New business delivers in lockdown

An astute pair of Sleaford entrepreneurs have turned the latest lockdown into a business opportunity as they seek to deliver on the renewed demand from isolating households for takeaway food.
Ben Starman is amazed at the success of his new Food Chief takeaway delivery business. EMN-201113-171919001Ben Starman is amazed at the success of his new Food Chief takeaway delivery business. EMN-201113-171919001
Ben Starman is amazed at the success of his new Food Chief takeaway delivery business. EMN-201113-171919001

That little bit of food luxury is one thing helping people keep hold of a sense of normality, while serving to support the many popular catering businesses that have found themselves hard pressed due to the pandemic restrictions.

Car salesman Ben Starman, 28, set up Food Chief delivery service from home six weeks ago with his partner, Kirsty Cutter, a 26 year old health care assistant.

He said: “We started up because we knew there was a market for it in small towns and villages like Sleaford. Unfortunately places like this are overlooked by the big hitters such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats.”

He said takeaways can sign up to another big name app but can be charged a hefty commission on each order they receive through the platform, meaning businesses have to pass this cost on to their customers.

Ben said: “We wanted to give people a wide variety of food to choose from, instead of the standard Chinese, kebabs, Indian, etc.”

After just five weeks they had fulfilled over 700 orders and are still growing. Already employing four drivers, they are receiving approaches from businesses hoping to keep their head above water through this second lockdown by utilising Food Chief’s services. “We don’t charge businesses for what we offer which is what has made it so appealing,” said Ben.

What began as a little idea has become a full-time job, delivering 20-40 orders a day.

“We already work with the likes of Tiamo Italian, Insomnia coffee, Frankie J’s cafe, most recently the Marketplace Cafe and also have a few other businesses in the pipeline,” he said.

“Whilst Friday and Saturdays are the busiest days in the week, the first lockdown weekend was something else.”

Related topics: