Flamingo heats up e-scooter food delivery services

E-scooter company Flamingo has launched a food delivery service in Christchurch.

Rollickin Gelato, Mexicali Fresh and Riverside Market are just a few of more than 50 options available.

Customers are charged a flat $5 delivery fee, but you must be within a 4-kilometre radius of a restaurant to order from it.

The new delivery service, which can be accessed via the Flamingo Food app, comes as the new Covid-19 restrictions at alert level three allow hospitality businesses to offer a takeaway or delivery.

Flamingo, a New Zealand-owned company, takes 20-25 per cent on all Flamingo Food orders for service, delivery and administration fees.

Uber Eats charges a commission of about 30 to 35 per cent for most purchases, a revelation which last week prompted Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern to urge Kiwis not to use the service, as she said it was ‘‘taking the shirt off the industry’s back’’.

However, Beam is offering its e-scooters to Christchurch restaurants for free to help with deliveries during level three.

Food outlets can collect a scooter, a helmet and a charger from the company’s Sydenham HQ and use them until May 11.

Flamingo co-founder Jacksen Love said its food delivery service was here to stay and would continue even when the company’s ridesharing service resumed.

‘‘We definitely want to disrupt the food delivery market and keep at it.’’

He said it made sense to offer the service in Christchurch after success in both Auckland and Wellington.

‘‘We wanted to find a way that we could utilise our services to benefit fellow Kiwi businesses and give restaurants a fair way to reach their customers whilst also generating a few local jobs.

‘‘To date, we have 100 delivery partners employed and on the job and 500 applications that we’re processing.’’

Restaurants partnered with Flamingo Food can advertise their menus on the app, which customers then use to search for and order their favourite food.

Orders are received directly through a tablet provided to each restaurant and once ready, a Flamingo delivery driver collects these orders on an e-scooter.

Each restaurant on Flamingo Food pays a one-off activation fee and is provided with their own Flamingo e-scooter and an insulated delivery backpack to keep the food warm and secure, as well as a tablet and professional photoshoot.

‘‘We definitely want to disrupt the food delivery market . . .’’

Jacksen Love