When we started our service Tasty African Food virtually two decades back, the world of food distribution looked really different. Our emphasis was completely on serving authentic, home-style African dishes to our neighborhood areas.
Fast forward to today, and the food landscape is controlled by third-party platforms like Uber Consumes and Deliveroo These systems assured presence and convenience– but for us, the truth was a little various.
Like lots of food businesses , we initially welcomed these applications as a way to reach even more customers. We accompanied the hope that direct exposure would aid us expand faster and bring African cuisine to a larger target market. And to be fair, they did deliver web traffic.
But with time, we started to see cracks in the design, and those splits motivated a challenging yet necessary question: why are we allowing somebody else have the consumer experience?
The platform problem
The reality is, while Uber Consumes and similar solutions give you get to, they take more than they repay. Their payment charges are high– commonly 30 % or even more– and that’s simply the begin. You blow up over your rates , your branding, and most notably, your connection with your clients. For a business like ours, built on loyalty and trust fund, that’s not sustainable.
We ‘d hear responses from consumers that their order had actually arrived late. Or that they couldn’t discover our full menu on the application. Or that they tried to reorder and could not since the app had marked us as “shut” due to a mistake.
And while the customer blamed us, we had no control over the logistics or presentation. Worse still, we had no other way to fix it or perhaps reach out to make it right.
The customer isn’t theirs, it’s ours
One of one of the most discouraging aspects of third-party delivery systems is how little client understandings they share. We had no concept who our repeat clients were, what meals they liked, or exactly how commonly they purchased. The platform owned that information, and they weren’t sharing it.
In a digital age, that’s a substantial loss. We knew we were constructing something bigger than a takeaway service. We were constructing a brand, an area, an activity around West African food. Yet it’s difficult to construct a neighborhood when you don’t even know your target market.
That’s when we made the decision to invest in our very own application.
We developed an application
Was it very easy? Never. We’re a family-run food service, not a technology startup However we understood we could not depend on third-party platforms to grow in a meaningful, lasting means.
We started by drawing up what we wanted the client experience to resemble. We didn’t want to replicate Uber Consumes, we desired something better. An experience where clients could discover our tale, surf our full food selection, and order straight from us with self-confidence.
We partnered with a tiny tech group that understood our vision and assisted us bring it to life. Within months, we had a branded, totally practical buying app. It had not been ideal on day one, but it was ours. Which made all the distinction.
Because launching the application, the responses has actually been overwhelmingly favorable. Our regulars enjoy the simplicity and rate. And they feel a stronger link to our brand name. We have the ability to award commitment, run targeted deals, and obtain real-time understandings right into what’s working.
Most significantly, it has actually given us the liberty to innovate. We’ve presented click-and-collect, pre-ordering, and even loyalty rewards– all on our very own terms.
Very own your development
If you’re a food company simply beginning, third-party applications can seem like the only choice. And to be fair, they can aid in the early days. But do not come under the catch of depending on them permanently. They’re not developed to assist you expand, they’re made to keep you reliant.
Building your very own tech could really feel complicated, yet it is just one of the most effective decisions we have actually ever before made. It’s not almost cutting expenses, it has to do with possessing your customer connections , your brand name, and your future.
At Tasty African Food, we’ve constantly believed in doing things with heart. Launching our very own application had not been just a company relocation, it was a way of remaining real to who we are, and making sure every plate we offer belongs to a larger tale. And this time around, we’re the ones telling it.
Delicious African Food is a leading West African restaurant chain in the UK. With his other half Abi, Michael grew business from a single Woolwich website into 27 dining establishments, a catering arm, prepared meals in Sainsbury’s, and a food-ordering app. Michael has actually constructed a firm with over 250 personnel and ₤ 7 m in revenue, while mentoring the future generation of entrepreneurs. At 58, he is going after an ambitious strategy to increase to 100 restaurants across the country within five years, bringing authentic West African food to a bigger target market.