Idea PlannerStarting tiffin and home food: what to find out
Questions to answer and numbers to collect before you put money in.
No earnings or costs are stated here, because they depend on your place and on you. This page lists what to find out.
Who might buy
People who work or study away from home, small offices, hostels.
What you usually need to start
a clean kitchen space, cooking equipment, containers, a way to deliver, a phone for orders. Get quotes for each before you decide.
Rules to ask about
Ask the authority about whether selling food from home needs a registration or licence where you live, and rules on labelling and hygiene. This site does not state the rules.
The main risks
Food that is late, cold or unsafe loses customers at once. Ingredient prices change often, and a few cancellations spoil the day.
A small first test
Cook for five to ten people for two weeks and ask them to be honest about taste, timing and price.
Numbers to collect from the test
Cost of one meal, meals sold a day, cancellations, late deliveries, repeat customers. Put them into the monthly profit worksheet and the start-up cost worksheet.
Also read questions to ask customers and how to find out what you need.
Keep going
This site states no profit figure, start-up cost, licence requirement or loan scheme: you type your own numbers, and the idea pages list questions to ask and things to measure. Interest rates in the worksheets are typed by you. It is not financial, tax or legal advice. Checked 14 November 2026.