Menulog
Last year saw Menulog's continuous growth growing
2017 saw continued success for Menulog and our restaurant partners, with the business up 25 percent year on year, delivering 15 million meals. This growth coupled with an average order value of $42 enabled us to drive more than $645 million in gross sales for our restaurant partners in 2017.
In 2017, we expanded the Menulog network to cover more than 90 percent of Australian delivery addresses, adding more than 2,600 new restaurants and growing our active customer base by 13 percent to reach over three million people.
QSR Media spoke to Alistair Venn, Managing Director of Menulog ANZ, who discussed some of his observations
QSR Media: What are your key business philosophies?
Menulog has built a truly unique business that services the interests of both local business and customers alike. Our business philosophy is simple, we want to be a service for all Australians and a partner for all restaurants. We provide the technology and marketing to help restaurants reach local customers and facilitate online orders, be they via delivery, click-and-collect or catering orders. In turn, our customers have access to the greatest choice of restaurants in their local area, from family-run cafes to household brands.
QSR Media: What interesting trends have you observed within the industry?
Technology and food delivery is not new. We were the first to digitise the way people order food in 2006 and since then we’ve seen a number of interesting trends arise within the industry. Last month we launched the first of its kind report on the online food delivery market, titled A Growing App-etite, which looks at the history of the food delivery industry and how technology has driven our appetite for eating experiences. It examines current future trends, with one being a growing ‘Homing Trend’. 87 percent of Australians admitted to ditching social plans to stay home and have food delivered, and one in every two using online food delivery as a chance to enjoy quality time with family and friends. The report also revealed a trend around the rise of ‘fashionable foods’. On-trend foods such as fried chicken and ice cream, experienced a 40 percent growth in 2017 alone. Even more telling are the trends on food ordering habits, with almost a third of Australians ordering food from their bed and two thirds ordering food for delivery to their workplace; it seems Australians are more time-pressed than ever before!
QSR Media: What's the future of online food delivery?
Currently only one quarter of Australians have ordered their food online, but the food delivery and pick-up market is growing at eight times that of the total food service industry. As such, the future of online food delivery is set for exponential growth with usage rising more than ever before and people turning to online platforms not only for delivery but for click and collect and catering too. Access to food at the touch of a button is driving this industry evolution with over 75% of Menulog orders placed from a mobile device. Furthermore, there has been a rise in customer demand for choice and personalisation, and to meet this demand we have launched new native apps and a new website with sorting and filtering capabilities designed to provide a tailored experience for customers. Technology has allowed us to meet customers where they are, on any device, and in the future we’ll see more of this as we move towards voice command capabilities. Global partnerships with Amazon Alexa and Xbox are just some of the exciting innovations within the Just Eat Group, Menulog’s parent company.
QSR Media: Can you give us a glimpse of what you will talk about at the QSR Media Asia Conference 2018?
I’ll be joining the ‘Aggregators Panel’ at QSR Media Asia Conference 2018 and I’m excited to discuss how quick service restaurants can continue to evolve their businesses to ride the digital wave. There is so much growth and opportunity in the food delivery industry at the moment, so it’s an exciting time for all of us!
