The Meal Ordering business in Nigeria is a service-rendering venture. It entails the delivery of foods and the likes to a customer either by a restaurant, and or independent food delivery outlets. Such orders are made either through the customer telephone, the website of the food venture, or a custom-designed app.

The items to be delivered range from African dishes, Continental dishes, drinks, desserts, or snacks and are typically delivered in food containers, boxes, or bags, which are mostly delivered using a car, bikes, or scooters.

The opportunities inherent in the Nigerian meal ordering market are ever-increasing. This is due to the fact that food delivery is a business that is well known and very easy to start and run successfully. This is a sure-meal ticket venture for any aspiring entrepreneur looking for a business to start with assured returns.

Customers usually, depending on the delivery venture, chose to pay in person or online with cards.

Types of Meal Ordering Services

1. Independent Vendor: This is like entering into a partnership with different restaurants to provide food delivery services independent of their operations.

2. Personal Restaurant: This involves only your restaurant and menu, you could be delivering lunchtime, seminar, and corporate parties order.

3. Liaison With A Known Restaurant: This involves operating your delivery services exclusively with a particular restaurant.

Profitability Of Meal Ordering Business in Nigeria

It is a known fact that more than half of the population in Nigeria are made up of working-class people, coupled with the heavy traffic condition in places like Lagos and Onitsha, these people barely have to cook themselves, this makes food delivery service a very profitable venture for smart individuals.

On average, you can make up to two hundred thousand nairas monthly profit as people don’t have time to leave their office or places, especially during the rainy season.

The Market Demand For Meal Ordering Business in Nigeria: Competition and Opportunities

Food Businesses cannot be affected by economic hard times. This is because regardless of the state of a person’s pocket situation; buoyant or broke, he must eat, People must get hungry and eat.

In Lagos, a state in Nigeria that has an average population of over 25 million residents, most working-class people rush out as early as 4:30 a.m in order to beat traffic on their way to work and will not come back until late at night around 11:00 p.m. because they got stocked in traffic.

This set of people now depends on the service of a meal ordering company to meet their nutritional needs. The biggest advantage of this business is the low investment.

However, due to the fact that you are just starting up, expect stiff competition from the big names already in the market but arming yourself with the right plan and attitude will give you’re a smoother running of the venture.

How to Start Meal Ordering Business in Nigeria

If you wish to start a meal ordering business, these are the steps you need to take to start your meal ordering business in Nigeria.

Source for Startup Capital:

Meal ordering service is not an expensive business to start up, you can start with just N60,000 this only includes the food preparation aspect, this is referred to as your Startup capital and you can get a small business loan.

Choose Location:

You need to locate a good environment where you can start your meal ordering service, specifically; a metropolitan area with a high profile record is the best place to start a meal ordering service.

Create A Brand Name And Logo:

let the name reflect the on-time delivery of food and also be catchy. it is necessary that you have a nice business name and logo.

Register Your Business Name:

The next step is to register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to avoid government sanctions and harassment. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to register a business name in Nigeria.

Get License:

Get a license from the health department, when it comes to food or any intake, there are some regulatory bodies in charge of issuing licenses for this business, in you are starting big from NAFDAC under the federal Ministry of health.

Set Your Price and Payment Method:

There is a flat rate fixed mostly for the delivery of food according to your location, you can also model your own price towards this to be able to survive the completion. There are different options for the payment method; this can be Pay on Delivery, POS, Bank transfer, or Interswitch.

Accounting

You need to be deliberate about managing your finances else the business may collapse. Managing your customer details, who have been invoiced but yet to pay, who has paid, who are you paying, etc needs to be properly managed and documented using a tool like invoicemonk.

Choose a Transportation Model:

They include; bicycles, motorcycles, and minivans for long-distance.

Management

This covers staffing and advisers for meal-ordering businesses in Nigeria

Staffing:

You must have experienced and skilled employees for a smooth running of the food ordering business, these include preparing food, delivery, order taking, bookkeeping, invoicing, and cashier.

Advisers:

Advisers here include the industry experts that have been in business for a long, including the Supplier of the raw materials for the meal, Major company receptionists, and casual staff of the organization you intend to deliver to.

Marketing

Let us now consider how to market and boost the profitability and sustainability of the Food Ordering Business in Nigeria.

Advertisement Strategies:

Below are some of the available options you might use

1. The best way to promote your business is by client satisfaction. Let your clients refer their friends to you.
2. You can also advertise by sharing leaflets, flyers, and business cards.
3. For an office meal delivery business, it is best to meet your customers personally.
4. Create an online ordering shop to simplify the process, cover more ground, and gain more customers who may not even know your brand before – Set up a website for people to order their meals. You can do this by hiring a website design agency or individual. It will require you to purchase a domain name and hosting service.
5. Additionally, employ outdoor advertising methods such as the erection of billboards at strategic locations. This has a highly effective offline advertising conversion rate.
6. Maximize upon the potentials inherent in social media management and paid advertisement for your business
7. You can also brand your transport mode with your brand name, logo, and contact details.

Profitability/Sustainability Tips for Meal Ordering Business in Nigeria

1. You need to always make your customers happy by providing quick service; this will make them feel safe to eat the meals you have brought for them.
2. Avoid lengthy delivery time; get a motorcycle for densely populated traffic.
3. When it comes to wrong orders, Have an accurate order-taking system and double-check for confirmations before alerting restaurants.
4. When it comes to cancellations, If the error is from your side, offer a full refund and possible discount on the next order.

Summary and Conclusion:

These are some important things to know when starting a meal ordering business in  Nigeria,  They do not guarantee success but will place you on the right track. Wish you all the best in your business, feel free to leave a comment