How much does it cost to start a tiffin service in India?

A home-based tiffin service can start with Rs 25,000 to Rs 60,000 covering FSSAI registration, bulk utensils, tiffin boxes, raw material for the first month and basic marketing. A separate rented kitchen pushes it to Rs 2-4 lakh.

Do I need an FSSAI licence for a tiffin service?

Yes. Any food business needs at least an FSSAI Basic Registration, which costs Rs 100 per year and covers turnover up to Rs 12 lakh. Above that you need a State licence.

How much can a tiffin service earn per month?

At 50 subscribers paying Rs 3,000 per month, revenue is Rs 1.5 lakh with food costs of roughly 40 percent, leaving Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 before delivery and packaging costs.

How to Start a Tiffin Service Business in India (2026 Guide)

Why tiffin beats a regular kitchen for first-time founders

A tiffin service sells subscriptions, not one-off orders. That means you know your headcount before you cook, waste is minimal, and cash arrives at the start of the month instead of 7-14 days later from a delivery aggregator. Most successful cloud kitchen owners we list started exactly here.

Step 1: Pick your customer, not your menu

Working professionals in IT corridors — want light, on-time lunch, will pay Rs 3,000-4,500 a month.
Students and hostellers — price sensitive, Rs 2,200-3,000 a month, high volume.
Bachelors and senior citizens — want home-style food, dinner included, most loyal segment.
Patients and diet customers — low oil, low salt, highest margin at Rs 5,000+ a month.

Choose one. A menu that tries to serve all four ends up serving none of them well.

Step 2: Licences you actually need

FSSAI Basic Registration — Rs 100 per year, applied on the FoSCoS portal. See our FSSAI application guide.
Shop & Establishment registration — needed once you hire staff or rent a commercial space.
GST registration — mandatory above Rs 20 lakh annual turnover, or earlier if you list on Swiggy or Zomato.

Step 3: Cost your tiffin properly

A standard veg tiffin — 4 chapatis, one sabzi, dal, rice, salad — costs roughly Rs 45-60 in raw material in most Indian cities. Add Rs 8-12 for packaging and Rs 15-25 for delivery. If you charge Rs 110 per tiffin, your contribution is Rs 25-40. Multiply by 60 tiffins a day and 26 days and you are looking at Rs 39,000-62,000 a month before rent.

Run your own numbers with our cloud kitchen cost calculator.

Step 4: Build a rotating 4-week menu

Never repeat a main sabzi inside 7 days, and keep one fixed comfort item per weekday (rajma Wednesday, chole Friday). A rotating menu published a week in advance reduces cancellations more than any discount.

Step 5: Get your first 50 subscribers

Free 2-day trial tiffin to office WhatsApp groups nearby.
Notice boards in PG hostels and gated societies.
List free on Cloud Kitchen Adda tiffin listings so people searching "tiffin service near me" find you.
Referral credit: one free week for every subscriber referred.

Step 6: Delivery without burning money

Aggregator delivery kills tiffin margins. Cluster subscribers within a 2-3 km radius, fix two delivery windows (12:00-13:15 and 19:30-21:00), and hire one delivery partner per 40 tiffins on a monthly salary of Rs 12,000-15,000 instead of per-order charges.

Common mistakes

Pricing on cost instead of what the area actually pays.
Accepting subscribers 8 km away and losing Rs 40 per delivery.
No monthly payment date — chase-up eats your week.
Skipping FSSAI, then being unable to list on delivery apps later.

Where to go next

Once you are steady at 80-100 tiffins a day, the natural next step is a delivery-only kitchen with an à-la-carte menu. Read how to start a cloud kitchen in India and the cloud kitchen business model.

How to Start a Tiffin Service Business in India