Home-made sushi and bento to order
Make fresh sushi and bento boxes at home for local pre-orders, collection or delivery.
- £500-2.5k
- Side hustle
- From home
- Licence or permit needed
Estimates for a small start in the UK, not guarantees.
Official data
878 active UK companies have “sushi” in their name, 51% registered since 2024
Name search “company names containing “sushi””. Source: Companies House, November 2026.
What it is
A small food business making sushi rolls, nigiri, sushi platters and bento boxes in your registered home kitchen. Customers order ahead through social media or messaging apps, then collect or get a local delivery.
Your first three steps
- Take a food hygiene course, register your kitchen with your local council and practise a small menu of 5 to 6 items
- Work out costs per box including fish, rice, packaging and labels, then set prices
- Run a pre-order weekend for friends and neighbours and ask for photos and reviews
Who pays
Local households, office teams ordering lunch, and people hosting parties or small gatherings.
How it makes money
Price per box or platter. Party platters and regular office lunch orders bring larger, more predictable sales.
Skills that help
- Sushi rolling and knife skills
- Food hygiene and careful preparation
- Social media and photography
- Planning orders and buying ingredients
Watch out for
- Register your food business with your local council at least 28 days before you start trading (check the current rules)
- Raw fish needs strict storage, sourcing and temperature control, so check guidance from the Food Standards Agency
- Allergen information (fish, shellfish, soy, sesame, gluten) must be provided and labelled correctly, and pre-packed food has extra labelling rules
- Check your landlord, mortgage lender or insurer allows food production at home
- Public liability and product liability insurance
Deep research report · UK
Everything you need to start: home-made sushi and bento to order
Researched with live web search for United Kingdom: real startup prices, the licences and rules, what others charge, a break-even example, how to find your first customers and a 30-day launch plan. With sources.
- Startup costs with real prices
- Licences, registration and rules
- Pricing: what others charge
- Break-even example
- Finding your first customers
- 30-day launch plan
- Risks and how to reduce them
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