33 Pick-Up & Delivery Business Ideas (2024)
If you're looking to start your own pick-up and delivery business idea, there are several low-capital options you can choose from.
We put together a list of the most profitable courier business ideas you can start today!
Here they are:
1. Start a food delivery business
In today’s busy lifestyles and schedules, cooking is no longer a priority to many. People like to order-in food from their nearest restaurants or food joints and enjoy a meal in the comfort of their homes.
The food delivery business is like a courier service through which restaurants deliver food to their customers.
You can offer retail food delivery services to restaurants within your locality if you have a truck. Customers order through a restaurant or grocer’s website, and the owners contact you to deliver.
How much you can make: $14,000 — $1,800,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Food Fleet grew over 160% in just one year and managed over 20 million in sales for its clients, securing multiple contracts with the likes of Sodexo, Levy Restaurants and more, due to its understanding of catering client needs and its advanced turnkey and design services.
2. Start a grocery delivery service
Grocery delivery is an on-demand service where clients shop for groceries, and you deliver to their commercial or residential premises.
As a carrier in grocery delivery, you have an opportunity to maximize your output, as you can serve multiple customers in one trip. Besides, you get to choose your preferred working time and location.
How much you can make: $385,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 35 days (?)
Learn how Send Eats grew from packing dozens of orders per month to tens of thousands, with a monthly revenue of $385k, by providing lightning-fast order fulfillment for eCommerce brands primarily within Shopify, and how they utilized their personal network and went from shipping out of a bread factory to their own 30,000 sq ft warehouse.
3. Start a fruit snacks business
Love snacking? As consumers become more health-conscious, they are turning to fruit snacks. Therefore, starting a fruit snacks business today can be a great idea.
How much you can make: $15,000 — $3,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $35 (?)
Peaceful Fruits, an award-winning for-profit social enterprise, sells organic, clean label, natural fruit snacks and has gone from $8,000 in sales in 2015 to $150,000 in 2017, employing 30 people with disabilities in their production facility and is an excellent example of a successful, mission-based business.
4. Start a computer delivery and assemble business
A computer delivery and assembly service involve procuring IT hardware and delivering it to corporations, government offices, or individual offices.
The computer delivery and assembly service is a low barrier to entry business. You can apply for advertised procurement tenders and partner with computer retailers to meet the demand.
How long does it take to build: 365 days (?)
5. Start a water delivery business
The water delivery business serves homes, businesses, and corporate and professional offices. Starting a water delivery business is relatively easier than you think.
You have the option to become a distributor to a particular water brand, or you can set up a water treatment and distillation business where you package your treated water and deliver it to customers.
Alternatively, you can purchase water from wholesalers near you and deliver it to your customers at a profit.
6. Start a laboratory test business
One of the most profitable niches in the healthcare sector is the laboratory test business. Lab tests are critical to medical care as they give patients and doctors detailed, objective health data. Doctors may request patients' bloodwork, urine tests, and specialized tests to diagnose rare conditions.
Medical labs provide clinical laboratory tests for hospitals, private outpatients, and ambulatory care center patients.
Given the critical role laboratory tests play in healthcare and the demand these services attract, starting a laboratory test business can be profitable. If you plan to start a medical lab business may specialize in a particular niche or offer a wide range of laboratory tests. Understand the regulations in your region and acquire the necessary certifications.
How much you can make: $20,000 — $330,000/month
How long does it take to build: 1000 days (?)
Third Wave Analytics developed the world's first cloud-based and customizable LIMS platform on Salesforce, generating $330k monthly revenue from clients such as Ohio State University and Boston University School of Medicine while partnering with the University of California-Berkeley for a COVID-19 study; founder Savitra Sharma advises aspiring entrepreneurs to focus on clear objectives to meet their goals.
7. Start a gift baskets business
A gift basket is delivered to the recipient at the workplace or residence. A gift basket business is a noble idea because, with a proper strategy, you can remain in business all year round.
To start a gift basket business, choose a niche or a sales channel, and register your business appropriately. Then, with a proper marketing strategy, you should be able to reach a broader customer base.
How much you can make: $550 — $800,000/month
How long does it take to build: 135 days (?)
Meet Tyler Macke, the 21-year-old founder of SendAFriend, an e-commerce brand that sells stuffed animal care packages, which began with $50k in revenue in 2019 and is now on track to make $5M in revenue this year, while donating 10% of revenue to children's hospitals throughout the United States.
8. Start a courier business
Courier service is a premium, all-inclusive service that collects and delivers shipments within the shortest possible time frame. Courier services serve individuals, e-commerce stores, law offices, banks, hospitals, etc.
If you dream of owning a courier service, you can start as a delivery driver and rely on self-employed delivery drivers to get the goods to customers. As the business grows, you can invest in delivery vans to handle bulky deliveries.
