Business model of Takeaway.com

Customer Segments

Takeaway.com serves the general consumer market, providing an online food ordering service to customers that do not have the time, capacity or inclination to cook for themselves. The Company also serves customers that wish to order food from restaurants that do not operate their own online ordering service. The Company’s services typically attract busy young professionals and working families who have less time to prepare and cook meals. The largest demographic for online food ordering services such as those provided by Takeaway.com is reported to be technologically engaged consumers aged between 30 and 49.

Takeaway.com is the leading online food ordering company in Continental Europe. Its most active markets appear to be in Northern Europe, with the Company reported to process more than 95% of its orders in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria. The Company is a market leader in its native Netherlands and in neighbouring Belgium. Takeaway.com also serves customers in Poland, Switzerland, France, the UK and Crown Dependencies, Luxembourg, Portugal and Vietnam.

Value Propositions

The immediate value of Takeaway.com to customers is the convenience and accessibility of its ordering portal. Using the Company’s mobile and desktop websites, as well as its mobile apps, customers can order food from anywhere at any time. The platform provides a wide range of options for consumers, spanning a variety of cuisines, from local restaurants which otherwise may not have online ordering services. Customers are given a range of payment options, paying in cash or via PayPal, Visa, MasterCard or American Express. Payments can also be made in bitcoins, on which no transaction fees are charged. Takeaway.com also provides its customers with deals and discounts that are not available elsewhere.

For its restaurant partners, Takeaway.com’s key value is in its marketing capabilities. The Company purports to increase the sales of its restaurant partners by advertising their menus to its user base and improving their visibility within search engines such as Google. In addition to expanding their marketing reach, partner restaurants also save money on the expensive process of operating their own online ordering service, instead paying commission on all completed orders made through Takeaway.com.

Channels

Takeaway.com operates a series of country-specific websites, available via desktop and mobile browsers, through which customers can access menus for restaurants in their local area. The www.takeaway.com domain belongs to the Company’s UK business. The Company provides links to 13 separate portals that operate the Takeaway.com service in different countries, including www.vietnammm.com in Vietnam, www.pizza.fr in France, www.lieferando.de in Germany and www.pyszne.pl in Poland.

The Company’s ordering service can also be accessed via its iOS, Android and Windows Phone mobile apps, which allows users to place orders, make payments and manage their accounts on the go. Restaurants are able to register as Takeaway.com partners online and can access their accounts via the restaurant portal hosted at www.restaurants.takeaway.com.

Customer Relationships

Takeaway.com’s online ordering portal is entirely self-service for customers. Users are able to sign up for an account, browse menus, place orders and make payments directly through the Takeaway.com website that corresponds to their native country without interacting with representatives of the Company or of the restaurant from which they are ordering. As noted above, participating restaurants are also able to register as partners via the Company’s restaurant portal.

Takeaway.com provides a range of support services through its various websites, including guides for ordering and payment processes, and FAQs. Customers can also contact the Company directly to make complaints, suggestions or enquiries through an online contact form. Additionally, Takeaway.com operates separate social media accounts, including with Facebook and Twitter, for its various operating brands, allowing customers to interact with the Company directly.

Key Activities

Takeaway.com develops and operates an online food ordering and delivery service. The Company provides an intermediary service, its platform allowing customers to browse menus from a number of partner restaurants and place orders that are then passed on to the restaurants by email, fax or via Takeaway.com’s T-Connect software system.

Restaurants are then responsible for making their own deliveries to customers. Takeaway.com also manages a network of partner restaurants across Europe and in Vietnam, from which it takes a commission on all orders.

Key Partners

Takeaway.com’s key partners are its participating restaurants and fast food providers. The Company operates a broad network of restaurants across mainland Europe, the UK and Vietnam. The Company primarily partners with locally-operating, small businesses that do not already operate their own online ordering system. Restaurants can register as Takeaway.com partners by filling in an online form and providing information about the business, its management, its delivery reach and its opening hours, as providing details of its menu. Among the Company’s current partners are Elephant Garden in Ho Chi Minh, Kebabhaus Express in Munich and Firecracker in London.

Takeaway.com also operates affiliate marketing programs in its operating jurisdictions. The Company pays commissions to websites, bloggers and social media marketers that promote and generate sales for the Takeaway.com service.

Key Resources

Takeaway.com’s key resources are its technology and online ordering portals, its IT infrastructure, its network of participating restaurants and its personnel.

The Company does not have any patent applications filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Register or the Netherlands Enterprise Agency either under Takeaway.com or its earlier name Thuisbezorgd.nl.

Cost Structure

Takeaway.com incurs costs in relation to the development and maintenance of its online ordering platforms, the maintenance of its IT infrastructure, the management of its restaurant partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.

The Company also accrues significant costs in relation to its advertising and marketing activities, and in relation to the operation of its six offices, including in Amsterdam and Berlin.

Revenue Streams

Takeaway.com generates revenue by having customers place food orders through its delivery portal. The Company charges a commission to its restaurant partners on all orders, which it automatically deducts before depositing profits into their accounts. Takeaway.com does not disclose details of its commission structure on its website, with restaurant partners having to contact the Takeaway.com sales team in order to discuss rates. Food delivery businesses of this kind typically charge between 10% and 15%; however, reports from 2012 suggest that the rate was a s low as 8%. The Company does not charge transaction fees to its restaurant partners, nor does it impose a cancellation fee when partners wish to leave the service. It is unclear whether Takeaway.com charges an initial set up fee, as is frequently the case with similar businesses.

Takeaway.com does not disclose its revenue figures. It has, however, been reported to have generated €100 million in revenue in 2012 and €200 million in annual sales in 2013. The Company reportedly expects to be profitable in 2016.