6 Expert-Proven Food Delivery Hacks for Business Success in 2024

The delivery service industry is quickly turning into the most competitive industry worldwide. While this is good news for customers looking to save money and get better services, it might not be the case for businesses looking to profit.

The U.S. food delivery industry is expected to grow to nearly 47 billion dollars in 2027. Such desperate times demand food delivery hacks that help delivery services have an easier time making a profit.

Worry not business owner, for we are here to give you the food delivery hacks that you need. These hacks give you an advantage over your competition which converts to you making more profits.

Understanding Food Delivery Optimization

Food delivery optimization refers to creating the most efficient routes to deliver food products to your customers. It involves using advanced algorithms that account for various constraints, including customers’ preferred time, delivery distances, priority, drivers’ shifts, and vehicle capacity specifics. 

Current Industry Challenges

No matter the kind of dishes you deliver, the expectations of customers and restaurants stay the same. They do not and will not understand the reason behind a high delivery fee. Well, in order to understand the solutions to the plight of delivery services we must understand the problems. 

High competition among food delivery services

One of the biggest challenges faced by the delivery logistics industry is that the cost of delivery leaves little to no room for making profits. The rise of competition doesn’t help either as it pushes businesses into a downward spiral of competitive pricing. 

Inability to meet customer’s expectations

Another issue is the inability to meet the customer’s expectations. When ordering meals on food delivery apps, customers expect their meals to be delivered in an instant. This expectation is already inflated and when delivery services delay their shipments it is even more disappointing.

With the food delivery industry turning into such a fierce battleground it is no wonder that they are constantly looking for ways to gain an edge over the competition. This is why a few hacks will come in handy for delivery companies. 

Benefits of Delivery Optimization

Doing food delivery route optimization at your restaurant will ensure you have optimal delivery times that make clients happy and encourage them to become regulars. 

1. Cost Savings Potential: 

Creating optimal delivery routes helps decrease overall delivery time and distances, which reduces fuel and maintenance/repair costs and hence, increases profit margins. It can also help maximize your orders per journey while minimizing failed deliveries, thereby increasing operational cost savings and return on investment.

2. Customer Satisfaction Impact

Timely and cost-effective food deliveries can help build customers’ trust and loyalty and are likely to leave positive reviews, enhancing your brand reputation. This may not only strengthen your existing customer base but also expand it with positive word-of-mouth. 

What are Delivery Hacks?

A hack is when any simple activity creates a profitable outcome for the person using the hack. 

While the term is mostly used by consumers when asking for ways to get food for cheaper, in this scenario it is used for business owners. 

So for a food delivery business, a delivery hack would comprise a way to increase the profitability of their business by either selling more or saving more. These solutions are very diverse and might require you to spend next to nothing or invest a big chunk of money.

Essential Food Delivery Hacks for 2024

Now let’s dive into the list of smart food delivery hacks that we have in store for you. These solutions are great for any business at any level with the last one being one of the best hacks ever. Either of these hacks will greatly improve your business’s profitability.

1. Strategic pricing optimization

Implementation Steps:

This cliche method of getting more orders is popular because it works. Most people would rather go with an expensive product that offers free delivery over a product that is cheaper but charges additional delivery charges. Any food delivery service can cover delivery charges by slightly increasing the price of their takeout menu items.

Expected Results:

Using this method you can not only cut down on costs but also get more clients. 

2. Incentivize curbside pickup

Implementation steps:

If you make a lot of deliveries in a certain area then you might want to give customers the option to pick up at a nearby location at their convenience. This is called curbside pickup and It will let you deliver to multiple clients by just going to one location. 

Expected Results:

Though the problem comes when customers are unwilling to comply with these cost-saving measures. This is why you might want to offer free food or cashback to customers that comply and pick up their orders from an alternative location. 

3. Make cutlery and condiments optional

Implementation Steps

• Food delivery services need to realize that the extra condiments that they offer usually go to waste. While leftover plastic containers can be reused, the same cannot be said for cutlery and condiments. 
• You can also introduce new sauces such as hot sauce to make customers more likely to spend money on them.

Expected Results

Asking customers to pay for extra mayo helps you cut down on costs or increase profits by charging for the condiment. You can also introduce new sauces such as hot sauce to make customers more likely to spend money on them. 

4. Offer special preset meal delivery options

Implementation Steps

Though making a preset meal is no easy job. While pizza with chicken wings might be a good meal in your book, other users might be different.

This is why it is a great idea to also collect comments, as the comments will give you an insight into your customer’s meal preferences. With this data, you could also create a whole new meal that caters better to your audience. If creating a completely new dish sounds complex, then you might simply want to create a high-quality healthy meal to rake in more customers. You can also offer new customer discounts for those who opt to buy these preset meals.

Expected Results

Preset meals are a great way to boost the number of orders that you get while cutting down on costs.

5. Eliminate uncertainty in your customer’s mind

Implementation Steps

Food delivery apps cater to some of the most fickle-minded customers on the planet. They are quick to cut ties with a business if their pizza is a few minutes late. This is why it is essential for you to build as much trust as possible from the start. 

The time of delivery is where this matters the most. You will have to provide highly accurate estimated times of arrival and get to your customers as fast as possible.

It is also a good idea to have such efficient systems in place in case you ever have to deal with difficult customers. This bit of advice does seem hard until you realize that are tools here to deal with those issues for you. 

Expected Results

By consistently being good at job, you can build your customers’ trust and attract repeat business.

6. Invest in tools that boost your earnings

Implementation Steps

Much like how a logger needs a great chainsaw, a delivery business needs a great tool that guides its every move to the utmost accuracy. This tool can be anything from a reliable car to a great route planner. The only parameter for such a tool is its ability to save or make you more money.

The food delivery industry already has a thin profit margin. This is why it is crucial to first start by reducing the money spent on regular processes. It is rare for tools to be versatile enough to allow you to save money on regular tasks. Upper is an example of such software that you can implement for it.

Expected Results

It will help you increase profitability by both saving and making more money.

Get the Best Hacks for Your Delivery Routes on Upper

Be it grocery stores or restaurants, Upper is a route planner that fits all. Without Upper, a delivery service can never hope to reach the apex of its field. Food delivery is complex as it is, and without Upper, route planning quickly turns into a nightmare.

Route planning shouldn’t be a task that requires putting in a lot of effort. This is why Upper allows you to plan the most optimized routes known to mankind with the click of a button. Just click and forget your concerns about planning routes. 

Upper also lets you put your fears of incomplete deliveries to rest by providing access to proof of delivery. With the driver app, drivers have multiple options to reassure you of the delivery’s success, including obtaining the customer’s signature online. This proof of delivery system enhances transparency and accountability, ensuring that you have reliable documentation of each successful delivery.

Route planning and optimization software will make food deliveries smoother than before. Don’t let the opportunity sit on the counter for way too long. Start your journey of optimization as soon as possible with Upper.

Last Bite

As previously stated, running a food delivery service is no joke. It requires the owner and employees to be highly involved in every single step of the business for it to be successful and not tarnish its own image.

The customer’s expectations don’t help either. A food delivery service is bound to run into a customer with inflated expectations and there is no way to satiate some of their needs. The best a business can do in this scenario is to offer the best service possible at a consistent rate.

Though all is not lost thanks to software such as Upper that significantly boosts the efficiency and quality of your deliveries. When you’re given a perfectly planned route within minutes, most of your concerns are instantly eliminated. 

Such amazing software like Upper is of critical importance to any business that dabbles with delivery routes. Without Upper offering accurate and optimized solutions a business can never hope to reach the pinnacle of its class.