Delivery services in the restaurant industry are booming. Billions in revenue are generated annually through food delivery. However, not all of that revenue goes directly to the restaurant: delivery platforms take up to 30% in commission for marketing and logistics. Building your own independent delivery service offers an alternative. In this guide for restaurateurs, we summarize the hurdles, challenges, and solutions.
(Original article by Patrick Schady, fully updated by Max Falkenstern. This article was originally published in German and has been updated and translated for our English-speaking audience.)
What Is a Delivery Service?
In general terms, a delivery service is defined as a sales logistics service. In the restaurant industry, a delivery service means one thing: guests order in advance and receive their meal at home instead of dining at a table in your venue.
That definition sounds simple, but it carries real consequences for daily restaurant operations. Dishes must be suitable for transport, the kitchen works against tight deadlines, and a second sales channel emerges with its own cost structure for transport, delivery, staff, and marketing.
In practice, two core questions determine your delivery operations:
- Do you deliver, or does the guest pick up? With takeout (pickup service), guests order ahead and collect their food at your venue. For many restaurants, pickup is an ideal entry point. Eliminating drivers and delivery vehicles saves time, money, and staffing resources.
- If you deliver, who handles the driving? Employing in-house drivers gives you full control over the last mile, protecting food quality and guest interaction. However, in-house delivery increases operating costs. Using a delivery platform shifts logistics away from your team, but incurs commission fees.
Starting a Delivery Service: Requirements and First Steps
Setting up a delivery service requires manageable initial steps, though execution details matter greatly.
First, consider local legal requirements: operating a pickup or delivery service without serving alcohol generally requires standard trade registration rather than a full liquor license. Checking local regulations with your municipality ensures compliance.
Additionally, your restaurant should meet the following operational requirements for delivery:
- Suitable kitchen layout and preparation space
- Packaging materials and insulated thermal transport boxes (reusable packaging mandatory since 2023)
- A HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) food safety plan extended to hot-holding and delivery logistics
- Storage capacity for packaging inventory
- An ordering and delivery system with an integrated digital menu
Handling delivery in-house also requires appropriate transport vehicles (bicycles, scooters, cars) and dedicated delivery staff. Delivery platforms (discussed in detail below) offer an alternative, but reduce profit margins.
Before launching a delivery operation, outline your strategy, funding, logistics, and marketing within your restaurant concept and business plan. Addressing these factors early prevents costly mistakes.
How Does a Delivery Service Work?
Traditional restaurant delivery relied on printed paper flyers and phone orders. Taking orders manually tied up staff, took time, and made payment processing cumbersome.
Today, paper flyers are replaced by your restaurant website, social media pages on Facebook and Instagram, and your Google Business Profile. These digital touchpoints connect guests directly to your online ordering system.
- Guests select their dishes from your digital menu.
- At checkout, they enter their contact and payment details to submit the order online.
- The order arrives directly in your ordering software, optionally printing a ticket via a connected receipt printer.
- Kitchen and service staff prepare the order immediately.
- Once prepared, the system notifies the guest via email and SMS that the order is ready for pickup or out for delivery.
Within 24 hours of an online order, the system can automatically send a review request. This provides valuable feedback to help improve service standards and strengthen restaurant marketing.
When Is a Delivery Service Worth It?
Demand for online delivery services grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. While dining rooms have long reopened, consumer preference for takeout and food delivery remains consistently high.
Key statistics on online food ordering:
- According to market research by Appinio, 33% of consumers order food via delivery services weekly. The German Federal Statistical Office cites Eurostat with matching figures across EU populations aged 16 to 74.
- Delivery services are particularly popular among adults aged 18 to 49 (BMEL – German Ministry of Food and Agriculture,2023).
- Nearly two-thirds (64%) prefer to pay for food orders digitally.
- In 2022, consumers spent an average of around €50 per month on food delivery.
What takeaways do these statistics offer for restaurant operators?
