Butter chicken and mutton stew can smell wonderful on your plate but making a trip to the store with all those pieces hanging from hooks is another experience altogether, and more so in this lockdown. One of the last things anyone wants to do is wear a mask and drive to the meat shop, and so here is the best solution.
If you’ve been thinking about creating an on-demand app, fish and meat delivery can be one of the most successful options. You can now make life easier for anyone wanting to prepare some meat dish at home by sparing them a painful visit to the meat shop.
Liscious, Meetigo, Maastan, and FreshToHome are some of the names that come to mind when it comes to a meat delivery app. And one of the best examples that you have here is an app called FreshToHome. So, today, we are going to have a look at the cost of building an app like FreshToHome.
FreshToHome – The Story
It all began when a certain young man in Kerala observed the process by which fish reached the homes of various families, the line of process, after sitting in plastic crates, sprinkled with ice and ammonia and finally making their way to consumers.
And young Shan Kadavil decided to change things, giving consumers fresher fish for their curries and other dishes.
He decided to source fish directly from fishermen, supplying them at mass-market prices, without including any middlemen in the process.
And that’s how we got FreshToHome, an online platform that sends fish from sea to homes, launched in August 2015.
And so, collaborating with Mathew Joseph, an exporter of fish, FreshToHome was started and in time, grew to include meat, with the same intention of giving people fresh chicken and mutton in their curries.
Today, FreshToHome has a team of employees and is a successful business that we are going to learn from.
Let’s Look At A Few Statistics
According to the Indian fisheries ministry. Fish alone shares a market size of $50 billion. Yes, India is considered to be the second-largest producer of fish in the world.
And now, let’s come to meat. Today, the meat industry has a market size of 1,80,000 crore.
Let’s come to FreshToHome. Today, the startup sells over six tonnes of fish and meat per day with over 5000 customers.
on-demand Meat delivery app development especially saw a boom in the last couple of years, thanks to the pandemic and with that, the subsequent lockdowns.
In a country like India, with over 70 percent of the population eating meat, and not being able to visit meat shops, there had to be a solution, which came in the form of apps like FreshToHome.
The meat market, which was worth an overall 330k crores back then in 2019, is shown to grow and is predicted to continue growing in the subsequent years. Studies say that the meat market can easily touch 460k crores within the year 2024.
So, if you are planning on starting an on-demand app, go ahead. Online meat and fish delivery is one area in which you are sure to grow.
How FreshToHome Does It All
So, before we consider the cost of building an app like FreshToHome, let us look at how this app works and a few tips and lessons that we can take home from it.
There is an Android app in place for all the fishermen in the community with pictures that they can see and bid the price at which they intend to sell their produce.
This is followed by purchase orders from the consumers and the meat is delivered in trucks. And that’s how FreshToHome works. The company owns over 1000 fishermen, spread over 150 coasts, with more than 60 trucks and 100 hubs in India and Dubai.
Here the staff is trained in terms of quality and grading, and this includes the fishermen and livestock farmers. Financial advances are provided and challenges are dealt with.
FreshToHome gets its meat and fish directly from farmers and keeps them in a cold chain, thus eliminating the use of unhealthy chemicals.
Thanks to apps like FreshToHome, today all we need are a few clicks to order our meat online, after browsing and filtering through the different varieties available. So, this way you get just the kind of meat you want by way of quality as well as price without having to stand in a meat shop dealing with the owner.
Starting An App Like FreshToHome
Would you like to make life easy for people in this way too? Then, read on to learn some of the features of this app.
Research
One of the first things you need to do before you start to calculate the cost of building an app like FreshToHome is research. Find out all that you have to by way of demographics, behavioral patterns, and objectives.
Remember that selling meat and fish is a serious business and you need to be aware of all the stages of it. Understand the digital product completely and do all the research and advice you need and all the information you can before you set out to create an app.
Take Time To Plan
An app is not built in a day. There are features and challenges to consider and hence you need to take time to plan.
Create a detailed design of what you want to go with and try to imagine all the challenges that come to mind. Think about the user experience and the different ways in which a consumer would want to use his app.
Take Time To Design
Now again, design is not something that happens in a day. You need to touch and feel and see how the app works before you create the final product.
