How To Create A Fantastic Food Delivery Mobile App For Your Business?
App Development
21May 2021
Since the technological revolution, the food industry has evolved incredibly. In fact, this became a trillion-dollar industry as it soared by 20% to 8.2 trillion last year (2020). The impact of the pandemic has given rise to the food & beverage industry. After witnessing a significant jump in the food industry, several businesses have set their foot in the food business. This has given a massive rise to the online food delivery mobile apps such as Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, Zomato, Swiggy, DoorDash, and many more.
Moreover, the food delivery business will continue to grow even more considering everyone wants to order at their doorstep these days due to safety purposes or perhaps because it's more convenient. Imagine you don't feel like cooking a meal today due to fatigue or simply because you want to relax, would you prefer going out? No right! In fact, the best option is to order in.
Nowadays, several countries, including the US & India, have prohibited dine-in services, and their primary source of revenue is through food orders. That's why many restaurant owners are thinking of developing their on-demand food delivery app or marketplaces like Zomato.
If you are already planning to create one but are still stuck and would like to put in more research to know if it's a worthy investment or not, let me tell you, this blog will answer all your questions, from market statistics to features to cost estimates. So without further ado, let's begin!
Topics To Cover
- Market Statistics of Food Delivery Business
- 3 Types of Food Delivery App Models
- The Monetization Model of Food Delivery Apps
- Challenges while Planning to Develop a Food Delivery App
- Critical Features to Incorporate in your Food Delivery App Business
- The App Development Cost of Food Delivery App
- The Most Popular Food Delivery App Examples
- The Bottom Line
Market Statistics Of Food Delivery Business
If you are skeptical of investing money into building a food delivery app, below are some facts and figures to help you learn the vast scope of this industry.
- Since 2014, the online food delivery business has risen 300% faster than dine-in.
- According to reports, it is projected that the online food delivery market will grow from USD 20 billion in 2017 to USD 55 billion in 2022.
- 34% of people spend a minimum of USD 50/order while ordering online. Whereas one pays $16-30 while dining in at a full-service restaurant.
- By 2030, the online food delivery app market is projected to reach a whopping amount of $300 billion.
- In fact, now, the eateries that won't provide online food deliveries will lose more than 70% of their consumers.
3 Types Of Food Delivery App Models
For creating your own food delivery app solution, you must hire app developers and learn the types of models it has to offer that are ruling the market.
1. A Restaurant App Model
This is a food delivery app for your restaurant business. It is a great fit for the established restaurants that have a delivery system set up. These restaurant owners will make it easy to offer their loyal customers their delicious dishes if they launch an awesome app to order the food to their doorstep. Moreover, they also get an opportunity to reach a broader customer base. Several restaurant apps such as Pizza Hut, Fresh Slice, Dominoes, and many more fall under this model type.
2. Aggregate Food Delivery App Model
This is a platform that serves as a link between customers and restaurants. Under this model, the food orders are accepted by the customers and passed on to the restaurants. But, it should be noted that they are not responsible for delivery orders to their customers; the restaurants are entirely liable for the same. Due to a lack of logistics support, these apps are only ideal for big restaurants.
3. Delivery Service App Model
Here, the app offers a delivery service as well. It involves a 3rd-party delivery guy who collects food from a specific restaurant and delivers it to the customer's location. Such apps have a huge market potential as they are also suitable for small-scale eatery businesses that don't have their delivery system in place. This model is the most preferred, so you must focus on this one and not an aggregate model.
The Monetization Model Of Food Delivery Apps
Several ways are available through which you can make money with your food delivery app business. Below listed are a few ways:
1. Commission Fee
Here, the food delivery app charges a certain amount of commission for every order placed via this app. This is the most commonly used revenue model for several app development companies as it helps to earn high revenues. For example, Foodpanda follows this revenue model to make money. It charges restaurants a pre-decided fee for every order placed via its app or website.
2. Delivery Fee
Several restaurants do not offer delivery services. These restaurants will surely pay for delivery charges in exchange for your delivery services. This is a famous revenue model technique that has helped several businesses. Zomato introduced its food delivery business in 2015. You should know that food deliveries make for 30% of Zomato's gross revenue, making it the 2nd largest source of revenue for the business.
3. Ads
Ads are the best method to make revenue. You can highlight some restaurants in the app's top section or run a brief video for them on the home screen, for which you can charge a certain amount of fee. This is the biggest revenue model for Zomato, as it makes 62% of its income through ads.
4. High Demand Pricing
This is another famous revenue model, where the app implements a higher price when the demand is high. The app's food menu gets restricted, and a higher fee is charged when the user orders food. For instance, UberEats hugely counts on this revenue model. Moreover, Swiggy has also recently incorporated this model where an extra delivery fee of Rs. 20 is added to each order placed on holidays, festivals, or rainy days when fewer delivery people are available.