Where operationally feasible, restaurants should offer online ordering for pickup and delivery. Adding off-premise sales channels generates an additional revenue stream to support overall revenue growth.
Location remains a crucial factor: Whether launching a delivery service makes financial sense depends heavily on your restaurant location. Urban areas with a high density of younger residents see higher delivery demand than rural regions. Factor local demographics into your decision.
The 5-Step Plan for a Successful Delivery Service
Five key factors determine the success of your restaurant delivery operations:
- Delivery menu selection
- Competitor analysis
- Target location and audience
- Dedicated website with online ordering
- Targeted marketing execution
1. The Delivery Menu – Your Menu Makes the Difference
A simple rule applies to delivery menus: less is often more. Not every dish maintains its quality during transport inside an insulated delivery box. Soggy French Fries or breaded cutlets losing their crispiness are typical examples of items ill-suited for delivery.
Start with a streamlined menu—perhaps ten core dishes—rather than offering your full dining menu immediately.
A focused delivery menu offers distinct operational advantages:
- Reduced food waste and lower inventory holding costs
- Faster kitchen preparation times
- Consistently high food quality across orders
While a smaller menu limits initial variety, starting focused remains the most effective entry strategy. Once ordering patterns and prep workflows stabilize, you can expand your delivery offerings based on actual sales data.
Test existing menu items thoroughly: assess how a dish looks and tastes after 20 to 30 minutes in a delivery container. Items that fail this test should be adjusted, repackaged using specialized containers, or removed from delivery availability.
2. Analyze the Competition – Niche Strategy or Direct Competition?
Conducting a competitor analysis is fundamental for both dine-in restaurants and delivery operations. Analyzing local competition helps identify market niches or differentiate your offering in competitive categories like pizza or burgers. Unique selling points drive long-term differentiation.
Research potential competitors thoroughly before launching delivery operations.
Focus on these key criteria:
- Number of active competitors in your delivery radius
- Brand recognition and reputation of local competitors
- Competitor menu items, portion sizes, and price points
- Delivery coverage zones and average fulfillment times
Use Google Search and Google Maps to evaluate local restaurants in your delivery area. Examine Google Business Profiles of established delivery services, noting the volume and sentiment of guest reviews. Customer feedback highlights service gaps, delivery speed issues, and food quality standards across competing venues.
Additionally, check competitor presence across major delivery platforms.
3. Location – Where Is the Ideal Location for Your Delivery Service?
Location is a critical success factor for traditional restaurants.
Location also impacts delivery success. Food delivery thrives in densely populated urban centers, whereas rural areas present different challenges due to lower population density and longer transit distances.
Major third-party platforms often avoid sparse rural areas due to logistical costs. While launching an independent delivery service in rural regions carries higher financial risk, it also offers opportunities to capture an underserved market. Performing an accurate cost calculation is essential before proceeding.
Rule of thumb: A delivery service is economically viable, when a sufficient density of households is located within a short driving distance of your kitchen.
- Design your delivery zone to cover a viable population size
- Keep target fulfillment times between 45 and 60 minutes maximum
- Ensure your venue offers easy access and parking if offering customer pickup
If you plan to combine dine-in operations with a delivery service, reviewing a detailed location analysis in the restaurant sector provides further guidance on site selection.
4. Your Own Restaurant Website = More Guests + Orders?
Having a dedicated restaurant website is essential for acquiring guests online. For delivery operations, a digital storefront is critical, as the vast majority of food delivery orders are placed online.
Your website serves as your primary digital sales channel. To drive conversions, it must meet modern standards:
- Mobile-responsive design catering to guests ordering via smartphones
- Clear site structure guiding visitors to order buttons while optimizing search engine visibility
- Interactive ordering features integrating an online reservation system and digital menu for immediate bookings and orders
Integrating ordering capability directly into guest touchpoints captures demand where guests search. Understanding the digital guest journey gives your restaurant a clear competitive edge.
