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Florida-based chain Firehouse Subs has recently been seeing their lunch crowd dwindle.

While this might usually be a cause for concern, it is not for the sandwich shop, as their business has increased due to takeaway orders popularised by food-delivery apps.

With fewer customers dining in, the sandwich seller has been saddled with too much dining space and has since converted the extra area into space for packing, collecting and delivering takeaway orders.

How would a similar trend affect Singapore?

Restaurant operators stuck with too much space may face downward pressure, especially if they cannot redesign or reconfigure their restaurants.

Property owners may need to re-look their portfolios and, perhaps, redesign their properties and rental income structures. Food and beverage furniture suppliers may be in for a rough ride. Such problems will filter down to jobs too.

Will we experience another "tsunami", like what we saw in transport sector with the ride-hailing apps?

That being said, there are also opportunities for real estate players and F&B consultants to help restaurant operators revamp their businesses.

F&B operators can create value by being ahead, preparing and capitalising on the food-app trend and converting the excess space in their eateries into cooking areas.
Tan Kar Quan

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How the food-app boom can change F&B industry here

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Florida-based chain Firehouse Subs has recently been seeing their lunch crowd dwindle. While this might usually be a cause for concern, it is not for the sandwich shop, as their business has increased due to takeaway orders popularised by food-delivery apps.

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Food fight! The battle for the food delivery market

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WHAT to eat? With that question constantly on the minds of food-obsessed Singaporeans and a hunger for convenience driving demand, it’s no wonder the food delivery market here has exploded in recent years. A growing number of startups – each backed by millions in venture capital – are jostling for a…

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SINGAPORE: Hawker food delivery service Fastbee will have its last day of operations on Tuesday (Aug 14) after having to fend off stiffening competition in the local market on the back of difficulties in attracting fresh funding, founder Khoo Kar Kiat told Channel NewsAsia.

Part of the new crop of delivering start-ups that emerged last year with a focus on local offerings, Fastbee allowed people to make lunch orders via its app and later pick up their food from designated vending machines at various industrial and business parks in the West.

Unlike most food delivery companies, it does not take a cut from orders or have a minimum order requirement, and relies on a S$1.50 delivery fee as its main income.

At its peak, Fastbee had a footprint of 10 vending machines while delivering 10,000 packets per quarter from a team of just seven delivery men.

While it relied on aggregating orders and eliminating point-to-point deliveries to stay lean and keep costs down, the start-up required economies of scale to turn profitable, Mr Khoo said on Monday.

It began actively seeking venture capital (VC) earlier this year and later on, widened its search to include traditional investors. But by April, it was running out of cash as talks with a potential investor dragged on, the 34-year-old said.

The start-up proceeded to reduce its number of machines to six locations but time was running out.

"We were actively reaching out to VCs and angel investors to obtain funding in order to scale up. However, we do not at this point have sufficient resources to achieve the growth rate that such investors are looking at," he said.

"Later on, we tried to explore other types of investors and pivoted our model to be even more economical but we were running out of time."

In the meantime, competition in the food delivery market has continued to heat up with a host of new players, such as GrabFood and Plum, eager to garner a slice of the market.

As the battle for food-delivery supremacy plays out, experts have said that smaller players may lose out.

Mr Khoo admitted that Fastbee did feel the heat from the competition given how it did not have a deep warchest that allowed it to dish out promo codes or roll out extensive marketing efforts.

"I still believe in the concept of using a vending machine but it turns out that to convince people to take up a new habit, it's very tough.

"We've had people coming to tell us that they like our concept but somehow without some incentives like a discount code, people will not download an app or make another purchase," he told Channel NewsAsia.

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Amid stiff competition, hawker food delivery start-up Fastbee to end operations on Aug 14

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(Updated: ) Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via E-Mail SINGAPORE: Hawker food delivery service Fastbee will have its last day of operations on Tuesday (Aug 14) after having to fend off stiffening competition in the local market on the back of difficulties in attracting fresh funding, founder Khoo Kar Kiat told Channel NewsAsia.

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Remember those days when you would actually step out of your house to buy food when you were hungry? Me neither. Ever since food delivery services appeared on the scene, they've been a huge hit in convenience-obsessed Singapore. Why bother to brave the heat and humidity when there's Deliveroo, Foodpanda, GrabFood and Honestbee?

