How To Partner With Online Food Aggregators

The demand for online food ordering has steadily gained momentum in the last few years. Revenue in the Indian Online Food Delivery segment is projected to reach US$10,196m in 2020, with an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2024) of 9.5%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$14,670m by 2024. Online food ordering platforms such as UberEats, Zomato, Swiggy, are fulfilling this demand for food delivery, by listing restaurants and cloud kitchens on their app and website, and allowing consumers to place online orders in just a few clicks. Partnering with these online food marketplaces becomes even more critical for the cloud kitchens, or delivery-only food businesses since these platforms enable the cloud kitchen to generate orders from day 1. In this article, we will discuss how you can register your restaurant business on online food ordering platforms.

The Complete Guide to Partnering With Online Food Ordering Platforms

It’s no secret that places like Zomato and Swiggy have become the first choice of customers looking to order food online. With the kind of options available there on these apps, it’s more likely than not that the customer won’t pick up the phone to especially ordering from your outlet if you aren’t present online. In this case, tying up with Swiggy or online food ordering platforms and delivery services becomes very important. 

“The competition is so intense right now among restaurants that nobody wants to be left out in any medium where they can generate orders. At this time Zomato and Swiggy are the mainstays of almost all strong places for their orders especially in non-peak hours,” 

Here are the steps involved in tying up with Swiggy or other online food ordering platforms like Zomato, and Uber Eats, etc.: 

1. A restaurant drops an inquiry on the company contact us pages or call in the customer care numbers about starting with online ordering. 
2. A salesperson from Zomato/Swiggy, however, gets in touch with you before you get to them.
3.  It’s only in the case of a cloud kitchen (places which work only as delivery restaurants without a commercial presence), people might need to speak to a customer representative.
4. The salesperson then meets with the restaurant owner to understand the feasibility and expectations of the owner regarding orders, cost, and contract terms. 
5. Once the contract terms are finalized and signed, a couple of primary documents are collected and analyzed in 2-3 days. 
6. You need to upload your menu, logo, and a couple of pictures on the online food ordering platforms.
7. The restaurants then usually go live on these apps in less than a week.

Documents Required for Partnering With Online Ordering Platforms

Documents required for signing up on online food ordering platforms include some essential certificates and identity details. Still, they could differ from company to company and even in different localities depending on the local requirements. Here’s the first list, though.

1. You need to have an FSSAI license certifying the quality of food to be able to sign up. 
2. You require a PAN card if the small business or in the company’s name 
3. A canceled cheque for the business 
4. A copy of your bill for the details of charges and taxes 
5. Owners’ details such as photographs, identity proofs, among other things. 

Before signing up, however, a couple of things need to be kept in mind. These mainly belong to the cost of doing business with food technology companies, and the cost is usually in the form of a percentage commission from the total amount of each order. 

Commissions Charged by Online Food Ordering Platforms

Here’s a ready reckoner on the commissions charged by Zomato and Swiggy. The point to note here is that these values are averages based on anonymous feedback from restaurants and differ from place to place, depending on the frequency of orders and availability of delivery personnel. 

Online food ordering platforms charge a certain percentage of the total order value. These commissions are decided at an individual restaurant level and depend on factors such as average order value, expected order volume, delivery costs, etc.

The commission charged by these apps can range anywhere between 12-18%. The commission can go up to 18-25% if delivery is also included.

 Although food tech has seen tremendous growth over the last few years, the volume of daily orders increasing from 200,000 in 2016 to 450,000 in 2017.

While having a presence on such online food ordering platforms is a must as it helps you increase your reach, it is also a good idea to have your website or a mobile app that will let your customers order food online. 

Find out how to have your own online food ordering system here. 

*The figures mentioned are approximate and are subject to vary from restaurant to restaurant. The information has been collected from different restaurant owners and the food tech company’s employees.