Food Delivery Platforms – From Boom and Bust to the Second Wave of Digital Disruption

A quick look at the history of food delivery, from the early years of boom/bust 1996 – 2001 to the growth phase 2001 – 2018, seems to indicate that a big shake-up is coming and the once disruptors are about to be disrupted!

What does the consumer want in relation to Food Delivery Services? They surely want to know that the meal they’ve ordered is fresh, safe and good. What kind of a food management system is needed? What kind of food delivery system would this require?

Food on the Move Today

For many of the innovators working in this space, the first principle they adopt is that of transparency of information for the consumer. The innovators behind foodonthemove.today, believe that:

We will need to create a new kind of Food Management System, one that is designed from the ground up and one that will succeed only if it provides the consumer with a true God’s eye view of their food.

Food on the Move Today

“For a consumer to know that a food product is fresh, safe and good, we will need a Food Management System that can access as much information about the current food product as possible (origin of ingredients, date/time of production, shelf-life, packaging, transportation requirements, temperature, etc) and be capable of securely collecting all relevant product information (raw ingredients, etc) along the full supply chain (suppliers, restaurants, delivery team, etc). The Food Management System would also need to provide or link up with a system or systems that helps the consumer interpret and act on that data. Thankfully, new innovations and technologies like blockchain that will make this possible are being adapted and made available along with other requirements of the system.”

What is being proposed is a Food Management System that integrates three key areas: knowledge of origin (raw ingredients, materials), knowledge of production (how and when it was made, etc) and knowledge of collection (delivery, etc). This might require the interlinking of current systems (Supply, Production, Delivery) or it might lead to the creation of an entirely new system with additional capability oriented towards consumer needs and wants.

Whatever the requirements, what seems clear is that the work will need to be done in cooperation and through open and co-innovation agreements with highly skilled and innovative companies and organisations. A great deal of knowledge and information will need to be shared and this is unlikely to be managed through the closed workshops run by the larger delivery platforms.

Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Delivery Hero will find abandoning their dash to gain market scope quite difficult. Accelerating capital growth is vital for these companies and determines their very nature. Not so, with the disruptive innovators already on the scene.

• If you’re a software developer or engineer working with food delivery platforms or on a meal-kit mission, come and see what the future of delivery could look like!
• Interested in using blockchain inspired technologies to build traceability systems that enable immediate recall and recoverability for failed products?
• Interested in creating fully transparent food product platforms that enable consumers to see their food items ‘from a god’s eye view’?
• Interested in helping consumers base their future buying decisions on what they have come to know about their meals and their experience of it?
• Interested in helping consumers make healthy choices about their meals? keeping them safe from unwanted allergens?
• Interested in supporting the creation of the Open Delivery Network – a Local to Local Delivery Platform?
• Interested in knowing about the meta-logistic platforms of the future, removing redundancy and reduplication of transport – cleaner air and cleaner cities?

Why not get in touch?

Food on the Move Today works with leading innovators, experts, public authorities, and researchers in food delivery, sustainability, packaging, logistics, health and safety, standards and systems development, to help improve the safety and sustainability of last mile delivery. If you would like to know more about the latest developments and see some of the collaborative tools being leveraged to improve the food safety and sustainability of delivered food, please contact us.