How to Create Your Food Delivery App from Scratch

The online food delivery industry has grown exponentially, with big brands like UberEats, Zomato, and Swiggy achieving milestones. This success has led to significant investment in the business, which has further spurred its expansion.

In this article, we will analyze the key statistics of the online grocery delivery market and provide detailed guidelines for creating a typical grocery delivery app.

What is a Food Delivery App and Why is it So Popular?

A food delivery app is a third-party platform, available as a mobile app or online service, that partners with local restaurants to showcase their food offerings. This allows customers to conveniently order food or groceries and have them delivered to their door.

Advances in smartphone technology and the development of food delivery services have fueled the rise of online food delivery. These events provide restaurants with many benefits, such as increased visibility and reach, increasing their revenue They also create more job opportunities for delivery drivers, and it enables them to generate a steady income. From the customer’s perspective, these apps make it easy to order their favorite foods, often at a discount and have them delivered directly to their home. This combination of convenience, opportunities, and benefits has made food delivery more widely accepted, making it more popular among users and operators.

Trends and Key Stats in the On-Demand Food Delivery Market

• By the end of 2027, the number of on-demand food delivery app users will reach 2.61 billion.
• The global market for online grocery delivery is estimated to account for around US$1.5 billion. By 2022, the market will be worth $130.2 billion.
• Experts are predicting a global growth of 11.44% in the coming years for the food delivery app industry.

How to Build a Food Delivery App?

A structured approach is required when developing a food delivery app.  Here’s a step-by-step process to help you create an effective app that can succeed in this competitive market:

1. Research the Market

Understanding the online food delivery market is essential to success. It includes competitor analysis, industry trends, customer requirements, and distribution channels. This analysis will start your app idea and help you identify unique services you can offer. A comprehensive market analysis helps to assess the scalability of your application as well as analyze its growth potential.

2. Choose the Right Business Model

Once you have solidified your app idea, the next step is to decide on a business model. Typically, the online food delivery market operates in a transaction-based manner, with consumer segments. Your business plan should include information about pricing propositions, key services, products, cost structures, revenue, customer relationships, and stakeholders.

3. Consider Revenue Models

To be profitable, you should look for income streams for your food delivery application. Some common sources are:

Delivery Fee: Charge things like a reasonable delivery fee and a reasonable delivery fee for each delivery.

Restaurant fees: In addition to customer fees, charge restaurants for every order. This order varies depending on factors such as location and order quantity.

Subscription offers: Offer attractive subscriptions that offer users exclusive benefits such as discounts or fast delivery.

4. Focus on content and integration

When choosing features for your app, keep in mind the needs of three main people: customers, restaurants, and distributors.

For customers:

• Registration and account management
• Ability to browse restaurant inventory, order items, and check delivery
• Payment methods, including credit/debit cards, wallets, and money orders
• Rating and review system for restaurant and distribution executives

For restaurants:

• It is easy to register and integrate with the application
• Ability to update menus and business descriptions
• Order management and communication with delivery drivers
• Flexible revenue management and performance measures

For Distribution Administrators:

• Simple registration and profile setup
• Tools to track orders, update delivery status, and track revenue
• The communication system provides real-time updates to restaurants and customers

5. Estimate budget and collection resources

Developing a food delivery app usually costs $25,000 to $100,000, and an appropriate budget, depending on the complexity and features of the app, requires the necessary resources to be assembled, which includes selecting the appropriate technology stack and development tools.  Development time can vary from 2 months to 6 months depending on the features and complexity of the app.

6. Start the development process

Work with an experienced food delivery company to build a quality app. The development program includes:

Prototype development: Create user flows and prototypes based on your app’s requirements.

UI/UX Design: Design the app's interface, making sure it's easy to use and functional.

Development: This phase requires front-end and back-end development to build the core components of the application.

Testing: Perform rigorous testing to ensure that the application is free of bugs and technical issues.

Deployment: Once the app is tested and optimized, deploy it to relevant platforms such as iOS and Android.

Why Create an Online Food Delivery App?

Starting an online grocery delivery service can be very profitable, giving you a great return on your investment in a short amount of time. This allows local restaurants and businesses to expand their reach and increase sales. It also creates business opportunities and gives customers a convenient way to order food, often with discounts and other bonuses and benefits. Food delivery is a modern way of streamlining the dining experience, benefiting businesses and consumers alike. By using market insights and adding the latest integrations, you can create a successful app that appeals to a wide variety of users and stakeholders.Contact us if you’re thinking of creating a food delivery app. As a leading App Development Company, Osiz can help bring your food delivery business idea to life with a scalable, optimized application.