Restaurants in Abu Dhabi, Dubai to launch own order-anddelivery apps
GOFOOD MAY GO LIVE NEXT WEEK WITH OVER 2,000 OUTLETS
As UAE citizens and F&B owners ourselves, we know the pain UAE restaurants are feeling … and that they deserved better.”
Mubarak Al Ghanem | Orderat
With restaurants operating under the Covid-19 created situation, they cannot afford to lose up to 35% per order.”
Shanavas Mohammad | Golden Fork
We weren’t going to sit idle and let third party aggregators shape our future.”
David Abi Daoud | Mezza
Lebanese Kitchen
Restaurant groups in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are now in the final phase of launching their full-scale challenge against food order-anddelivery portals such as Zomato and Talabat, with the roll-out of their own apps. And at the same time, ensure customers who order through the restaurants’ owned apps do not have to pay as much on delivery charges.
The Dubai-based group, representing more than 500 F&B businesses, expect to go live with the GoFood app and portal as early as next week. Much of the beta testing has been done, and by having 2,000 plus outlets covered through the app can provide for all sorts of customer tastes and have maximum coverage when it comes to delivery in the city.
The promoters of GoFood plan to enter an alliance with a leading delivery services provider to take care of the lastmile needs.
In Abu Dhabi, another app/ portal — Orderat — from restaurant owners will also be going live, most likely in July. “As
UAE citizens and F&B owners ourselves, we know the pain UAE restaurants are feeling … and that they deserved better,” said Mubarak Al Ghanem of Orderat. “There will only be a small charge per order no matter how big an order is. A spokesperson behind the GoFood initiative says UAE restaurants’ survival will depend on generating the maximum savings on their operations. “That won’t happen if restaurants have to lose up to 35 per cent on each order generated through a food “aggregator”,” said Shanavas Mohammad, Partner at Golden Fork Group. “Consumers too are getting hit with too high a delivery charge when they order through these platforms. Now, with restaurants operating under the Covid-19 created situation, they cannot afford to lose up to 35 per cent per order.”
Reduced tariffs
For a GoFood tie up, restaurants need to pay a 2 per cent market fee and payment gateway charges of 2 per cent in case it is done using a credit card. For providing delivery services, it will be a flat Dh10.
For the restaurants, the battle lines are drawn. “We weren’t going to sit idle and let third party aggregators shape our future,” said David Abi Daoud of Mezza Lebanese Kitchen and one of the founders at GoFood. “Some might think it’s a daring move — but these are daring times.”