a while ago, daniel and i had a conversation about a business idea that i have been mulling over. well, i always have at least 4 or 5 business plans that i am thinking about, anything to be able to close the daycare! but this one seemed like a good one, so i thought i would throw it out to the chico people and see what they think…
i know that there used to be a place where a bunch of girl friends used to go to assemble some pre-made dinners and take them home to be kept in the fridge or freezer and used for the next few weeks for dinners. that place closed a while back. so my thought is this- what if i cooked, assembled and packaged meals and sold those? i like to cook anyways, and cooking a triple batch of something isnt any more difficult than making a single batch. i would obviously need to give it more thought and figure out how much to charge per meal/serving whatever. but, in theory it seems like a winner of an idea. we have sooo many friends with toddlers, and a new round of them just had babies, and i know that between work and the kids it is down right exhausting to try to think of and cook something healthy and tasty for the whole family.
daniel and i eat organic, no hormone, grass fed, free range hippie food, anyway, so that would be the type of food that i would sell. here are some ideas of foods that i would be offering-
- turkey meatballs with homemade tomato sauce and whole wheat pasta ( i put lots of garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in the meatballs for added veggies)
- oven roasted chicken breasts, mashed potatoes and green salad with homemade salad dressing (ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon vinaigrette)
- roasted vegetable pasta- zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, and onions with a garlic, parmesan + olive oil sauce
- my famous homemade macaroni and cheese- gruyere, sharp cheddar, whole wheat pasta with a panko crust
- grilled turkey, chicken, or beef burgers with a sesame bun, special sauce and all the fixings
- shredded chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef tacos or burritos
- homemade carnitas tacos w/ homemade refried beans
- taco salad- ground beef or shredded chicken, romaine lettuce, pinto/black beans, sharp cheddar, tomatoes and avocado topped with crushed tortilla chips. served with ranch or salsa
be honest please, is this something that people would pay for? would it be something that you would want to take advantage of once or twice a week or more like once a month? should i also offer desserts- cupcakes, cookies, brownies? any suggestions, comments or ideas are much appreciated!
MORE INFO- i am thinking of doing this in the terms of a side gig, not an actual storefront type place, so that would cut down on my costs. i would probably offer 2 different types of meals each week, and then once a month offer a specialty dessert ( chocolate cupcakes with a ganache center and vanilla bean meringue frosting, chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts, dbl chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting…). so i would email anyone interested at the end of the month and tell them what meals i will be making which weeks and then they can put in their order then. im not a fan of freezing the meals, i think the fresh ones are the key, so pick ups of meals would be on sundays (prob) and then the meals would be best eaten within the next 3 days, or frozen at home by the customer.
does this change the interest of this?
is the frozen thing more of a draw then the fresh?
would people be willing to swing by my place once a week to pick up, or, if not, be willing to pay a small delivery fee?
Comments 8
Hey Jackie!
I love that you have a blog that allows me to take a little peek into your life right now…very cool!
I love this idea and had presented a similar one in an Entrepreneurship class I took. I called the business, “Back to Dinner Table”. I feel like it’s such a relevant concept, as so many people are focusing on not only healthy eating, but also eating as a family. I have also noticed that many people just either don’t know how, don’t have time, or just don’t enjoy cooking…or if they do, they just don’t know what to make.
The issue that I ran into was cost vs. benefit, for you the business owner. How much is it going to cost to make these meals and how much are people willing to pay? And, when you take delivery into consideration, how much is the consumer willing to pay for convenience vs. how much is it costing you.
Have you ever used Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/)? It may be helpful to create a survey for your friends (and encourage them to send it to their friends in the Chico area), asking them questions like:
1. Is eating organic important to you and your family?
2. How often do you eat/buy organic?
3. What is a typical dinner for you and your family?
4. How much do currently spend, per person, on dinners?
5. Would you use a service that…
6. How much would you be willing to pay for (insert meal option here)?
You can also ask for demographic info and format the questions as you see fit. I think that your meals sound not only tasty, but family-friendly!
I hope that life is good and can’t wait to see how this all plays out!
Posted 16 Jun 2010 at 3:02 pm ¶Jen (Cole) Cereghino
Of course you should also offer dessert!! Depending on the price (less than or comparable to take-out), if there is a minimum order and freezability, I bet people would be interested. You could also do a monthly special- since I know you love to experiment!! Oooh, and maybe a delivery fee? I think there aresome people who would want it weekly or more often- some who would just want it monthly, or less often… Not much help, am I?!
Posted 16 Jun 2010 at 3:04 pm ¶Jack!
If I was in Chico I would totally buy your food! I love the pictures and recipes you post. Just my two cents.. there have been MANY places (Dinners Ready, Red Ribbon Gourmet, Pasta & Co to name a few) that have had a similar idea such as this in our area that have ultimately closed their doors and again, in my opinion, cost is a major factor.
From the research that I did on these places to see if it was a feasible plan for my family, you had to purchase food in bulk, have a LOT of freezer space and had to pay astronomically in order to utilize the service. It only made it worthwhile if you purchased many casseroles/items instead of a quickie couple of dinners. The fun part of it was that you could go with a group of friends and put together a bunch of yummy dishes using fresh ingredients. The downside was the cost so we never did it.
Would you have a set menu, a seasonal menu, what if someone asks for something that isn’t on your menu at the time – would you turn them away? Get back to them with a price, etc. Do you have enough fridge space for all of these items to stay fresh and ready for someone to order them? Will you make them as you go? Have you thought of any of these issues?
Personally, I would take advantage of your service at least once a week and would defninitely want dessert items included. I think the idea on a whole is a fabulous idea and as a parent (new or otherwise) time is of the essence and there’s not a lot of it! Having a fresh, healthy meal that someone else made ready to plop down for dinner would be a godsend some evenings!! Have you thought about mail-orders?? =D Good luck!! Teresa
Posted 16 Jun 2010 at 3:06 pm ¶Ummm, yeah, include the baked goods please! You can sign me up for baked goods, mac and cheese for sure, and a few of those other items sound delicious, too. We’d probably hit up Chef Jack a few times a month….
Posted 16 Jun 2010 at 3:41 pm ¶Jackie Jo, your momma would use your service weekly:)
Posted 16 Jun 2010 at 6:47 pm ¶If you can deliver the meals weekly to Seattle, count me in! Seriously though that sounds like a cool idea.
Posted 16 Jun 2010 at 7:39 pm ¶My 2 cents….
Just make sure that there is a big enough market for this before you go for it. You make some sweet hippie food, but are enough people willing to pay the extra dough to make your hobby a profitable business? Your mac & cheese looks delicioius.
Barker
Posted 18 Jun 2010 at 9:47 pm ¶Blue Oak Charter School parents would be all over this!
Posted 06 Jul 2010 at 11:28 pm ¶Post a Comment