How to start a meal prep business in the United Arab Emirates

On the UAE mainland, businesses are licensed by the economic department of the emirate they operate in; in Dubai that is the Department of Economy and Tourism. The UAE government portal says a business selling online needs a commercial licence that includes an eCommerce activity, that some emirates issue a separate individual eCommerce licence instead, and that all eCommerce licences require the approval of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.

Food adds Dubai Municipality. Its Food Safety Department approves the design, layout, equipment and process flow of a food establishment before construction or major renovation of a commercial kitchen. You submit a scaled layout showing receiving, processing, storage and utility areas with the equipment specifications; the Municipality aims to respond within 3 working days, the service is free of charge, and the approval is what removes the Food Safety Department's remark from your trade licence so it can be activated. You may not change the space, preparation areas, equipment placement or process flow afterwards without a new approval.

Some activities need a separate permit for food-related activities, which Dubai Municipality typically processes within 1 working day: food stalls at events, food trucks, kiosks, vending machines, supplying food to schools and handling non-halal food. A vending machine selling ready-to-eat meals, for example, needs supplier licence information, a food safety management system certification and shelf-life results.

This guide could not confirm the current fees for a Dubai trade licence from an official page, so ask the Department of Economy and Tourism for them before you budget.

The Dubai Food Code is direct about home kitchens: food prepared in a private home, in an unlicensed establishment or anywhere else not approved by the food control department shall not be commercially offered for human consumption. This guide could not confirm from an official page a route for cooking full meals for sale in a Dubai home kitchen, so ask Dubai Municipality's Food Safety Department before you plan on one.

Most meal-prep companies therefore cook in a licensed commercial kitchen. The Dubai Food Code expects food to flow in one direction — receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, packing and dispatch — with enough space for preparation, cooking and cooling, storage and cleaning.

Shared cloud kitchens are one way in. Dubai Municipality says each individual cloud kitchen unit must be at least 200 square feet, provided storage, food preparation and equipment washing areas are shared among the kitchens.

The Dubai Food Code requires every food establishment to employ at least one full-time, on-site Person in Charge (PIC) certified in food safety. Where high-risk, ready-to-eat or raw foods are prepared — which describes a meal-prep kitchen — a certified PIC must be present during every shift. The PIC passes a written examination and receives a certificate valid for five years, and the PIC's name should be displayed where customers can see it. If a PIC leaves, the business has up to 30 days to designate a new one, who should be certified within 45 days.

All food handlers must be formally trained in food safety, at a level that matches their job and the risk of the food, and staff who manage food-related services such as delivery should be trained where necessary. Dubai Municipality approves the trainers and training centres for both Basic Food Safety and Person in Charge courses. Dubai Municipality has described PICs as the hygiene supervisors of the emirate's food establishments, sharing daily reports through its FoodWatch platform.

The Food Code's cooking and cooling rules matter most for meal prep. Raw foods of animal origin are cooked to a core temperature of at least 75°C or an equivalent. Cooked high-risk food that will be kept refrigerated must be cooled from 60°C to 20°C or less within two hours, then from 19°C to 5°C or less within four hours. Food cooled this way and stored chilled should be used within 72 hours of preparation, and food that has been reheated should not be cooled and reheated again.

The Food Code says pre-packed food must not be sold or delivered unless its label carries all the information the food control department requires, including the required information in Arabic, printed on or securely attached to the package. Nothing on the pack may be false or misleading about the food's nature, composition, weight or origin.

Where a date mark depends on how the food is stored, the storage requirement must be on the label. In food service establishments, refrigerated ready-to-eat high-risk foods prepared and held for more than 6 hours should be marked with an expiration time or date. Where a label gives cooking or reheating instructions, the producer should validate them so that the product is safe to eat when they are followed.

Allergens must be declared on the label or the menu, however small the amount: crustaceans, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, sesame seeds, fish, egg, milk, and cereals containing gluten — wheat, rye, oats, barley and spelt — together with their products.

You set the shelf life of your own products under realistic conditions of distribution, storage and use. The Food Code says that in food service establishments, high-risk or perishable foods prepared under its rules do not need shelf-life validation if they are stored for three days or less.

VAT was introduced in the UAE on 1 January 2018, and the rate is 5 per cent. The Federal Tax Authority handles registration through its eServices.

A UAE-based business must register for VAT if its taxable supplies and imports exceeded AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or will exceed it in the next 30 days. A business below that can apply to register voluntarily once its taxable supplies and imports, or its taxable expenses, exceed AED 187,500 over the previous 12 months or are expected to within 30 days.

The Federal Tax Authority publishes separate guidance on zero-rated and exempt supplies. Ask an accountant how your own sales are treated before you set prices.

The Food Code calls the range between 5°C and 60°C the temperature danger zone. High-risk and perishable foods must be stored and transported in equipment that keeps them at or below 5°C if cold, at or above 60°C if hot, and at -18°C if frozen, and during delivery high-risk food should be kept at or below 5°C or at or above 60°C. The temperature may rise during delivery, but that time should be as short as possible.

Food must be transported in vehicles approved by the food control department, used only for the foods named in the approval. Transport units must be big enough for the load, kept at the Code's temperatures, and fitted with accurate monitoring devices that are calibrated at set intervals.

In Dubai the heat outside the van is the hard part. Chilled meals need insulated boxes, cold packs, short rounds and a delivery window that is actually kept, and each round should be planned so the last drop is still cold. Record the temperatures: they are your evidence that the chain held.

Price each meal from what it actually costs: ingredients at the prices you pay, packaging and labels, kitchen time, delivery and card fees. Weekly plans with a fixed cut-off fit the Food Code's 72-hour rule well, because you cook only what has been ordered and deliver it within days.

Software such as Mealforma runs orders, subscriptions, kitchen production, labels and delivery routes on one system, for a flat monthly price and never a cut of your sales. It does not apply for your licences, register you for VAT or replace Dubai Municipality's advice.