Delivering take out food to people’s homes is big business. China’s most popular food delivery service has a $100 billion valuation according to TechCrunch.com. In the United States, the mobile delivery app GrubHub was sold for a staggering $7.3 billion in 2020.
Consumers preference to dine at home had been on the rise for years, but the recent global pandemic has time-hopped this behavior 5 – 10 years into the future within a matter of weeks. The global pandemic and national lock-downs created the ideal environment for meal delivery businesses and takeout restaurants to achieve hockey stick growth.
With a variety of established players and billion of investment dollars in the industry, you might think it would be impossible to start a food delivery business of your own. But that’s not the case at all. Almost anyone with a valid driver’s license, car, and home address can open a boutique meal delivery business in their home town.
Exclusive Interview: How I Grew a Food Delivery Company to over 20 Million Total Deliveries in 100 Cities
Best of all, you won’t need a lot of money to get started either. If you can supply a vehicle and your own labor these are only resources required to start.
Here’s the other advantage. Most restaurant owners don’t like the current online food delivery options. Many of these delivery companies charge fees between 15% – 30% under normal conditions. This takes a big bite out of the profitability of a restaurant.
There’s also the fear among restauranteurs who predict these fees will increase further as more users adopt the technology. As a local service provider, you could provide a beneficial service for these small shop owners in your area at a lower cost.
If you live in a more rural area this could be a major opportunity as well. Many of the established players haven’t penetrated the smaller American towns just yet. If you’re able to establish a company in one of these cities and execute the business plan well, you could end up being the go-to service provider for meal delivery in your hometown. You won’t have the opportunity to scale to a billion dollar plus valuation like the venture-backed companies, but you could create a nice cash-flowing business for yourself.
Now that you’ve got an overview of the industry, let’s dive into some of the business name suggestions we’ve compiled for this growing off-shoot of the restaurant industry. These ideas are organized by category so you can view the ones that best align with your vision.
Online Food Delivery Service Name Ideas
FoodJets delivery app.
The industry research company Statista reports $90+ billion in annual revenue for the food delivery industry with an annual growth rate around 9%. A estimated 60% of these orders are made through a mobile app.
If you plan to scale this type of business, it’s clear that you will need to get into the technology space. When orders are placed through an app there’s a lot less cost to a business to be able to accept an order. Services become more difficult to scale when employees get involved due to the high cost.
If you plan to open a small food delivery service in a small town, you may not need an app at all. Orders could be handled over the phone, through a website, social media, or even email if needed.
Here are name suggestions that match the theme of digital meal delivery and offer a heavy-tech vibe:
- Click to Eat
- Tech Takeout
- Pedal Palate
- Diner to Door
- Driveway Delivery
- Food Delivery+
- Mobile Meals
- Meal Magic
- Dinner is Done
- Digital Delivery
- Delivery Boy
- Delivery Chicks
- Epic Eateries
- The Digital Diner
- Flatline Food Critic
- The Burger Bump
- Delivery Today
- Instant Eats
- Door Delights
- Drop off Dining
- Dig It Diner
- Tap For Delicious
- Food Swipe
- Corner Eatery
- Almost Eating
- Swipe Right Delivery
- Share a Meal
- Diner Download
- Eat Up App
- The Clean Plate
- Eating Everything
- Push Button Dinner
- Distance Diner
- Click Click Cafe
- Wave a Waitress
- Digital Chef
- Pantry Pals
- Meal Like Mom
- The Meal Mentor
- Taste of Everything
- Eat Up App
- Hot Chicken App
- The Takeout Map
- Awesome Burger App
- Local Legends
- Commander Food Delivery
- Restaurant Riot
- Dine Out Deli
- The Pizza Guy
- Mouthwatering Mobile App
- Hungry Time App
Regional Food Delivery Name Ideas
Meal delivery by bike.
As previously mentioned this industry is filled with venture-backed companies designed with national and international domination in mind. What can you do to compete with these big boys and their massive marketing budget?
