Lockdown has seen an explosion in domestic food businesses, including takeaways and meal kits. Will it continue?
The Covid-19 era has seen an explosion in food businesses based in people’s homes. According to the Food Standards Agency, 44% of new ventures registered since March 2020 are run from domestic kitchens, as new platforms emerge (All About the Cooks, NoshyCircle, GruBie) to connect home cooks with hungry diners. Increasingly, anyone can compete with local restaurants to sell hot takeaways or ready-meals.
“I want it to be as easy to sign-up to All About the Cooks as it is to let out a room on Airbnb,” says founder Claire Ladkin of the currently Bristol-only site. “There’s enormous talent in communities and little opportunity to share it. It’s difficult to get into food. You have to work evenings, start at the bottom in a restaurant or risk setting up as a business.” All About the Cooks wants to democratise getting started, nationally, in return for its 12.5% commission: “Enabling people who might find it difficult to make money if they have language barriers or caring responsibilities. The social impact is a massive driver.”
