The Lowdown: 'Just-Delete'
Sounds a little self-defeating if I’m honest…
Hmm, think maybe you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. Foodhub isn’t encouraging consumers to delete its own app; that would be silly. No, it’s encouraging them to delete and thusly stop using its rival’s apps, specifically Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo. And if people do, Foodhub will reward them with a money-off voucher for either £5 or £10.
But I’ve never heard of Foodhub, why would I want to use them over a more established service?
It’s a fair point. Foodhub was launched in 2017, and says it has more than 14,000 takeaway and restaurant partners currently featured on its service. But it certainly hasn’t had the traction of its main rivals, which perhaps explains the boldness of this new campaign. Foodhub says it entered the market as it was ‘tired of the hefty commissions’ charged to both restaurants and consumers by the likes of Deliveroo. Foodhub doesn’t charge a delivery fee to customers or a commission to its restaurant partners. As a result it claims that orders are, on average, 15% cheaper than when ordered through one of its rivals.
If it doesn’t charge for either a service or commission fee, how on earth does Foodhub make any money?
The business opts for a fixed rental model, which it says means restaurants are able to better manage their budgets and pass on savings directly to their customers. The company, which is owned by the Stoke-on-Trent-based Touch2Success, clearly has a lot of faith in its model too, having recently revealed plans to double the size of its business in 2020.
Does the world really need another delivery operator?
The likes of Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo are certainly the mainstays of the delivery market, and have been for sometime. It’s an aggressive space, with Uber Eats constantly offering discounts of up to 50% on orders; and Deliveroo now boosted by Amazon’s recent minority investment, which was worth $575m. Trying to muscle in on their turf is going to be no picnic, but isn’t stopping other business, like Foodhub, from trying.
Who else is trying to get a slice of the action then?
Well there’s diners card platform Tastecard, who yesterday (20 August) announced plans to take on Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat with a new takeaway delivery and collection service, with a permanent discount of at least 10%. The company said it would launch the service next month in London, before rolling out to Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. The aim, it says, is to expand to 25 UK cities by January. Restaurants will offer customers a minimum of 10% off their order price, with the option to increase the discount to promote more trade. Under its scheme, Tastecard will charge restaurants a commission of 5-7% and they will also have to offer the discount, which it says compares with a 30% commission often charged by rivals.
Interesting. Any others?
How about easyFood, which is backed by easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. It’s hoped that the app, which allows customers to place takeaway orders, select food in venue using a QR code system, and features a track and trace function, can also take off in the pub, bar and restaurant sector.
