The latest articles on DEV Community by Rajnish Kumar (@rajnishji). https://dev.to/rajnishji https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F542628%2F84e2e26c-b044-4f9f-95fc-3976254b42d6.jpeg https://dev.to/rajnishji en Rajnish Kumar Tue, 11 Jan 2022 11:07:07 +0000 https://dev.to/rajnishji/how-much-does-it-cost-to-start-a-meal-prep-business-1c8m https://dev.to/rajnishji/how-much-does-it-cost-to-start-a-meal-prep-business-1c8m <p>A meal prep business has been a huge savior of the food industry in the midst of pandemics. The hysteria among the people to go out of their houses had a drastic impact on the food industry. The idea of cooking restaurant-like meals at home from the proportioned ingredients and recipes being delivered on your doorstep felt like tapping into a completely different dimension. The meal prep business has made its grounds as the millennials are preferring meal kits over premade restaurant food.</p> <p><strong>Stats of the industry</strong></p> <p>The revenue generated by the meal kit industry was about 10.26 billion in 2020 and is expected to gain an annual growth of about 13.0% from 2021 to 2028. The revenue forecast for the meal prep industry is estimated to be USD 27.33 billion by Grand View Research.</p> <p><strong>Omicron impact on this business idea</strong></p> <p>Omicron is the latest variant of the Covid-19 virus. According to the latest research, it is the fastest spreading virus about 200 to 300 times more transmissible than the Delta variant. Omicron is highly transmissible and extremely contagious. The surge in Omicron Covid-19 cases has largely impacted the meal prep business. The number of customers preferring to order meal kits whilst staying home has multiplied as a result the meal prep business has skyrocketed. </p> <p>A few trends that will be predicted to shape in this pandemic era are as below.</p> <p><strong>Sustainability</strong></p> <p>Meal-kits have brought a lot of freshness to the food industry. Its inclination towards environment-friendly packaging is exceptionally huge as compared to other food-related businesses. The future of the meal prep industry is expected to see less use of plastic and more environment-friendly packaging.</p> <p><strong>Special Diets</strong></p> <p>The meal prep business has shown an incredible rise in the delivery of special diets to customers. People find it very easy to order the ingredients in meal kits, which are difficult to collect otherwise.</p> <p><strong>Organic food</strong></p> <p>Grocery stores may or may not supply such foods. The meal prep business makes such foods available to customers readily. </p> <p><strong>Choice of LifeStyle</strong></p> <p>Today people hardly have time to cater to their basic needs like cooking food. The workstyle and jobs do not allow them to give effort and time in this direction. The meal prep business comes as a savior and brings pre-made meals and meal kits for supporting the evolving lifestyle of people.</p> <p><strong>Cost affecting features</strong></p> <p>It’s nearly impossible to define a standard cost to build a meal prep software. There are various factors on which the cost of app development relies. a few such features are:</p> <ul> <li>Designing of meal prep application</li> <li>Number of features</li> <li>Compatibility with various OS</li> <li>The platform of the application</li> </ul> <p>The above points clearly imply that the more the complexity of the application, the more would be the cost. And the more the number of features integrated into the app the larger would be the price of development of the meal prep software. The developer skills also impact the cost of the product.</p> <p>The team for the development of the application has a huge impact on the cost incurred. In this case, the cost spent is on a per hour basis. An app development team includes:</p> <ul> <li>Product Analyst and manager</li> <li>Front-end developer</li> <li>Backend developer</li> <li>UX/UI Designer</li> <li>QA Manager</li> <li>The Marketing Team</li> </ul> <p><strong>Yo!meals - a viable &amp; cost-effective solution</strong></p> <p>The previous section clearly shows the extensiveness required to build a <a href="https://www.yo-meals.com/">meal prep software</a>. Each and every step would require planning and cost as well. Choosing a whilte label solution to bring your meal prep business online and cater to a larger customer base seems to be a better and viable solution. Yo!Meals is an integrated solution that provides all the detailed features and brings you in alignment with the industry. It is a simple and cost-effective way to build meal prep software for your business. </p> <p>The following are a few reasons that explain why choosing a white label solution would be a better option.