Restaurant and grocery delivery economics

We track what a delivered order keeps. For restaurant and grocery businesses the economics cover basket value, product margin, preparation or picking time, packaging, rider cost, aggregator fees and the cost of waste and refunds, and the same order is priced through your own fleet, a partner and each aggregator.

The comparison tells the board which channel to grow, which to price differently and which to leave.

• An order-level contribution model for restaurants and grocers, by channel and delivery method.
• A basket-threshold analysis that sets the minimum order and delivery fee for each channel.
• An own-versus-aggregator comparison including advertising, listing fees and discounts.
• A kitchen and picking load analysis showing what delivery does to service in the venue.
• A channel plan with targets for share, margin and fleet use.

• Contribution per delivered order is read by channel, beside the sales figure.
• Net revenue after platform fees is stated as a share of basket value.
• Your board sees the share of orders above the minimum profitable basket.
• Order preparation time at delivery peaks is tracked, so the kitchen's load from delivery has a number.
• The own-fleet share of delivered orders is reported for the venues where it pays.

Food and grocery operators judge channels by sales, not by what remains after commission, packaging, delivery and discounts. Aggregators bring orders and set the terms, while own delivery brings control and cost. Without a per-order view, neither case is made on evidence.

• Delivery sales grow and group profit does not.
• Aggregator commission and advertising are reported separately and never netted against each order.
• Kitchens are slowed by delivery orders at the same hours as dine-in.
• Own delivery was launched to cut commission and has not been priced against it.
• Grocery baskets below a certain size lose money and are accepted anyway.

Restaurant groups, cloud-kitchen operators, supermarkets and grocery chains selling through apps and their own channels, and the family and investor boards behind them.

Qasim Abbas has spent years in Doha working with grocery, quick commerce and family groups, and set the unit economics of a fleet of about 1,000 vehicles. He compares channels by what each leaves after the rider has been paid.

We build the order-level model on your point-of-sale, order-management and ledger systems and your aggregator statements, and open with the Control Diagnostic. The aggregator margin tool shows the contribution you keep from one aggregator order. See how fees work.

Should a restaurant group build its own delivery?

Yes, at the volume that justifies a fleet. The order model shows that break-even, and a partner serves the rest.

Is grocery different from food?

Yes. Baskets are larger and tolerate waiting, picking replaces cooking, and substitutions and returns carry cost. The model treats each separately.

Can we raise prices on aggregators?

Yes, with a cost in volume. The paper tests how much demand leaves and what that does to contribution.

Start with one month of orders from your largest channel at a private briefing. We show you the contribution per order after every fee, and the baskets that fall below zero.