This blog explores the evolution of technology in the online food delivery industry, focusing on the success story of Talabat, a leading app in the Middle East. You’ll learn about the key features that have driven Talabat’s popularity, including customer-centric functions like order tracking and diverse payment options, as well as essential tools for restaurants and app managers.
Updated 16 August 2024
Head of Marketing at Appventurez
Technology has emerged in the online food delivery industry to a great extent, and visioners have transformed the technology for delivering fresh foods to customers by connecting them through a food delivery app.
Talabat is the most popular online delivery application in the Middle East, and it helps people get fresh food, whether at home or in the workplace. It was introduced in Kuwait in 2004 and later spread to numerous regions such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, etc. In the year 2016, Talabat gained popularity in the food delivery area with its user-friendly interface, convenient ordering of meals, and customer satisfaction factors.
Statista has reported that the revenue from online food delivery businesses will reach up to US$11.47 billion. Stepping up in the online food delivery business at this time will open doors to marvelous income opportunities. As the rise of contactless delivery has surged majorly after COVID-19, delivery application usage has increased. The food delivery business sector is in demand these days, and it is pivotal to introduce applications such as Talabat. Learn about what kind of features should be integrated into the food delivery application to reach the milestone, just like Talabat.
Here are some facts:
Founders: Abdulaziz Al Loughani
Founded on: 2004
Headquarter: Kuwait
Acquisitions: Zomato UAE, Floward
Talabat has been designed for easy navigation by users through the app, from taking orders as a restaurant to as a customer to order meals. There are numerous features that one should be familiar with in order to infuse the new application and step in the food delivery industry. The key features are distinguished in the perspective of consumers and service providers through the application.
A very beneficial feature introduced within the food delivery app is the GPS tracking that helps the customers to navigate their delivery status of the ordered food. From the point of meal preparation to the delivery at the mentioned point, the status can be shown on the application.
Numerous payment sources have been added to pay for the delivery on the application. One can find debit card options, credit card payment source, distinct online payment options and also cash on delivery. So, an user can easily choose a payment method that is convenient for them and complete the payment securely.
With any online service, it is very imperative to have good customer support associated with the application. Constantly improving the customer support feature for the utmost satisfaction of the users is a must for the growth of the business. One can get through to the customer support team to resolve any issue with the delivery, the services on the application and share the feedback of any sort.
A plenty of deals and offers can be found on the online delivery application to use to get discounts on your meals.
It is convenient for the service providers to track the status of the application and execute the orders effectively. For offering fast deliveries, it is very important for the restaurants to get a clarified list of all the orders, to avail the meals quickly and hand over to the assigned delivery partners.
All the restaurants providing the delivery service on the application will be able to access a contact database that includes the details of the delivery partners, how many orders have been delivered by them, and where, along with their contact numbers.
It is necessary for service providers such as restaurants to track the orders and delivery to run a smooth business and connect with their consumers without any hassle. The GPS Tracker also consists of the location of the customers and easy navigation to them for helping the assigned partners with food delivery.
A chat system also must be available on the food delivery application for the users to conveniently connect through the restaurants they would like to order food and with the delivery partners as well.
For handling the tasks on the application, analytical dashboard is a very important feature. Through this feature, admin can review the number of orders, its payment details, and other information of the placed orders on the application.
Admins can choose to manage the users on the application and can restrict them from further usage of the service if any rules are hampered. This feature helps the administration to verify the added details and the reviews provided by the clients.
The map view feature enables the admin to navigate the delivery locations, restaurants, and stores registered on the application, as well as map the personnel assigned for a particular task.
The admin will have the opportunity to manage the application settings to improve its functionality.
As we have understood how major impact Talabat has made in the food sector in the Middle East regions, to step in the sector it is necessary to understand how to make a food delivery app with the same or better integrity. Get a deep understanding of developing a food delivery app like Talabat, which is easy to navigate and help you order food quickly, then keep reading the following segments.
