Steps at a glance
- Decide what you will cookPick lunch, dinner or both, and one box size. Choose dishes you can cook the same way every day.
- Check the rules for your areaFood businesses often need a registration or licence. Check the current rules for your area before you take money.
- Work out your priceAdd up what one box costs you, add your own pay and a small margin. Set one monthly price and one single-box price.
- Find your first customersTell neighbours, nearby offices, students and hostels. Share a sample menu and offer a trial week.
- Fix your daily routineSet a cut-off time for changes, a cooking time and a delivery time. Share them with every customer.
- Keep records from day oneNote who ate each day, who paid and what you spent. Check the totals once a week.
What should you cook first?
Start with the food you already cook every day for your family. You know the taste, the time it takes and what it costs. A tiffin service is about doing the same good meal again and again, on time. Fancy dishes can wait.
Choose one meal to begin with, lunch or dinner. Lunch is often easier: office workers and students need it on weekdays, and you have the evening free to plan. You can add the second meal later.
- A fixed base for every box: for example rice or rotis, a dal, one vegetable dish and a salad.
- One box size to start. A second size (small or large) can come later.
- Veg only, or veg with one non-veg day. Keep it simple so you buy and cook less.
- One day off a week, so you can rest and shop.
- Packing that keeps food hot and does not leak: steel tiffins, or sealed boxes in an insulated bag.
What do you need before you start?
You do not need a shop or a big kitchen. You need a clean kitchen, enough pots and containers for your first customers, and a simple way to keep track of orders and money.
- Containers or tiffins for every customer, plus a few spare for the days some are not returned.
- Insulated bags for delivery.
- Space in the fridge for vegetables and prepared items.
- A phone with WhatsApp, to share the menu and take orders.
- A notebook or an app for the daily count, payments and expenses.
- A way to receive money: cash, a UPI ID or a bank account you use only for the business.
Rules for selling food from home differ from place to place. You may need to register your food business or get a licence, and there may be tax rules once you earn above a certain amount. Check the current rules for your area before you start taking money, and keep the papers safe.
Hygiene matters more than anything else. Wash hands, cover hair, keep raw and cooked food apart, and cook fresh every day. Tell customers clearly if a dish has nuts, egg or anything else people often cannot eat.
How many customers do you need to start?
There is no magic number. Start with as many as you can cook for, pack and deliver without rushing. For most home cooks that is somewhere between five and ten. It lets you learn your timings and costs before mistakes become expensive.
Look for people who need a home meal every day:
- Neighbours who work long hours, and older people who live alone.
- Offices, shops and clinics within your delivery distance.
- Students and working people in hostels and paying-guest homes.
- Families where both parents work.
- People recovering at home who need simple, light food.
Offer a trial week at the single-box price. People who like the food usually move to a monthly plan, and you get honest feedback early. Ask happy customers to share your menu with friends: word of mouth is how most tiffin services grow.
How do you set the price and payment terms?
Work out what one box really costs you, including gas, packing and delivery, then add your own pay and a small margin. Set a single-box price, and a monthly price that is a little cheaper per box.
Read how to price your tiffin for a full worked example. Then decide when customers pay: many tiffin services ask for the month in advance, so you are not buying a month of groceries from your own pocket.
Write the payment date, the ways to pay and your pause rule in your welcome message, before the first box. Clear rules at the start save many awkward talks later. See how to collect tiffin payments on time and how to handle pauses and leaves.
What does a good daily routine look like?
Customers trust a tiffin that arrives at the same time every day. Plan your day backwards from the delivery time. Here is an example for a lunch service; move the times to fit your home.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Evening before | Share tomorrow's menu. Note who said yes, who is on leave. |
| 9 pm | Cut-off for changes to tomorrow. After this, the count is fixed. |
| Morning | Check the count. Soak, chop and start cooking. |
| 11:30 am | Pack and label the boxes. Load the bags. |
| 12 to 1:30 pm | Deliver, in the same order every day. |
| Evening | Note payments, expenses and anything that went wrong. |
Deliver in the same order every day. Customers learn when to expect you, and you or your helper save time and fuel.
How do you run your first week?
- Cook one extra box each day for checking taste and portion, or for a customer who forgot to order.
- Ask every new customer on day two how the food was: salt, spice, quantity, temperature.
- Write down every cost, even small ones like bags and fuel.
- Note the time each delivery reaches the customer.
- At the end of the week, look at the notes. Fix one thing at a time.
When is it time to grow?
Grow when the routine is easy, not when it is already hard. Good signs: you turn people away, payments come in on time, and you finish cooking without rushing.
- Add the second meal (dinner or lunch) for customers who already trust you.
- Take a helper for chopping or a driver for delivery, so your time goes into cooking.
- Sell ready snacks or bakes, or take cake and party orders on your free days.
- Move from a notebook to an app once you have more than a handful of customers. See how to keep tiffin business records.