31 Online Food Business Success Stories [2023]

Updated: July 23rd, 2023
Start An Online Food Business

Gone are the days when food lovers needed to leave their homes for delectable delights. Insert: online food business. This venture allows individuals or groups to offer ready-to-eat meals or pre-packaged ingredients for home preparation, straight to customers' doorsteps.

In simple terms, the business centers on creating and selling meals through an online platform. In a world perpetually pursuing convenience and variety, this idea caters to a diverse audience—busy professionals seeking nutritious meals, cooking novices craving guidance, or adventurous eaters exploring global cuisines.

As an owner of an online food business, you'll be involved in menu planning, sourcing ingredients, preparation, packaging, and delivering—while constantly innovating and adapting to the ever-changing food trends and dietary preferences. With the right blend of business acumen and culinary passion, the online food business can offer a unique opportunity to merge profit with satisfaction—giving people the gift of good food while filling a fundamental market gap.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a online food business:

1. Klondike Kettle Corn ($54K/year)

Katie Young (from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada) started Klondike Kettle Corn over 8 years ago.

Revenue
$4.5K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees
Location
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Case Study

Hi! My name is Katie Young and I am the owner and operator of Klondike Kettle Corn. We are a company that sells a ready-made gourmet popcorn throughout the Yukon Territory and now online across Canada.

Now that our company has grown we have been able to give back to our community through sponsorships and donations. You will often see our kettle corn being served at various sporting events across town, including the Yukon Quest and a number of Mountain Bike races, as well as film festivals and other school events.

how-i-launched-a-gourmet-popcorn-brand-from-the-yukon

2. Simple Green Smoothies ($360K/year)

Jen Hansard (from Brooksville, Florida, USA) started Simple Green Smoothies over 10 years ago.

Revenue
$30K / month
Team
2 founders / 1 employees
Location
Brooksville, Florida, USA

Case Study

Hi there. I’m Jen Hansard, the co-founder of Simple Green Smoothies where we create plant-powered recipes that gives you the energy and health to fuel your passion. It all started on Instagram in 2012, yet over the years (and with a LOT of hustle and luck) it has exploded into a brand of best-selling plant-based recipe books, live community cleanses, adventure retreats and the #1 green smoothie app in iTunes, Daily Blends. Since 2012, Simple Green Smoothies has helped over 2 million people take control of their health in a tasty and simple way.

Our programs can bring in as much as $30,000 a month in revenue, which helps me pay our staff, expenses and also allows us to help women farmers in Cambodia build mushroom farms through World Hope International. Click here to learn more.

how-one-woman-went-from-wic-to-ceo-of-her-own-smoothie-empire

Learn more about starting an online food business:

Where to start?

-> How to start an online food business?
-> How much does it cost to start an online food business?
-> Pros and cons of an online food business

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established online food business
-> Marketing ideas for an online food business
-> Online food business slogans
-> Online food business names

Other resources

-> Online food business tips

4. Just Panela LLC ($2.1M/year)

Scott Unkefer (from Boulder, Colorado, USA) started Just Panela LLC about 8 years ago.

Revenue
$175K / month
Team
3 founders / 10 employees
Location
Boulder, Colorado, USA

Case Study

My name is Scott Unkefer and I’m the Founder and CEO of Just Panela LLC. “Panela” is the name for the form of Unprocessed, Unrefined, Artisanal, and Organic Cane Sugar in the Region.

Left to right: Scott Unkefer (CEO, Founder), Ivan Vasquez (Partner and a leading “Panela”/ Cane Sugar expert in Colombia), Robert Thomas (Co-Founder), Diomes (Packaging Manager), Roosber (Packaging)

how-we-started-a-1-5m-cane-sugar-biz-landing-our-product-in-whole-foods

5. Auric ($3.6M/year)

Deepak agarwal (from New Delhi, Delhi, India) started Auric over 5 years ago.

Revenue
$300K / month
Team
1 founders / 9 employees

Case Study

A chemical engineer by education who decided to make food without chemicals! Almost a decade at Unilever helped me discover my love for consumers and brands. But the pivotal moment was when I became a wellness enthusiast. This was after a backbone fracture in a soccer match that made me join Yoga. Since then, I have been passionate about marrying the logic of the west with the wisdom of the east.

