4 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Food Takeaway Franchise

Elliott Fudge, writer

Published at 14/10/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 4 min

4 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Food Takeaway Franchise — Photo © 4-Tips-for-Building-a-Business-Plan-for-a-Successful-Food-Takeaway-Franchise.jpg

Running a takeaway franchise is a surefire way to target one of the UKs most profitable sectors. But early on in the process, once you’ve decided what franchise you want to work with, you’ll need to put together a business plan. If you haven’t done this before, it can seem a daunting process. So, here are our 4 tips for building a business plan for a successful food takeaway franchise.

It’s not hard to see why so many aspiring franchisees are deciding to start their own food takeaway franchise. In what is clearly a competitive sector though, writing an ambitious - but not over the top - business plan can make all the difference.

The right business plan can help your business stand out from the competition, highlight your strengths and potential weaknesses, and set out the future direction of your business. It can seem overwhelming, so - to help you get started - here are our 4 top tips for building a business plan for your takeaway franchise.

>> Read more:

Building a business plan for a takeaway franchise

Your business plan is important, but that isn’t to say it will be set in stone. Business plans will evolve and change over time based on the feedback of your franchisor, lender and your own changing plans. Generally speaking though, every version of your business should include some of the following information:

An executive summary: A brief summary of your business and some key details, normally at the start of your plan.
Financial overview: All of your key stakeholders will need to know how you intend to finance your franchise, how you will repay any loans and how you intend to grow.
Equipment: Outline what kinds of equipment your business will ideally be using.
Product and service overviews: Beyond just simply serving food, detail what other kinds of products and services you intend to offer.
Marketing strategies: How do you intend to market and raise awareness of your business?
Recruitment: What kinds of skills and individuals will you target to work in your business?

Besides these essential features of a business plan, you’ll need to make sure your plan covers a number of other bases. With those in mind, here are some other vital tips for putting together a winning business plan.

1. Indicate a preferred location of premises

Location can make a huge difference to your business. Get it right and you can generate massive footfall from day one - get it wrong, and you can find yourself without customers entirely. The specifics of your premises and area of operation will need to be negotiated with your franchisor, so you may only have limited scope in finding a location. But, suggesting one can still show your ambition and proactiveness to take the initiative. Ideally, your business will need to be in a high footfall area where it can be discovered easily, but also be accessible to delivery riders and vehicles.

2. Break down your inventory costs

In the food takeaway sector as much as any other, your business is only as strong and reliable as the equipment you use. So, it is a good idea to break down what kinds of equipment you would prefer to use, and particularly, what kind of costs you will need to maintain your inventory.

Much of the equipment you will need to work with will be top-of-the-range, and although your franchisor will be on hand to supply you with the right equipment, it’s important that both you and your franchisor agree on the costs that your franchise business will face. Industrial cookers and fryers can often cost thousands of pounds, so it’s important to be upfront with these costs.

3. Display your knowledge of this sector

Displaying your understanding and expertise of the takeaway industry can be done in a few different ways. First, you will need to show that you understand many of the biggest businesses in the takeaway industry. You will need to know their strengths, weaknesses and unique selling points.

Following from this research, it will then be important to understand what your franchise business will be able to do differently. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, explain what your franchise does uniquely. Outline what your business can do to stand apart from your competition, and you’ll already be in a great position to start talking about your future growth.

>> Read more:

4. Detail your future growth

Nobody can accurately predict the future, but there are some metrics that try to do exactly that. Any investor will want to know what they get back from a business, so if you’re looking to show a bank how you can repay a loan, or show a franchise business the potential future returns, you’ll want to prove exactly what the financial future of your business looks like.

Build a business plan for your takeaway franchise and drive your business to the next level

The takeaway sector is an exciting sector to be a part of. If you’re looking to run your own business, be your own boss, and potentially make a career change, there are plenty more resources about running your own takeaway business. For example, as this is an innovative area to work in, you may want to learn more about some of the key trends in the takeaway sector.

But, if this sector doesn’t sound quite right to you, you can see a whole range of other franchising opportunities on the UK franchise directory, where you can filter through your desired criteria to find the right franchise for you.