How Food Delivery Apps and Technology have Managed to Transform the Food Industry?

COVID-19 has taught the world a lot of things than just staying cautious, washing hands, and staying confined in their homes. The event has been a major teacher for businesses of all scales, especially for the food sector. As the restaurant and bars were forced to shut down to help contain the virus, many of the big and small restaurants had to list themselves in the online food delivery platforms to ensure survival.

Technology is solely responsible for this dimension shift in the food industry. It has enabled consumers to order food on the go with maximum convenience and minimum human interaction. The advent of food delivery apps such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo, GrubHub, and DoorDash has brought a permanent change in the way the food market functioned. 

Today, anyone who is willing to make their mark in the food industry should be aware of the existing trends powered by technology. This blog discusses the impact of technology on the food market and some of the top apps that are an evident part of this change.

Statistics:

• The online food market was 109 billion USD in 2019 and is expected to grow to 111.32 billion USD in 2020 at a growth rate of 3.61%. The slow growth rate is due to the incoming of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  

• Yet the market is predicted to reach 154.34 billion USD in 2023 at a CAGR of 11.51%.
  
  

• The revenue will see an annual growth rate of 5.1% resulting in a market volume of 32,325 million USD in 2024.
  
  

• If you compare globally the highest revenue will be generated in China i.e. 51, 514 million USD in 2020.

Technology & On-Demand Food Delivery:

• Impact of Delivery Apps:
  
  As on-demand delivery apps made their way to the market, restaurants observed an evident change in the percentage of online orders, dine-in customers, and take-outs. For example, the on-demand platforms have grown so much in popularity in Europe that restaurants prefer to be listed on at least one of the delivery platforms.
  In addition to the ongoing trend, the pandemic has also forced bars, restaurants, and even supermarkets to sign-up for on-demand food delivery solutions. Food delivery apps are bound to play a significant role after the pandemic crisis. The incoming of these apps has brought in the wave of digitalization. They’ve also offered restaurants a new way to make use of their resources and space. Now, restaurants can also function as delivery-only places.

• Tech Powered Ordering:
  
  Technology is empowering and so it manages to disrupt conventional ways of doing business. Food delivery apps are pushing the boundaries and introducing convenient ways for their consumers to order food.
  
  Domino’s allows its users to order their favorite Pizza by tweeting just an emoji on Twitter. On the other hand, Pizza Hut allows its users to order through their cars while keeping their eyes on the road.
  
  Other than this many other tech-enabled innovations are offering delivery to their consumers. Some of them include robot delivery and delivery via parachutes. Domino’s also offers drone delivery in New Zealand.
  
  The primary reason why tech-based businesses have gained such high popularity is the convenience and speed of delivery. Quick delivery is an important factor for 60% of the consumers across various food markets. You can hire Ionic app developer to develop your app.
  
  

• Effective use of Data:
  
  The on-demand food platforms gather a lot of data. Data that includes user preferences in the food and beverages they order, ordering patterns in terms of days, budget range, favorite cuisines, and much more.
  
  Techs such as Big Data can help categorize everything in form of numbers and help the organization make sound decisions. Data is the biggest asset for tech-dependent businesses.

Food Delivery Services that Have Transformed the Industry:

• UberEats
  
  Uber is the pioneer of on-demand services as a whole. UberEats has also grabbed a fair share of the food market. Launched in 2014, the goal of the company was to allow its users to order quickly while keeping a track of their ordered food.
  
  Eventually, the platform started learning the consumer preferences, offered the quickest delivery options, made customized recommendations, and added other functionalities. Today the app also offers filters based on price, dietary restrictions, and delivery speed.
  
  
  

• Freshly
  
  Freshly happens to be the largest ready-to-heat meal provider across the country. The platform delivers freshly prepared meals to its consumers. The company has partnered with FedEx to deliver all its meals and carries out its operations from the Phoenix facility. This takes a lot of load off their shoulders and allows them to focus on thousands of orders each month.
  
  
  

• Plated
  
  Plated happens to be an ingredient-and-meal kit service in America that was founded in 2012. These platforms offer their users the necessary ingredients, and recipes to make quick meals for themselves. Plated aims to target the high-end grocery chains, and also offers their users a premium meal kit subscription service. This would offer its customers 16 meal recipes and ingredients delivered at their doorstep each week.
  
  The app also instructs the user on how to go about preparing their meals with an in-app timer to keep a check.