The web- and mobile app based service is launching in London on 14 April after a 'successful' year-long trail in Bath and Bristol.
Aimed at the 34,000 quality restaurants in the UK that do not have existing delivery infrastructure, Meals.co.uk handles the whole ordering and delivery process, enabling restaurants to tap into the £3bn home delivery market without making significant investment.
“On the whole the standard of the average takeaway is poor and there is little in the way of a co-ordinated delivery service at the quality end of the market,” said founder Dotun Olowoporoku.
“Our target customers are young professionals and busy working families who are time-poor and relatively cash-rich, but tired of the poor nutritional value and service quality of the typical takeaway.”
Real-time technology
Meals.co.uk uses proprietary technology called Marvin to manage orders placed on its website or mobile app.
Restaurants receive the order in real-time via a tablet app, which they can accept and set the time for collection. Marvin then uses GPS data to track available delivery drivers and selects the most suitable courier based on location and traffic conditions.
Customers are notified when their food is ready and given an expected delivery time.
Olowoporoku said the company puts a big emphasis on quality of service to match consumer expectations of restaurants.
“That means prompt, accurate delivery and polite engaging staff, dressed in white shirts and bow ties rather than the usual cheap fleece-and-jeans approach of the takeaways.”
UK expansion
Meals.co.uk, which makes its money from the delivery charge and a percentage of the order value, hopes to cover the whole of the UK within the next three years.
During the year-long trial in Bristol and Bath, Meals.co.uk delivered 5,000 meals to over 2,700 customers and saw a month-on-month growth rate of 30 per cent.
“We have validated the business model and the market over the last year and we have seen high levels of repeat business,” said Olowoporoku.
“The data we have gathered gives us the confidence that this is a highly scalable business. Moving into the capital is the obvious next step in taking the business to the next level.”
The company has secured £500k funding from investors including VC company Midven, : David Pritchard, former CEO of Open Table, Chris Nixon, former CEO of TravelSupermarket and Doug Scott, of seed investors potential.co.uk and founder of discountvouchers.co.uk and Carrentals.co.uk.