How to Build a Food Delivery App - A Non-tech Guide
Craving for business success? Discover how to build a food delivery app with this non-tech guide include tips to run a successful business.
👋Hello there! We understand that you have a great idea of starting an on demand food delivery business.
This article will provide you with a wealth of information on the online food delivery business and How to build a food delivery app without any coding knowledge.
You’ll come across,
- the growth rate of the online food delivery industry
- the tech stack, the features to include in your app
And lots more!
So gear up and start reading. You’ll be happy 😃 that you did.
Here's the table of content if you want to jump to a specific section in the article,
- A close look at the internet-based food delivery market
- Rate of growth of the online meal delivery industry
- How do food delivery apps generate revenue?
- How many apps do you need to start your food delivery service?
- What tech stack should you use to build a food delivery app?
- Features for the eater app solution
- Features for the delivery partner app solution
- Features for the restaurant web panel
- Features for the admin web panel
- Tips for running a successful on-demand food delivery service
- Cost to build your own food delivery app
- What will we do to help you?
- Bonus section
🍕 A close look at the internet-based food delivery market
The internet-based meal delivery sector is currently massive, and it will continue to expand in the future.
If you've noticed, people's lifestyle is evolving, and they'd appreciate having food delivered to their door. And, you'll never go out of business!
Urban residents don't have time to cook, and millennials would rather have convenience than waste time waiting for high-quality cuisine.
Doordash, UberEats, and Postmates offer a greater range of cuisines and have seen a 204 percent increase in market revenue over the last five years.
You can see why we'd put everything we've got towards making your dream come true.
📈 What has been the rate of growth of the online meal delivery industry over time?
The figures vary from country to country. Let's have a look at a few that can persuade you to invest in creating an app for your food delivery business now.
According to Statista:
The USA:
✳️ The online food delivery industry is expected to have a revenue of US $28,486 million in 2021.
✳️ An annual revenue growth rate of 4.30% is projected between the years 2021-2024 in the US.
Australia:
✳️ Australia gives out a projected revenue of US $2,288 million in 2021.
✳️ An annual revenue growth rate of 6.13% is projected between the years 2021-2024 in Australia.
The UK:
✳️ $6,543 million is the expected revenue generation in the UK by the end of 2021.
✳️ The projected revenue growth rate is 5.56% between the years 2021-2024 in the UK.
💰 How do food delivery apps generate revenue?
We always have these questions when we start any business. How profitable will it be? In what method am I going to generate revenue?
Here is the revenue model for the on-demand food delivery business like UberEats.
A commission-based revenue model is one in which a business owner earns a commission for each transaction that occurs on the platform.
You'll get a commission from the booking fee collected from customers (determined as a percentage of the bill amount), as well as the restaurant's and delivery partner's service fees.
💡Pro-tip: You may also provide subscription-based services similar to those provided by Uber.
Uber customers can sign up for an Eats pass, a monthly membership service that gives discounts on food orders, no delivery fees, and other benefits.
This could be a source of additional money for your app-based meal delivery services.
📱 How many apps do you need to start your food delivery business?
When seeking technical assistance from a software development firm, it's critical to understand what kind of deliverables you'll be getting when you sign the deal.
You should receive two apps (Eater and Delivery partner), as well as two web panels (Restaurant and Admin panel).
Eater's app: An app that allows customers to browse restaurants, menus, and place orders.
Delivery partner app: The app is used by the delivery partner to receive alerts on pick-up and delivery details, as well as access information on payouts.
Restaurant web panel: The panel is used by the restaurant owner to create and manage menus, set prices, and track orders.
Admin panel: It will be owned by you (the owner of the on-demand marketplace) to oversee all the operations of your business. You can coordinate with eaters, delivery partners, and restaurants.
👨💻 Tech stack to build food delivery app
It is critical to understand the technologies that can be employed while building your own food delivery app. The tools, technologies, and frameworks used to create the product are referred to as the tech stack.
The tech stack must be looked into as it deals with the performance of the app, scalability, development time, and the cost of development.
Technology we suggest!
Flutter: Flutter is a Software Development Toolkit (SDK) launched by Google. It is used to enhance the performance of the User Interface (UI) of the apps that are built by the developers.
Benefits of using Flutter
✳️ Flutter uses a single codebase that works on both iOS and Android devices.
