Can You Sell Food on Shopify?
Yes, you can sell food on Shopify. The platform allows restaurants to sell ready-made meals, groceries, and baked goods. However, food sellers must adhere to local health and safety regulations, which may involve securing licences or permits depending on the nature of your products. For restaurants, this is often straightforward, as they usually already meet the necessary legal requirements for food handling and safety.
Shopify allows the customisation of product pages for various food items, enabling you to easily showcase different meal options. You can even add nutritional information using specific apps. While Shopify is excellent for selling pre-packaged and dry goods, selling perishable or hot food requires thoughtful logistics, especially when it comes to delivery.
Selling Food on Shopify
Shopify offers many advantages if you are looking to create a website for your restaurant or food service.
Location & Free Delivery
One challenge you might face is being restricted by the areas you can serve. If you only have one location and can deliver to a limited geographical area, it’s important to ensure that your website is accessible only to customers within that region. This is easily managed by using a geolocation app, which can filter visitors based on their IP address and location.
Many food delivery services offer free delivery for orders above a certain amount, and this is simple to implement on your Shopify store. You can either use an app or manually set it up through the shipping settings. This allows you to set minimum order values for free delivery. Additionally, you can offer local collection as a shipping option, giving customers the choice to pick up their orders if that suits them better.
Offering Deals and Bundled Discounts
Offering promotions like bundles, discounts, and special offers is an effective way to engage both new and returning customers. You can easily manage these deals on your Shopify website by using various apps. There are specialised bundle apps available that allow you to create attractive offers for your customers quickly. These apps also offer flexibility, letting customers purchase items individually if they prefer, while still showcasing the bundled deals.
Taking Orders before opening
One of the key benefits of an online store is the ability to accept orders before your physical location opens, helping you build up demand early in the day. By providing customers with an estimated time for when their orders will be ready for collection or delivery, you can better manage your workload and increase overall orders. This strategy not only helps spread out the demand but also ensures smoother operations during busy periods.
Brand Awareness
Using Shopify to sell food products can significantly boost your brand awareness. Shopify allows you to create a fully customised online store that reflects your brand’s identity. Whether you’re selling artisanal foods, organic products, or restaurant meals, you can build a store that visually represents your brand through custom themes, colours, and layouts.
Shopify integrates with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, allowing you to easily promote your food products across multiple channels. This can help you reach a wider audience, create consistent brand messaging, and engage with customers where they are most active.
Additionally, Shopify’s SEO features help improve your store’s visibility on search engines, making it easier for potential customers to discover your brand organically. Apps that allow for customer reviews and user-generated content further enhance your brand's credibility, helping to establish trust and loyalty among consumers.
What are the disadvantages of using Shopify for restaurants?
While Shopify is a powerful e-commerce platform, there are several challenges for restaurants and food-based businesses to consider.
No Expiry Date Management
Shopify does not come with built-in features to manage perishable goods, such as tracking expiration dates. This means restaurant owners need to rely on third-party apps or manually manage inventory to ensure that expired items are not sold.
Selling by Weight or Custom Quantities
Shopify's core system only supports selling items in whole units, which can be a significant limitation for restaurants or businesses selling bulk or made-to-order products. For instance, selling products like deli items by weight is not natively supported and requires additional apps to implement this functionality.
Transaction Fees
In addition to the monthly subscription fee, Shopify charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments. These fees can add up, particularly for restaurants processing frequent small transactions, impacting overall profitability.
App and Developer Costs
Many necessary features for restaurants, such as advanced order management or custom delivery options, require third-party apps. The cost of these apps, along with potential developer fees if you need customisation, can make running a Shopify store more expensive.
Limited Customisation Without Coding
While Shopify offers a wide variety of themes and templates, customising the store to fit specific restaurant needs (like table reservations or menu design) may require coding skills or the help of a developer. This could be a hurdle for restaurant owners who want a unique look and feel for their site but lack technical expertise.
Dependency on Apps
Many restaurant-specific features, such as timed delivery slots, local pick-up, or custom tipping options, are not natively supported by Shopify and must be added through apps. This can sometimes lead to performance issues or design inconsistencies if apps do not integrate smoothly with the main website.
Shipping and Freshness Concerns
Managing the logistics of shipping fresh or perishable food can be tricky with Shopify. While the platform allows custom shipping rates, ensuring that perishable items are delivered within safe time frames requires careful coordination with couriers. It’s often not as straightforward as using specialised platforms built for food businesses.