Challenges While Planning To Develop A Food Delivery App
While the food delivery business is lucrative and exciting, you must learn about a few challenges that it entails as well.
Fierce Competition
The food industry is facing cutthroat competition with every passing day. So anyone planning to build a food delivery app might have to face tremendous competition in this field. To stand out, you must offer your customers something new and unique. This can be related to the app's UI/UX design and features as well. Besides, you have to bring innovation to your menu and offer some attractive deals that appeal to your users.
An Engaging UI/UX Design
This is one of the most significant things where your app needs attention. A great app will combine the design & motion to ensure the UX remains constant & engaging throughout the app. A nicely designed app with an easy ordering solution is what will draw your users.
MVP Features
This is another challenge for your food delivery app business. MVPs have a massive impact on the cost of mobile app development. Building an MVP will help you know how much your app needs to improve. But, determining the right features to be implemented can be an experiment.
Seeking The Restaurants To Collaborate With
A better way to start your app business is by focusing on small-scale restaurants seeking a way to promote their business. It's an excellent idea to focus on the quantity initially rather than the famous ones. Slowly, as your app progresses, you can aim for big restaurants as well.
Critical Features To Incorporate In Your Food Delivery App Business
User Side
Filter: Let your app users explore cafes, bars, restaurants by cuisine and location. You can also categorize your app filters by dishes, cuisines of your online users. This makes food ordering more smooth.
Live To Track: Tracking their food orders via Google Maps integration guarantees users about their package delivery. Users should also be able to check how much estimated time their delivery guy will take to arrive.
Placing Orders: This makes it easier for users to order with a few clicks. This feature offers them intuitive navigation leading them to the check-out process. For instance, allow them to choose and add their most-liked dish via Add to cart functionality, and from there navigate them to the check-out process.
Payment Gateway: Incorporate your app with multiple payment gateways such as Paytm, Google Pay, net banking, or COD. Ensure that you provide your user's various alternatives.
Live Availability: Let your users check the availability in different restaurants via your delivery service app. Ensure they can book the space with a few taps.
Feedbacks: This feature is necessary to know what your users think about your food delivery app.
Delivery Guys' App
Login/Registration: Let your delivery guy create an account or log in through social media accounts (Facebook or Gmail). Make the process easy by entering personal information such as contact, address, name, etc.
Profile: Allow them to maintain their profile that includes a name, picture, email, contact, and other information.
Push Notifications: Delivery people must receive notification about new orders or any instructions that the users leave for their orders.
GPS Navigation: This feature is the most essential for delivery guys as it provides them the fastest and shortest route alternatives to reach their destination on time.
Admin Panel App
Supervising Performance: All the information, such as delivery guys, deliveries, canceled orders, etc., can be monitored via this feature.
Live Updates: Receive live updates and alerts about the delivery person and restaurant owner when they update their restaurant info, profile, or anything else.
Manage Orders: Manage every task from pickups to deliveries and scheduled orders. This will easily streamline the ordering process and deliver them on time to the users.
Payment Management: Let owners set payment & commission rates to handle it straight from the admin panel with each partner and make payments.
Advanced Features
Customized Dishes: This feature lets users create custom meals by placing special requests or giving accurate instructions.
Loyalty Points: A strong reward program motivates the customers to order from your delivery app. This feature offers exclusive discounts that are only awarded to the members of this program; this gives them a sense of belongingness.
CMS: A content management system is essential for every app. CMS integration allows restaurants to manage the app's content. The restaurant owner can update info easily, such as their name, contact, opening hours, address, etc. Moreover, they can make changes in the menu, price, delivery charges, etc.
Chatting: In-app chat feature helps users and the delivery guy to be on the same page. Moreover, users can chat with the restaurant or the admin if there is any issue regarding the food, delivery, refunds, etc.
Real-time Analytics: This renders the admin with all operational data that gives him business insights. The app produces live revenue reports, projections, and more. This helps the admin to monitor the business performance.
Gamification: This is an AI-driven feature, where small gaming tasks are implemented, such as a daily spinning wheel (e.g., Ludo King) to engage the users.
The App Development Cost Of Food Delivery App
While it's not just feasible but also practical to give an accurate costing of the app unless we know your exact requirements. Since the app development cost is determined on several factors, such as;
- Location
- UI/UX Design
- Bug Fixing
- Front-end & Back-end development
- Number of platforms
- App Features
However, we can give you a rough estimate of the basic food delivery app development, which is somewhat around USD 10,000 to 20,000. But, if you plan to develop an advanced app with the latest functionalities, it might cost you around USD 40,000.
The Most Popular Food Delivery App Examples
1. Uber Eats
UberEats renders users an easy payment gateway and ordering functionality. You can use this app to look for food categories, area, or restaurant wise. You can explore restaurants, order food, and track your order with an easy peasy process. You can contact the delivery guy as you place an order.
