Is food delivery the next big thing in the pub sector?
In November last year, Deliveroo set out to help pubs and bars across the country that don’t have kitchens by allowing customers to order in food to the pub.
A spokesperson for Deliveroo said: “Businesses can apply to work with Deliveroo through filling out our application form. This can be found on our main landing page under Deliveroo with us.
“Deliveroo is a great way to acquire new revenue for pubs through tapping into the delivery market and maximising sales.
“By partnering with Deliveroo, restaurants and gastropubs have seen revenue increase by up to 30%. With market trends moving more and more towards on-demand services, Deliveroo is a great way to keep up with this trend without the costs traditionally associated with running your own delivery service."
In-house experience
The spokesperson added: “Our technology allows you to efficiently manage delivery orders without compromising on your in-house experience.”
One pub group that has reaped the rewards of partnering with the delivery company is PubLove, as in 2013 the group’s boss Ben Stackhouse decided to launch a better food offer in place of the existing frozen pizza offer.
Slight changes were made to dishes to accommodate delivery, but that was expected, head of operations Chris Clawson said.
He added: “Deliveroo has been a massive benefit to us because it creates incremental sales among customers who wouldn’t typically visit the pub.
“It also acts as a great marketing channel, which enables us to run free advertisements of our regular events, with flyers in the bags."
Food delivery
He said: “It provide income during kitchen downtime, when you would normally be paying your chef to do a bit of prep or cleaning.
“Finally, it costs nothing if no one buys anything. So as long as you are careful with your GP then you have nothing to lose.”
Mitchells & Butlers, which has brands including Toby Carvery, Harvester and All Bar One has also tapped into the world of food delivery.
A spokesperson for M&B says: “The demand for food delivery within the industry has remained in growth and we have been positioning ourselves in order to benefit from customers’ changing habits, which we believe provide an opportunity to capture incremental sales.
“Over the course of the year, we have increased the number of sites offering Deliveroo from 25 to 61. We have also carried out a successful trial with Just Eat, allowing us to offer Harvester and Toby Carvery delivery as well as click and collect.”