To run a convenient courier service, ensure you have a reliable delivery car and proper time management skills.
How much you can make: $5,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Bangladesh-based logistics company Parcelmagic has onboarded over 100 merchants and delivers 10,000 parcels each month within just six months of operation, offering technology-based end-to-end services for small to medium business parcel delivery, individual document and parcel couriers, and corporate logistics service solutions.
9. Start a school bus shuttle
Parents struggle between managing their professional life and their kid’s daily schedule in today’s busy times. It can get complicated for parents to take time out from their busy schedules to drop off & pick up their kids from school daily. School kids also need to travel for extracurricular activities like arts, music, or sports.
School bus shuttles ensure the convenience and safety of school children while traveling to school. Therefore, starting a school bus shuttle business can be profitable. You may associate your bus with any school or reach out to parents in your neighborhood.
10. Start a drug delivery business
The global drug delivery market is snowballing. The rapid growth is fueled by the growing prevalence of chronic diseases across the globe and a surging senior population. Besides, technological advancements and the development of innovative drugs have significantly fostered the growth of an innovative pharmaceutical delivery market.
To start your drug delivery business, partner with reliable pharmaceutical companies or medicine and drug dealers. You must understand how drug delivery works and develop an application through which customers request the service.
11. Start a pet food delivery business
A pet food delivery can be a very low-cost business to start. You do not need to worry about inventory as you can take orders, and the pet food shop near you will fulfill them. Therefore, you can operate a pet food business without much of your involvement.
To start a pet food delivery business, create a website and target pet owners. Then, partner with a reliable pet food manufacturer or distributor who can take your orders and do the deliveries. A pet food delivery business can be a great way to earn a passive income.
12. Start a laundry delivery business
A laundry delivery business involves offering a convenient service where customers can have their clothes washed, dried, and folded and then delivered back to them.
To start this business on a budget, gather basic laundry equipment like washers, dryers, and ironing facilities.
You can operate from your home or rent a small space. Advertise your services locally, set competitive prices, and offer reliable delivery options to attract and retain customers.
Finally, maintain high-quality service and excellent customer relations to grow your business over time.
How much you can make: $9,300 — $120,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Pick My Laundry, India's on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning service provider has developed a mobile app and website serving almost 50,000 customers in its first year after signing up 100 third-party laundry services and franchising its model with over 50 franchises across more than 15 Indian cities.
13. Start a drone delivery service
Drones support the logistics industry in different ways. For instance, delivery drones have the potential to bypass ground-based traffic congestion by lifting a share of ground transportation into the airspace. Besides, drones have made delivery possible in otherwise difficult-to-reach areas like ports, terminals, areas with floods, etc.
Delivery drones are applicable in many areas. Examples include:
- Courier delivery
- Medicine delivery
- Hyperlocal delivery
- Food delivery
- On-demand local shipping
But before you invest in the drone courier delivery business, take time to learn the laws governing the industry and research out how other players are operating. Then launch and market your drone delivery business.
14. Start a flower delivery business
Are you willing to start a flower delivery business?
Flowers are the most adaptable and endearing gift people choose for their loved ones. Be it for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or even formal corporate occasions. Therefore, starting a flower delivery business can be very profitable.
To start a flower delivery business, choose a niche and learn what your target customers expect. Conduct competitor analysis and choose an appealing brand name. Creating an easy-to-navigate website that allows customers to customize their bouquets to their tastes and preferences will help you stand out.
Finally, a well-coordinated and dedicated delivery system can take your business to the top of the flower delivery game.
How much you can make: $3,000 — $9,600/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,625 (?)
How long does it take to build: 45 days (?)
Milla Rose, a boutique online flower arrangement business based in Melbourne, Australia, started as a side project in a bedroom and has grown into a nearly $10k a month business, with monthly revenue doubling since last year, selling almost 3000 arrangements to all corners of Australia.
15. Start a courier business
Courier service is a premium, all-inclusive service that collects and delivers shipments within the shortest possible time frame. Courier services serve individuals, e-commerce stores, law offices, banks, hospitals, etc.
If you dream of owning a courier service, you can start as a delivery driver and rely on self-employed delivery drivers to get the goods to customers. As the business grows, you can invest in delivery vans to handle bulky deliveries.
To run a convenient courier service, ensure you have a reliable delivery car and proper time management skills.
How much you can make: $5,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Bangladesh-based logistics company Parcelmagic has onboarded over 100 merchants and delivers 10,000 parcels each month within just six months of operation, offering technology-based end-to-end services for small to medium business parcel delivery, individual document and parcel couriers, and corporate logistics service solutions.
16. Start a packers & movers business
Packers and movers are service providers that pack and move customers' belongings, easing the relocating experience from start to end.
