9 Food Delivery Business Success Stories [2024]
In today’s busy lifestyles and schedules, cooking is no longer a priority to many. People like to order-in food from their nearest restaurants or food joints and enjoy a meal in the comfort of their homes.
The food delivery business is like a courier service through which restaurants deliver food to their customers.
You can offer retail food delivery services to restaurants within your locality if you have a truck. Customers order through a restaurant or grocer’s website, and the owners contact you to deliver.
In this list, you'll find real-world food delivery business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a food delivery business that makes money.
1. Caviar ($21.6M/year)
Shawn conceived the idea for the Caviar food delivery app during a brainstorming session when he wanted an egg sandwich from his favorite shop in the Bay Area, which was too far away for convenient access.
Frustrated by the high cost and time involved in using TaskRabbit for delivery, he realized that they could utilize the independent contractor model popularized by Uber and Lyft for food delivery. This realization led to the creation of Caviar, pitched as the "Uber for food."
How much money it makes: $21.6M/year
2. Food Fleet ($18M/year)
After struggling to find locations to operate their own food truck, the founder took over booking for other trucks and realized the need for a turnkey service for corporations. They used their 35 years of food service experience to provide solutions and help the trucks with everything from food safety to insurance. Their unique approach, along with their understanding of the hospitality business, has allowed Food Fleet to secure national contracts with major companies and achieve significant growth.
How much money it makes: $18M/year
How many people on the team: 6
Food Fleet grew over 160% in just one year and managed over 20 million in sales for its clients, securing multiple contracts with the likes of Sodexo, Levy Restaurants and more, due to its understanding of catering client needs and its advanced turnkey and design services.
3. Send Eats ($4.62M/year)
Chris Koerner came up with the idea for Send Eats when a friend asked for help selling his product online. Seeing the potential for eCommerce, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Koerner scaled the business from packing a few orders per month to tens of thousands. They prioritize customer service and have never lost a customer, with plans to expand into a larger warehouse and acquire more eCommerce brands.
How much money it makes: $4.62M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 8
Learn how Send Eats grew from packing dozens of orders per month to tens of thousands, with a monthly revenue of $385k, by providing lightning-fast order fulfillment for eCommerce brands primarily within Shopify, and how they utilized their personal network and went from shipping out of a bread factory to their own 30,000 sq ft warehouse.
4. Cameron's Seafood ($3.6M/year)
Cameron's Seafood was born out of a family-owned Maryland seafood business, but it was a chance encounter with a crab-loving customer that sparked the idea. The customer, tired of paying high prices for subpar crabs, was willing to drive 6 hours to get authentic Maryland crabs. This inspired Cameron to bring these delicious crabs to people all over the country through a home delivery service, leveraging their existing infrastructure and competitive advantage.
How much money it makes: $3.6M/year
How many people on the team: 10
Cameron's Seafood, the largest Maryland seafood company in the world, has leveraged an existing family-owned seafood business to ship Maryland Crabs and crab cakes to customers in all 50 states, making over $200,000 in July 2018 with an expected $2.4 million in first-year revenue without venture capital.
5. Spork Bytes ($3M/year)
After experiencing the repetitive and mundane office lunches, Tim Taylor and Chris Diamond decided to create Spork Bytes, a catering delivery service that partners with local restaurants to provide delicious meals for offices in Portland, Oregon. With a focus on quality and convenience, Spork Bytes has grown to partner with 60 restaurants and achieve an annual revenue of $2 million in 2018, projected to exceed $3 million in 2019.
How much money it makes: $3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
How many people on the team: 7
Learn how Spork Bytes, a catering delivery service, addressed the problem of monotonous office lunches by partnering with local restaurants, resulting in annual revenues of $2 million in 2018 and an anticipated growth rate of 50% in 2019.
6. New York Food Truck Association ($2.4M/year)
Ben Goldberg, founder of the New York Food Truck Association, came up with the idea after realizing that the food truck events market in NYC was untapped. He pivoted his own food truck business to focus on events catering and corporate marketing, leveraging his industry expertise. Within the first year, the business did over $1 million in revenue with consistent 50%+ year-over-year growth.
How much money it makes: $2.4M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 5
How a former food truck owner founded the successful New York Food Truck Association which generated over $1M in its first year of business, providing local vendors with high-margin ancillary revenue streams, and saw consistent growth of 50% YoY.
7. Jaju Pierogi ($960K/year)
Jaju Pierogi, founded by sisters Casey and Vanessa White, started as a side project selling pierogi at farmers' markets and pop-up events. With a background in the corporate world and a love for their Polish heritage, they saw a gap in the market for high-quality, handmade pierogi. Fast forward to August 2022, Jaju Pierogi is now in multiple grocery chains and over 650 specialty independent stores, with a monthly revenue of $80,000-$100,000.
How much money it makes: $960K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3.5K
How many people on the team: 5
Jaju Pierogi started off as a side hustle at farmers' markets and festivals back in 2016, and as of August 2022, they are in multiple grocery chains and over 650 specialty independent stores with a monthly revenue hovering between $80,000-$100,000.
8. Portable Chef ($744K/year)
Uri Attia, founder of Portable Chef, came up with the idea for his business out of desperation after losing his banking job in the 2008 financial crisis. With a passion for cooking and understanding the demands of busy New Yorkers, Uri saw the opportunity to provide customizable, healthy meals for his clients. Today, Portable Chef generates an average monthly revenue of $60,000 by making 25,000 custom meals a year.
How much money it makes: $744K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 3
New York food business founder goes from broke and desperate to cooking 25,000 custom meals per year with an average monthly revenue of $60,000, focusing on pleasing existing customers and word of mouth for new clientele.
9. Full Belly Fare ($168K/year)
Lyla, the founder of Full Belly Fare, came up with her business idea after realizing the need for accessible and customizable meals for people with specialized dietary requirements. With a background in catering and human services, she combined her passion for food with her desire to help those in need. Through a crowdfunding campaign and the support of her first customers, Full Belly Fare quickly grew, doubling its customer base within the first two years. Lyla's key lessons were the importance of labor requirements and finding the right target customers who align with the business's offerings.
How much money it makes: $168K/year
How many people on the team: 3
Full Belly Fare, Handcrafted Dinners Delivered, started in 2014 and originally offered deliveries to an average of 10 households per week but now sees 35-50 households, demonstrating how personalized and responsive customer service along with high-quality and affordable food has propelled founder, Lyla, to success.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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