✳️ In Flutter, hot reloading speeds up the debugging process.
✳️ Flutter employs two widgets: Material design (Google's design) and Cupertino (Apple's iOS). Which helps create beautiful and interactive apps faster.
✳️ It takes less time to develop and test apps with Flutter.
✳️ In comparison to other technologies, the cost of development is substantially lower.
Routing and tracking: To retrieve the user's current location status, routing, and live tracking of the order, we used Google Maps and the Flutter Location Plugin.
Performance-related: We used GraphQl to make APIs faster and more flexible. Push alerts and crash analytics are integrated using the Firebase platform. We also used Socket.IO to maintain an uninterrupted mobile device connection.
Features for the eater app solution
When it comes to selecting cuisine from a restaurant or cafe of one's choosing, the eater must feel at ease. These are some of the features we recommend when designing a food delivery app for foodies.
| S.No | Must-have features | Nice to have features |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Advanced filters - It will help the eaters to choose the price range and dietary. | Saved location - The eaters would like to save the locations they regularly order food from, it could enhance the user experience. |
| 2 | Track Order - The eater must be able to track the order from order getting confirmed to navigating the delivery partner. | Contactless delivery - The eaters might like to have a contactless delivery experience. |
| 3 | Wallet - The eater must have comfort in making payment for the order. Adding money to the digital wallet could be helpful. | Prompt notification - The eaters would like to receive notifications at every stage of the order and delivery. |
| 4 | Promo codes - It gives an option to choose the offers and coupon codes based on availability. | Tip to delivery partner - Eaters must be able to tip the delivery partner for their prompt services. |
| 5 | Multiple payment modes - The eaters must be able to have multiple payment options like cash, debit/credit card, or wallet. | Multiple languages - This option can be used to cover a larger audience. |
Features for the delivery partner app solution
The delivery partner would specifically feel comfortable having certain features while delivering the food items. Therefore, these are some of the feature recommendations we give you for developing a delivery partner’s app.
| S.No | Must-have features | Nice to have features |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Document submission - The documents such as the delivery partner’s license, vehicle registration, and insurance are an essential part of the registration. | Online/ Offline mode - It is nice to have a toggle for the delivery partner to operate whether he is accepting delivery orders or not. |
| 2 | Order management - It would be nice if the delivery partner could oversee the orders that he has delivered and assigned to deliver. | Ratings - The delivery partner should be able to rate the delivery experience and rate the eater after the order has been delivered. |
| 3 | Navigation - The delivery partner must be able to navigate to the restaurant and the eater’s location. | Profile management - The photo and information given by the delivery partner must be editable to the changing requirement. |
| 4 | Payout method - The delivery partner must be able to add payout accounts to the app so that he could receive their earnings promptly. | Earnings - The delivery partner must be able to oversee their earnings every week and also overall since he started using the app. |
Features for the restaurant web panel
The restaurants must be able to manage their menu, operating hours, and the orders they want to take in. These are some of the feature recommendations we give you for developing a restaurant web panel.
| S.No | Must-have features | Nice to have features |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Earnings - The restaurant owner must be able to track their earnings daily, weekly, monthly, and in total. | Operating hours - The operating hours of the restaurant and the availability of dishes could be managed by the restaurant owner. |
| 2 | Document management - The restaurant owner must be able to update the documents that are related to the restaurant. | Print the receipt - Printing out the receipts could be an add-on for the restaurant for their record or give it out during delivery. |
| 3 | Payouts - The restaurant owner must be able to receive their earnings from the platform. For that, they must stipulate a payout account. | Preparation time - The restaurant owners could set the default food preparation time and also set a preparation time for particular hours in a day. |
| 4 | Create your menu - The restaurant owner must be able to create their menu and manage the menu. | Restaurant status - A toggle button can be used to show whether they are in business for that day. (available/ unavailable) |
| 5 | Order management - The restaurant owner must be able to accept or reject the orders based on their preferences. | Transaction management - The restaurant owner must be able to view the future transaction and the completed transactions. |
Features for the admin web panel
The admin (you) must be able to manage the eaters, delivery partners, restaurants, booking details, and much more. These are some of the feature recommendations we give you for developing an admin web panel.
