Super Meal : Booming of food delivery sector

  Evolution of food delivery sector in the United Kingdom

Food delivery,which is developing to integrate new technology and business models, is driving year-on-year growth in the foodservice market. As new competitors enter the market and expand their offerings, the industry has enjoyed double-digit growth in the last year.

• As the number of delivery alternatives grows, delivery restaurants and channels must keep coming up with new recipes to stand out among the growing competition.
• Consumers are becoming more adventurous with international cuisines while also appreciating the expanded availability of British meal delivery.
• A single unpleasant experience can cause delivery companies (such as Just Eat and Deliveroo) and restaurant chains who collaborate with them to lose loyal customers. As a result, all touchpoints, from ordering a takeaway through eating it, must meet or exceed expectations.
• The convenience of the client purchasing experience must be a clear focus for all stakeholders involved at every level of the process.

Takeaways and food deliveries are a popular way to eat in the United Kingdom and a significant part of the out-of-home foodservice business. In addition to being convenient, ordering pizzas and other cuisines are viewed as a leisure activity, like dining out. Takeaway meals cost an average of five pounds per person each week in the United Kingdom. The market has entered a new age with the introduction of online ordering technology and companies specializing in restaurant delivery. In 2019, the whole foodservice delivery market was worth roughly 8.5 billion British pounds, mainly in part to the growth of online delivery models. Even though telephone orders still account for most orders, the number of deliveries made online or via an app has climbed substantially (Statista,2022).

Just Eat and Deliveroo ,both based in the United kingdom ,are the important players in the online food delivery sector. Both function as the middleman between the restaurants and clients ,allowing the customers to buy meals through online and have them safely delivered to their doorsteps. In UK, Just eat processes approximately 100 million orders every year ,making it the company's largest market.

 Statistics of online Food delivery

• In 2022,the online food delivery segment is expected to generate revenue of  of US$17,711 million .
• Revenue is estimated to grow at a 10.13 percent annual rate (CAGR 2022-2026), resulting in a market volume of US$26,049 million by 2026.
• Restaurant to-Consumer Delivery is the market's largest category, with a forecast market volume of $9,297 million in 2022.
• In terms of worldwide revenue, China (US$158,137m in 2022) will generate the highest.
• In 2022,the online food delivery segment's average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to reach US$470.66.
• By 2026,the number of users in the Online Food Delivery market is predicted to reach 48.5 million.
• By 2022,the online food Delivery segment will have a user penetration of 54.9 percent .

According to Deliveroo research ,more than eight out of ten consumers 85% will order delivery more frequently or the same as they did before the pandemic.

According to Statista report more than 80%of people set to order food delivery often than pandemic.

Restaurants take action to prevent the spread of Covid-19

Because hygiene and safety of people is important in preventing the spread of Covid-19 ,the restaurants may find it advantageous to promote the efforts made by kitchen and delivery employees to prevent the disease from spreading .Moreover the people were curious if the restaurants has the following features in addition to food hygiene requirements in place.

• In the kitchen, in lines, and during delivery pickups, new strategies for social separation have emerged.
• Employees with COVID-19 symptoms are subject to a policy.
• Many changes to normal cleaning procedures and practices had been increased.
• Changes in food delivery, such as more easily disinfectable containers or a better client experience .

In the United Kingdom, COVID-19 has left its effect on third-party food delivery and pickup purchases. Starting the week of March 23, 2020, when numerous restaurants began closing, social alienation produced a significant shift in market share of spend. McDonald's, which collaborates with Uber Eats and Just Eat, closed all of its UK outlets, resulting in a dip in the two services' market share of spend; as a result, Just Eat hit its greatest market share of spend for the year, and Foodhub briefly increased.

Consumers should still follow proper hygiene standards while accepting deliveries, such as wiping off and/or discarding packaging and fully washing their hands before and after handling food and eating. Disseminating information about these best practices can also help to improve consumer impressions of improved service .

Which on-demand food platform has the largest market share in the United Kingdom?

During the global COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the benefits of online food delivery (FD) were clear, as it provided consumers with ready-to-eat meals while allowing food producers to continue functioning. Online FD, on the other hand, has its detractors, with stories of consumer and restaurant boycotts.

Moreover following to Covid-19  guidelines and updated guidance from government and health authorities all restaurants across UK and Ireland continued to follow social distancing to ensure the wellbeing of the customers and employees .

Between February 2020 and February 2021, the market grew by 128 percent in terms of client spending. Just Eat had 45 percent of the money spent by customers among these top selling food delivery services in February 2021. With 27 percent, Uber Eats came in second, followed by Deliveroo with 26 percent. When comparing market share before and after COVID-19 (during the weeks of December 30, 2019 and February 22, 2021), Uber Eats gained 9 percentage points, Deliveroo gained 7, and Just Eat lost. Foodhub remains almost unchanged.

Technology and takeaways

Recent trends have seen a major decline in market share for the more traditional approach of ordering meals over the phone from a single delivery service, which has been gradually supplanted by the main companies of Just Eat, UberEats, and Deliveroo. Consumer desire for fine dining meals, combined with the rise of digital technologies, has primarily contributed to these shifts. Customers can now compare offers and order food from a range of restaurants with a single swipe of their mobile device, just like they can with other buying alternatives.

Transparency in grocery deliveries

Grocery retail is also undergoing significant changes in order to keep up with other food delivery trends by providing consumers with more options and convenience. While customers are global in outlook, they have high expectations for locally sourced and artisanal products, resulting in increased transparency in the food supply chain. As a result, merchants have had to accept and act on how correctly brands are being portrayed.
Britain's passion for high-quality, fresh food, along with convenience, technology, and ease of access, has opened up new horizons in the variety of food available for delivery directly to the door, helping to influence the future of food in the UK.

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