Home delivery of food is not a new concept. With so many mobile devices around the world, there’s an app for almost everything and everything that you can think of. The food delivery system started during the early 2000s and picked up quite rapidly. Digital technologies are rapidly changing the food delivery industry. Today, it is common in almost all developed and developing countries. So, what are the basics of a food delivery app? How do we start if we were to create a food delivery app? What is the development process? Let’s find out.

There are two primary food delivery startup models – 

• The aggregator model 
• The food delivery platform with logistics support

The aggregator model is based on the old-school food delivery system. They manage customers and local restaurants as a third party. They serve as a platform for the user to browse through various cuisines and delicacies. The job of food delivery app aggregators is to facilitate order support and exposure. The employees of the respective restaurants do the delivery. This model requires a lot of investment and is feasible only if you are ready to invest hugely.

The food delivery platforms, providing a logistics delivery system, help to partner restaurants with their logistics support. These aggregators allow small restaurants, food joints, and home delivery services to deliver seamlessly. These are perfect for food delivery startups who can’t afford to have their own delivery system. UberEats, GrubHub, Zomato, etc. are examples of this model. 

As per the industry experience, developing a food delivery app similar to UberEats and GrubHub is always more profitable. It gives you broad coverage and thus a more user base. Let’s find out what it takes to create such an app

Competition in the food delivery business is fierce. You need to put your best foot forward to stand against your competitors. There are a lot of challenges at the beginning, like zeroing down your target audience, selecting the features to include in your app, how to partner with the restaurants, how to manage employees, services and inventories, etc.

Finding the right audience

Defining your audience is an essential step to create your food delivery app. You have to understand what differentiates you from others, and how is it going to benefit your audience. Define your target first. If you are targeting health-conscious, busy professionals who are looking for healthy food options, you can focus on delivering freshly-cooked, healthy food. Then you won’t be targeting foodies looking to explore tasty cuisines from around the globe. Likewise, If you have the USP to serve delicious fast food within minutes, you have to target busy millennials, for whom a healthy diet is not a priority, but quick delivery is. You may choose to cater to a broader audience, but limiting your target audience to one or two segments is always beneficial.

Basic requirements

There are four basic requirements to create a food delivery app which provides a logistics delivery system:

• Customer app
• Delivery driver app
• Restaurant owner app
• Restaurant web domain

Users want to browse through different restaurants with different search parameters. There must be a detailed and easy to use database for handling available orders, and GPS integration to clearly define the pickup and drop location. Also, you need to check the list of deliveries and client contacts to create the whole loop.

Customer App

The UI of your customer app must be extremely intuitive and interactive. 

Sign-up

User journey begins right at the sign-up. Simplify the user sign up process. It must be completed within seconds. Also, there should be an option for them to log in quickly through social media channels. 

Search Restaurant

Once signed in, they will search for a restaurant or a dish. Provide easy access to the user to find nearby restaurants using GPS. They must be able to search for a restaurant by its name. A detailed list of restaurant information, cuisines list, prices, special combos, and reviews must be offered. 

Place Order

Provide users with the option to add the dishes or meal in their cart and a delete button to erase a mistake. The total order value with all elements of the cost should be displayed separately – taxes, restaurant charges, delivery charges, etc. An option to apply a discount code, if applicable, must be placed where it is easily visible. Users must not be searching for it.

Secured Payment System

Everything starts when your user pays for the deal. Make the payment integration fast, safe and secured. Choose popular payment integrations like Stripe, Paypal, and CCAvenue. Developers can create a payment model similar to popular apps like UberEats and GrubHub.

Delivery Driver App

Your delivery app must cover four key tasks:

1. Assigning deliveries

Deliveries must be allocated to drivers and couriers using a dashboard, with automatic task assignment. Drivers will instantly receive an assignment on their smartphones via the app.

2. Navigating and driver tracking

Once the driver is on their way, the app’s embedded smart navigation must direct them on to the fastest route. You and the customer can track the drivers’ progress in real-time so you know when the delivery can be expected.

3. Completing the delivery

Once the driver has arrived, they must be able to access all contact information in the app. Delivery should be completed in one touch using the app’s sign-on technology. Additionally, an option to take and attach photos can be provided, if there are any issues with the goods, but that’s optional.

4. Notifying the customer

An automated delivery notice and payment receipt must be emailed to the customer, and even an app notification should be sent. Data should be transferred to your central system via 4G or Wi-Fi connectivity. With the delivery completed, the system can instantly find another job for you to assign to that driver.

Restaurant Owner App/Web domain

hough the restaurant needs an admin panel to manage a lot while handling the orders, apps can always be a boon. It is a mini version to keep a check over the happenings. A restaurant owner app must contain:

• A simple registration process for restaurant owners
• All relevant information regarding the restaurants like contact, address, service hours, photos, menu and everything else
• An order handling process in place to manage order placement, order details, order confirmation to restaurants, order pickup timing and status, etc.
• A proper payment integration system to manage all payments

The growth of food delivery apps has led to an increase in the online presence of restaurants. But there is still a huge scope to reach out to. There are plenty of restaurants yet to be registered on online portals. Also, the majority of the restaurants these days prefer to be listed on multiple platforms so that they can enjoy more orders. Creating an extensive network of restaurants in your app will be difficult initially. But if you reach out to the right market, you will find many restaurants to partner with.

Creating a food delivery app requires meticulous planning. You have to recruit employees, contact restaurants, advertise and most importantly – develop the food delivery app right. Find out more on how to create a perfect food delivery app by talking to our experts.

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