| S.No | Must-have features | Nice to have features |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eater management - The admin can handle all the eater’s information. Admin can edit or delete the account. | Promo codes - Giveaways like coupon and promo codes could be set by the admin - manage, enable and disable. |
| 2 | Delivery partner management - The admin can access the contact information and the documents submitted. Here too, he can either edit or delete the delivery partner’s account. | Auto payout - The payout for the restaurants and delivery partners runs automatically and the admin can oversee the automatic operation. |
| 3 | Restaurant management - The admin can access all the information of the restaurant owner and the restaurant. The admin can approve, put pending or decline the listing. The admin can also ban or permit their service on the platform. | Manage dietary - The dietary plan can be managed by the admin - it is set to classify the menu updated by the restaurants. |
| 4 | Service fee management - The admin can control the service fee that will be charged on the platform. | Cuisine management - It is managed by the admin so that it helps the restaurants to categorize their menu accordingly. |
| 5 | Booking management - The details of the booking including eater name, delivery partner, order status, payment type, the order bill amount, etc. | Admin earning management - The admin can see their earnings and the overdraft for each bill and also the complete booking details. |
Tips for running a successful on demand food delivery service
Would you like some must-know tips and tricks before starting your own on demand food delivery business? Here you go!
✳️ Reliable delivery partner: When your delivery partners are legit and do a great job, there is always going to be hype for your brand specifically.
✳️ Rapport with restaurants: Maintaining a good rapport with the registered restaurants will help you earn brownie points with your end customers.
✳️ Post-sales service: Making sure that your customers are happy and satisfied with your platform must be constantly looked into.
✳️ Consistent marketing: Giving out offers and coupon codes could be one of the best ways to increase your users. You must work towards your brand image and identity consistently.
✳️ Mobile-friendly apps: Mobile-friendly apps must be a top priority as the number of smartphone users is increasing hour by hour. Your app must not fail to satisfy the basic needs of the customers.
🪙 Want to know - The cost to build your own food delivery app
The concern of every entrepreneur is the cost to build a food delivery app as it has to fit into their budget.
There are two aspects to consider when you want to build your own food delivery app;
✳️ Buying a ready-made app solution from a software development firm. (or)
✳️ Develop an app from scratch.
Now, what is the most feasible option? The answer is obvious. But to make it clear. Read the following distinction between a ready-made food delivery app solution and making it from scratch.
| Distinction | Ready-made app | Apps developed from scratch |
|---|---|---|
| Post-sale technical support | The post-sale support is available according to the plan you choose and you can trust the team with your technical issues. | You will be running around to find the developers and testers who worked with you. There is no guarantee that they would help you without charging extra. |
| 100% source code | Find app development companies that will give you 100% source code for future alterations when you make a one-time payment. | While developing an app from scratch could also be an option to procure the complete source code. |
| Project management support | When you find a proper tech solution provider they will be obligated to give you proper details about the stages of the development process. | You can’t expect or rely on such details when you hire a bunch of freelancers or other custom development companies to do the job as they have multiple projects to work on. |
| Delivery timeline | Proper tech solution providers stick to the timeline of the delivery as discussed during the requirement meeting. | Some of the best development companies stick to the timeframe. But because of developing from scratch, there's a possibility that the time will get extended. |
🧠 How are we going to assist you?
We're excited to help you bring your ideas to life.
WooberlyEats is a ready-to-use UberEats clone that can be tailored to your company's specific needs. We used Flutter to build our product so that you can scale it as your company grows.
We're one dynamic team, buzzing like a bee to help you with food delivery mobile app development, and we never lose sight of finding common ground with you to collaborate.
Client happiness is our priority, and we take pleasure in turning your ideas into workable products.
We show utmost care before and after your product launch.
💭 Other online delivery business ideas that you should know about
✳️ Alcohol Delivery Services
✳️ Flower Delivery Services
✳️ Online Grocery Delivery Services
✳️ Medicine Delivery Services
✳️ On-demand Bottled Water Delivery Services
✳️ Marijuana Delivery Services
✳️ On-demand Meat Delivery Services
✳️ On-demand Frozen Food Delivery Services
✳️ Milk and Daily Essential Delivery Services
✳️ Bakery Items Delivery Services
Excited to own an on demand food delivery app?
Feel free to mail us at [email protected]
Or You could ping us on WhatsApp too!
Let us help you create your food delivery app!