The moving and packers' industry is set to experience growth over the next decade. The growing population and influx of multinational corporations are reasons for the current and anticipated demand for moving and packers' services.
Therefore, starting your movers and packers' in 2024 can be rewarding if you ensure the right business approach.
To start, identify the niche, prepare a business plan, and acquire the necessary equipment and freight. An online presence is essential for running the movers and packers. A website and active social media presence will advertise your business.
Besides, you must ensure proper competitor research to focus on strategies to help your business stand out.
How much you can make: $60,000 — $2,500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $8,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
A 23-year-old founder started a moving company that now averages $115,000 a month in revenue and has record monthly sales of $158,000 by prioritizing customer service and using simple, common sense practices like friendly movers and a transparent pricing structure.
17. Start a car rental business
Starting a car rental business can be a profitable venture for those interested in the auto industry.
Retail and corporate are the main segments within the car rental industry. Retail car rentals focus on individuals who rent cars for shorter periods, while corporate car rental targets companies that want to transport clients or employees.
If you are starting a car rental business , target airports, hotels, railway stations, commercial offices, and other high-traffic areas.
Market your business, hire employees who will manage the operations and keep records, and purchase business insurance for both cars and employees.
How much you can make: $870 — $10,000/month
How long does it take to build: 135 days (?)
ROAMERICA, a campervan rental company founded by Taylor Hood and Gretchen Bayless who quit their full-time jobs to focus on their business and have expanded their fleet quickly to meet the demand of adventure-seeking customers, with most of their web traffic coming from organic Google searches and a focus on social media and brand awareness.
18. Start a fresh meat delivery business
According to experts, food delivery has become a global market worth more than $150 billion and snowballing. The advent of easy-to-use apps and technology, along with busier lifestyles than ever, are the top reasons fueling the growth of food delivery businesses.
Starting a meat delivery business can be rewarding. To start, onboard reliable meat stores and vendors in your region. Then, you must create a good platform through which customers will reach you for fresh meat orders.
How much you can make: $200,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
HalalWorldDepot is a Halal online marketplace that started three years ago as a meat and grocery delivery service and has now expanded to offer a wide variety of Halal products, with a customer return rate of 50-60%, profitability at 16-25%, and over 10,000 customers, with plans to expand to Canada and the United Kingdom within three to five years.
19. Start a pizza delivery business
The global pizza market report will grow at a CAGR of 10.17% to reach over $233.26 billion in the next few years. Growing urban population, escalating disposable income, and increasing youth population are reasons for the rising number of pizza lovers.
Starting a pizza delivery business can be fun and rewarding if you enjoy unique creatives and love cooking. A pizza delivery business serves consumers at their homes, business or offices. To start, identify a niche, and develop a unique recipe that will suit the target market.
How much you can make: $385,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 10 days (?)
Learn how Send Eats grew from packing dozens of orders per month to tens of thousands, with a monthly revenue of $385k, by providing lightning-fast order fulfillment for eCommerce brands primarily within Shopify, and how they utilized their personal network and went from shipping out of a bread factory to their own 30,000 sq ft warehouse.
20. Start an egg delivery business
Over the past decade, a growing population and greater use of processed eggs have left the total egg consumption averaging about 5 billion dozen annually.
Do you love chicken farming and are interested in entrepreneurship opportunities? Starting an egg delivery business can be a fun and profitable venture. You can supply eggs from your chicken farm or purchase eggs from local farmers and distribute them to your customers.
To start, you will need capital to buy laying chicken and chicken feeds or to purchase eggs from farmers. If capital is an issue, partner with chicken farmers in your region who will supply you with the eggs as you deliver to the target market.
21. Start a furniture delivery and assembling business
A furniture delivery business is a low-barrier to entry business opportunity for a handyperson with tools and a truck. You can manage the business easily from your home office or online, keeping operating expenses minimal.
As the home construction business experience a boom, demand for new furniture is also increasing. New home buyers purchase furniture online and look for a handy person to help with the delivery and assembly.
To start a furniture delivery and assembly business, partner with furniture manufacturers and become their local agent. For every order, they send, request to be the delivery and assembly partner.
22. Start an auto parts delivery business
Cars will not stop breaking down soon. Thus, mechanics will always need auto parts to replace the broken ones. Therefore, if you are interested in the automobile industry, you can make great money delivering auto parts.
To start, research the market to determine which spare parts are most demanded. Then, partner with auto parts manufacturers and seek orders from the mechanics and car owners. You can create an online shop targeting those looking for spare parts for their vehicles.
How much you can make: $45,000/month
How long does it take to build: 365 days (?)
Avto.pro is a leading Ukrainian marketplace for auto products that sold goods worth $105 million in 2021, with the potential to become a new Unicorn, by providing unique solutions that digitize the market, optimize logistics and trade chains, rebuilding relations between car owners and service stations, and introduce simplicity and transparency to the process for the client.
