Losing weight is not so easy after all; it takes a lot of resolve to overcome the inconvenience associated with it (especially dieting). This business is about helping people not to cheat on their diet.

“Going to gymnasium can cause weight gain”. Yes, this does happen with some people, even if they regularly go to Gym. Losing weight is not so easy after all; it takes a lot of resolve to overcome the inconvenience associated with it (especially dieting). This business is about helping people not to cheat on their diet. It’s not about gym instructors or dieticians or anything like that. It’s a very novel business.

“Weight-loss caterer” is what we are talking about here. As a weight-loss caterer you will make dieting so convenient for people that they won’t need to cheat on their diet. Here is what you need to do:

1. Get hold of some good low calorie recipes (see resources section at the end)
2. Use the recipes to prepare various varieties of delicious food
3. Package the food as single servings
4. Deliver them to your customers.

Easy, isn’t it?

Your food should be delicious of course. Test each dish first before offering it to customers. However, it’s equally important that you offer a variety so as to cater to the tastes of a larger population. But don’t overdo it. You might have to experiment a bit in the beginning to see what sells the best. Once you have a fair idea, you can create your menu card. You might want to start with 8-10 dishes. As the business progresses, you can move on to offer more dishes. You can offer both take-away and home-delivery facilities.

Tip: Keep introducing new dishes on a periodic basis. This will keep your regular customers interested.

Packaging is as important as the food itself. Don’t compromise on the quality of packaging, just for a few cents. The packaging should be professional and attractive.

Since your customers will mainly be the calorie-conscious people, you need to highlight the calorie value and other details on your food packets. Print these details on simple stickers and stick them on each packet of food you deliver. Include your menu card and business card with every delivery.

Tip: Include some free reading material about dieting/healthy-food etc. as a bonus with each delivery. This could be a regular newsletter too. Just a single 8 1/2 x 11 size sheet, printed on both sides and folded in the middle, should be sufficient as a newsletter. You can print it on a colored paper to make it more attractive. Also, don’t forget to include your contact details on the news letter.

Leave multiple copies of your ‘free-delivery’ menu card at offices, gyms, bulletin boards and local shops. Newspaper inserts can also be an effective marketing technique. Each food item on your menu card should clearly highlight the calorie value, fat, etc. It should also emphasize the fact that you are offering healthy food which is unique in the sense that people don’t have to compromise on taste while they are dieting. Ask people to book over the phone and you can then deliver at their doorstep. You should also specify the time slots during which people can book their low calorie food.

Check with your local government to insure you have any required permits. Many areas require nothing more than a vendor’s permit.

Resources:

www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collections/quick_healthy_low_calorie_recipes.html

www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbsafefood.htm

www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Safe_Food_Handling_Fact_Sheets/index.asp