26 Pros & Cons Of Starting A Meal Planner App (2024)

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Rewarding work

Starting a meal planner app can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

No overhead costs

To get your meal planner app started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a meal planner app. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

High margins

The gross margins for your meal planner app are typically around 40%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

You are your own boss!

With createing a meal planner app, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

More convenient user experience using an app

The smartphone market is continually growing, and many consumers prefer to use an app over a website. Bonus points if your app is accessible to users without WiFi!

You can generate revenue through your app!

Although it can be pricey to develop an app, there are various different ways to generate revenue. You can make it so that customers pay a small fee to download your app and you can generate revenue through ads + sponsors.

App store allows you to reach a wide audience

If your app is listed in the app store, you are easily accessible to users that frequently visit the app store. App store listings also show as separate entries on Google’s search rankings, which allows for more users to see your business!

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your meal planner app, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Constant maintenance of publication

You may find yourself constantly needing to update your meal planner app in order to stay relevant for your audience and for those searching on google.

Security Issues

With any Saas business, data loss and security issues may arise throughout your process of building your product. It's critical that you understand exactly what you're responsible for and how to avoid potential issues down the road.

Stressful work

This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

Work can be repetitive

You may find creating the same product over and over repetitive and tiresome. One way of avoiding this is to diversify product lines and revenue streams - this will keep things interesting!

Time commitment

With createing a meal planner app, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

Difficult to build trust with your customer

With createing a meal planner app, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

Complex development process.

The development process for a meal planner app can be quite complex, which may cause delays and challenges when launching and growing your product.

Profit-sharing with the app store

If you are using your app to drive revenue, either through paid downloads or through purchases of your services through the app, then be aware that app stores get a substantial cut (around 30%) of revenue on top of sales tax!

Complex maintenance

Your meal planner app will require a long-term investment due to the need for updates, bug fixes, and security vulnerabilities. It's important that you (or someone on your team) stays on top of this at all times.

Impatient customers

You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.