We are already selling 150k bottles of Auric every month. The best thing is that customers have seen visible benefits of Auric and hence, have come back to become loyal customers.

how-i-started-a-100k-month-ayurveda-beauty-and-wellness-beverage

6. Rosa's Thai Cafe ($24M/year)

Alex Moore (from London, England, United Kingdom) started Rosa's Thai Cafe about 17 years ago.

Revenue
$2M / month
Team
2 founders / 373 employees
Location
London, England, United Kingdom

Case Study

My name is Alexander Moore and I’m the co-founder and Director of Rosa’s Thai Cafe. Rosa’s is a Thai food restaurant business I set up with my wife, Saiphin in 2006. We now have 18 sites spread out across the UK and sell authentic modern Thai food, to the beautiful people of all shapes and sizes of the United Kingdom!

Our dishes combine homely authentic Thai food with local ingredients in a casual cafe environment. We built this business from a humble weekend market stall in the East End of London in 2006 and our current run rate revenues are now in excess of $25mil per year and growing.

how-this-couple-started-a-2mm-month-business-selling-authentic-thai-food-on-18-locations

7. Kyra's Bake Shop, LLC ($768K/year)

Kyra Bussanich (from Lake Oswego) started Kyra's Bake Shop, LLC about 14 years ago.

Revenue
$64K / month
Team
1 founders / 11 employees
Location
Lake Oswego

Case Study

Hey everyone! I’m Kyra Bussanich, founder of Kyra’s Bake Shop, an exclusively gluten-free bakery in Portland Oregon. You may have seen us on the Food Network dominating the sweet competition on Cupcake Wars!

how-i-started-a-120k-month-business-selling-award-winning-pastries

8. Dollop Gourmet ($360K/year)

Heather Saffer (from Rochester, New York, USA) started Dollop Gourmet over 8 years ago.

Revenue
$30K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees
Location
Rochester, New York, USA

Case Study

Hey guys! I’m Heather Saffer, Founder and CEO of Dollop Gourmet. We make better-for-you gourmet frostings that contain half as much sugar as conventional frostings and twice as much flavor!

I’ve been fortunate enough to be featured as a winner on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, Shark Tank, QVC, in Forbes, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, among others. As a business, we’re currently doing about $30,000 a month.

dollop-gourmet-how-heather-saffer-grew-her-vegan-frosting-business-to-30k-mo

9. Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce ($120K/year)

Ethan Holmes (from Cleveland, Ohio, USA) started Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce over 8 years ago.

Revenue
$10K / month
Team
1 founders / 3 employees
Location
Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Case Study

My name is Ethan Holmes. I’m from Shaker Heights, Ohio and I am the 25-year-old founder and CEO of Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce.

Holmes is an all natural applesauce product I created at the age of 15 and have since grown to hundreds of grocery stores throughout the Midwest.

how-an-entrepreneur-from-ohio-launched-his-own-applesauce-company

10. Lil Buff Protein ($960K/year)

Christine Moore (from Cleveland, Ohio, USA) started Lil Buff Protein about 7 years ago.

Revenue
$80K / month
Team
1 founders / 10 employees
Location
Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Case Study

My name is Christine Moore and I’m the owner of Lil Buff Protein, where you can eat cake & get buff!

We focus on giving back to the community and our employees. We purchased a new set of tires for one of our employees last year and this year we purchased a car for a family in need in our city.

how-christine-moore-started-a-healthy-cake-treat-product

11. Ka-Pop! Snacks ($1.2M/year)

Dustin Finkel (from Loveland, CO, USA) started Ka-Pop! Snacks over 4 years ago.

Revenue
$100K / month
Team
1 founders / 50 employees

Case Study

Hey, I’m Dustin Finkel, the creator, and CEO of Ka-Pop! and Awakened Foods (a new Holding Company that owns Ka-Pop!, Bubba’s Fine Foods, and Awakened Food Crafters). We are an innovative and fearlessly delicious snack company. I started these businesses to create snacks that were genuinely authentic and craveably delicious. It’s disheartening how many consumers have lost their trust in ‘healthy foods’ because they are either misleading in their claims and/or require you to give up taste.

i-turned-a-recipe-in-my-kitchen-into-a-10mm-year-cpg-snack-company

12. HalalWorldDepot ($2.4M/year)

Mohamad Saad (from Dearborn, MI, USA) started HalalWorldDepot over 4 years ago.

