The importance of value for money: How Deliveroo’s Value Programme is delivering long-term growth for restaurants

While inflation has started to come down from its recent highs, consumers are continuing to feel the pinch in their pockets with everyday prices now considerably higher than they were a year ago. That means consumers are looking increasingly harder for great value for money. 

In the restaurant delivery industry, value has never been more important. In a recent survey​, Deliveroo​ found 85% of its customers seek value for money when choosing which restaurant to order from. One in three also said if they spotted a price mark-up between a restaurant’s dine-in and delivery menu, they wouldn’t proceed with their order. 

But value for money is about more than just price. It also means the quality of the food and the service a restaurant provides. These three factors form a customer’s perception of the value of a restaurant. And they’re ultimately what customers use to decide who to order from, and who they recommend.

Restaurant delivery is now a major part of everyone’s lives, with a Lumina report from 2023 revealing that 10% of UK adults use food delivery at least once a week. But there’s still a huge opportunity for growth. According to Kantar, of the 50 billion in-home food occasions annually in the UK, only one billion are fulfilled through takeaway. That’s just two percent. 

But with opportunity comes competition. Restaurants must continually look for ways to reach new customers, build loyalty and increase their sales. The key to achieving this lies in giving  customers memorable experiences which they view as great value.

Deliveroo’s data shows that restaurants which limit the difference between their dine-in and delivery prices, as well as offering great food and service, see more new customer orders and more orders from returning customers. 

Results like these show that it’s possible to offer fair-priced, great experiences while simultaneously increasing sales and growing a customer base. And Deliveroo is committed to helping its restaurant partners to achieve this.

At the heart of how Deliveroo does this is its Value Programme​. Launched in November 2023, the programme aims to build consumer trust and unlock growth for restaurants. Each month, restaurants on the platform are given a score based on their price markup between dine-in and delivery, as well as service and quality metrics. These scores correspond to benefits, with the best scoring brands given greater visibility in the app through a ‘Deliveroo’s Choice’ badge.

Deliveroo customers are already seeing the benefits of the programme, with more than 2,500 restaurants improving their value score to either ‘good’ or ‘great’ - the highest tiers. And thanks to the greater visibility, these restaurants have seen an increase in traffic and sales, including new customer orders. 

According to the company, the number of orders from ‘good’ or ‘great’ restaurants has more than doubled since the launch of the programme. And it’s been working effectively for big and small restaurants alike, with 76% of  ‘good’ or ‘great’ restaurants being small or medium-sized.

One restaurant that’s benefited from the programme’s introduction is Vietnamese Street Kitchen in Birmingham. Operations Manager Oliver Ngo says that when he first joined the platform, he found it hard to compete against the more established brands. But since the Value Programme launched, he has a clear idea of what he needs to do to unlock the benefits available and has focused on improving the experience he offers to takeaway customers.  

Since improving his score, his sales have increased exponentially. But the impact goes beyond an increase in orders: “We’d normally see a dip in sales on a Thursday”, says Oliver. “But thanks to the fully-funded Tasty Thursdays promotion we can keep our staffing levels full and everyone can have a full-time job, rather than cutting hours during these quiet periods.”

The key, according to Oliver, is treating your dine-in and delivery customers equally: “An online customer can come in-store, and an in-store customer can come online”, he says.

Tamatanga, an Indian restaurant and takeaway with sites across the UK tells a similar story. Thanks to the visibility given to high-scoring restaurants like theirs, Tamatanga have been able to reach new customers and drive repeat orders. As a result, orders jumped in just two months. 

Operations Manager Jonathan Douglas believes the programme is the right approach for consumers and restaurants, and that it aligns with their own values as a business. “Value is a big part of what we offer to our customers”, he says. “We were really happy when we found out that Deliveroo shared this commitment with us, and that they would promote restaurants like ours who put value front and centre of what they do. It’s had a hugely positive impact on us as a business.”

Many restaurants share the sentiment of Vietnamese Street Kitchen and Tamatanga, with Deliveroo seeing many small and medium-sized brands sign up exclusively with the platform, joining its portfolio of around 60,000 restaurants in the UK and Ireland. By helping customers find the restaurants offering the very best value for money, Deliveroo is accelerating the growth of these restaurants and helping them to become a trusted ‘go-to’ for even more customers.