Given the inquisitive nature of Indian minds, doing a food business has crossed everyone’s mind, many times. One thing which is most common among all of us is to calculate the earning of each food stall we ever eat at. The footfall only increases the aspiration to start one of our own.
For many, opening up a restaurant or some kind of food business has also been a retirement plan, until Covid hit. Covid has been the two most difficult years of mankind, it resurrected the thought in each one, of quitting their respective jobs and starting a food business.
While people are excited about the idea of starting up, they usually do not have the required capital for a startup. To crack that problem we have listed some of the businesses where genuinely passionate people can start sitting at home with zero investment. Food businesses can be a lucrative and rewarding venture, which one can start from the kitchen of their home, without any upfront investment.
With the rise of the gig economy and the rise of a savvy consumer with high disposable capital, it’s now possible to start a food business in minutes and earn thousands. Consumers today are far more connected and have the mind space and disposable incomes to experience new emerging brands.
We have encapsulated possible areas of food businesses people can explore sitting at home with zero capital.
- Don’t to a typical catering business, Create a frontend Digital brand
One of the easiest food businesses you can start from home is a digital catering business where you do not need any resources apart from creating your digital identity. With a backend partner, a digital catering business is like a breeze. Unlike a traditional catering business which involves preparing and delivering meals for events, parties, and other gatherings, here you just have to be active on social media avenues like Instagram, Facebook linkedin etc.
All you need is to learn creative tools like Canva to communicate consistently with your customers. You can start this digital catering business with zero capital by utilizing your home cook and existing cooking equipment and ingredients in your home kitchen, or a local small-time restaurant in your vicinity.
You can also create a simple website or social media page to advertise your catering services and attract customers.
2. Have an Air Fryer? Start your Baking Business in 5 min
Another food business you can start sitting at home with zero capital is a baking business !! all you need is an Air Fryer. If you have a passion for baking and a reasonably equipped kitchen, you can create a range of cakes, breads, cookies, and other desserts to sell to customers.
You can start by offering your baked goods to friends and family, then expand to a wider customer base by creating a social media page or selling your products on Whatsapp, and online marketplaces like zomato & swiggy.
Many women entrepreneurs across emerging areas have built phenomenal brands with a massive following. It’s amazing to see how they have used their creativity to start some of these businesses, where everyone in the family is now involved and earnings are far higher than they had with their limited jobs.
3. Health-focused Meal Prep Delivery Service
If you are a fitness enthusiast, this is a food business that’s possibly the easiest for you to start. A healthy meal prep delivery service involves preparing and delivering healthy meals to customers’ doorsteps. The best part about this business is the subscription-based model of engagement with the consumers as they value a good nutritious meal. With more people looking for healthy meal options, this type of business can be highly in demand and scaled very fast.
You can start a meal prep delivery service from home with zero capital by utilizing your existing cooking equipment and ingredients. Some of the people who are in this trade have started with the first few customers on WhatsApp. If this is your calling, it’s simple to start by curating a menu, if you do not have one, or extending the health menu that you practice.
4. If you are a Pro, this one is for you: Personal Chef & Event Producer
This is an option where your imagination gets you serious monies !!! If you have a passion for cooking, a good understanding of wines or alcohol, and enjoy working one-on-one with clients, you can start a personal chef service from home. A personal chef service involves offering personalized cooking services to individuals or families for parties in their homes or offices.
5. Leveraging the rich Recipe of Nani’s & Dadi’s with Homemade Organic Food Products
If you have a rich repository of special recipes from your mother and grandmother and enjoy creating your food products, you can start a homemade food products business from home. This can include making and selling organic homemade jams, pickles, or sauces. You can start a homemade food products business with zero capital but need a backend to produce batches and logistics for shipments.
One such business which has achieved massive success is Jhaji StooreOnline Pickles. You can visit their website at https://www.jhajistore.com/. You can also watch the full interview of our interaction with the founder Mrs Kalpana Jha in the link below.
6. Global Specialty Food Items
If you are a specialist in a particular type of food, such as Japanese, Korean, Lebanese’s or vegan, gluten-free, or keto-friendly this is a business for you. This can be a great way to differentiate yourself from competitors and attract a niche customer base. You can start a speciality food items business with zero capital by utilizing your existing cooking equipment and ingredients.
While Instagram is a great way to promote your business, it is equally important for the founder of such a business to be visible across all key forums and evangelize the cause for such products and services.
7. Online Cooking Classes for New Mothers.
If you enjoy cooking and teaching and are keen to share your culinary skills with others, you can start an online cooking class business from home with a simple laptop. You can offer cooking classes to people who want to learn new culinary skills.
All it takes is setting up a simple Youtube channel, and putting your recipes out there for people to watch and learn from it. Managing a Youtube channel can be slightly tricky but many videos will help you to optimise your video for SEO and discovery.
8. Food Insta Jockey
If you are a video junkie, food blogging is the easiest option for you to undertake. This involves creating a blog or social media page to share your recipes, cooking tips, and food reviews with your audience. You can start a food blog with zero capital by simply creating a channel on Youtube, Instagram, TikTok and many others and grow your audience.
Once you have established a following, you can monetize your blog through sponsored content, affiliate marketing, or selling other services. One of the key underlying requirements of this business is an extremely good understanding of food and creative sensibilities to produce the best quality videos.
These businesses can open the doors of Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry, while you sit home with Zero Capital.