How to grow a deli business: 12 practical ideas for UK delis

The fastest ways to grow a deli business are to sell more to the customers you already have and to fill your quiet hours. Take lunch pre-orders from nearby offices, sell platters and grazing boards with notice, run Christmas and Easter pre-orders, offer click-and-collect, and give regulars a reason to come back weekly. Most of these need a menu people can order from on their phone, not a bigger shop.

Below are 12 ideas, the UK rules that come with them, and a 90-day plan.

First, know which products make you money

Before you grow, check your margins. Delis sell everything from 40p rolls to £40 cheeses, and margins vary hugely by category.

Work out each line with our GP calculator. Grow the categories that earn the most per hour of staff time, not just the ones that sell the most.

12 ideas to grow your deli

1. Win the office lunch

Offices within a 10-minute walk are your best regulars. Let them pre-order sandwiches and salads by 11am for a 12:30 collection. One person orders for the team, pays once and picks up a labelled bag.

Menuthere's pre-orders let customers pick a time slot, with a notice period you set (Lite and above). You can also limit notice-heavy dishes to the days you make them. Coupons for a first office order are on Lite too. Read about running a lunch trade in our sandwich shop guide.

2. Sell platters and grazing boards

Cheese boards, antipasti and sandwich platters turn a £6 lunch into a £60 order. Offer three sizes with clear serving numbers, a 48-hour notice period and a collection or delivery slot. Limit notice-heavy items to the days you can make them.

3. Make Christmas your biggest month

Christmas cheese boards, hams, pies and hampers sell out in many delis. Take orders online from early November, with collection slots for 22–24 December. Prepayment online cuts no-shows. Card payments go to your own Stripe account on Menuthere's Lite plan.

Worked example (illustrative): 60 cheese boards at £35 = £2,100 of pre-sold orders, plus 40 hams at £45 = £1,800. You know your stock needs weeks ahead and nobody queues on Christmas Eve.

Do the same for Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and summer picnics.

4. Offer click-and-collect every day

Busy customers want to order the olives, bread and coffee beans on the way home and grab them in a minute. Add your full shop range to an online ordering page, mark things sold out when they go, and set collection times. See our online ordering system and click and collect pages.

5. Deliver locally

A small delivery radius with a minimum order works well for platters, hampers and Friday-night cheese boxes. Menuthere has basic delivery zones on the Free plan, plus a minimum order value. Advanced zones, with a different fee per zone, come with Lite. Using your own ordering page avoids the 13–35% commission charged by the big delivery apps (plus VAT on that commission).

6. Label prepacked food properly

Growing sandwiches and salads? If you pack food before the customer orders it, on the same premises, it's "prepacked for direct sale" (PPDS). Under Natasha's Law it needs a label with the name, the full ingredients list and the 14 allergens emphasised. Made-to-order food doesn't need the label, but you still need allergen information. For online orders, Menuthere lets you tag the 14 allergens and calories on each dish on every plan, so customers see them before they order. Read our Natasha's Law guide.

7. Run tastings and events

Cheese and wine evenings, meet-the-producer nights and cooking demos fill quiet evenings and sell tickets in advance. If you sell or include alcohol, you need licence cover: your premises licence or a Temporary Event Notice in England and Wales.

8. Add a wine and beer shelf

Cheese sells wine, and wine sells cheese. Selling alcohol to take away needs a premises licence that covers off-sales, a designated premises supervisor and a personal licence holder to authorise sales. Budget for the licence and the training before you stock it.

9. Supply local cafés and pubs

Your cheese, charcuterie or baking could be on other people's menus. Wholesale has lower margins but steady volume. Agree minimum orders, delivery days and payment terms in writing.

10. Get found on Google

Most people search "deli near me" on their phone. Keep your Google Business Profile up to date with hours, photos and your ordering link. Ask every customer for a review at the counter, and reply to every review.

11. Message your regulars

"Fresh burrata in today" sells burrata. A WhatsApp broadcast to customers who opted in is quick and personal. Menuthere's WhatsApp broadcasts on your own number are a Pro feature, and Meta charges per marketing message. Only message people who agreed to hear from you. See WhatsApp Business for food businesses.

12. Reward the weekly shop

A stamp card still works ("10th coffee free"). Make one with our loyalty card maker. Menuthere also has loyalty points on Pro, and on the Branded App plan (US$99 a month) regulars see their points in your own deli app. If you want a monthly cheese club, note that Menuthere doesn't run recurring subscriptions, so use a separate subscription tool or take orders month by month.

VAT: watch the mix

Delis sell a lot of zero-rated food, but not everything is.

• Cold takeaway food such as cheese, bread and cold sandwiches is generally zero-rated.
• Hot takeaway food and anything eaten on your premises is standard-rated at 20%.
• Alcohol, soft drinks, crisps and confectionery are standard-rated even when cold.
• Hampers that mix zero-rated food with standard-rated items (such as wine or chocolate) are a mixed supply, so you split the price for VAT. A wicker hamper or basket (not a simple cardboard box) also carries VAT on its share of the price.

See VAT on takeaway food, and ask your accountant if you add a café corner or hampers.

A 90-day growth plan

Take lunch pre-orders, platters and Christmas orders from one link, with 0% commission.

Create your free ordering page