Chicken was the most bought item on the Bolt Food delivery platform with over 30,000 orders in the year that ended in December 2022.
Data from the company’s end-of-year insights show that pizza came in second, followed by burgers and alcohol as the culture of consumer convenience picks up.
The food delivery apps are expanding to serve rich and middle-class consumers who want to take delivery of their favourite dishes instead of travelling to buy them at various establishments.
Estimates from research firm Statista show that restaurants and the platforms booked revenues of €172.7 million (Sh22.5 billion) from delivering food to customers last year.
Restaurant-to-consumer delivery is dominant, raking in €114.7 million (Sh14.9 billion).
The food delivery business exploded in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the closure and restriction of hotels and restaurant operations for months.
The average revenue per user on meal delivery in general stands at about Sh2,500.
“In the meal delivery segment, the number of users is expected to amount to 25.1 million users by 2027,” Statista said in its review of the business in the local market.
“User penetration will be 22.3 per cent in 2023 and is expected to hit 40.1 per cent by 2027.”
The growth of meal delivery is being fuelled by rapid urbanisation and an increase in the population of the middle class that put an emphasis on convenience.
Most of the food is delivered on bicycles and motorcycles which are able to beat traffic jams in towns and cities.
Consumers are charged a delivery fee that is part of the amount they pay to the restaurant.
The fees vary depending on multiple factors such as the value of the order and the distance covered by the courier.
Meal deliveries are helping restaurants and food chains to expand their sales beyond the sit-down dining model that is limited to capacity at the premises and customers willing to go there.