The first step of any app development process is to do thorough market research and set a suitable niche. The market research will help you get insights into the current trends, demands, and necessities of the consumers. Ensure that customers understand what they need on their online application for ordering food, where to put the major focus, and then start curating the plan.
Once the plan is set, what to make, what the customers need, and how you can generate revenue by providing the solution, a business model should be drafted now. Any service would be provided with a single aim of generating more and more revenue.
Your business model will include how to implement a plan, what strategies to undertake, what features to add on the online food medium.
Monetizing the application is a well needed step. It is a requirement of adding numerous relevant sources to generate income. Some of the major sources that are inclined with the food delivery application like Talabat that can be included on the revenue strategy are Advertisements, separate charges for individual orders, premium memberships and restaurants promo.
As the action map has been prepared, it will be the time to build a team that consists of savvy developers. You must share your thoughts and plan of action with the team so that the output is released as per the necessity.
When everything is all set, from the plan to the action, building an MVP will be an imperative step. After finalizing the features to add on the food delivery application, how it functions on the application would be the first requirement.
After building an MVP, it will be easier for you and your team to analyze the final functionality of the application, where you lack it, and the scope for improvement.
Once you make the adjustments and are all set to make your services live to the customers, this will be the final step of launching your own food delivery app. It does not matter that the application has been launched and the work is finished. Constant monitoring and the scope of adjustments will be required for the application to work smoothly.
Talabat is leading in the food delivery sector in the Middle East regions and many organizations who are in the same sector or wanting to step in must wonder how Talabat became successful. The success of any company depends majorly on the effectiveness, the customer satisfaction and how they respond to the feedback. Talabat has recognized the need of the users, has provided effortless support and made a simplified interface on the application.
Using artificial intelligence in the business module surely would be a hit if used properly, and Talabat has used it to improve and enhance its user experience. It has introduced a “Talabat AI,” which is a chatbot available on the application that can help users assist with grocery shopping as well as share the recipes they want. This AI feature surely makes it easier for the users to get the information related to the required meals, simplifies selecting the grocery items, and more.
Well, with the thought of launching a new app in the food delivery sector, it is also considerate to learn about the overall cost of making an on-demand application like Talabat. Till you have no idea of how much investment you need, you cannot map the outcome of the service you are building.
Once you get familiar with how to develop a food delivery app it will be convenient for you to get a better understanding on the cost of launching your own application. An average cost of building an application like Talabat ranges between $20000 and $80000. The cost will be calculated basically on different features and factors.
Get a brief information regarding the cost of distinct level application of a food delivery app:
Building an MVP is a cost-effective approach compared to developing a full-fledged application from the start. Starting with an MVP minimizes time and effort, allowing you to test its performance in the market. This approach helps determine whether your final product will align with your plan.
The cost of building a MVP starts from $5000 and can go up to $15000. Our experts are helping in MVP development to numerous and giving them insights on how to their vision will run in the food delivery industry.
It can be a lot of work and effort to put into the building of the food delivery application, which can be simplified by getting through with the industry experts. Over the years, Appventurez has been helping thousands of businesses to enter the market and stand unique from the competition.
Our expert team will help you map out a plan depending on the market standards areas, the demand, and the necessity. We will continue the service until the finalization of the application and launch so that the users can avail of services and you can generate revenue.
Q. How long will it take to make a food delivery application like Talabat?
The average duration of making a food delivery app is 3 to 6 months. However, the overall duration of the creation of a successful app like Talabat depends on its features and numerous other factors. Sometimes, it can take a maximum of 8 months to finalize an application with the help of experts.
Q. How do you generate money from food delivery apps?
There are numerous sources for generating income with the help of food delivery apps, such as advertising, membership plans, commissions in each order, fee on adding restaurants to the application and more.
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Head of Marketing at Appventurez
Twinkle Kalkandha is a seasoned digital marketing professional with 8+ years of experience. As a Head of Marketing, she oversees the website content, creates strategies for social media campaigns, and works towards generating leads through organic channels.
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