</p> <ul> <li>Less time consuming, time is money</li> <li>A market-ready solution</li> <li>Customizable as per the client</li> <li>Less confusion and better decisions</li> </ul> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p> <p>The world is under the impact of pandemics and the need for a meal prep business is increasing day by day, as is the hysteria of Covid-19 among the people. The cost to design any software depends on various factors discussed above. Using a <a href="https://www.fatbit.com/cooked-meals-ordering-system.html">white label solution</a> will make it simpler for you to bring your meal prep business to par with your competitors at a fast pace. This business has become more likely a support to the world. There is no time to waste. Let’s join hands to bring meals and meal kits to the doorsteps of customers and help them stay safe indoors.</p> software business mealprep discuss Rajnish Kumar Tue, 21 Dec 2021 09:32:12 +0000 https://dev.to/rajnishji/best-software-to-start-a-meal-prep-business-5hec https://dev.to/rajnishji/best-software-to-start-a-meal-prep-business-5hec <p>As we all know that the food industry has shown drastic changes in the pandemic world. The choices and preferences of customers have been evolving with the world around. This pandemic also brings some innovative business ideas as well. A meal prep business is one of them who brings a much-needed change to growing customer needs.</p> <p>As per the latest stats, The revenue generated by the meal kit industry is expected to multiply three times from 2017 to 2025. Though pandemic has brought tough times for almost all business sectors, for a few, it was a chance of a lifetime. The meal-kit industry spread its wings and flew right to the top as the demands for the meal kits rose.</p> <p>Starting a meal prep business from home can be exhausting and overwhelming if you start everything from scratch.</p> <p><strong>Before we move ahead, let’s learn some basics.</strong></p> <p>A Meal prep business is an industry that brings fresh and proportioned ingredients to the customer. It also delivers the recipe to cook those meals and have a restaurant-like meal at home.</p> <p>This business is for those who have an interest in food or cooking and have a passion to shape their business around this.<br> Your potential buyers will be people who are diet conscious and are looking to lose weight and gain muscle mass.</p> <p>Key Points to be considered</p> <p>Niche for your business: meal ingredients with the recipe to cook, pre-made meals</p> <p>Prepare a business plan</p> <p>Get licenses and permits: Food handler license, Zoning permits, Catering license, and so on.</p> <p>Prepare Meal strategies: connect with your customers, act as per the requirement of the customer.</p> <p>Come up with a marketing and meal selling plan.</p> <p>Use digitization to enhance your business and reap extra benefits: SEO, Content Marketing, Social Networking sites, and so on.</p> <p>Challenges while starting a meal prep business</p> <p>No business comes without a challenge. A meal prep business from home also comes with a set of challenges.</p> <p>The two most crucial challenges are listed below:</p> <ul> <li>Logistic management</li> <li>Customer Engagement</li> <li>Cost to start a meal prep business</li> </ul> <p>The cost of a meal prep business depends on how extravagant you want your business to be right from the start. The locality and area coverage can be decent factors in deciding the size of your business.</p> <p>A meal prep business would require a basic kitchen that would cost around 8000 USD -10000 USD. If you are willing to run your business through meal prep software then the cost would vary between 15000 USD to 50000 USD. With the choice of starting a business from home, you may not have to spend a hefty amount to start your business.</p> <p>Now question raised - what is the best way to start from scratch or readymade solution?</p> <p>To save time and money - going with readymade software is the best choice. </p> <p>Let's discuss in details:</p> <p>A meal prep software brings a new dimension to the food delivery industry. The customers can now cook delicious meals at home without shopping extensively to find all the ingredients required to cook a particular meal. The meal prep industry has gained enormous revenues and by 2024 it is expected to reach 7.6 billion US dollars.</p> <p><strong>Business Model For a meal prep business</strong></p> <p>A meal prep business can follow a specific business model. There are 3 types of models explained below:</p> <p>Meal Kit Delivery Model</p> <p>The model is about delivering the customer fresh and pre-proportioned ingredients, to make a restaurant-like meal at home. The meal-kit includes the recipe of the meal as well.</p> <p>Pre-cooked Meal Delivery Model</p> <p>This model is about delivering pre-made meals to the customer. The chefs onboard cook the meals and the delivery is managed by the admin of the meal prep business.