What makes meal delivery apps so popular? After all, it’s no secret that making a profit in the restaurant business is difficult.
What is the solution? Convenience.
Consumers are prepared to pay a premium for convenience, and as a tech entrepreneur, you can profit by simplifying their life.
Note from the editor: There were no lies found. I’m eating a pricey poke bowl that I bought from Uber while I type these words.
What is the value of meal delivery apps?
Food delivery apps made $26.5 billion in revenue last year. When you compare that to the $8.7 billion the industry generated in 2015, it’s clear that the market is rising.
That’s why, in 2021, Net Solutions has compiled a list of the greatest meal delivery apps. These meal delivery and ordering applications are among the most popular and user-friendly on the market. If you’re considering a career in the business, you should research them and learn from their successes.
B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) is a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model.
Keep in mind that the most successful food ordering and delivery applications were designed with both businesses (brick-and-mortar eateries) and customers (people ordering $22 poke bowls) in mind. As a result, it’s a B2B2C model rather than merely a B2C or B2B model.
If you want to compete in this market, you’ll need to create an app that makes it simple for businesses to manage orders, serve customers, and interact with your firm. They’ll collaborate with you if you can help them increase sales, lower costs, and reach a larger market.
Learn from the top 10 food delivery applications listed below, and when you’re ready, Net Solutions can assist you in developing your own food delivery app development company.
Zomato
Zomato was launched in 2008 as ‘Foodiebay,’ an online restaurant search and delivery platform. The India-based firm performed so well in their home market that UberEats (see below) purchased all of their Indian operations for $400 million. Zomato is now available in 25 countries around the world. The platform’s prosperity reached new heights in 2021, when they had a 39x oversubscribed IPO with USD 46 billion in shareholder bids.
What is it that Zomato excels at?
Foodies may easily share information–almost it’s like social networking for them.
Search skills that are both broad and intuitive
Sorting made simple depending on a user’s preferences
An easy-to-use information base for resolving consumer issues
Features for a more efficient review
User profile in its entirety
Android and iOS versions are both available.
UberEats
UberEats is available in more than 1000 major cities worldwide. Because of their market domination, a diverse range of eateries are willing to collaborate with them. This provides consumers with a wide range of choices, resulting in a positive growth feedback cycle.
What exactly does Uber excel at?
Let’s be honest. The Uber app can be buggy, and it doesn’t always have the best UX, but it’s still the go-to app for food delivery for millions of people. Brand recognition has this kind of power.
However, there are a few app characteristics that stand out:
Orders placed in a group (so friends and colleagues can easily split the cost)
Users can use the “Schedule Later” feature to postpone delivery until they’re ready to eat.
Reordering is simple, so users may order their favourite meals with little effort.
Android and iOS versions are both available.
What is it that FoodPanda excels at?
FoodPanda
Another online meal ordering service, FoodPanda, is available in 41 countries. The company, which is based in Berlin, has teamed up with roughly 40,000 local restaurants to provide on-time delivery.
There are several eateries to choose from.
Rebates and special offers are easily accessible.
Payments are seamless on Android and iOS.
Swiggy
Swiggy, established in Bengaluru, India, is the most popular smartphone app. Swiggy has been rated the No. 1 online food delivery app in India, with about 1,500,000 downloads in the Google Play store, and is currently available in almost every city across the country.
Swiggy excels at what it does.
Users can use seamless GPS to order food from nearby establishments.
A strong focus on the Indian market Wallet function, which lets users to save money and pay for transactions using that money.
Android and iOS versions are both available.
Grubhub
GrubHub is one of the greatest food ordering applications, with over 30,000 eateries in over 800 cities across the United States. Chicago, New York, and London are all home to GrubHub.
GrubHub was first released in 2004. Arriving early in the game allowed the company to establish a wide range of relationships, and market domination, similar to Uber, helped the company retain its success.
What exactly does GrubHub excel at?
Customer service that is excellent, live, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Filtering and search capabilities have been improved.
It’s simple to save “top picks” for later reordering.
There are numerous coupons and deals available.
Android and iOS versions are both available.
Deliveroo
Deliveroo is a food delivery service headquartered in London that operates in over 200 cities. It is Europe’s most popular food delivery app, allowing clients to order food from both popular restaurants and restaurants without a typical dining arrangement. Restaurants pay a commission, while users are charged based on their orders.
What exactly does Deliveroo excel at?
