Butter chicken tops the list in tasty lockdown boost for Menulog

Lockdown was no setback for Menulog, with its takeaway orders from restaurants spiking almost 170 per cent. Here’s what people were ordering.

Snoop Dogg has done wonders for Menulog's brand

At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Australia the roads were empty of cars but full of Menulog delivery drivers with its takeaway orders from restaurants spiking almost 170 per cent.

That momentum has pushed into 2021 as the pandemic helped accelerate the trend of online food delivery, Menulog Australia and New Zealand managing director Morten Belling told The Australian.

The company’s growth in Australia through 2020 was the fastest among the 23 countries it operates in and it found new and premium growth outside of the traditional dinner order, he said.

Mr Belling said Menulog, owned by Anglo-Dutch multinational Just Eat Takeaway, was encountering even faster takeaway order growth for times of the day such as breakfast and lunch where orders were up 500 per cent.

One of the most popular cuisines during COVID-19 was Indian with the humble butter chicken top of the list for dishes, followed by Italian while Menulog’s partnership with fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Subway was also a big hit for consumers.

Morten Birk Belling, CEO of Menulog, the Australian arm of UK-Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway.

“What we saw in 2020 was a really strong, double-digit growth rate in the first quarter, which translated into triple-digit growth in the second quarter, and in the third quarter. Where restrictions started to ease we accelerated our growth even further and at that point in time we were actually the fastest growing in all of our global markets.

“And in the fourth quarter we accelerated even further, and we achieved 166 per cent year on year growth over the fourth quarter of 2019.

“And what I can say is that our growth has actually accelerated further in the first quarter of 2021,” Mr Belling said.

On Wednesday, Just Eat Takeaway, the global food delivery giant created from the £6bn merger of London-listed Just Eat and Dutch group Takeaway.com, highlighted Australia as one of its fastest growing markets in 2020.

The boom in takeaway orders in Australia as households were locked down and movement was restricted helped deliver a 104 per cent rise in orders for Menulog for fiscal 2020.

“Of course COVID-19 we have been in a very fortunate position where we have seen some tailwinds on the back of Covid,” Mr Belling said.

“Yes we did see some growth, but restrictions have now been eased, Australia is in a much better place than other countries, and despite that we have accelerated our growth. We don’t see the business slowing down.”

Backing up this growth has been a strong advertising push including a highly-popular TV ad campaign featuring US rapper Snoop Dogg as well as promotions around its partnership with McDonald’s.

Mr Belling said much like online shopping which accelerated during the pandemic, online food ordering from services such as Menulog had also gained traction with consumers.

“People at the end of the day want convenience and that is what we provide, and I think they have been more exposed to our world since Covid emerged and there was a period of time when you couldn’t dine in or go out, couldn’t leave your home or go to a restaurant, and during that period of course we saw an influx of customers joining our platform and we have also seen customers increase their frequency throughout last year,” he said.

“Part of that is definitely Covid, but an even bigger part in my view is the strategy we have got, the positioning of our brand, investing in our restaurant partners, the way we are going into more regional and remote areas.

“Anytime a person is hungry we want them to think about Menulog.

“Lunch, dinner, late night, and snacking between all those occasions.

“We have always been a strong dinner brand and strong on Friday nights, Saturday night and Sunday night.

“We have built a lot of restaurant supply around breakfast, lunch and late night as well.

“We are doing a lot to make Menulog a household brand that you use every time you are hungry.