5. More Guests Thanks to Online Marketing for Delivery Services
Modern digital channels offer numerous ways to reach prospective guests.
Your restaurant website combined with a digital menu plays a central role in driving sales.
Demographic groups ordering delivery value digital convenience. Younger diners expect effortless online ordering and digital payments, making online marketing essential for delivery success.
Without a mobile-friendly website, you miss out on a major portion of online delivery revenue.
Effective online marketing extends beyond your own site.
Key digital channels for attracting delivery guests:
- Social media channels like Facebook and Instagram allow you to showcase dishes, post daily specials, and encourage followers to order delivery or pickup.
- Google Business Profile serves as a primary touchpoint for guests checking reviews. Integrating an order button enables direct ordering.
- Email marketing keeps your venue top of mind for existing guests. Building a GDPR-compliant subscriber list through a reservation system like resmio simplifies re-engagement.
- Search engine advertising via Google Ads captures high-intent local search traffic, while social media ads build brand awareness for your delivery offering.
- Partner networks and local business directories expand online reach for your venue.
Delivery Service: Platforms, Own Ordering System, or Both?
Third-party platforms like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Deliveroo offer immediate reach and low entry barriers, providing technical ordering infrastructure, delivery personnel, and fleet logistics.
Joining a delivery platform often provides an initial visibility boost and order volume in the early weeks.
Delivery aggregators can be valuable, provided long-term unit economics remain profitable once initial promotional visibility settles.
Restaurateurs must carefully calculate profit margins per dish. Performing a menu matrix analysis and accurate food costing calculation ensures third-party commission fees do not erode overall profitability.
To avoid relying on third-party commissions, operators can implement an alternative solution: an online ordering system integrated directly into their own website.
Combining your website shop with Google Food Ordering further maximizes direct sales.
By connecting your digital menu to your Google Business Profile via resmio, guests discover your direct ordering options. Listing your restaurant on Google involves zero portal listing fees.
Once activated, guests see a prominent “Order Online” button on your Google profile. Clicking it takes them directly to your digital menu to complete their purchase without third-party redirects.
Key advantages of Google Food Ordering:
- Increased organic reach: Reach searchers directly on Google Search and Maps at zero additional commission cost.
- Guest data ownership: Customer details flow directly into your online ordering software, allowing compliant re-engagement via email newsletters.
- Brand independence: Third-party apps place your restaurant alongside dozens of competitors. Direct Google ordering keeps your venue front and center, maintaining brand independence.
Using third-party delivery aggregators does not preclude operating your own direct ordering system. Running both channels simultaneously allows you to capture initial marketplace volume while building direct guest relationships (provided platform contract terms permit; see the following chapter).
Use delivery portals to attract new diners, then encourage repeat orders through your direct web shop. Linking your Google Business Profile directly to your digital menu encourages guests to order direct on future visits.
Partnering With Delivery Services: What to Watch Out For With Delivery Platforms
Key factors to consider when partnering with external delivery platforms:
- Evaluate cost versus return: Analyze portal commission rates against actual order margin. Consider platform reach, delivery fleet coverage, and app reliability.
- Review contract terms: Examine contract duration, cancellation clauses, price parity requirements, customer data ownership, and restrictions regarding operating your own ordering software.
- Monitor fulfillment quality: Audit food delivery times and temperature consistency regularly via guest review feedback to maintain quality standards.
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Conclusion – Delivery Services in the Restaurant Industry
Launching a restaurant delivery service involves several operational components: kitchen workflow adaptations, packaging inventory, delivery fleet management, and digital marketing across your website, Google, and social media.
Operators preferring not to manage delivery logistics directly can utilize aggregators like Uber Eats, DoorDash, or JustEat. However, platform commissions reaching up to 30% per order require careful food costing. Review portal terms and run margin calculations before committing.
Selecting the right delivery menu items remains crucial. Focus on dishes that transport well and maintain high quality during transit.