</p> <p>Hybrid Model</p> <p>This model deals with the meal prep business which delivers both meal kits and pre-cooked meals.</p> <p><strong>The Best Meal Prep Software</strong></p> <p>Yo!Meals is a well-integrated, highly customizable software solution that enables the admin to deliver both meal kits and pre-made meals to the customer’s doorstep. Its extensive feature enables a seamless working of the system. It allows chefs on-board to work part-time as well as full-time. It has special features for delivery fleet management for safe and timely deliveries. It also has various payment options to enable secure and safe transactions by customers.</p> <p>Step By Step Working of Yo!Meals</p> <p>Yo!Meals works in two steps:</p> <ul> <li>Order Allocation</li> <li>Delivery</li> <li>Order allocation</li> </ul> <p>Customers choose the meals(meal kit or pre-prepared meal) on the Yo!Meal website.</p> <p>The customer makes payment for the respective meals.<br> The admin or the chef receives and acknowledges the order.<br> The admin’s restaurant or chef processes the order.<br> Delivery</p> <p>The delivery rider receives notifications by the admin or the chef about the current order.</p> <p>The delivery rider picks the order.</p> <p>The delivery rider delivers the order to the customer’s doorstep.<br> The delivery rider then updates the delivery status on the app.<br> After the above discussion, it can be clearly concluded that Yo!Meals can provide the solution, entrepreneurs looking for meal prep management software in the US market. Its extensive features make it an exemplary meal-kit ordering and delivery experience.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p> <p>If you are planning to start a business from home you require a lot of dedication and planning. You need to follow an effective strategy to keep in check the expenses and plan out the profits you earn. A <a href="https://www.fatbit.com/cooked-meals-ordering-system.html">meal prep software</a> like Yo!meals will always be a great help in managing, advancing, and growing your business.</p> software mealprep webdev beginners Rajnish Kumar Tue, 21 Dec 2021 04:44:22 +0000 https://dev.to/rajnishji/things-to-consider-before-starting-an-online-meal-prep-business-3o6 https://dev.to/rajnishji/things-to-consider-before-starting-an-online-meal-prep-business-3o6 <p>The food industry has changed to a different dimension post-pandemic. Various factors are affecting the new face of the industry. If an entrepreneur is planning to start a meal prep business there are certain important variables to be considered.</p> <p><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--ZEWifMpM--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_880/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ty4j8zuch39uif19tkc0.jpg" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--ZEWifMpM--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_880/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ty4j8zuch39uif19tkc0.jpg" alt="Image description" width="880" height="352"></a></p> <p>Here are some basic steps: </p> <ul> <li>Choose a niche</li> <li>Write a business plan</li> <li>Get the proper licenses, permits and insurance</li> <li>Decide how to sell your meals</li> <li>Obtain small-business funding</li> <li>Find and manage your supplies</li> <li>Create a marketing plan</li> </ul> <p><strong>Read the following in details:</strong></p> <p><strong>Financial Planning</strong></p> <p>This variable helps entrepreneurs in managing their finances appropriately. Calculating the gross margin will help you create your budget and manage your balance sheet.</p> <p><strong>Gross Margin=Total Sales-Cost of meals Delivered</strong></p> <p><strong>Licenses and Permits</strong></p> <p>Registering your business will secure your business legally. It also entitles the business owner to avail of tax benefits and other government schemes. Private investors generally show interest in registered businesses only, which in itself is a big advantage over other non-registered businesses. </p> <p>A few important business licenses and permits are:</p> <ul> <li>Business license</li> <li>Employee Identification Number (EIN)</li> <li>Food establishment permit</li> <li>Seller’s permit</li> <li>Employee health permit </li> <li>Building health permit</li> </ul> <p><strong>Software Technology</strong></p> <p>Seamless working of a meal prep business relies on its extensive features such as order management, catalog management, user management, and handling deliveries. Building the software from scratch can come with various hurdles as well. The best approach is to use a market-ready solution and customize and rebrand it as per your business requirements.