Maximising Revenue from Delivery Platforms

Understand what the platform actually charges you

Before optimising anything, do the maths on what a delivery order really earns you. The headline commission on Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats is only part of it. Add card processing fees, any packaging you absorb, the discounts you fund to appear in promotions, and the cost of remakes and refunds. It is common for a restaurant to be busy on delivery and still make less per order than it thinks.

Work out your true contribution per order after all platform costs and food cost. That single number tells you which dishes are worth pushing and which are quietly losing money once commission bites.

Engineer a menu built for delivery, not the dining room

Your in-restaurant menu is the wrong menu for delivery. Some dishes travel badly and generate complaints; others carry excellent margin and hold up beautifully in a box. Redesign for the channel:

• Lead with travellers: curries in rich, saucy gravies such as bhuna, korma, madras and rogan josh hold heat and moisture well. A proper biryani sealed in a foil container arrives in good order.
• Fix the fragile items: crispy starters like onion bhajis and poppadoms go soft in a sealed box. Vent the packaging, pack them separately, or drop the ones you cannot make travel.
• Raise average order value: position sides, rice, naan and drinks as easy add-ons. Meal deals and sharing platters lift the basket without extra marketing spend.
• Reprice for the channel: a modest uplift on delivery prices is normal and helps recover commission, provided it stays fair and consistent across platforms.

Make packaging part of the product

The customer's experience begins when they open the bag, not when they order. Leaking lids and lukewarm curry produce refunds and one-star reviews, both of which cost you far more than good containers. Invest in leak-resistant, heat-retaining containers, keep rice and sauce sensibly separated, and seal bags with a tamper sticker so the customer trusts nothing was touched. A small folded note thanking them, or a discount code for ordering direct next time, turns a transaction into a relationship.

Win the ranking game inside the app

Platforms sort restaurants by a mix of factors you can influence. The strongest levers are consistency and speed. Accept orders promptly, set realistic and accurate prep times, and avoid cancelling orders once accepted, because cancellations hammer your visibility. Keeping the kitchen open reliably during your advertised hours matters more than most owners realise, as availability feeds directly into where you appear.

Ratings drive placement too. Encourage satisfied customers to rate, respond professionally to complaints, and treat a dip in your score as an operational alarm, not a marketing problem.

Use promotions deliberately, not desperately

Platform promotions work, but only when you enter them with a plan. A blanket "20% off everything" run indefinitely trains customers to never pay full price and erodes the margin you already share with the platform. Use offers with intent:

• Acquisition offers to win first-time orders, accepting a thin or break-even first order because a good experience brings repeat custom.
• Off-peak nudges such as a Monday or Tuesday deal to fill your quietest kitchen hours when marginal orders are almost pure contribution.
• Minimum-spend thresholds that push average order value up rather than simply discounting orders people would have placed anyway.

Track each promotion against your true contribution figure. If it does not bring incremental orders or new customers, stop it.

Protect the kitchen during the rush

Delivery revenue collapses when the kitchen cannot cope. A single overwhelmed Friday, with long prep times and cancelled orders, can suppress your ranking for days. Manage capacity actively. Pause the platform or extend prep times when tickets stack up rather than accepting orders you cannot cook on time. Station your kitchen so delivery and dine-in do not fight for the same pass. Consistent, honest timing keeps customers and the algorithm on your side, which is worth more than squeezing in a few extra orders you deliver cold.

Own the customer, and reduce your platform dependence

The platforms are powerful acquisition channels, but every order you fulfil through them is a customer they own, not you. The highest-value move over time is converting those diners to your own direct ordering channel, where you keep the commission. Use the platforms to be discovered, then give people reasons to come direct: a lower price, a loyalty reward, a free side, or simply a better-looking own-brand ordering page.

Insert a flyer or discount card in every delivery bag pointing to your direct site. Build a simple loyalty scheme that only works on direct orders. Collect customer contacts where you legitimately can, and let them know about offers by text or email. A healthy delivery business uses the big platforms for reach while steadily building a direct base that pays no commission at all. That balance, more than any single tactic, is what turns delivery from a low-margin treadmill into a genuinely profitable part of the restaurant.