Blog Post 1: Existing Takeaway Food Delivery Services/Industry

I researched existing takeaway services and the industry to understand the competition in the market and how they had become the successful companies they are. I also did this to understand how the industry works and how they attract their customers (USPs). This helped me understand the conventions and also allowed to me to spot any gaps in the market. I looked at the history, values and branding of different brands. It was also useful to see what is relevant in the industry at the moment such as tracking your food or a more healthy angle.

The three biggest competitors of the food delivery market: Deliveroo, JustEat and Uber Eats

• Last year £9.9 billion was spent in the takeaway food industry
• Customers spend £30 a month on takeaway
• Since 2009 the industry has created 41,000 new jobs
• The market is supposed to have an annual average growth of 2.6% over the next 5 years 
• Growing partly because of the availability of centralized apps that make ordering food easy and quick. 

On the apps customers pick a category of food, choose a restaurant, pick a dish and buy the food with a few taps. They can also read and leave reviews for other customers making the apps into a sort of community. The apps prioritize speed, choice and convenience and the apps shows this(I downloaded them and looked at how easy it was) allowing for the most efficient experience possible.

These business aren't just beneficial to customers it also allows small or new businesses to expand and reach a larger amount of people. They do this by advertising the businesses and give the businesses a larger catchment they can sell in then they would be able to get themselves.

JustEaat stats

I decided to look into JustEats because it has a successful ad campaign that is extremely recognizable.

• Just Eat is an aggregator (supply drivers)
• launched in 2001
• located in 13 countries
• over 100,000 restaurants on app
• £546 million revenue for 2017
• 24 million customers worldwide
• target audience 16-34 web-savvy young professionals
• work with independent takeaway food outlets and large chains
• main USP is convenience
• commision fee 13%-14% per sale 
• restaurant must pay £699 joining fee
• advertising includes Tv marketing, PR stunts, restaurant marketing and sponsorship
• sponsorship can allow the company to reach a larger audience e.g sponsoring X-Factor
• sponsorship of derby football club to include self in local communities
• buys other companies to remove competition and grow e.g Hungry House

 Just Eat did face some issues in the media recently after it was found they had restaurants with a zero food hygiene rating of zero on their app. BBC news found 20 out of 31 takeaway shops with a zero were on Just Eat. Brand did nothing to show the problem existed on the app and sold the unfit food. It has now started removing restaurants with a zero. It was a serious scandal but Just Eat continues to grow and is seemingly unaffected.


From my research I found out about the general demand for the service and the USPs. I have also begun to learn how the companies grew and their visions for the future. I also learnt about the benifits for the community and specific business models. I know the conventions of a food delivery app and know I need to show this somewhere in my adverts. It will help me shape my advert because I know how the industry works and attracts its audiences.

Sources:
Wikipedia                                                                JustEat website
Marketing Weekly Magazine                                  JustEat PLC
Business Matters magazine                                    JustEat target audience PDF
British Takeaway Campaign                                   UberEats website
BBC news                                                               GrubHub website
Deliveroo website