Have you ever considered how much technology has made the world smaller? For example, think about how much easier technology has made it to access goods and services via the Internet. Entire industries have developed thanks to this technology. One notable example: app-based food delivery.
Let’s consider how this particular service has grown as time has passed.
Why You Can Expect Some Food in Thirty Minutes or Less
We all have our favorite local spots to get food – that one pizzeria that gets the sauce just right, or the Chinese takeout spot that tosses in an extra handful of fortune cookies. However, has it ever struck you as odd that these eateries are usually willing to deliver your order to your door, while other restaurants require you to actually go and sit there and eat?
This can be explained by a quick look at the restaurant industry as a whole.
Naturally, a restaurant needs mouths to feed. These mouths were once carried in fairly steadily through foot traffic, but after the television was invented, potential customers would stay home more often. This had a considerable impact on restaurants of all kinds, from independent eateries to chain establishments. The success rates of restaurants aren’t great – ninety percent of independent establishments make it less than a year, and chain locations (for all their franchised corporate support and name recognition) only average about five years.
However, since the television can’t also make you dinner, some restaurants found that an effective means of maintaining their very close operational margins was to offer the delivery, as well as the preparation, of their food.
Incorporating Technology
Naturally, not every restaurant is going to offer delivery. The oppressively thin margins that eateries operate within don’t always allow them to hire a delivery driver – and that’s assuming that the restaurant’s owner doesn’t feel that offering delivery cheapens the quality of their food.
Whatever the reason a restaurant doesn’t deliver, there is almost certainly going to be some demand for delivery services. A few sharp-eyed entrepreneurs saw this discrepancy between supply and demand in a market worth $7 billion, and leaning on the widespread use of mobile devices, created a business model that utilized mobile applications to create third-party food ordering and delivery systems.
You’ve probably heard of some of today’s most successful examples:
- Seamless
- Grubhub
- Doordash
- Uber Eats
It’s pretty clear by now that we aren’t going to suddenly use our mobile devices less, and as 5G networks become available, these kinds of services are only going to grow. While they are generally only available in larger markets now, these companies have made it clear that they are interested in expanding these services into other areas.
Other Food Delivery Options: The Meal Kit
Pre-planned and prepared meal kits have also made a recent splash in food delivery services. These services enable a user to log into an application and select from a curated collection of specially-designed recipes from experienced chefs. All the user has to do is pick the meals they want, and the ingredients are specially shipped to them, ready to be prepared. You’ve probably heard of some of these services as well:
- Plated
- Sun Basket
- Martha & Marley Spoon
- HelloFresh
- Green Chef Corporation
- Blue Apron
Technology has allowed us to bring new value to food delivery services. Have you used any of the ones we’ve mentioned? How did the use of technology change your dining experience, if at all? Share your experiences in the comments and subscribe to our blog!