JEDDAH — Feeling hungry? Don't stress. Now your food is just a click away. Online catering isn't an unknown phenomenon in the Kingdom but an untapped market, which is now embracing a starved audience. This works well for the never-leave-your-desk type workaholics or those simply too busy to make that call. With the integration of online ordering systems on their website, restaurateurs allow their customers to order food online. Owned by parent company Yemeksepeti, Foodonclick was setup in Istanbul in 2000 with 2.2 million registered users and currently processes more than 60,000 food orders per day in Turkey. Gokhan Akan, Co-founder and CFO, of Foodonclick portal spoke to Saudi Gazette about the potential, mechanism and competitive nature of his business. He said GCC countries have a strong delivery culture and high levels of Internet penetration. “The young and tech savvy population of Saudi Arabia, the people in a country with the third highest smartphone penetration in the world, are quick and comfortable adopters of our service. In fact, we expect Saudi Arabia to lead the trend in mobile ordering, which at the moment is more than 25 percent of all orders received and won't be surprised if this doubles within the next 12 months.” With over a decade's experience in online food delivery service Akan has succeeded in becoming both the pioneer and market leader in Turkey. “Bringing that expertise and know-how to this region makes strong business sense; we are able to recognise the potential in an emerging market, address the challenges, harness the opportunities and grow at the rate of each respective country within the region.” Foodonclick closed a $44 million round of funding from New York-based growth equity firm General Atlantic. “With the new launches in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon we are now in five of the six markets in the GCC and we have presence in the Levant,” Akan told Saudi Gazette. He said lifestyle habits, the young tech savvy population and the proliferation of smartphones are some of the factors he considered in the expansion plans in the region, as they indicate strong business potential for Foodonclick.com. With the fast paced lifestyle and high-pressured work environment experienced by many residents in the UAE and other GCC countries, Akan said Foodonclick.com provides a reliable source of up-to-date information and direct access to food delivery options in their respective neighbourhoods.
Users no longer need to wait before getting through on busy phone lines or battle with confusing accents or get frustrated receiving wrong orders. “They can search through plenty of menus on our website and make an order within seconds and in a few clicks. Orders are submitted to the restaurant within 6-7 seconds of receiving it in a clear, written format, reducing the possibility of errors,” he added. Orders can be customised just like people do when they are offline – no tomatoes, no garlic etc. And the customer pays nothing for this hassle-free service. When users order via the site, they pay the same amount for their food as they would have done offline.” Talking about the business inception of Foodonclick, he said: “Our adventure began 13 years ago, in Turkey, when together with two friends I started Yemeksepeti, a pioneering food delivery portal. Starting at the turn of the century, when we only had slow, dial-up internet connections, the idea was a little bit ahead of its time, but we believed in it and we believed in the potential of the internet. After years of hard work, Yemeksepeti has now 2.2 million registered users and is synonymous with food delivery, seeing more than 60,000 orders per day.” Discussing the relationship between the GCC market and its consumers, he said: “Our model is to establish long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships with our restaurant partners and be as close as possible to our customers.” When asked what made him believe consumers would opt for an online alternative rather than picking up the phone to call, he explained how the portal makes lives easier and delivers on that promise. “As an online marketplace with over 100,000 users, we offer our restaurant partners instant access to more new customers than they could otherwise reach and we have access to user behavior data and marketing tools to help increase their visibility online. We are also able to work together to explore new business opportunities and improve customer service by streamlining their delivery process. This is added value that money can't buy.” He said the portal makes lives easier by providing the easiest, most reliable and convenient way to order food delivery, without charging them extra. “We are planning to introduce online payment as an option, but we think cash on delivery will remain the main option for customers.” When it comes to the challenges, Akan said they are more related to the seasonality and the local particularities of the business. “For example, if in Turkey the business slows down during the summer, people preferring to go and eat outside and enjoy the weather, in countries like the UAE the number of people ordering in the summer is increasing. Ramadan months are also quite special, as the ordering patterns are changing significantly.” He said in Beirut, the concept is incredibly well received and understood by restaurants, but the challenge lies in the “not so developed infrastructure.” Since their launch in the UAE in 2010, the website has acquired over 100,000 subscribers and lists over 1000 restaurants across UAE, Oman, Qatar, KSA and Lebanon, with numbers increasing every day.