To be completely honest, I love that the food delivery scene in Singapore is booming right now. Although UberEats exited a few months ago, it has since reincarnated as GrabFood... which is forcing the other players to step up their respective games. That means more promo codes for my lazy lunches!

But with that many players in the game, it's always a dilemma which one you should support. Here's a comparison of their minimum order, delivery fees and current credit card promotions, so you can decide for yourself.

Deliveroo - most user-friendly all-round

No min. order for most heartland areas (all day) and CBD (before 6pm); min. order $12 for everywhere else

Delivery fee $3

Many ongoing promotions & card tie-ups

Monthly subscription service at $10.90 a month where you get unlimited food orders with no delivery fees

Referral promo: $6 off for both referrer and new user

Deliveroo once ruled the food delivery scene, but they've since lost a bit of their lead as Foodpanda caught up in terms of partner restaurants and GrabFood launched with a $0 minimum spend.

Thankfully, Deliveroo is fighting hard to keep their crown. They're still reasonably generous with promo codes and credit card tie-ups with banks, and effective 20 August 2018, they've scrapped the minimum spend criteria for most heartland areas* (and CBD orders before 6pm).

All that considered, it's no surprise that local foodies are still on Deliveroo. There is also a lot of online feedback that praise the app for being easy to use and aesthetically pleasing.

Deliveroo's referral promotion gives both the referrer and new user $6 off (it used to be $10), but it has to be earned - you need to complete 2 orders before you are issued an invite code.

And if you're a frequent Deliveroo user, it pays to sign up for its new monthly subscription service at $10.90 a month (launched October 2018) that offers unlimited orders with no delivery fees.
* Admiralty, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Boon Lay, Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Jurong East, Jurong West, Loyang, Mandai, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Sengkang, Sembawang, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun
Deliveroo credit card promotions & promo codes

As with most promotions, discounts are the best for new users. If you're an existing user, don't despair, you can still get good deals. The best credit card to use is DBS/POSB, where you can get $10 off min $35 all the way until December 2018.

Foodpanda - Starbucks!!! and cash payment

Min. order and delivery fees vary depending on restaurant

Only delivery service with Starbucks

Only delivery service to accept cash on delivery

If you're a and long for your Nitro cold brew or vanilla ice lattes at all times of the day, then you only have one choice... Foodpanda.

Foodpanda is also the only food delivery service to allow cash on delivery, which is great for those uncomfortable with online payment.

It's slightly troublesome that the minimum order and delivery fee varies from restaurant to restaurant (it means you have to keep checking), but I guess that means you can score "free delivery" deals from time to time. I also like that you can checkout with a guest account (no sign-up needed).

I've personally not had any bad experiences with Foodpanda, but for some reason Foodpanda draws a bit of flak online for poor service. I'd take it with a pinch of salt though.

Foodpanda credit card promotions & promo codes

The most notable Foodpanda promos are from Citibank: $15 off min $30 for new users, 20% off min. $40 for existing ones, and up to 8% on top of all that.

GrabFood - UberEats 2.0 with no minimum order

The latest to join the fray is GrabFood, which is essentially the new UberEats.

Because it's relatively new, the number of restaurants on the platform fall short of its competitors, although it has been increasing. The user interface is similar to the Grab's main ride-hailing app. For existing Grab users, it's easy to port your saved information (addresses, contact number, payment methods) over.

For avid GrabCar riders, Grab may be a good food delivery option since you can earn 5X Grab Rewards points for every dollar spent. You can also use GrabPay if you already have credits. GrabFood is the only platform with McDonald's on board, but I wouldn't consider it that much of an edge - especially since McDelivery's been doing this a lot longer than Grab.

Currently, you get free delivery on your first ever order from selected merchants
GrabFood credit card promotions & promo codes
GrabFood has introduced new credit card promotions with Citibank. There are also some ongoing introductory discounts - follow GrabFood on Facebook for the latest.

Honestbee - Mos Burger and free delivery

Limited restaurants, but curated and taste-tested by the team

Min. spend $10

Free delivery until further notice (usual $2.50)

Referral promo: $10 off $10.01 (referrer) / $10 off $20 (new user)

New user promo: $12 off min $20 with promo code 12FIRST

Honestbee is slightly different from the rest in the sense that the limited number of restaurants is almost intentional. Honestbee prides itself on taste-testing every restaurant on the app to ensure only "delicious" makes it to your doorstep.