</p> <p><strong>Server and Hosting</strong></p> <p>The software requires a server hosting firm for the complete working of the website. The hosting firm is responsible for managing the server and the hosting if the business has opted for the software with a hosted server. The firm also makes sure of timely updates and server maintenance various types of server hostings are listed below:</p> <ul> <li>SaaS Hosting</li> <li>Cloud Hosting</li> <li>Dedicated Server Hosting</li> <li>On-Premise Hosting</li> </ul> <p><strong>Managing Human Resources</strong></p> <p>The biggest challenge faced by an entrepreneur is to hire business professionals for his business and build trust with his team. A few methods and ways can help ease the process: recruitment of experienced staff, hiring a virtual assistant, hiring freelancers for website development, and so on.</p> <p><strong>Business Insurance</strong></p> <p>Insurance for your business against major losses is very important, especially for a startup. Some insurance policies provide cover for third-party liabilities as well. All policies do not provide similar benefits and it is imperative to look for a policy that would be beneficial for your business.</p> <p>Here is the the detailed post that you can read before starting online <a href="https://www.fatbit.com/fab/how-to-start-a-meal-prep-business/">meal prep business</a>. </p> management business software mealprep Rajnish Kumar Tue, 29 Jun 2021 11:01:22 +0000 https://dev.to/rajnishji/top-mvp-development-companies-list-to-build-ecommerce-website-5hde https://dev.to/rajnishji/top-mvp-development-companies-list-to-build-ecommerce-website-5hde <p>As the title suggests, I would share a list of top MVP development companies that have built numerous ecommerce websites over the years. First of all, Let’s get an overview of what an MVP is, its importance, and its features.</p> <p>What is MVP?</p> <p>The full form of MVP is a minimum viable product, and it is an initial version of a product (here an ecommerce website) with the required features to test the market.</p> <p>Benefits of creating an eCommerce MVP</p> <p>As MVP provides you with ground-zero feedback from the end-users, it helps us to-</p> <p>• Test Viability<br> • Validate Investment<br> • Accelerate Development<br> • Save Capital<br> • Bring Agility<br> • Minimize Risk</p> <p>List of top MVP development companies</p> <ol> <li>FATbit Technologies</li> </ol> <p>FATbit Technologies is an <a href="https://www.fatbit.com/fab/top-mvp-development-companies-for-startups/">MVP development company</a><a></a> that assists aspiring entrepreneurs in validating their online business ideas. For entrepreneurs wanting to step into the eCommerce industry, FATbit, with its agile development process, is a reliable partner. It has created several eCommerce MVPs for niches such as rental, cab booking, food &amp; grocery delivery, tutoring, etc. </p> <p>Check their portfolio to make an informed decision.</p> <p>In 2021, Clutch recognized FATbit as one of the world's Top 100 software development companies. </p> <p>Country: India</p> <p>Established In: 2004</p> <p>Top Clients: Uni-Diamonds, Superlivery, Gearflow</p> <p>Hourly Rate: $$</p> <p>Website: <a href="https://www.fatbit.com">https://www.fatbit.com</a></p> <ol> <li>Intelivita </li> </ol> <p>Intelivita is an IT software development company that is known for developing efficient MVPs for startups. It works across various technologies, including machine learning, AR/VR, and blockchain. You can contact Intelivita to create several types of software such as mobile apps, mobile games, web apps, etc.<br> Country: India<br> Established in: 2014<br> Top Clients: FormAssist, AwayBack, Fantasy Ji<br> Hourly Rate: $$<br> Website: <a href="https://www.intelivita.com/">https://www.intelivita.com/</a></p> <ol> <li>Confianz</li> </ol> <p>Confianz is a reliable offshore and outsourcing software development company with a team of experienced professionals. Confianz is a renowned MVP development company providing its services in various industries like healthcare, eCommerce, insurance, etc.<br> Country: India<br> Established in: 2008<br> Top Clients: Grunt Style, Oeveo<br> Hourly Rate: $$<br> Website: <a href="https://www.confianzit.com">https://www.confianzit.com</a></p> <ol> <li>UIG Studio</li> </ol> <p>UIG Studio is an American MVP development company championing and developing software solutions for various businesses. Along with MVP, the team behind UIG Studio excels at prototyping as well. Some other services that it provides are mobile app development, web development, and GIS software development. <br> Country: Poland<br> Established in: 2013<br> Top Clients: Printbox, Audiobook<br> Hourly Rate: $$$<br> Website: <a href="https://uigstudio.com/studio">https://uigstudio.com/studio</a></p> <ol> <li> Reinvently</li> </ol> <p>With a decade of experience