Revenue
$200K / month
Team
2 founders / 10 employees

Case Study

Hello, my name is Mohamad Saad, and I am one of the founders of HalalWorldDepot, America’s premier Halal online marketplace. The company started three years ago as meat and grocery delivery service and slowly grew into a full-blown online marketplace offering a wide range of Halal products.

With a simple goal of getting as many Halal items listed, we also focus on building a community of Muslims around the United States to connect and come together. A home formed on a website where all can feel welcomed and comfortable shopping and finding the products they need.

i-started-my-online-food-business-at-17-it-now-earns-720k-year

13. Your Driver Mike ($168K/year)

Revenue
$14K / month

Case Study

Read the full story on youtube.com ➜

14. @BrandiVBlazin ($48K/year)

Revenue
$4K / month

Case Study

15. Food Apps Company ($144K/year)

Revenue
$12K / month

Case Study

16. Healthy Chew ($720K/year)

TJ Clark (from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA) started Healthy Chew about 7 years ago.

Revenue
$60K / month
Team
2 founders / 7 employees
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Case Study

When we first started, we sold around 200 bowls each week. We currently sell around 10,000 bowls each month. Most companies like this start the same way, cooking from their primary residence for family and friends. We were no exception. But as we continued to grow, we spent time and money to work out of rentable commercial kitchens until we were able to afford our own.

how-we-started-a-meal-prep-delivery-business-and-did-1-8m-in-sales

17. CandyCan ($180K/year)

Krik Angacian (from New York, USA) started CandyCan almost 2 years ago.

Revenue
$15K / month
Team
2 founders / 2 employees
Location
New York, USA

Case Study

Hi, I’m Krik I’m the co-founder and CEO of Protes Protein Snacks and as you can guess… we make protein snacks : )

Today it’s crazy to think you can find our products in +10,000 retailers nationwide.

how-i-started-a-protein-snacks-company

18. EatTiamo ($120K/year)

Nicholas Figoli (from Vernazza, Liguria, Italy) started EatTiamo over 7 years ago.

Revenue
$10K / month
Team
2 founders / 5 employees
Location
Vernazza, Liguria, Italy

Case Study

Hello there! My name is Nicholas Figoli and I co-founded EatTiamo (us.eattiamo.com) alongside with my business partner and high-school friend Francesco Pelosi.

Over the three years of activity, our Boxes have arrived to the table of three hundred American families and we are happy to continue growing.

how-two-italians-started-a-subscription-food-box-business

19. Peaceful Fruits ($180K/year)

Evan Delahanty (from Akron, Ohio, USA) started Peaceful Fruits about 9 years ago.

Revenue
$15K / month
Team
4 founders / 4 employees
Location
Akron, Ohio, USA

Case Study

My name is Evan Delahanty and I’m the Founder & CEO of Peaceful Fruits. Peaceful Fruits makes healthy, delicious, rainforest friendly fruit snacks.

Though we are still small, we’ve gone from $8000 in sales in 2015, to $25,000 in 2016, to $150,000 in 2017. We are now employing 30 people with disabilities in our production facility and have paid tens of thousands of dollars in wages to some of the most underserved people in any community.

peaceful-fruits-growing-a-fruit-snack-business-for-a-good-cause

20. Love Good Fats ($36M/year)

suzie yorke (from Toronto, ON, Canada) started Love Good Fats over 6 years ago.

Revenue
$3M / month
Team
1 founders / 20 employees

Case Study

Hey! I am Suzie Yorke, a mom, a CPG marketing executive, and 11X time Ironman Finisher. I launched Love Good Fats from my dining room table in Toronto, at age 50, as a single mom. I took a big chance and invested my life savings. Love Good Fats is a family of food products that are all very low sugar (1-2g of sugar), keto, high fat, and all clean healthy ingredients.

