I am in the process of acquiring a commercial kitchen to legally sell custom cakes and pastries. I'm thinking about what I want to offer in terms of delivery. Based on what I have read on the forums in the past, commercial auto insurance can be extremely expensive. I was wondering if there are other business out there who do not offer delivery services and whether or not you felt that affected your sales in any way. Also, are any of you contracting a third-party for delivering cakes? Are there any that you can recommend in the NYC metro area?

Thanks for your input.

I have no idea about NYC, but in AR ( where I am) i do not have to have actual commercial insurance for my auto for deliveries, my insurance co knows i have a business and i deliver cakes but since it is my car and i am the only one driving they dont require anything extra, now it would be different if i had a vehicle in the business name that employees would be driving, my hubby has a construction business and the insurance on the business owned trucks that employees drive is kinda pricy but not his personal truck ( even though it is used for the business)......also the other advantage to using your own personal vehicle is you can write of you mileage or gas for delivery/ business use. HTH. and gain i have no idea what your state requires.

I use a third party delivery company. All they deliver are fine foods and stuff that needs careful handling. I pass the cost 100% to the customer, I don't make any money on it (but that's up to you). It is easier than sorting out a company vehicle, insurance, vehicle maintenance, and driver, since I cannot leave my bakery to do deliveries during opening hours.
If you do choose a 3rd party company, check their insurance, their vehicle(s) and driver(s) are immaculate and that they know how to deal with cake!

Thanks for the responses.

Is there anyone out there in the NYC/NJ area that can recommend a delivery company that I can look into?