Remember that there are going to be various developmental phases, with testing and bug fixes before your app can finally be deployed and released.
Launch
Once the above are all done, you can finally go out and launch your app. And remember that the process is still not over. Running an app is all about working on constant feedback, so never stop getting all the feedback you need as you launch further versions to improve your app.
Technology Stack for Building an App like FreshToHome
Choosing the right tech stack is critical for the functionality, scalability, and performance of your app. Below is a breakdown of the suggested technologies for each component of the app:
Frontend Development:
iOS: Swift or Objective-C
Android: Kotlin or Java
Web Platform: React.js or Angular.js for building the user interface
Backend Development:
Server: Node.js, Django (Python), or Ruby on Rails
Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB for handling large data sets related to orders, users, and inventory.
Cloud Hosting: For scalable cloud infrastructure, use Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure.
Third-Party APIs:
Payment Gateway Integration: Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay (for Indian customers).
Push Notifications: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).
Geolocation Services: Google Maps API or OpenStreetMap for real-time delivery tracking.
SMS/Email Integration: Twilio or SendGrid for sending notifications and order confirmations.
DevOps:
CI/CD Tools: Jenkins or CircleCI for continuous integration and deployment.
Version Control: GitHub or GitLab for code management.
This tech stack ensures that the app is scalable, secure, and performs well under high traffic loads.
Features Of An App Like FreshToHome
That said, let us end by having a look at some of the features of a good meat delivery app:
For the Customer –
They say the customer is king, so let’s begin with the customer. A good meat delivery app provides its customers with a rich surfing experience so make sure that you keep this in mind when you build on the features.
Make sure that the sign-in process and account creation are easy with steps that are simple and quick. A hungry person eager to cook some meat has no patience to navigate through a complicated app.
Make sure that your app includes some of the best stores so a customer can easily find his favorite on the list. Notifications, tracking, easy payments, all these are things that make a customer’s life easy and bring them back to you the next time.
And in the end, don’t forget to provide lots of room for ratings and reviews.
For the Stores –
And then, for the meat stores. One of the first things is to make sure that they are able to control their order requests based on what’s available. The owner should be able to manage what customers view on their menu. They can’t have boneless breasts available at all times.
Ensure that the orders, fees, and shipping notices are all well-organized in different categories to make life easy for them and their consumers too.
For the Drivers –
Okay, now let’s come to the drivers. Now, these already have a lot of running around to do, so it would be great if we could work on features that could make their work easy. Now, this should include a proper account setup with vehicle and contact information.
To this, you can add an order list for a driver to be able to follow up with stores and the process of preparation in each. Make sure that the routes are optimized so they can reach their destinations with ease and speed, taking shortcuts wherever possible.
Finally, a driver should be able to track his earnings and even his ratings so as to be motivated to perform better
For the Admins –
Finally, let us look at some features to help the admin panel. Remember that a good dashboard will greatly simplify your business.
Make sure that you can easily back up your files and restore your data. Being able to monitor the position of restaurants and delivery locations is also equally important.
And then, see that you provide some space for advertisements for this is one effective area for your revenue too.
Key Factors Affecting App Development Cost
The app development cost depends on multiple factors, including feature complexity, platform selection, and team location. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the factors that most significantly influence the cost of an app like FreshToHome.
A. Feature Complexity
The more features you want to include, the more expensive the app development becomes. For example:
A basic app with essential features like product listings, simple order management, and payment integration will cost less.
A complex app with advanced features such as AI-based product recommendations, multi-vendor management, and custom analytics will be much more expensive.
B. Platform Selection
iOS or Android: Developing an app for a single platform (iOS or Android) is cheaper than building for both platforms. For maximum reach, you might want to develop for both.
Cross-Platform: Using technologies like Flutter or React Native can reduce development time and cost since the app is built once and runs on both platforms.
C. Development Team Location
Where you choose to outsource or hire your development team has a huge impact on costs:
USA or Europe: Development costs here range from $100 to $250 per hour.
Eastern Europe or India: The same work could be done for $20 to $50 per hour in regions like Eastern Europe or India.
D. App Design
The design of your app, including UI/UX, custom graphics, and animations, also plays a significant role in overall costs. A well-designed app with smooth navigation and attractive visuals increases user engagement and retention but also adds to development expenses.
