In the United States, there are around 41,000 Chinese restaurants, earning $17 billion a year--right up there with McDonald's--so it's no wonder many entrepreneurs are looking into Chinese food delivery supplies and equipment. Most Americans assume Chinese restaurants deliver or allow carry out, and with Chinese food delivery comes specialized supplies. You may choose simple, plain supplies, decorative and practical items or even custom printed items, depending on how you visualize your business.

Whether you choose to stock basic items or fancier, custom products, take some time to consider what your customers need--and what will make your Chinese restaurant memorable. There are essentially three products you will require if you want to offer Chinese food delivery. They are:

1. Chinese food delivery boxes or pails,
2. Chinese food delivery condiment packets,
3. And Chinese food delivery chopsticks.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Purchase Chinese food delivery take-out pails

Americans have come to expect Chinese food restaurants to offer up meals in Chinese food pails, or specially shaped paper boxes, sometimes with metal handles. These come in a vast assortment of sizes and colors. You may buy them plain white and seal them with a sticker of your restaurant name or logo, or you may purchase them in interesting patterns. You can even buy clear plastic Chinese take-out boxes.

I recommend: Uline Shipping Supplies sells basic black, red and white Chinese take-out boxes that come with handles to make for easy carrying. Bayley's Boxes offers a more unusual assortment of take-out pails in white, solid colors, metallic moires and patterns such as "old parchment," "silver scroll," "leopard" and "patriotic."

Look for Chinese food delivery condiment packets

Soy sauce is standard in Chinese-American food, but you won't want to give take-out customers a whole bottle of this condiment. Instead, opt for small packets that can be thrown into a bag alongside take-out pails. You may also find other Chinese condiments, such as duck sauce, in single-serving packets.

I recommend: The WEBstaurant Store carries duck and soy sauce in packets suitable for take-out food. Instawares Restaurant Supply also sells soy sauce in single-serving packets.

Check for Chinese food delivery chopsticks

Not all Chinese restaurants offer chopsticks to their customers, but if you'd like to, there are a number of options. The most sanitary way to provide chopsticks for take-out food is to buy cases of individually wrapped chopsticks. You can buy such chopsticks in many colors and may even have their packages custom printed with your restaurant's name and logo.

I recommend: Reliable Paper sells plain wooden chopsticks in individually wrapped packages. Galasource also sells an assortment of wooden chopsticks (including plain wooden and decorative wooden styles), and JR Sales creates custom chopstick packages for restaurants.

For your next corporate party or event, consider Chinese food delivery to business services to cater something out of the ordinary for your employees or your clients. You might also consider Chinese food delivery for your next department meeting or to reward employees burning the midnight oil on your client's huge upcoming project.

Finding a Chinese food delivery provider is easy in any major metropolitan area. Some even offer a variety of other Asian cuisine as well.

To make the most out of your Chinese food delivery provider search:

1. Determine how many people you are looking to feed with your Chinese food delivery order.

2. If available, read the restaurant's online menu before calling to speak to their delivery or catering people.

3. Make sure you are provided a clear total including delivery costs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for a Chinese food delivery provider in NYC

Find Chinese food delivery from a wide range of NYC locations. Create a corporate account for easier billing as well.

I recommend: Open a corporate account with Empire Szechuan in New York City. They serve Japanese & Chinese cuisines, and you can easily order online. Peking Hunan Park offers the same availability of opening a corporate account as well as ordering online. Find out about catering from Rice Restaurants. Rice Restaurants has also gone green with food sourced from green conscientious vendors as well as fueling their delivery van with filtered Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO). Create an account at Delivery.com for additional Chinese delivery options in NYC.

Look for Midwest Chinese food delivery information

You don't have to live on the two coasts to find quality Chinese food delivery. Find one of the many local Chinese food delivery hot spots in any major Midwestern big city.

I recommend: Find out the catering options from Friendship Chinese Restaurant in Chicago. Order online and find out the new delivery area of Papajin in Chicago. Check out delivery information from MayDragon Chinese Restaurant in Dallas. Grand China Restaurant of Atlanta offers takeout, delivery and catering. They serve Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

Find West Coast Chinese food delivery

Serve your office up right with West Coast Chinese food delivery service.

I recommend: Set up your account with Restaurants on the Run for West Coast catering and delivery services. Find out if you are Seattle's Four Seas Restaurant territory. Call in or order online. Contact San Francisco's Yank Sing Banquets and Catering to find out about their banquets, receptions, luncheons, private parties catering services. Find out about the Chin Chin Café catering and banquets options.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you want a real treat for your office, Chinese food delivery services that also offers a wide variety of other Asian dishes like Japanese or Thai will impress your employees.
• •  Not everyone at your business may like Chinese food, so choose at least some options that are relatively safe like chicken and rice dishes that aren't highly seasoned or that you can administer your own amount of sauce.
• •  Tip generously. With the cost of gas, your time in not having to go get it yourself is certainly worth the couple of extra dollars to make the delivery person's day. For businesses that you purchase from frequently, keep them happy for ensured speed and quality service.