The business industry is struggling, and starting a job pretty much means that you have signed up for failure.
Last year when I told my family about my startup idea, which is what I was told. Today, I run three small food startups that are lucrative, flexible, and require no upfront capital. The best part about the process is that I never asked for investment from anyone, so I am my own boss, earning good money without any help.
In the majority part of the world, the food niche is underestimated. Owning a small food cart, or a restaurant, is generally considered a blue-collar job. However, in the bigger picture, food works as the ultimate source of motivation for everyone.
From the CEO of a billion-dollar company to your average Joe, everyone enjoys food.
So, it comes as no surprise that the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the worth of the American food industry to be more than $1 trillion. This includes domestic production of food, its preparation, food-related outlets, food tech business, and agriculture as well.
If you are a young aspiring entrepreneur, trying to get into the food industry, here are some of the best food tech niches ripe for innovative startups.
Online Food Streaming
Food streaming has become quite a phenomenon in a major part of the world.
What initially started as a simple food preparation industry on live stream, soon turned into food eating or Mukbang videos. The idea behind food streaming is to offer lonely people company as they get back from work and eat their meals alone at home.
This industry is especially popular among the youngest, who are invested in their work routine, or living away from home.
Although the term Mukbang was initially coined in Korea, it later became a phenomenon in Asia where living away from home in pursuit of work is quite common.
Startup Ideas Within This Niche
Food streaming is a diverse category with little to no entry barrier and a lot of scope. You can stream your food, eat it, and mix it up with fitness to share your weekly diet or stream your daily meals.
As long as you have a trusted internet service like Xfinity Internet by your side, streaming can become very easy. This internet brand does not just focus on affordable and reliable internet service, and has a dedicated Xfinity phone number, and so you can easily report an issue or seek guidance.
Food Delivery and Ghost Kitchens
The food delivery business and ghost kitchens have become one of the leading side gigs among youngsters and stay-at-home wives. From Uber Eats to Doordash and Chownow, more than 161 million people use food delivery apps every day in 2023, and this number is expected to reach 173 million by 2028.
Previously, food businesses that wanted to send food to their customers without paying for dedicated deliverymen were using these apps. The aim was to help these businesses to cut their operational cost by removing dedicated delivery personnel from the business.
Now, thanks to these food delivery apps, home kitchens and ghost kitchens have also become popular. Through these apps, anyone can cook food in their own kitchen and deliver it to their customers.
Startup Ideas Within This Niche
So far, the easiest way to explore this category is by simply getting into the ghost kitchen. You can list your kitchen and its location on the app. You will receive an order via the app and the delivery officer will pick up the food. Apart from this, if you do not like cooking or you are an extrovert, food delivery is also a very good side gig. Most people without any solid skills, work as food delivery officers and earn a good living.
Personal Nutrition and Fitness
Often separated from food, fitness sits at the core of health and nutrition. For the majority of the people in white-collar jobs today, fitness and health-related struggles are getting worse.
Most of the workers earn a lot of money, yet they find it hard to work out or choose healthy food due to lengthy work hours. For these people, a huge chunk of their paycheck is spent on healthcare and related facilities.
Personal fitness and nutrition is a huge market, offering a perfect solution to health issues. From supplying healthy meals right to the doorstep to assisting people with their workout routine and keeping them motivated, the overall scope of the fitness industry has become vast.
Startup Ideas Within This Niche
The best thing about getting into the personal nutrition and fitness industry is that even as a category, it has a lot of things to explore. You can start a food or workout app, a meal and personal trainer service, or just a streaming channel to help people.
Regardless of your educational background, there are so many options within this industry that anyone can easily start working with little to no capital.
Apart from the categories discussed above, food waste management, personalized gardening, and precision agriculture are also lucrative niches. So, if you are interested in tech and food, the above-mentioned startup ideas can help you start your venture.