Reinvently, is another leading name in the IT industry. The team behind Reinvently believes in working streamlined and follows strategic deployment for its projects. Along with MVP, Reinvently also works on IOT powered apps and machine learning. <br> Country: USA<br> Established in: 2010<br> Top Clients: Profusa, Nugs.net<br> Hourly Rate: $$$<br> Website: <a href="https://reinvently.com/">https://reinvently.com/</a></p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This post could be the best fit for those who are actively looking for the best MVP development company. I have listed the top five MVP development companies as per their portfolio, features, and cost. If you still have any further questions, please feel free to ask me. </p> mvp development ecommerce companies Rajnish Kumar Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:40:06 +0000 https://dev.to/rajnishji/how-to-launch-an-on-demand-home-services-marketplace-2cim https://dev.to/rajnishji/how-to-launch-an-on-demand-home-services-marketplace-2cim <p>The on-demand economy has come a long way since its early days in 2007. Not only is it swiftly proliferating, but also expanding into various domains like video-streaming, food delivery, and cab booking at an explosive rate. As per Harvard Business Reports, the current on-demand economy attracts 22.4 million consumers per year on an average, with their total expenditure being $57.6 billion.</p> <p>Considering the current scenario where unemployment rates have increased alarmingly due to the pandemic and working professionals are eagerly looking for a job, there’s one particular business vertical in the on-demand economy where you can expect immense growth. That vertical is on-demand home services. The majority of the services in this vertical include carpentering, plumbing, electrician, salon services, and health care services.</p> <p>Due to the busy occupied schedules of the working class and preference for a simple lifestyle, consumers are psychologically attracted to the instant gratification that on-demand home services offer. Consumers can order any service of their choice from a home services marketplace and get the work done within a relatively short period of time.</p> <p>How to Get Started With an On-Demand Home Services Marketplace<br> Online home services marketplaces are based on a light-asset model. They require the least possible investment and are less-labor intensive than regular eCommerce businesses. However, there are some things that you should know to start your home services marketplace like the business model and important features.</p> <ol> <li>On-Demand Home Services Marketplace Business Model To conduct smooth business operations and manage the workflow of your business, understanding the business model is of utmost importance. An on-demand home service marketplace’s business model involves three user-types, which are — admin, service-seekers, and service providers</li> </ol> <p>Admin: The marketplace owner is the administrator of the platform who enjoys control all over the website. He can accept or reject any listings or change the functionality and features anytime. The admin takes care of task management, role management, CMS management, and payments. The admin himself may or may not provide any service through the platform.</p> <p>Service Seeker: Service Seekers on an on-demand home service marketplace upload tasks that the service providers can browse and place bids on. While uploading a task, service seekers also specify details such as the description of the job, date, time, and place.</p> <p>Service Provider: Service providers are the professionals belonging to various fields who place bids on a task. They review the tasks and place bids on them based on their expertise. To become popular in an on-demand home services marketplace, it is important for service providers to maintain a portfolio and gather impressive reviews.</p> <p>The workflow of an on-demand home services marketplace is as follows:</p> <ol> <li>Service seekers upload a task on the marketplace with an expected price range</li> <li>Service providers browse those tasks and place their bids</li> <li>Service seekers review the profile of applied service providers and select the best one according to their needs</li> <li>The service seeker pays the admin for the completed task</li> <li>The selected service provider visits the seeker and completes the task 6.The admin deducts his/her commission and transfers the remaining amount as fees to the service provider Image for post</li> <li><p>The Most Important Features on an On-Demand Home Services Platform<br> Although your marketplace can have multiple features, it’s important to be aware of the most essential ones to make your online marketplace feasible. In this article, describe several such important features.