How to Make a Career Change With a Food Takeaway Franchise

The food service industry is full of profit and opportunity, and no sub-sector has grown as much in the past few years as the delivery and takeaway sub-sector. If you’re looking to make a career change with a food takeaway franchise, this article will show you how to execute a smooth and successful transition.

---

If you’re looking to start your own food delivery business in 2021, you should know that the UK market is worth £19 billion, and you’ll be competing with over 53,000 other businesses [IBISWorld]. That said, you’ll also benefit from extremely high demand. Read on, and discover the three steps to career change success in this area.

---

>> Read more:

• Ready for a Career Change? Check Out These Five Top Franchise Opportunities in the UK
• Career Change: Start a Fresh Career with a Franchise
• Fed Up With the 9-to-5 Perhaps Starting a Franchise Business Is Your Best Next Career Move

---

Why consider making a career change with a food takeaway franchise?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the takeaway industry has experienced a boom. For long months across 2020 and 2021, delivered food was the only option when it came to eating out, and more people than ever signed up to apps like JustEat, Deliveroo and UberEats. Though restaurant doors are now open again, the delivery industry is showing no signs of slowing down. Demand isn’t decreasing, and the people that came to these apps during COVID are, in large part, still actively using them.

According to Lumina’s Foodservice Delivery Market Report 2021, one in 12 customers ordered a takeaway for the first time during the pandemic, more than a quarter of customers increased their usage, and three quarters of current users planned to continue ordering delivery when lockdown restrictions were lifted. Plus, even beyond the high level of demand, there are many advantages to investing in a takeaway franchise:

• The market continues to grow with time (and your franchise can, too)
• You’ll have access to franchisor support and guidance whenever it’s needed
• You’ll benefit from an existing brand name and customer base
• You’ll enjoy a dynamic and varied working life
• You’ll get to put together and manage a team of people

How to make a career change with a food takeaway franchise

If you’re ready to make a career change and move into the delivery and takeaway industry as a franchisee, you’re already well on your way to success. The franchise business model will see you fully supported and trained, and less than 1% of franchise units in 2018 closed citing commercial failure [British Franchise Association]. Still, there are certain steps you should take to get your investment off on the right foot. Before you sign a franchise agreement and commit to a contract, make sure you’ve done the following three things...

1. Assess your skills and qualifications

If you’re looking to join the food industry, the following qualifications will be helpful and relevant: A Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership, and/or a Level 4 Diploma in Hospitality Leadership. If you’re not qualified but still feel ready and excited to invest, don’t fear. As mentioned above, one of the biggest perks of franchising is the training and support you’ll receive, both initially and on an ongoing basis. This training means that many franchise networks won’t require you to have any prior industry experience.

Most companies will still ask certain things of you, though. They’ll be looking for important transferable skills that demonstrate your compatibility with a career in food service. Before taking any other steps, you should measure yourself up against the common criteria of franchise opportunities that interest you, and see whether you fit the bill. Useful and relevant skills in the takeaway sub-sector include:

• Customer service
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Friendliness, patience and an ability to accept critique
• Business acumen

2. Research the industry, and your place in it

Knowing that there’s a place for you in the food takeaway sector is only step one. Next up comes determining whether it’s an area that you’d enjoy working in, and developing a deeper understanding of the market prior to becoming financially dependent on it. Firstly, do some research on food delivery, looking into the trends shaping the industry in 2021 - trends like plant-based food options and pop-up restaurants.

Secondly, look into the franchise opportunities that interest you and make a list of all the tasks that you see commonly cropping up. These will give you a sense of what you can expect from a day in the life with a food takeaway franchise. You’ll likely see things like the following appearing often:

• Quality control
• Supplier relationship management
• Customer relationship management
• Kitchen management
• Delivery driver management
• Business management
• Inventory, stock and ingredient management

---

>> Read more:

• Top 7 fast food franchises
• 8 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Sandwich Franchise
• Top 4 Burger Franchises in the UK
• The Yummy Truth About Running a Fast Food Franchise
• American Burger: How To Start Your Own American Burger Restaurant

---

3. Consider the costs carefully

The cost of starting a franchise can vary greatly, and it’s something you should be paying close attention to as you narrow things down and complete your search for the perfect takeaway franchise opportunity. Brand name can impact cost. As you might imagine, investing with a well-known company will cost you more than a lesser-known alternative. The size of the territory you’ll be operating in will also impact cost, as will the location of said territory.

The average cost of starting a franchise is £42,200 as of 2018 [British Franchise Association]. For a better idea of how this average stacks up in the food delivery sector, here are some industry-specific investment cost examples taken from Point Franchise’s comprehensive directory:

• Camile Thai - To become a Camile Thai franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £100,000, with franchise fees of £20,000.

• Rooster Shack - To become a Rooster Shack franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £75,000, with franchise fees of £17,500 and a total investment cost of £150,000.

• Snappy Tomato Pizza - To become a Snappy Tomato Pizza franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £10,000, with a total investment cost of £25,000.

Start running your own business in the takeaway sector today

If you’re ready to make an investment and start running a delivery franchise, it’s time to explore the huge number of opportunities out there and check out some of the top takeaway franchises in the UK. If you’re interested in exploring the wider delivery industry, consider discovering how to choose a courier franchise that’s right for you.