Takeaway food is big business. Last year the two leading Australian food delivery services Menulog and Eat Now merged. Then they were snapped-up for a mere $855 million by the UK’s Just Eat.
In contrast the leading restaurant booking engine Dimmi sold for about $25 million.
That’s how big takeaways are versus eating at home where a whole new raft of companies are emerging.
Technology is disrupting fast food deliveries.
Right now I want to answer the question I’m asked by many restaurants: why is nobody ordering your takeaway food?
1. Quality of product. If you have a good restaurant and it serves good food it shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe something else is holding you back.
2. Nobody knows you do takeaways. You can’t make assumptions. Ever. You need to keep reminding people you are there. Leaflets drops still work. Keep them up quarterly. Or even monthly. It reminds people you are there.
3. Nobody can find your takeaways online. It could be that your website doesn’t give takeaways prominence. They can be as big an earner as sit down meals, or even larger. Tell people and don’t be embarrassed about takeaways.
4. You aren’t using the right takeaway ordering platform. I know a lot of restaurants that do takeaway that try and get people to order from their own websites using little known platforms. Usually they fail and the solutions can be expensive, especially if you are trying to link into your in house ordering software.
The fact is that the most online orders come from the best know platforms, Menulog and Eat Now, both of which are part of the same company now. Zomato is trying to get in on the game but as I understand it they want to charge 15% for takeaway orders versus 10%. It is clear to me that 15% is to much of slice for many restaurants to bear. (I have no commercial relationship with any platform).
5. You have little online presence. The more people know you and see you, the more you are front of mind. You need to put yourself out there.
The fact is whether you are promoting a venue for food to be eaten in or as a takeaway you need to tell people about it. That’s marketing.
Takeaways if they fit in with your brand and business model can be a massive source of revenue, especially if you are running out of seats in your restaurant at weekends.
Go forth. Cook well. Deliver well. And help people eat well.