Running a meal subscription business sounds like a dream, until the phone never stops buzzing, customer requests are scattered across apps, and you’re stuck in a spreadsheet jungle every night.
But with the right tools and a little organization, you can transform your workflow, reduce stress, and focus on growing your business.
Some days you feel like a chef. Other days, a delivery manager. Most days? Just...exhausted.
The Challenges You’re Juggling:
• Customer Sign-Ups & Changes: New sign-ups or plan adjustments via calls or messages.
• Skip Requests: Customers needing to skip meals due to personal reasons.
• Food Preferences: Tracking and updating customer preferences for each meal.
• Daily Meal Plans: Preparing and sending kitchen orders with preferences.
• Meal Tracking: Keeping count of meals delivered and remaining.
• Renewal Reminders: Reaching out for subscription renewals.
• Accounts & Taxes: Managing all of the finances.
And with all these manual processes, mistakes can easily slip through. Maybe you’ve missed a meal preference or forgotten a skip request, leading to confusion or the wrong orders being delivered. And who has to fix them? You.
The workload, with all these manual tasks, leaves little time for relaxation or focusing on growing your business further. What if there was a better way?
You know your business needs to be streamlined. But how do you do that? Is it possible to automate some, or even all of these tasks?
Yes, there are tools and apps that can help you manage this chaos more efficiently. Let's take a look at a few.
Let’s Talk Tools (The Ones You Might Already Be Using)
1. WhatsApp or SMS :
Your customers probably message you when they want to skip a meal, or ask, “What’s cooking today?” That’s good—messaging is less disruptive than phone calls.
Try this:
• Use WhatsApp broadcasts to send out weekly menus
• Ask customers to message skip/unskip requests instead of calling
• Pin important chats or group messages by zones
This gives you space to think, work, and respond on your time, not theirs.
2. Spreadsheets (Google Sheets / Excel):
Most meal planners love spreadsheets. They’re flexible, simple, and free. But as orders grow, they also grow wild. Still,
you can make it better:
•Colour-code active, paused, or one-time customers
• Add columns for renewal dates and delivery preferences
• Use filters to sort orders by day or area
It’s not perfect, but it's better than chasing paper scraps.
3.Light CRMs (Notion / Draftsheet / Airtable):
If your spreadsheet feels too cramped, CRMs like Notion or Airtable give you space to breathe.
You can:
• Store customer details neatly
• Add checklists for skipped meals
• Link payments and delivery notes
They’re drag-and-drop easy, and a lot less scary than they sound.
4.Scheduling Tools (Google Calendar / Zoho Bookings):
To avoid awkward, “Oops, I forgot!” moments, try setting up reminders: • Mark subscription renewal dates on Google Calendar
• Use Zoho Bookings to offer self-service pause/unpause options
• Set weekly pop-up alerts to update your sheet or message your customers
A few alerts now, save a lot of headaches later.
Take Control and Scale with Ease
The right tools don’t just save time. They give you peace of mind and the freedom to grow. If you're ready to simplify and scale, start small. Streamline one step at a time, and take control of your kitchen chaos.
It’s time to grow your business and let it thrive.