The usual delivery fee is $2.50 - which is quite low to begin with - but delivery is free until further notice (yay!). Honestbee is also the only platform with Mos Burger.

At the moment, Honestbee has the best referral and new user promotions. It's the best when you successfully refer a friend - you get $10 off any order above $10 (which is the minimum spend anyway).

Honestbee credit card promotions & promo codes

Honestbee has limited promotions, but it's better than nothing.

Bonus: Which food delivery platform is the best for ulu areas?

If you're staying at ulu areas, the restaurants that deliver to you may be limited. Let's compare them across the platforms.

Disclaimer: I can't input every seemingly ulu estate, but I've included Jurong West (west), Changi (east) and Punggol as a gauge.

Number of restaurants on food delivery platform

Foodpanda seems to come out tops, while GrabFood and Honestbee lag behind. Since Honestbee's position is a curated selection of food providers, I can't blame them. GrabFood is probably just new, and will improve with time.

For now, if you live at any of these areas, stick to Foodpanda and Deliveroo.
Which is your favourite food delivery service in Singapore? Tell us in the comments below!
Related articles

The Best Online Groceries & Food Delivery Promo Codes Singapore 2018
Healthy Meal Subscription & Tingkat Services in Singapore (2018)
The Best Credit Cards in Singapore for Online Shopping 2018

Tags: Dining, NLW1811P05

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Deliveroo vs Foodpanda vs GrabFood vs Honestbee - Which Food Delivery Service in Singapore is Best?

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Remember those days when you would actually step out of your house to buy food when you were hungry? Me neither. Ever since food delivery services appeared on the scene, they've been a huge hit in convenience-obsessed Singapore. Why bother to brave the heat and humidity when there's Deliveroo, Foodpanda, GrabFood and Honestbee?

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About 500 small to midsized restaurant companies alleged "misuse of dominant position by food delivery companies including Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats and FoodPanda," signing an online petition addressed to the Competition Commission of India ( CCI) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to this effect.

The accusations include the use of deep discounting, in-house kitchens and internal sourcing. "The companies have been continuously found to misuse their dominant position with the aim to wipe out small and medium enterprises," said the petition, which ET has seen.

Zomato and Swiggy denied the accusations. Uber Eats and FoodPanda didn't respond to queries.

"Unlike retail, FDI (foreign direct investment) restrictions are not applied on the restaurant sector or food service aggregators," said Rahul Singh, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents over 5,000 brands.

"Predatory practices will be examined by the CCI. As an association, we have a roundtable discussion next week with all four major food delivery aggregators to address deep discounting and the cloud kitchen issue which is adversely affecting the restaurant industry." Singh is the promoter of The Beer Cafe, which runs 40 outlets.

The petition called on the CCI to "put an end to unsustainable pricing by these companies, prohibition of crossholdings of food services, delivery company to own or have a stake in any kitchen/restaurant, and appointing food regulators to ensure that a level playing field in not breached in the garb of cutthroat competition."

Anurag Katriar, chief executive of deGustibus Hospitality, which runs restaurant brands Indigo, Tote on the Turf and Neem, said the sector is getting hit.

"Deep discounting by online food delivery platforms is impacting footfalls and diverting consumer traffic to these platforms," he said. "Besides, the cost of doing business is escalating because commissions are directly getting impacted. These are hurting us in the long run."

Such offers are meant to be incentives and are voluntary, said Zomato. "Discounts are merely a mechanism to encourage user participation and all our restaurant partners can choose to participate in a discounting campaign," a Zomato spokesperson said.

The petition said Swiggy had started its own in-house kitchen, The Bowl Company, to "monopolise the market."

"They (Swiggy) are unethically diverting customers to their own kitchen," the petition said. "A client is required to pay huge tariffs to get their products listed on the platform; however, the first ad which is shown to an end-user on logging in is Swiggy's in-house kitchen - The Bowl Company." The petition said this amounts to "misusing the customer database."

Swiggy denied that it sought to push users in any particular direction. "We do not practice diversion of traffic to any brand unethically," a spokesperson said."We doubled the number of restaurant partners on the platform to over 55,000. The commissions we charge are a function of the value we generate for our partner and are mutually agreed upon."