Basic Design: $5,000 to $10,000
Custom Design: $15,000 to $30,000
E. Backend and Database Infrastructure
A scalable and reliable backend is crucial for handling high volumes of users and orders. The backend infrastructure includes cloud hosting, API integration, database management, and security protocols. All of these elements add up to the overall cost.
Basic Backend: $15,000 to $30,000
Advanced Backend: $30,000 to $60,000
Stages of App Development and Associated Costs
App development is typically divided into distinct stages, each contributing to the final cost. Let’s break down the development process and the associated cost for each stage.
A. Research and Planning
At this stage, you define the app’s purpose, target audience, and technical requirements. Market research is crucial for understanding customer needs and competitors’ strengths.
Estimated Cost: $5,000 to $15,000
B. Design (UI/UX)
Wireframing, prototyping, and UI/UX design take place in this stage. This phase involves creating visual layouts and user flows that dictate the app’s look and feel.
Estimated Cost: $10,000 to $30,000
C. App Development
This stage involves actual coding. It includes both front-end and back-end development, as well as integrating databases, APIs, and third-party services. Depending on the complexity of the app, this stage can vary in duration and cost.
Estimated Cost:
Single Platform (iOS or Android): $30,000 to $70,000
Both Platforms: $50,000 to $120,000
D. Quality Assurance and Testing
Once the app is built, it goes through multiple stages of testing to identify bugs, ensure compatibility across devices, and check performance. Both manual and automated testing are essential at this stage.
Estimated Cost: $5,000 to $15,000
E. Deployment and Launch
The app is deployed to app stores (Google Play and Apple App Store) or launched as a web app. There are costs associated with app store fees, domain registration, and cloud hosting services.
Estimated Cost: $3,000 to $7,000
Cost of Third-Party Integrations
Integrating third-party services can add to both the app’s functionality and its overall development cost. Some of the critical third-party integrations include:
A. Payment Gateway Integration
Services like PayPal, Stripe, or Razorpay for payment processing incur development and transaction fees.
Estimated Cost: $2,000 to $5,000
B. Geolocation and Mapping Services
For real-time tracking and accurate delivery location services, APIs like Google Maps are used.
Estimated Cost: $1,500 to $3,000
C. Push Notifications and Messaging
Services like Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) allow the app to send real-time notifications and order updates to users.
Estimated Cost: $1,000 to $3,000
Post-Launch and Maintenance Costs
Once the app is live, there are ongoing costs for maintaining and improving the platform. These include:
A. App Maintenance
Regular updates, bug fixes, and new feature rollouts are essential to keep users engaged and to ensure smooth functioning.
Estimated Annual Cost: 15% to 20% of the total development cost
B. Marketing and Promotions
After launching the app, you’ll need to invest in marketing strategies like SEO, social media promotions, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
Estimated Monthly Cost: $5,000 to $20,000
C. Cloud Hosting and Servers
The app’s cloud infrastructure and server costs will depend on the volume of traffic and orders processed through the platform.
Estimated Monthly Cost: $1,000 to $5,000
FAQs
Okay, now you must have some questions in mind. Let us address some of the most common among them to get your doubts cleared.
1. How best can I create an app like FreshToHome?
Hiring the right team is one of the best ways to go about it. While you can keep the features basic, don’t neglect to choose the right talent and skill in developing your app, if you want to see it growing successfully.
2. Can I create an app on a low budget?
Of course, you can. As we said, start small with just the basic features and you can keep advancing as you go.
3. Will I succeed and make good money as a meat delivery app?
Starting an app to do with meat delivery is one of the best things you can venture into these days. But if you do it right. Also, make sure there is lots of room for advertisements and promotions for you will be surprised with how much money comes from there.
So, there you are. We hope that you are now ready to start working on your new meat delivery app. Don’t worry about the cost of building an app like FreshToHome. Remember that most apps start small and you can do that too, advancing as you go.
Restaurant operators should comprehend the industry’s increasing diversity beyond aggregators with a significant public presence before expressing their views about mobile ordering applications. As restaurants are less content with their reliance on third parties to be sold online, they would profit from looking for alternative ordering and delivery options that control them. If you are also looking for your on-demand delivery app development, contact our business and sales team at +91 93090 90932 or [email protected].
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