23. Start a newspaper delivery business
Despite the adoption of digital news platforms, some people still love reading a physical newspaper and will buy them daily. Thus, starting a newspaper delivery business could be one of the fastest routes to becoming an entrepreneur.
The newspaper delivery business does not require huge capital and is a high-margin business. You can partner with a local newspaper company and become their distributor. Target offices and homeowners who want to read the daily newspaper.
24. Start an office equipment delivery business
The office supply industry is growing rapidly, making it an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs.
An office equipment supplies and delivery service focuses on ensuring businesses and offices have office-related supplies so they can run daily operations smoothly.
Launching an office equipment business can lead you to entrepreneurship success. To succeed, you can choose to focus on office supplies with delivery as a value-added component or make delivery your core business activity.
How much you can make: $5,000/month
Senthil Kumar spearheads Siva Solutions Inc, a game-changing digital marketing and software development company which caters to dentists using an array of well-crafted products to manage patient data and inquiries, thus enabling efficient management of processes, while boosting them to the 1st page on Google.
25. Start a liquor delivery business
With the fad for ordering food and drinks online, owning a liquor delivery business can be fun and rewarding. Most liquor consumers today prefer skipping trips down the liquor store and instead order the drinks online.
To start a liquor delivery business, partner with liquor suppliers and focus on advertising their liquor online. When customers order and pay, you can take up the fulfillment task or have the dealer deliver to the consumer.
26. Start an air freight delivery business
With the increase in international trade, The air cargo business is booming, and the trend will not end soon. If you are in the airline industry and looking to diversify your business to maximize profitability, you may consider starting an air freight delivery business.
Air freight delivery businesses focus on the transportation of cargo by air.
To start, you need to acquire the necessary certifications and licensing. Then, identify a niche, and focus on delivering a customized air transportation service.
How much you can make: $1,080,000/month
How long does it take to build: 300 days (?)
DocShipper is a digital freight forwarding and sourcing company that offers a one-stop-shop solution for companies and e-commerce business owners throughout the supply chain, which saw over 700% growth in 2021 with a turnover of $4.9 million.
27. Start a lunchbox delivery business
A lunchbox delivery business serves workers and busy professionals who do not have the time to walk to a restaurant for lunch. The business exists to provide convenience to its customers.
With today's busy lifestyle, people rarely have the time to prepare meals. Besides, technology enables users to discover multiple options regarding how we dine.
Thus, starting your lunchbox delivery business can be fun and rewarding if you love catering to busy professionals. To start, identify potential customers, and set up the ordering app. Market your business online through different platforms.
28. Start a cake delivery business
The global cake market size has been growing tremendously. The increased popularity results from celebrating various occasions like birthdays, weddings, and personal achievements.
A popular trend within the cake industry is the delivery of cakes. People opt to order cakes online as it allows them to try different options.
Therefore, starting a cake delivery business can be a fulfilling business idea. To start your cake delivery business, identify a niche, and define your cake recipe.
How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)
29. Start a motorbike pick-up and delivery business
The demand for motorcycle pickup and delivery services has increased. The increased demand is because motorcycles offer a faster way to reach the target audience. Are you interested in starting a motorcycle pickup and delivery business?
To start, you need at least one motorbike, and you can increase the fleet as business grows. Then, secure all the necessary licenses and start marketing your business. Ideal customers include e-commerce, offices looking for petty errands assistance, individuals, and businesses.
30. Start an airport bus shuttle services
An airport bus shuttle service transports people and luggage to and from or within airports. An airport shuttle service can be profitable to operate.
If you plan to start an airport bus shuttle, focus on building alliances and partnerships with companies and local businesses that will supply you with customers.
31. Start a campus bus shuttle service
A campus bus shuttle service is excellent for getting students and campus staff to and from class as efficiently as possible. Many campuses provide the bus shuttle service through a partnership with a private transport operator.
To start a campus shuttle service, collaborate with the campus administration, so you are allowed to operate within the campus.
32. Start a restaurant meal delivery business
Consumer demand for food delivery services has risen steadily. Starting a restaurant meal delivery business can be a rewarding business.
You can start your restaurant with a food delivery service or partner with reliable restaurants to fulfill the orders. Create a food ordering app, and market your business.
33. Start a coffee delivery business
According to statistics, over 150 million Americans consume coffee. Starting a coffee delivery business is a bright idea. Because already, you have a target market.
Besides, the food and beverage delivery market has been snowballing and the trend is not stopping soon. More people will continue ordering online, thanks to technology.
To start, you may partner with coffee shops near you and have them fulfill the orders. Alternatively, you can prepare coffee at home and have a delivery service help you fulfill the orders.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
