Evolution of online food delivery

As long as we have restaurants, we have the urge to order out while staying in.

In 1889 King Humberto and Queen Margherita, the king and queen of Italy, decided to forgo their diet of fancy French cuisine. Instead, they opted to have pizza brought to them. The chefs topped the queen’s favourite pizza variety with mozzarella, tomato and basil. This was then named the Margherita pizza. And so, pizza delivery was born. In ancient Rome major cities like Pompeii had hundreds of Thermopylae or cookshops that sold takeout foods to mostly working-class people in many ways these were the first fast-food restaurants. 

There were setups like this all over the world for a long time.

Soon after this, a man in India named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche also came up with an idea for a company dedicated to making and delivering home-cooked lunches to workers within the city of Mumbai. This service is known as a “dabbawala,” and today there are over 5,000 of them in India, delivering over 200,000 lunches a day to hungry workers all over the country. 

This idea was adopted by the private sector in the United States, and the modern take-out delivery service was established. The success of this idea led to the modern-day, where food can be ordered from practically any restaurant with phone apps, computers, or a call. Delivery continues to be a staple of the food industry and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. 

By the late 2000s, major pizza chains had created their mobile applications and started doing 20–30 percent of their business online. With increased smartphone penetration, and the growth of both Uber and the sharing economy, food delivery startups started to receive more attention. Beyond meal kits, new players in the meal delivery game are taking convenience a step further by providing logistical services for restaurants. Apps such as GrubHub and UberEATS allow customers to order from an assortment of local restaurants. As a result, restaurants that may have previously only offered dine-in or carry-out options can now deliver meals directly to your home or office. 

Today there are a range of different food delivery services out there catering for the elderly, disabled and also those with special dietary requirements. It is this commitment to caring and ensuring people eat well that has been a consistent theme throughout the development of food delivery services.