Big changes for Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Menulog in Victoria in 2020
Australia’s delivery wars are set to heat up in 2020 as Uber Eats, Menulog and Deliveroo expand. This is what it means for customers in Victoria.
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Exclusive: Australia’s delivery wars are set to heat up in 2020 as Menulog, Deliveroo and Uber Eats go after breakfast, lunch and more late-night customers.
Menulog Australia’s Managing Director Ben Carter told News Corp they will focus on breakfast and lunch markets after conducting recent trials in Adelaide and Melbourne.
“The opportunity around coffee and breakfast is growing, and it’s not just about getting to the end of a tough week and getting takeaway … it’s about wanting my morning coffee and my healthy lunch on a Monday, then I want my treat on a Thursday, brunch on a Sunday,” he said.
“Early this year, you’ll start to see us do breakfast in several of the major cities.”
They are also looking at expanding late night delivery. It comes as almost a third of orders placed after dinner time every year in Australia take place after 10pm, across more than 8500 restaurants that offer late night deliveries.
“Consumers also want things quicker all the time at all times and we are already delivering in the Sydney and Melbourne CBD till 2am,” he said.
Mr Carter said customers are also wanting healthier, plant-based options, small portion sizes, broader ranges and ways to get desserts delivered.
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“Making sure we can offer the vegan and vegetarian option is important as we can see people making that conscious shift to this,” he said.
In 2020, Mr Carter said they would expand to more regional areas, working with big brands and smaller restaurant partners.
Menulog recently expanded into the Victorian towns of Bendigo, Ballarat and Albury-Wodonga.
Deliveroo Australia Country Manager Ed McManus told News Corp it is also seeing growth in breakfast and lunch, but they are also working with restaurants to create items where there’s a cuisine gap in their geographic area.
Deliveroo helped Bondi Pizza in Sydney launch a new virtual brand called WingBoy where they now sell chicken wings, based on data showing there was a gap and local demand.
He also said they’re continuing their delivery-only super-kitchens known as Deliveroo Editions in Melbourne’s Collingwood and Windsor.
“These are kitchen units built into an area the size of a shipping container, and we are working with restaurants to get them to come and set up, they don’t pay any rent or utility bills but it’s a good opportunity to try a new menu item in a different state, or a menu in a different geography,” he said.
Sydney’s popular poke fast food chain Fishbowl moved into Victoria after using the Deliveroo Editions kitchen to test the waters.
“We are also looking at ways to expand this in other capital cities,” he said.
Regional General Manager of Uber Eats in ANZ Jodie Auster also told News Corp they were keen to expand their alcohol and grocery delivery options with current partners BWS and Coles Supermarkets.
Queensland will be the first state they will expand alcohol delivery in after a successful trial in Victoria, and they are scoping out Bundaberg as a place to start.
In NSW, they are looking at Wagga Wagga, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour.
In Victoria, they have already unlocked 400 locations including Melbourne, Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong for alcohol delivery.
In Western Australia, they are looking at Bunbury.
In the last six months they launched the service in Darwin, Launceston, Gosford and Woy Woy on the NSW Central Coast, Mackay and Rockhampton in Queensland.
Ms Auster said they were also going to expand their range and work with restaurants to adjust their opening hours.
Sustainable packaging is also an issue all three meal delivery companies are addressing.
“The opt-in for single use cutlery on the platform is just a first step, we’ve been working with organisations like Planet Ark to work out where is the best place to start is it food waste, or packaging?,” Ms Auster said.
“We don’t control the restaurants, we want to provide them with good education and information, with choices and access to things they can adopt.”