One way to take on the big boys in your backyard is stay small and select a name that connects your brand with local customers. Here are some ideas that fit this approach:
- Hungry in Hawaii
- Food Friend Texas
- Vegas Munchies
- Savor Washington
- The Reno Spoon
- Burgers in Boston
- Toledo Taco Takeout
- Ramen in Reno
- Texas Toast
- Minneapolis Munchies
- Dining in Wichita
- Hungry in Omaha
- Eating Up Saint Paul
- Seattle Meal Train
- Plateless in Seattle
- Florida Restaurant to You
- Carlsbad Take Out Tonight
- San Diego Bites
- Happy Tummy New York
- Flavors of Lincoln
- The Boise Fork
- The Sacramento Cantina
- Salt Lake City Meal Delivery Co.
- Grand Forks Carry Out Company
- Three Rivers Food Fleet
- Wyoming Food Lab
- Main Personal Catering
Related Reading: 27 Meal Kit Industry Statistics and Consumption Trends
Catchy Food Delivery Name Ideas
Food delivery service in an urban center.
Looking for something a little more clever? These suggestions will help your startup stand out from the competition. Here are a whole lot more business names for a meal delivery company.
- Meal Monkey
- Chomp Chomp Chimp
- Sunshine Food Co.
- Food Send
- The Food Vault
- Meal Scout
- Dinner Master
- Little Village Dinner Group
- True Food
- Hatch Food Co.
- Pulse Foods
- Food HQ
- The Restaurant Map
- Food Gate
- Senior Dinners
- Premier Dinners
- Dinner Paradise
- Dinner Hacker
- Breakfast Delivered
- Tummy Rumbles Breakfast
- Dinner Drivers
- Bookmark Meals
- Contactless Deliveries
- No Touch Meals
- Breakfast Shark
- Lunch Hound
- Meal Truck
- Burger Science
- Breakfast Bunny
- Dinner Theory
- Dig-in Tonight
- Belly Full Inc.
- Firehouse Dining
- Dine Ventures
- Diner Mind
- BlueBox Delivery
- Delivery Cube
- Sweet-spot Delivery
- Order Mob
- Order Giant
- Champion Online Orders
- Push-Button Meals
- One Click Convenience
- Shake and Smoothie
- Coffee Connection
- The Grind Coffee App
- The Collective Caffeine Shippers
- Drive for Coffee
- The Tea Tank
- The Pizza Pal
- Private Pizza Ordering
- The Personal Chef Delivery App
- Click to Cafe
- Cafe Note
- Diner Utopia
- Super Fast Delivery Co.
- Chop Chop Dinner
- Speedy Sushi
- Cafe Technologies
- The Restaurant Explorer
- Discreet Diner
- Delightful Dining
- Dinner is Done
- 3-Meals Food Delivery Service
- Tribal Meal Delivery
- Only Organic Meals
- Epiphany Food Delivery
- Solar Food Carryout
- Bagel Hound
- Catering Club
- Cater Group
- Office Food
- Food Flights
- The Dinner Route
- Race Car Delivery
- Office Eats
- Corporate Dinner Club
- Elevate Dining
- Jupiter Dining
- Cyber Diner
- Future Food
- The Meal Man
- The Dinner App
- Dining Membership
- Prosper Restaurant App
- 5-Courses Meal Delivery
- Door Drop
- Front Door Delivery
- Curbside Meals
- Rapid Meal Service
- Forte Dining
- Hard Hat Delivery
- Dinner Date at Home
- Evening In
- At Home Eatery
- Dining Garage
- Un Dining
- New Age Food Delivery
- Dinner Journey
Next Steps?
If you plan to start a food delivery business of your own, getting started is simple assuming you have transportation and a valid driver’s license. If you have the time and inclination to operate the business yourself it is a business that an be simple to operate. It can also be quite lucrative because you’ll be paid a percentage of the sale, but will be tipped by generous customers.
The challenges will be when you attempt to grow or scale the business. Adding employees and covering the insurance costs associated with these individuals driving a car or bike to deliver food can be a major risk and expense to a small business. According to Owler, Uber Eats has over 10,000 employees. The marketing and operations of this sort of business is going to be complex when you grow.
Most food delivery apps utilize 1099 contract employees because of the cost savings. The contractors provide their own transportation and are only paid per job or delivery. This is a staffing option you’ll want to evaluate further if you want to grow.
You can learn more about the highs, lows, and costs associated with starting this type of business in our exclusive interview with the founder of FoodJets, Darren McAdams. Darren has grown a food delivery service to over 100 cities and $700+ million in total sales over the lifetime of the business.