</p></li> <li><p>Search Filters and Job Categories<br> According to Medium, 88% of visitors do not return to a website after experiencing a bad user interface. To resolve this problem, search filters and job categories are a must. They make it easier for service-seekers to find the professionals they’re looking for. Search filters will not only be an impressive addition to your user interface but also enhance the overall customer experience.</p></li> <li><p>Job Upload<br> A job upload feature where the service-seeker can simply upload a detailed job to which service providers respond.</p></li> <li><p>Bidding Management<br> Your platform should allow service-providers to place bids and cover letter/portfolio/resume in accordance with the details of a seeker-uploaded job. The admin should also be able to set a minimum bidding amount and have the authority to remove bids.</p></li> <li><p>Ratings and Reviews<br> Ratings and reviews assist service-seekers in identifying the most eligible service provider for a job.</p></li> <li><p>GPS Navigation<br> Service-providers can have difficulty finding the location of an uploaded job. To resolve this problem, a GPS Navigation feature is required on your platform.</p></li> <li><p>Push Notifications<br> Push notifications are a useful marketing feature but they can be also used to remind you of selective updates and service-providers about their job schedules.</p></li> <li><p>User Management<br> The admin should have the accessibility to view user details and reset the password of all accounts. He/She should also be active to block defaulter accounts. For website management, the admin should have the authority to create sub-admin accounts as well.</p></li> <li><p>Task Management<br> Task management includes an entire set of features dedicated to assisting service-providers in managing their accepted tasks. It can include features like tasks list, categorization, task status, details, and action.</p></li> <li><p>Payment Gateway<br> There are numerous payment gateways available today for eCommerce websites to help customers make payments via their preferred payment method. An online marketplace should have several payment gateway integrations to attract more users.</p></li> </ol> <p>Solutions to Launch an On-Demand Home Services Marketplace<br> Today, open-source, SaaS, and readymade solutions are equally popular with unique benefits and drawbacks. Open-source solutions require more time and resources for proper development and SaaS solutions often come with recurrent plan fees plus an additional transaction fee. Thus, to start an on-demand home service marketplace, we recommend you to use a readymade solution like <a href="https://www.fatbit.com/online-task-marketplace-solution.html">Yo!Gigs</a>.</p> <p>It is a service marketplace solution inclusive of all the above essential features and extra functionality for management and marketing. It comes with a distinct admin, service-provider, and service seeker dashboard to assist these user-types in completing their specific roles. Along with features like order management, multi-user CMS, and multiple payment gateways, It is fully customizable to support many additional features that you want on your marketplace.</p> <p>It also supports various revenue streams like:</p> <ol> <li>Service Commission: The regular commission that will be deducted from the service-providers’ and service seekers’ fees.</li> <li>Paid advertisements: The marketplace owner can charge money for sponsored advertisements or set up Google Ads.</li> <li><p>Memberships and Subscriptions: The owner can create membership packages and multi-tier subscriptions that are charged on a recurrent basis.</p></li> <li><p>Bidding Costs: The owner has the discretion of providing free and paid bids to service providers. Once the service providers use all their free bids, they’ll need to purchase more from the owner.</p></li> </ol> <p>Summing Up</p> <p>On-demand home services marketplace is a promising business idea that can reap a generous amount of profit. Based on the increasing dependency on the on-demand economy and preference for a simplistic lifestyle, it is safe to assume that people will be looking for more craftsmen and engineers in the near future instead of completing trivial home repair tasks themselves. Not to mention, the time-saving home visits of beauticians and physical trainers will add to the comfort levels of Gen Z and millennials.<br> All these factors pave the perfect path for entrepreneurs to step into the on-demand economy and offer much-needed on-demand home services. The last question is about the evolving technology that you want to use to power your marketplace. Along with the one that we mentioned earlier, there are several other solutions that you can compare and finalize based on your discretion.</p> marketplace