larger volume at a small number of establishments to make this succeed - but this sort of place will probably have some arrangements in place already, so prepare to have a fight to get in anywhere.

And in connection with the time it will take to do the delivery, that will be extended by anyone wanting to pay cash - so you need to invest in some fairly firm alternative and quicker payment methods.

There's a lot to think about here.

 

[Newchodge]

Suppose you sell 25 of the 30 sandwiches you take with you. Suppose your total profit after all costs of materials, preparation, waste and delivery is 50p per sandwich (and that would be a high profit level). You will make 12.50 per day, or 62.50 per week. Is it worth it

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

You do not need refridgerated vehicle for this. Rules for precise temperature control apply for deliveries of food that is to be resold by the receiver later on. So for instance if you were selling a bulk load of sandwiches to a corner shop that they were going to stock their fridge with and resell, then you would need precise temperature control measures. You are basically a fast food takeaway business. When you order a pizza/indian/chinese/kebab does the food arrive in a special van with a heater for the hot stuff and a fridge for the cold stuff? Of course it doesn't, it pulls up in an old Nissan Micra and is carried in a picnic box that looks like it was brought in a sale at Wilkinsons in 1988.

Online/App ordering software is a must now and very cheap to get going with. It all has features where you can increase wait time estimates when you are busy or even refuse to approve order requests alltogether if required.

I'll stand corrected but generally hot Pizza deliveries etc., aren't on the vehicle for long? The time taken for delivery is controlled by the sender, barring poor weather or traffic conditions. Most only deliver within a pre-determined radius and in light of the OP's seemingly poor grasp of the financials, have a minimum required spend.

A sandwich round could mean perishable goods being on the van from 8 in the morning til 2 in the afternoon whereupon you would need a refrigerated vehicle or appropriate means of keeping the goods at the right temperature.

 

[David1570]

I refer to Newchodge’s post stating profit margin per sandwich 50p. I think cost of making a sandwich material maximum £1. If I make 25 sandwich it should cost around £25 and delivery £5. Total £30.00. If I sell only 20 sandwich per day out of 25 at £3 x 20= £60 making daily profit of £30 and weekly £150. Correct me if I am wrong

 

[billybob99]

I could sure do with a sandwich right now.

 

[Dan101]

I'll stand corrected but generally hot Pizza deliveries etc., aren't on the vehicle for long? The time taken for delivery is controlled by the sender, barring poor weather or traffic conditions. Most only deliver within a pre-determined radius and in light of the OP's seemingly poor grasp of the financials, have a minimum required spend.

A sandwich round could mean perishable goods being on the van from 8 in the morning til 2 in the afternoon whereupon you would need a refrigerated vehicle or appropriate means of keeping the goods at the right temperature.

My apologies for misunderstanding, I took things as sandwiches being delivered from the kitchen straight to the consumer like a takeaway. In which case a cool box will be totally suitable.

Sandwiches being made in the morning and moved around from site to site will of course need to be kept at max 5/6 degrees. A cool box with ice packs or better still a battery powered cool box could achieve this.

Of course though if the customer has not placed an order and instead is expected to lool at the selection in person then it's laughable to think anyone would buy sandwiches out of a cool box in the boot of someones car!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Hi
This is what you would be competing against in most area's

http://www.thebaptruck.co.uk/www.th...ion=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=873

If you do your research you will find all workers do not go hungry at lunchtime or mid morning , they are already supplied by professionals who thought of the idea many years ago, be it with a mobile cafe or deliveries like above

 

[Socio South West]

I refer to Newchodge’s post stating profit margin per sandwich 50p. I think cost of making a sandwich material maximum £1. If I make 25 sandwich it should cost around £25 and delivery £5. Total £30.00. If I sell only 20 sandwich per day out of 25 at £3 x 20= £60 making daily profit of £30 and weekly £150. Correct me if I am wrong

A daily MARGIN of £30 .... out of which has to come insurance, light/heat/power, marketing, equipment and other fixed costs before you get to a profit....

I'm afraid you are making the classic mistake of ignoring Fixed Costs.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

Hi
This is what you would be competing against in most area's

http://www.thebaptruck.co.uk/www.th...ion=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=873

If you do your research you will find all workers do not go hungry at lunchtime or mid morning , they are already supplied by professionals who thought of the idea many years ago, be it with a mobile cafe or deliveries like above

Some of the more commercial set ups often employ delivery drivers who's wages are greatly dependent on commission which generally leads expensive van's like the one you link to being found on the bigger industrial estates. From our experience the local big player has tried several times to grab business off the independent who's been calling for a number of years but despite them having some success they soon disappear to pastures new.
There are two points here. One that there is enough business for everyone and two, that people do welcome the choice, just don't expect to pick up enough business from day one.

PS: There's also the time of call to consider. Even the best cannot be in two places at once. If the established supplier arrives at noon every day, turning up at the same address at 9am may bring different customers.

 

[Newchodge]

I refer to Newchodge’s post stating profit margin per sandwich 50p. I think cost of making a sandwich material maximum £1. If I make 25 sandwich it should cost around £25 and delivery £5. Total £30.00. If I sell only 20 sandwich per day out of 25 at £3 x 20= £60 making daily profit of £30 and weekly £150. Correct me if I am wrong

Cost of insurance? Cost of adaptations to the kitchen? £3.00 per sandwich? Other overheads? Tax @ 20% of profit?

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Back on topic......

QUOTE: Instead of sandwiches, why not focus on slimming world friendly lunch options - sandwich alternatives that aren't just another salad bowl...

That would probably reduce the potential market by about 90%!!?

Yes (well I don't know if 90% is correct, but let's go with it) but it would give the OP something to differentiate himself from what everyone else is doing- and a specific segment to target.

If he just turned up as planned, all he's doing is expecting people to buy something they can already get from 2 or 3 other places (sandwich van, local independent shop, Tesco Express etc), but

A) pre-order it, or
B) root around in a cool bag in the back of his boot

Neither of which people are going to favour over the existing other options.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

I think cost of making a sandwich material maximum £1. If I make 25 sandwich it should cost around £25 and delivery £5. Total £30.00. If I sell only 20 sandwich per day out of 25 at £3 x 20= £60 making daily profit of £30 and weekly £150. Correct me if I am wrong

You're wrong!

£60-£25=£35 per day, so 20% more gros profit than you expected!

Still not worth doing though.

 

[chalkie99]

The OP says he will sell 20 sandwiches @£3 each giving sales of £60

His costs are 25 x £1 (5 unsold) = £25 + £5 delivery = £30

£60- £30 = £30

..... and how £30 + 20 % = £35 I am not sure.

But, hey! -You are the "Financial Modeller" so maybe we are all wrong?

 

[Financial-Modeller]

The OP says he will sell 20 sandwiches @£3 each giving sales of £60

His costs are 25 x £1 (5 unsold) = £25 + £5 delivery = £30

£60- £30 = £30

..... and how £30 + 20 % = £35 I am not sure.

But, hey! -You are the "Financial Modeller" so maybe we are all wrong?

Apologies OP, I misread your post and missed your delivery cost. @chalkie99 is right.