I am thrilled to be the founder of Love Good Fats’ expansion as it quickly becomes one of the fastest-growing bar brands in North America. ​​Love Good Fats is just over four years old, and we’ve already exceeded $120 million in cumulative sales! The brand has had an incredibly fast start, especially here in Canada. Our growth has been unheard of. We are currently listed in over ten thousand stores in Canada and the US in Grocery, Mass, and specialty natural health food stores

i-started-a-36m-year-healthy-snack-business-from-my-dining-room-table-canada

21. Bluebird Provisions ($635K/year)

Connor Meakin (from Vancouver, BC, Canada) started Bluebird Provisions over 4 years ago.

Revenue
$52.9K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees

Case Study

I’m an elite ultramarathon runner, the world’s best wolf-dog dad, and the founder of Bluebird Provisions Bone Broth, North America's fastest-growing bone broth brand.

Now we’re doing 49,000 per month and growing 50% year over year. Our customers are active individuals aged 30-60 who are looking for natural ways to get better skin, and gut health and improve joint pain. We’ve increased our customer base by 5000% since we started.

how-i-healed-my-injury-with-bone-broth-and-bootstrapped-a-540k-year-business

22. Huy Fong Foods ($150M/year)

David Tran (from Irwindale, California, USA) started Huy Fong Foods over 43 years ago.

Revenue
$12.5M / month
Team
1 founders / 38 employees

Case Study

Huy Fong Foods is an American hot sauce manufacturer headquartered in Irwindale, California. In 1980, a Chinese immigrant from Vietnam named David Tran founded the brand.

The business has developed into one of the market leaders for Asian hot sauces, particularly Sriracha sauce, also known as rooster sauce, because of the rooster-themed label.

When Tran first began his business, he sold his sauces out of a blue Chevy van that he had filled with used baby food jars. In his first month, he earned $2300.

In 2019, Tran's Sriracha generated $150 million in revenue annually, accounting for 10% of the US market for hot sauce.

article

Read the full story on vietcetera.com ➜

23. XO Marshmallow ($1.3M/year)

Lindzi Shanks (from Chicago, IL, USA) started XO Marshmallow over 7 years ago.

Revenue
$108K / month
Team
2 founders / 7 employees

Case Study

My name is Lindzi Shanks, and I am the co-founder and co-CEO of XO Marshmallow. XO is the premier gourmet marshmallow company in the world and home of the world’s first marshmallow café. We create delicious gourmet marshmallows in a variety of flavors from salted caramel to pistachio to our iconic Butterbeer.

While it seems marshmallow companies continue to be on the rise, XO remains the leader in this market because of our compelling lifestyle brand. Our customers (primarily millennials and GenZ women) want to support a brand that they can stand behind. From our beautiful packaging, quality ingredients, merch that allows the consumer to experience the brand beyond the mallow, and our mesmerizing social media accounts – we have created a brand that people want to support. It’s bright, colorful, fun, and puts a smile on your face – and frankly, the world needs a lot more of that right now.

how-we-started-a-1-5m-year-gourmet-marshmallow-brand-with-200

24. LEAN BENTO ($1.01M/year)

Charles struggled to find wholesome, nutritious and tasty food that are not wraps or salads. This sparked him to start his own healthy bento delivery firm.

Charles and Dionis (from Singapore) started LEAN BENTO over 9 years ago.

Revenue
$84K / month
Team
2 founders / employees

Case Study
  • Dionis Chiua and Charles Ng formed a partnership and launched Lean Bento as a passion project serving wholesome single-portion Japanese meals.

  • The business was established in May 2014 to cater to health-conscious, clean-eating, and fitness enthusiasts.

  • Using his engineering researching capabilities, Charles gathers data to decide which “customized” combos would become popular for Lean Bento’s menu.

  • Lean Bento launched a delivery service for the entire island in May 2015 along with the opening of a 20-seat restaurant at The Arcade with a 13-item menu.

Read the full story on vulcanpost.com ➜

25. Pip & Nut ($12M/year)

Pip Murray of premium nut butter brand Pip & Nut chats to us about her business journey so far.

Pip Murray (from London, UK) started Pip & Nut over 10 years ago.

