1. Take-away food delivery services

I decided that researching food delivery services would be vital in order to understand how they operate, so my food delivery service can work in a similar fashion to the various competitors which currently exist.  Researching these would also be important for understanding why the main competitors in the world of food delivery are so successful; I may be able to adopt some of these strategies and portray them in my own advert.

The majority of my research was sourced from:

• The Uber Eats website 
• The Just Eat website
• The Deliveroo website
• The respective Wikepedia pages of the companies listed
• The Just Eat 2014 Annual Report 2014

All three of the main food delivery services, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat alongside the others based in America and Western Europe all advertise their service digitally, through an app, website or both.  The emphasis on smartphone technology appeals to their younger, 'tech-savvy' target audience.  All three of the main services have their applications available on the Google Play store and the Apple app store which their target market is mostly able to access.  This is expanded by their activity on social media platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, which contribute to their customer base and expands their appeal beyond their websites and apps.

The services also incorporate some element of regionality into their website or apps; they request a postcode or location in order to their experience to the customer based on where they live.  This influences where they can order food from.  Another feature would be tracking and rating systems.  Customers are able to track their delivery from the kitchen all the way to their door; following on from this they can rate their delivery and food, improving the relationship between the restaurant and the customer as well as the 'middle-man' being the delivery service.

The food delivery industry is vast, constantly expanding and is predicted to expand in the years to come.  The food delivery industry is estimated to be a £18 billion market and is predicted to rise to £29.4 billion (a 16% increase) by 2022.

Just Eat

'Just Eat' is a food delivery service, which targets 18-34 year olds. The company works as an aggregator in the sense that they collect data from the restaurants which commission them.

Just Eat was founded by 5 Danish entrepreneurs in the year 2000 (in Denmark) and was launched in 2001.  In 2005, Bo Bendtsen bought out the the founders and moved the company to the UK.  Jesper Buch and David Butress then launched the company in 2006.

Just Eat accelerated their success in the UK after 2012 by:

• launching their 'Dont Cook, Just Eat' Campaign with 'Mr Mozzerela' showing the fun in the brand.
• introducing the #minifistpump campaign in 2014.  This celebrated the victory of getting a takeaway and appealed to their target audience on social media with the hashtag.  Reflected their brand values of fun and rewarding.

The company has had a high amount of economic success, with 87,300 restaurants worldwide and a top 100 place on the FTSE 100, being worth £5.5 billion in 2017.

The company makes revenue through:

• An initial connection fee to sign up to the restaurant.  This varies at around £699.
• Commission fee based on the funds made from successful orders via the app or website. 
• Fees from card payments.  Restaurants have the choice to pass this on to the consumer.
• Other forms such as restaurant requests for being promoted near the top of the website.

Just Eat has received a positive reputation in recent times, especially among their target audience of young professionals and families.  This has been done through events such as the 'Just Eat Street' in Dublin, where food from all over world was sold and workshops were held.  They have also sponsored bikes in Edingburgh, which are now known as 'Just Eat cycles', giving them a representation of a positive and environmentally responsible company.  However, it has been reported by various restaurants, particularly in Oxfordshire, that the commission rates are unreasonably high.  This has resulted in local business making their own commission-free food delivery services such 'Oxford Orders'.

By researching Just Eat in addition to food delivery services in general, I have gained a greater understanding on how food delivery services work, who they target and why they are successful.  Just Eat in particular has shown me the importance of memorable marketing to promote a service, which I can adopt in the production process.