Because it collaborates with non-traditional eateries, it offers a wider range of options.
Coupons and discounts are available for Android and iOS users.
Domino’s Pizza is a chain of pizza restaurants.
Domino’s is a well-known pizza delivery service with a top-notch app. It doesn’t transport meals from numerous restaurants (just its own), but we included it since you’d be hard-pressed to find a better user experience when it comes to customising and ordering a meal than this one.
Visuals that clearly explain what users can order
Toppings can be swapped, ordering can be changed, and a meal can be totally customised.
Order tracking that demonstrates each step of the process: Preparing the pizza, baking it, picking up the order, and delivering it.
Android and iOS versions are both available.
Simply Eat Takeaway
Just Eat Takeaway is a European meal delivery service that was founded in 2001. It has around 82,000 restaurant partners with whom it gets commissions.
What exactly does JustEat Takeaway excel at?
Interface that is simple and easy to use.
Excellent search capabilities
There are numerous promo codes available for Android users.
DoorDash
DoorDash is one of the most well-known meal delivery applications in the world. It operates in 32 markets and services approximately 300 cities. Little Caesars Pizza, the world’s third-largest pizza business, has partnered with DoorDash Inc. to offer delivery for the first time in its 60-year existence.
What is it that DoorDash excels at?
A firm commitment to providing high-quality cuisine
On-time shipping
Customer satisfaction is high.
Android and iOS versions are both available.
Postmates
Postmates is a delivery app that is available in over 90 cities across the United States. Postmates works similarly to other food delivery applications, with the exception that it also delivers groceries and other items.
What is it that Postmates excels at?
Allowing consumers to order anything other than restaurant food gives them additional flexibility.
The user interface is simple and straightforward.
Brand recognition all across the world
Android and iOS versions are both available.
Apps for Food Delivery in the Future
When you’re dealing with a multibillion-dollar industry, there’s one thing you can count on. When there’s this much money on the line, you can expect to see more innovation in the form of new technologies, apps, specialty services, and new ways to apply technology to fulfil consumer demand.
When it comes to new food delivery applications, the following are some patterns we’re likely to see, and they’re worth paying attention to if you want to break into the industry.
Restaurant-owned applications and delivery fleets: We’re likely to see more restaurant chains create their own apps and use their own delivery fleets, similar to Domino’s pizza (see above). This concept has the advantage of giving the restaurant total control over the client experience, from branding to app design.
The fact that the Domino’s app is tailored to their specific client journey is what makes it so unique. Uber Eats, which works with thousands of eateries, could never create a generic app that follows every step of the ordering process. Domino’s can also take advantage of cross-selling opportunities significantly more effectively than third-party apps (e.g., “Do you want breadsticks with your pizza?”).
Grocery delivery
Services such as Instacart allow customers to order groceries from their preferred stores, and the trend is growing in popularity. Because consumers preferred to keep out of the stores, this is a lucrative business that saw a large surge during Covid-19. We’re likely to see sustained growth now that people are hooked on the service.
One thing to keep in mind is that Instacart’s pricing methodology has been questioned. It’s difficult to know how much more you’ll pay for groceries ordered online—sometimes there’s no markup (which means the retailer paid for the relationship), and other times the items are priced more. A monthly subscription fee is also received by Instacart.
Is there a demand for a supermarket delivery service that is more upfront in its pricing? One thing is certain: busy professionals are willing to pay a premium to have items delivered.
The Subscription Model’s Rise: Software as a Service (SaaS) companies prefer recurring income because it allows them to forecast profits over time. It makes investors pleased and encourages more financial injections. As a result of this money, businesses are able to dominate their market.
Many of the best meal delivery apps on this list provide monthly memberships with discounts, which encourages consumer loyalty.
Freshly, for example, sells pre-made, healthful meals that are simple to reheat in the microwave. When compared to ordering from restaurants, these are less expensive for the consumer, and they fit themselves ideally to a subscription model.
The delivery of meal kits is another fascinating occurrence in the realm of food app delivery. Blue Apron, for example, provides all of the materials as well as simple directions to assist home chefs prepare delicious meals. Not only does this save time, but it also assists people in learning their way around the kitchen if they are new to cooking.
It’s also a good approach to appeal to the Millennial and Gen-Z market, as many of them cook less than their Gen-X and Boomer colleagues, despite their enthusiasm for cooking at home.
