You probably have heard the common phrase that goes that “You can never go wrong with the food business”.
From my point of view, this statement is 90% true.
The other 10% that makes this statement not fully true goes to aspects such as poor management and poor marketing and other external factors beyond your control such as drought that may make your food business go wrong.
In this article, I will dwell on the greater good of the food delivery business and why people are making a kill out of it.
First, people are always eating and this makes food the one product that will always be on-demand.
Secondly, most people continue to subscribe to food delivery options because of the convenience that comes with this service. That is why, if you love any food-related business, you should take a pen and paper and follow through with this article
Starting a food delivery business in Kenya
In the wake of technology food delivery is a brilliant business idea in Nairobi. People want easy access to food when they are too busy to cook at home or when they are too held up in the office. The food delivery business is one of the fastest ways to earn a minimum of Ksh 3000 daily.
-Pesa Skill
When most people think of food delivery, they think of applications such as Glovo, Uber eats, and Jumia foods.
These are the most common food delivery apps in Kenya and mostly in Nairobi. The apps simply connect the people who order food with those willing to sell the food. There are two main ways in which the food apps can help you make money.
Earning Commission from the Food Delivery Apps in Kenya
First, you may deliver food as the delivery guy or the courier.
You will need to buy a motorbike or bicycle that will help you to deliver food to the clients. Next, sign up with a food app of your choice and once you meet their minimum requirements, you are ready to make money.
You will make your living from a commission or percentage that the food apps companies have settled for. The most common commission is the base rate. For every order, you deliver you will earn a fixed price or rate.
On average it is estimated the riders who work with Glovo and Uber eats can earn an average of Ksh 40,000.
There are other rates or commissions that you will earn such as the rates per kilometer covered. Such rates are based on the kilometers covered. The more orders you deliver, the more you increase your kilometers covered, and the more you earn.
But these rates will vary based on the food app you choose to work with.
| Food App | Services offered |
| Glovo | Restaurant, grocery, Supermarket delivery |
| Jumia foods | Restaurant, grocery, supermarket delivery |
| Uber eats | Restaurant |
| Bolt food | Restaurant |
Partnering with Food Apps in Nairobi
So, if you do not want to deliver food but want to sell the food instead, then you are not locked out.
You partner with these third-party food apps.
The advantage here is that as they market their food app, you as the food provider will get a wide range of exposure to the consumers. Most people have discovered cool food-making joints and hotels via Jumia foods, Glovo and Uber eat.
I recently discovered a Pilau joint when I ordered food from Uber eats.
All you have to do is register with the food apps as a food supplier or seller and when people make orders from your food joint you get your pay.
This is one of the best ways in which a person in a cooking career can start their dream hotel. For this idea of cooking, one can even open a home hotel. What does this mean?
If you have exceptional cooking services but still do not have the resources to start a food joint you may choose to have a name for your hotel or food joint or cookery, cook very nice food and take images of the food and then sell it on Glovo and other food apps.
You have got to start somewhere, right?
E-commerce and Social media Food Sale and Delivery Services
When working with the food apps, one has to understand that the food apps do take a percentage from your sales while you as the food seller get the exposure that comes with these food apps.
But maybe you do not want to work with the apps and you want to have a very independent business for your food delivery. T
hen, you still have the option of opening a social media page with the name of your food joint and marketing your services.
For you to thrive in this case, you will need to perfect and specialize in a certain cuisine. For example, you may choose to focus on Kienyeji food such as ugali managu mukimo among others. This makes you stand out among other food providers.
I find Instagram and Facebook very instrumental marketing tools. Create beautiful content about your foods and post them on social media. Have a very catchy phrase that will make you stand out from the rest. It could be the uniqueness of your food, the target market, the cost of your food etc. Try to understand the market to see the gap that you would like to fill.
You can then sponsor your ads so that they can reach a wide number of your target market.
While you focus on social media and a website, I highly recommend that you develop a mobile app.
Consumers can easily access the app and, in most cases, apps are considered easy to operate. Just ensure a high level of safety when making the app to protect the consumer’s information.
Talk to developers who have enough experience will make an app that is easy to operate. This model, however, works best with a person who has high capital.
Creating an app, website and social media marketing is a cost in itself above the food operation cost. If you have a close figure of about Ksh 300,000 and above, you may consider trying this model.
Remember unique marketing strategy will create the difference between you and the rest of the food sellers.
Here you will have to partner with your local nduthi guys to deliver the food.
You may hire them so that they can also get a commission from the number of delivery they make. However, in my research, I have found out that in most cases the cost of delivery is the burden of the client buying your food.
You must have that communicated clearly.
The On-demand Model Food Delivery Option in Kenya
This is for the people who have sat on the cooking talent and skill for a long time because they have no resources at all to start a business.
Maybe you keep thinking you need to rob a bank to start your eatery joint. Drop that fear right there and learn that you can start with what you have. I find this model work well in the estates.
Here, market your skills to your neighbors, and your friends on the estate.
You could design a few posters and distribute them in your neighborhood. People hold events such as small birthday parties, and small baby showers among others such small parties and they would need your cooking skills.
You can cook at your place and delivery or you can go cook at the host.
The essence here is for the customer to pay for the service on demand. In most case, the service provider cooks at their places and deliver food as per the request of the client.
| Method of food delivery | How much one can earn | Skills needed | Ease of starting |
| Partner with Food app(delivery) | Av Ksh 40,000 | Bike riding | Easy |
| Partner with food(Food seller) | Av Ksh 80,000 and above depending on the size of the establishment | Cooking skills Hotel management skills | moderate |
| Own website/social media/ app | Av Ksh 100,000 depending on the size of the establishment | Cooking skills Hotel management skills | Moderate to hard |
| On-demand | Not fixed. Based on the event | Cooking skills | easy |
Marketing Strategies for the Food Delivery Business in Kenya
The success of any business is tied to the effectiveness of the marketing strategy. Let me introduce the 4Ps concept here.
The first P is about your Product which must be of high quality. Ensure that you make finger-licking food that will imprint a strong memory on your target consumers. That is how you will get customer loyalty, customer reference, and hence growth.
The second P is about the Price of your products. After you have made the right products for your consumers, then develop a pricing strategy. You do not want to start a business that will make a loss.
Consider the price of the ingredient, the delivery cost, and the profit. It is advisable to seek professional help with food cost planning if you do not have prior experience.
However, you must remember your consumer target. You do not want to set high prices when your target price is students. Consider giving your customer benefits such as the bonus, coupons, and weekly deals by use of codes.
This will help them consider you in their next purchase. This will help you create a community of your loyal consumers. the aim is to attain a return purchase.
The third P is about Promotion.
How do you place your brand out there?
In the craze of social media, capitalize this tool to your advantage. You will need to develop a very well-curated promotion strategy on the social spaces.
This is very instrumental as it will help you attract a good consumer base.
Create a page for your business. Make sure you inform your consumers where you are located, your time of operation, and the procedure and process of making an order. Remember to be precise as much as possible.
Invest in a good camera that will help you take awesome pictures of your food. Sponsor these social media pages and this is how you will get to a large consumer base.
The last P is about Place or distribution.
By now, we already know that we want to deliver the food to where the customer is, so that is as easy as it is. With this simple guide, you may start your food delivery business. Remember the biggest challenges is starting, so just start. All the best
Disclaimer: The figures stated here are just a guide based on approximations from a study on Food Delivery in Kenya by Pintar Africa Research and Consulting Ltd.
