How To Earn Money

Food lovers, gather here! If you love cooking, eating, or just talking about food, why not turn it into a money-making machine in 2025? There are so many creative ways to make money from food, and today I want to share my top avenues for making money from food. Some of these ideas require cooking skills, and some don't—and that's number five. That one is a good one!

So let's get into it. One of the first ways of making money with food that I explored was being a food blogger. When I started blogging, I didn't realize I could make money from it. But along the way, I discovered you actually can! Even if you focus on food, you can make money from that.

You start a blog, have a website, and create content on your website. Then brands reach out to you to advertise on your website or blog. If your blog is popular, that's it—you make money from that! You showcase products and advertise for people. It's basically just like what you do on Instagram, but blogs are text-based.

So, if you're great with writing, this one is for you. I'm very good with writing, and before I delved into video content and all that, writing was my mainstay. I have a blog and a website. First of all, the blog—I feel like I'm transitioning it into a newsletter.

A newsletter is an email subscription service where you send emails to your audience. If you have your audience in your hands, which is what a newsletter does, you have direct contact with them. It's a fantastic thing—everyone should be building a newsletter. Sometimes, platforms disappear, and you lose your audience.

One way to make money from that is when people view the content, they might be interested in downloading your cookbooks, which they do, and then you make money from that. Brands also advertise on your site, and that’s another revenue stream. So, that’s one way of making money—by starting a food blog, website, or newsletter subscription service.

Another way to make money from food is to have a cloud kitchen. If you know how to cook and your food tastes great, then you can start a cloud kitchen. I know someone who makes salads only on Mondays. I met her recently, and she has a kitchen where she only sells salads every Monday. That’s it! She’s passionate about salads and sells them on Mondays so she can focus on other work during the week.

You can definitely have a cloud kitchen where people buy your food. You can set designated days and pickup areas, and you can make money from that. You don’t have to have a physical restaurant—it can just be online, and you make money from it.

If you're someone who doesn’t like to be in front of the camera and prefers being behind the scenes, you should definitely explore food photography and videography—especially if you're skilled at it. If you have an eye for good pictures, food photography is a great option.

I've paid food photographers a huge amount of money, and I know they make a good living from it. If that’s something you're interested in, you should definitely start doing it because there’s money to be made in this career. Restaurants, brands, and food bloggers all need high-quality food photos and videos.

You can make money by charging per project, selling stock photos, or constantly updating your skills. If you’re a photographer and don’t know what niche to enter, consider entering this one—there’s real money to be made.

Another way to make money from food is through brand partnerships and affiliations. If you have a platform, brands can reach out to you and ask you to use their products and tell people about them so they can get more customers.

My recent partnership was with Cowbell Choco, and it was really nice because I got to make chocolate cookies for my kids—things I would typically do anyway—and I got paid for it! If you have a platform, or even if you don’t, start building one because you can get paid just for doing things you normally would. Getting paid by brands is one of the best things that can happen.

Another way to make money from food is by being a food critic. Some people have very refined taste buds—they know when something tastes good and when it doesn’t. If you're that kind of person, you should definitely consider being a food critic. Restaurants and businesses need critics to ensure they are always on point.

I do this once in a while, but it’s not something I really enjoy. I know people have a love-hate relationship with food critics because when you're on the other end—let’s say you own a restaurant—you don’t want anyone criticizing your food. That’s why I don’t really like it.

However, it is a necessary career path because other people depend on your critique. It should be unbiased, as people rely on these reviews to make informed decisions. Food businesses are expensive, and before I spend a lot of money at a restaurant, I want to see a review first. So, being a food critic can be a lucrative career, especially now.

Another way to earn income from food is by becoming a cookbook author. You can publish a physical book or, in 2025, digital books are an even better option. I have lots of digital cookbooks because printing a physical book is time-consuming and expensive.

Digital cookbooks are the next best thing since sliced bread! But if you're traditional like me and still want physical books, you can do that too. You don’t even have to be popular to have a cookbook—you just need amazing, tested recipes.

If your recipes don’t work when people try them, that’s a problem. So, ensure they are tried and tested. Cookbooks can last for years—I have some that were written 20–30 years ago, and they still hold value. Investing in a cookbook can generate income for years.

I think it’s amazing that we live in such a dynamic time where your passion can make you money. There was a time when being obsessed with food wasn’t seen as a career, but now, you can become a content creator focused entirely on food.

All you have to do is show what you're eating, what food you're buying—anything related to food! You can start a YouTube channel, TikTok page, or Instagram page dedicated to food content.

I know so many channels that focus solely on food shopping—showing prices and keeping them updated. That’s another way to make money—become a food content creator! You don’t even have to film recipes—just show what you’re buying or eating.

Platforms like YouTube pay for content, which is why I love YouTube. All you have to do is create food content and upload it.

I didn’t even know this was a thing until recently—some people make money by shopping for food for others! You contact them with your budget, say $100,000, and they shop for you, especially if you need ingredients that aren’t available where you are.

People who live outside of Lagos, for example, might need someone to shop for them. This is another way to make money! You don’t even have to film it—you just go to the market or supermarket, buy the requested items, and make money from the service.

So, if you have connections to food suppliers, this is a great way to make money from food!