No Native Support for Complex Orders
Restaurants that handle a variety of order types (e.g., dine-in, take-out, delivery) may find Shopify’s native order management system lacking. Additional apps or tools are often needed to manage the complexities of running both an online and physical restaurant operation.
Order Timing Issues
While you can accept orders at any time, Shopify doesn’t provide a native way to schedule when those orders should be prepared or delivered. Without apps or manual systems, this could lead to issues with timing during peak business hours.
Shopify for Restaurants FAQs
How do I manage local delivery and pick-up for my restaurant on Shopify?
Shopify offers built-in options for managing local delivery and pick-up through the local delivery and local pick-up features. You can set up specific delivery zones based on postal codes or distances, as well as customise delivery rates.
Can I sell food by weight or quantity on Shopify?
Shopify’s default setup does not support selling by weight or variable quantity natively. However, this limitation can be overcome by using third-party apps such as Bold Product Options or Advanced Product Options, which allow you to offer custom quantities or sell items by weight. These apps help customise product variants, such as selling deli items by grams or pounds, to match the specific needs of your store
How do I handle expiration dates and inventory for perishable goods?
Shopify doesn’t offer a built-in system for tracking expiration dates of perishable goods. To manage this effectively, you will need to rely on third-party apps like Freshly or use manual inventory tracking systems. These apps help monitor stock levels and alert you when items are approaching their expiry dates. Whilst this may not be of concern if you own a restaurant and make food to order, it is something to consider for those creating food items in advance for sale.
Are there any legal issues I should consider when selling food on Shopify?
Selling food online through Shopify comes with several legal considerations. You must ensure compliance with local food safety regulations, which may require health inspections, proper labelling (including ingredients and allergens), and adherence to packaging standards. Additionally, depending on the type of food you sell, you may need permits for handling, preparation, and distribution. If you own a restaurant or other food premises then you may already be compliant with local regulations.
Can I sell homemade food on Shopify, and what are the legal requirements?
Yes, you can sell homemade food on Shopify, but you must comply with your local food and safety laws and regulations. These laws typically govern what types of food can be sold, where it can be sold (e.g., locally or online), and whether you need additional permits or inspections.
How can I set up subscription services for recurring food deliveries?
Shopify offers several apps to set up subscription services for recurring food deliveries. Apps like Bold Subscriptions or Recharge Subscriptions allow you to offer subscription boxes for meal plans, groceries, or prepared food. These apps automate the recurring billing process and allow customers to modify or cancel their subscriptions directly through their Shopify account
How do I handle refunds and returns for food products?
Handling refunds and returns for food products can be tricky due to food safety concerns. Typically, food items are non-returnable unless there is a defect, such as damage during shipping or incorrect items. In these cases, you can offer refunds or replacements. Shopify allows you to create refund policies specific to food products.
How do I showcase nutrition facts and ingredient lists on Shopify?
To display nutrition facts and ingredient lists, you can use apps like It's Got: Nutrition Facts or Yotpo to add detailed nutritional labels to your product pages. These apps allow you to customise the layout and style of the labels to match your branding, while ensuring that all the essential dietary information is easily accessible to your customers - this is especially useful for those who may have allergies and specific dietary requirements.
Can I integrate my Shopify store with food delivery platforms like UberEats or DoorDash?
Shopify doesn’t natively integrate with third-party food delivery platforms like UberEats or DoorDash, but you can use apps like Zapiet or Onfleet to manage local deliveries.
What’s the best way to handle tipping in Shopify for food services?
Shopify offers built-in tipping via Shopify Admin. You can create up to three tipping options that are a percentage of the order's subtotal. Alternatively, customers can add a custom amount.
How do I manage multi-location stock for different branches or franchises?
Shopify allows you to manage inventory for multiple locations natively through its multi-location inventory feature. This feature lets you assign products to specific locations and track stock levels in each branch or warehouse. You can also set up different delivery zones based on each location’s availability, ensuring customers only order from locations that can fulfil their orders.
Shopify is a great platform for restaurants, particularly those looking to offer online ordering or expand into selling food products. However, there are limitations, especially when it comes to managing perishables and custom orders. By carefully selecting the right apps and possibly working with developers, you can create a seamless online experience for your customers. Just be prepared to handle additional logistics, especially if you're selling fresh or prepared foods.