Revenue
$1M / month
Team
1 founders / 30 employees

Case Study
  • Pip Murray is the Founder and CEO of Pip & Nut. The idea of this business came to her mind back in 2013 when she was whipping up peanut butter in her own kitchen for her own consumption.
  • Later when she realized how much others were loving her nut butter she started selling it in a local market in London. She built her brand little by little and even organized a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to launch her products onto the shelves in 2015.
  • Along with offering delicious flavored nut butter Pip & Nut is also dedicated to supporting local communities and reducing carbon print.
  • Since its launch, Pip has worked hard to make it a well-liked brand and currently it has a team of 20+ passionate people. Pip & Nut is present in 6,000 stores throughout the UK and Europe and is known for its taste, variety, and quality.

Listen to the full podcast on podcasts.apple.com ➜

26. Serenity Kids ($9M/year)

Texas-based baby food company Serenity Kids has raised a $3 million investment led by co-founders of Birch Benders, Lizzi Ackerman and Matt LaCasse, after seeing its revenues triple in 2020 to reach $9 million.

Joe and Serenity Carr (from Austin, Texas, USA) started Serenity Kids about 7 years ago.

Revenue
$750K / month
Team
2 founders / 33 employees

Case Study

Serenity Kids, a company selling baby food, was founded by the couple Joe and Serenity Carr.

This company is the first to offer a naturally balanced ratio of protein, fat, and carbohydrates in a baby food pouch for infants older than six months old.

The husband-wife duo founded Serenity Kids to give their infant daughter, Della, the best possible start in life. They made their baby food because they were outraged by how much sugar and how little nutrition was offered.

The baby food produced by this company is low in sugar, made with organic vegetables, ethically sourced meat, and healthy fats.

This Texas-based baby food company has raised $3M in funding from investors, including Birch Bender’s co-founders Lizzi Ackerman and Matt LaCasse after seeing its sales increase by threefold in 2020 to $9M.

Read the full story on forbes.com ➜

28. Chandler Honey ($120K/year)

Tique Chandler (from Toronto) started Chandler Honey over 2 years ago.

Revenue
$10K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees

Case Study

Hi there! My name is Tique Chandler, a 28-year-old Toronto woman, and the founder/owner of Chandler Honey. I’ve dreamed my whole life of being an entrepreneur, and I’m so glad I decided to leap at 26.

how-i-launched-a-flavoured-honey-brand-made-16k-in-30-days

29. Jaju Pierogi ($960K/year)

Casey and Vanessa White (from Lynn, MA, USA) started Jaju Pierogi over 6 years ago.

Revenue
$80K / month
Team
2 founders / 5 employees

Case Study

Hello! My name is Casey White and I am the co-owner of Jaju Pierogi, alongside my sister Vanessa White. We started our pierogi manufacturing journey back in 2016 with farmers' markets and pop-up events. We both worked in the corporate world but knew pierogi may be something to explore.

As of August 2022, we are in multiple grocery chains and over 650 specialty independent stores. Our monthly revenue hovers between $80,000-$100,000.

our-grandfathers-recipe-inspired-us-to-start-a-1m-year-pierogi-business

30. Urban Smokehouse ($60K/year)

Andrew Buehler (from New York, NY, USA) started Urban Smokehouse 11 months ago.

Revenue
$5K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees

Case Study

Hello, my name is Andrew Buehler, and I am the founder of Urban Smokehouse, the world’s first digitally native BBQ brand.

To date, we have spent zero dollars on marketing. I am now exploring digital marketing strategies to drive traffic to our website and events. I expect a significant uptick in traffic from the word of mouth and organic social media we have relied on thus far.

how-we-hit-our-goal-within-24-hours-on-kickstarter-and-raised-30k-worth-of-preorders

31. Dohful Cookies ($180K/year)

Revenue
$15K / month
Team
2 founders / 10 employees

Case Study

Hi, my name is Arushi & I’m the founder of Dohful Cookies. We are India’s first soft-baked cookie company. All our cookies are handcrafted, made fresh on order & shipped all across India.

I started Dohful with my husband Chaman back in 2018 and we run this business in a bootstrapped manner to date.

how-we-started-a-15k-month-online-cookie-business-in-india

Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
Want to find more ideas that make money?

Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.

Get our 5-minute email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.

Starter Story
Unlock the secrets to 7-figure online businesses
Dive into our database of 4,418 case studies & join our community of thousands of successful founders.
Join thousands of founders