The Bowl Company was established to fulfil a gap in the market. "With private brands, we aim to meet unmet consumer needs," the Swiggy spokesperson said. "Single-use ordering was a gap in the market and hence we created The Bowl Company." She said the listing of the brand is "similar to any other brand on the platform, and that it has led to numerous partners following the trend."

The restaurateurs said Zomato had set up in-house company HyperPure, which sells vegetables, chicken and other meat. They alleged that it forces restaurants who want to list on the Zomato platform to purchase these items from Hyperpure, which is against the Competition Act.

Zomato denied this and said its aim was to provide fresh produce to restaurants.

"HyperPure is helping restaurants save efforts of sourcing food ingredients from an otherwise unorganised market," the Zomato spokesperson said. We don't constrain the restaurants on our platform to associate with HyperPure, doing so will be completely against our ethics."

Thomas Fenn, founder of specialty restaurant Mahabelly, said: "We need to reach a middle ground on commissions and have more transparency in the system. The delivery platforms are very good for the restaurant sector but the consequence cannot be detrimental for business. As for the... in-house kitchens, it is a clear case of conflict of interest."

Uber Eats is also offering unsustainable discounts on some menu items, the petition said. "The idea behind these organisations bringing in large war chest of funding by their foreign contributors is to close down small and medium-size restaurants. We favour foreign investments as long as it leads to innovation and growth in their respective sectors," it said.

On the in-house kitchen issue, Bengaluru-based restaurant Art of Delight founder Ayaaz Hameed, said: "The concept is fine for us as long as the cuisine they (the in-house kitchens) offer are not directly competing with us."

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Zomato, Swiggy & others eating into our business: Restaurants - ETtech

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About 500 small to midsized restaurant companies alleged "misuse of dominant position by food delivery companies including Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats and FoodPanda," signing an online petition addressed to the Competition Commission of India ( CCI) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to this effect.

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demqnd supply analysis
no. of seller increase, supply curve shift right
taste and preferrence increse, demand shift right,
price of service increase
price elasticity
market structure monopoly competition or or

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The food delivery market more than doubled its size to touch $1.7 billion at the end of 2018, and raised the same amount from private equity investors during the year. The delivery companies expanded their presence to more than 100 cities during the year and are expected to deepen their presence in these markets this year with the PE money.
The industry was valued $750 million in 2017-end and has grown by 130 per cent to touch $1.7 billion in 2018. The industry is expected to grow even faster in 2019 as it has raised $1.7 billion from private equity investors and part of this has come in at the fag-end of 2019.

Swiggy had started the year with a $100 million investment led by Naspers, followed it up with $210 million by mid-year and another $1 billion led by Naspers and Tencent by end of the year. Zomato too raised $410 million in two rounds.

"In 2018, we saw the food delivery apps expanding their presence from top 20 cities to 100 cities, thus adding around 80 more new cities. Part of the funding will be used to deepen the demand, supply and logistics in these cities," said Mrigank Gutgutia, head, consumer internet, RedSeer.

Most of the newer tier II and III cities, which were added in 2018, do not have a strong habit of eating out. The habit has to be inculcated through marketing and discounting. The players had resorted to deep discounting in 2018 and this would continue in 2019 as well.

The food tech industry will also have to take up the job of facilitating supply infrastructure in the cities. Swiggy has already launched 'Access', a kitchen back-end service to help the restaurants to operate their cloud kitchens. The newer cities may also get similar infrastructure and other players too are expected to get into providing cloud kitchen infrastructure.

Improving logistics in the newer cities by hiring delivery boys also would form part of the agenda.

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$1.7b food delivery industry raised as much from PEs | mydigitalfc

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The food delivery market more than doubled its size to touch $1.7 billion at the end of 2018, and raised the same amount from private equity investors during the year. The delivery companies expanded their presence to more than 100 cities during the year and are expected to deepen their presence in these markets this year with the PE money.

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Restaurants shrink as food delivery apps get more popular

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SAN FRANCISCO - Mr Don Fox, the chief executive officer of Firehouse of America LLC noticed something strange a couple of years ago: during the midday lunch rush, his sandwich shops were relatively empty, but sales were better than ever.