Dropshipping Food: Pros, Cons, Alternatives

Food is one of the basic products people need, so one may think that dropshipping food is a great idea. However, this niche has its own issues. On the other hand, AliExpress offers tons of food related products you can dropship.instead!

Is it a good idea to dropship food?

Eating, drinking and sleeping are basic needs, which means people buy food no matter where they live or what culture they represent. Therefore, it may seem like a good idea to sell food online, and many businesses already deliver food and beverages. So why not try dropshipping it?

In theory, the idea sounds great: you don’t need to buy food in advance nor store it in a huge fridge. You simply sell it on the web and tell the supplier / manufacturer to deliver it. However, there’s a number of problems.

1. Most food products can be purchased in a regular supermarket. Besides, some stores can now deliver wares when you order them online. And so do restaurants, which is why neither of them really need a dropshipping business as a mediator.
2. You may think: if I can’t go local, how about international trade? Many people will be interested in exotic food products from different countries! Yes, but most people will be afraid to order products from unknown manufacturers. Furthermore, even canned food can spoil quickly if you don’t store them properly.
3. Lastly, some countries have strict licensing requirements, so even if you manage to sell a product, it may not pass the customs.

Although this niche does exist, dropshipping food is still very risky and complicated, which is why you should think really carefully before trying it. As for dropshipping from AliExpress, food products were banned several years ago (due to licensing issues).

However, there are many food related products on AliExpress you can use to expand your store’s offer. Let’s take a look at them.

Dropshipping pet food

Although AliExpress banned food products for humans, it still sells food for animals. According to my little research, food for dogs and cats isn’t that popular. Besides, such goods are quite expensive, and I wouldn’t expect a lot of people to want them.

However, food for fish, turtles and similar pets sells better and some sellers offer free or affordable shipping options including ePacket. Here are some examples:

Fish Food Tablet

Price – US $0.89-2.99; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 1954

Ant Food

Price – US $2.40-3.70; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 507

Turtle Food

Price – US $1.33; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 259

Although there are not so many products like this on AliExpress, you can still use them to expand the inventory if you have chosen to dropship pet supplies.

Dropshipping food related items for pets

Even if you can’t sell pet food, there are plenty of related products including bowls and food dispensers.

Cat Bowl

Price – US $11.07; rating – 4.9; number of orders – 2575

Pet Food Dispenser

Price – US $2.84-12.70; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 1708

Dog Treat Bag

Price – US $7.13; rating – 5.0; number of orders – 370

Dropshipping cooking tools

This is probably the most popular food-related product type as lots of people cook at home. And they require modern tools that can make the process faster and easier. You can offer dozens of products from regular knives to exotic tools. And all of them sell really well on AliExpress.

Mini Mixer

Price – US $2.15; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 8736

Silicone Cooking Tools

Price – US $3.27-3.77; rating – 4.9; number of orders – 4111

Silicone Baking Molds

Price – US $4.47; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 2962

Fish Scale Scraper

Price – US $1.65-2.81; rating – 4.5; number of orders – 2336

Dropshipping food containers

It’s another subcategory of food related goods. Plastic containers and lunch boxes can be used both in the kitchen and outdoors when you go to a picnic or have to eat in the office. That’s why such products are quite popular on AliExpress.

Plastic Food Container Set

Price – US $8.29; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 414

Thermos

Price – US $31.96-81.99; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 493

Lunch Box

Price – US $19.12-23.85; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 1607

Spice Jars

Price – US $47.54; rating – 4.9; number of orders – 193

Dropshipping kitchenware

And of course, where there’s food, there are dishes! On AliExpress, one can find hundreds of plates, mugs, bowls and cups with any design you can imagine.

Travel Cutlery Set

Price – US $9.13-12.52; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 1594

Wood Plates

Price – US $11.99-75.99; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 726

Cute Children’s Plates

Price – US $3.30; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 482

Coffee & Tea Cups

Price – US $3.63-11.10; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 2308

Dropshipping funny food related products

Lastly, AliExpress sellers offer lots of funny stuff including items related to food. Although such goods aren’t numerous, some of them are very popular among buyers, and the products feature decent quality. Take a look at some of them:

Tortilla Blanket

Price – US $14.84-49.80; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 4586

Pizza Female Ankle Socks

Price – US $2.06; rating – 4.6; number of orders – 232

Beer T-Shirt

Price – US $8.99-11.99; rating – 4.4; number of orders – 403

Burrito Baby Blanket

Price – US $9.84-15.17; rating – 4.8; number of orders – 2167

Food Print Cushions

Price – US $22.65; rating – 4.7; number of orders – 343

Conclusion

Selling food in a dropshipping store is associated with a lot of risks. However, you can still build your business around food-related products. They are much safer to dropship and are very popular among customers.

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