2. Zomato
This is the most popular and commonly used food delivery app, especially in India. Zomato was founded in 2008, and it renders menus, information, and user feedback of restaurants and good delivery options from restaurants in the selected location. This app is currently present in 24 countries as they assure to deliver more people in less time. This food delivery app guarantees quality and hygiene standards from their partnered restaurants.
3. Swiggy
Along with Zomato, Swiggy tops the list as a top-notch food ordering app. The app development of this food delivery app is done in a fun & engaging way which engages the user. Swiggy's top features include various restaurant choices, geolocation, internal payment system, order scheduling, and rating system.
Today, Swiggy is available in most cities and can be installed from App Store & Play Store. The app is mainly known for the occasional discounts it offers to users, so all age groups adore it. You can use various payment options here, including COD.
4. Dunzo
This is another famous food delivery app solution that provides services in the top Indian cities such as Jaipur, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, and a few more. Launched in 2017, this app operated as a Bike taxi service in Gurugram and was funded by Google. The best part of this part is it works 24*7 and delivers anything to you within 45 minutes. You don't need any minimum order quantity to place your order. Moreover, multiple payment options are available to pay for your food.
5. Grubhub
Grubhub is considered one of the most seamless food ordering apps. It lets users search for their cuisines or explore the list of local restaurants nearby via 'food near me' functionality. Launched in 2004, Grubhub is a Chicago-based company. This unique food delivery app offers its users 24*7 services as per their needs. Grubhub also has whopping offers & rewards in-store to attract users and an interactive UI.
6. Domino's
Domino's is an ideal pizza delivery app to order steaming hot pizzas to your doorstep. This app allows you to tailor your order and guarantees a 30-min delivery time. However, the major drawback is that you can order only a limited food at your closest outlet. You can order your favorite pizza from the closest domino outlet, and the delivery agent will bring it to you as soon as ready.
7. DoorDash
This is another next-level app that delivers breakfast, lunch, and dinner from user's preferred restaurants. Moreover, this app also serves alcohol from stores, breweries, or restaurants. A DashPass subscription provides users unlimited deliveries at a $0 delivery charge. They also get access to exclusive offers from local restaurants. Moreover, if you choose a no-contact delivery option, the food will be left in a safe place for you to pick up and notify you when it's ready. This incredible app currently serves in more than 4000 cities across the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Australia.
8. Deliveroo
This is an online food ordering app launched in 2013 by Will Shu in the UK. Deliveroo is a huge entity as it delivers over 200 locations in many countries, including Singapore, UAE, Kuwait, Australia, UK, Italy, Hong Kong, and a few more. This food delivery app ensures that your food reaches your doorstep quickly, even during peak hours for the holiday season. This app serves you the best cuisines, whether Indian, Chinese, Kebab, no matter what. This app is also partnered with grocery stores to order grocery items too if you run out of them.
9. FoodPanda
FoodPanda is a pioneer in the online food ordering market. At present, this app serves 11 countries to deliver the most delicious dishes and cuisines. FoodPanda is a user-friendly app that makes it convenient and quick to order food. The top features include contacting the rider directly, which is super cool. You can also avail special offers, discounts, vouchers, fast delivery, etc.
10. Skip The Dishes
Canada's most famous food delivery apps, downloaded by over 5 million users and 25,000 restaurants across the nation. This app makes ordering food easy from your favorite restaurants as early as 6 in the morning to 2 in the night to quench your late-night cravings. This app offers an ultimate loyalty program for foodies. You can filter restaurants that provide you food delivery with 0 delivery fees; isn't that amazing! Skip the Dishes also got you covered with all your grocery needs such as coffee, bread, eggs, milk, etc.
The Bottom Line
With the pandemic scenario and social distancing norms, the online food delivery business is surging. Nowadays, people like ordering in and partying at their home with their family and friends to avoid long waits or coming into contact with viruses. Food delivery apps can be seen worldwide now, and it might seem that the market is very competitive, but there is always going to be room for your food delivery app. So this is the best time to enter the market with your unique food delivery app idea. Good Luck!
Harnil Oza is the CEO & Founder of Hyperlink InfoSystem. With a passion for technology and an immaculate drive for entrepreneurship, Harnil has propelled Hyperlink InfoSystem to become a global pioneer in the world of innovative IT solutions. His exceptional leadership has inspired a multiverse of tech enthusiasts and also enabled thriving business expansion. His vision has helped the company achieve widespread respect for its remarkable track record of delivering beautifully constructed mobile apps, websites, and other products using every emerging technology. Outside his duties at Hyperlink InfoSystem, Harnil has earned a reputation for his conceptual leadership and initiatives in the tech industry. He is driven to impart expertise and insights to the forthcoming cohort of tech innovators. Harnil continues to champion growth, quality, and client satisfaction by fostering innovation and collaboration.
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