Using a White-Label App for Your Restaurant
The fast-growing online food-delivery market has become key to giving customers a convenient and reliable food experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has further proved the importance of online mobile ordering, as more and more people want to eat from the comfort and safety of their homes.
Most restaurants continue to use third-party food delivery marketplaces, such as UberEats and DoorDash, to attract new customers and enhance their delivery experience. In fact, in Canada alone, revenues for online food delivery have increased from $1,738 billion in 2017 to $5,217 billion in 2021. However, 43% of restaurateurs said they believe third-party apps present a barrier to forming better and direct relationships between restaurants and their customers. This is why an alternative solution emerged for restaurants and ghost kitchens that can help overcome the cons of using a third-party delivery application, including their sky-rocketing commissions: white label mobile apps.
As the food-delivery business continues to expand, restaurants must innovate for their survival. Using a branded online ordering platform such as a mobile app for your restaurant can help you gain a competitive advantage and diversify revenue streams.
What is a White Label Mobile App for a Restaurant?
A white label mobile app is a ready-to-use online ordering solution which can be fully customized to your food business. As opposed to a third-party marketplace, where restaurants are competing with a large pool of others, a branded app can help you stand out. Whether you own a restaurant, ghost kitchen, commissary or food court, this solution can be tailored to your unique needs. Additionally, if you manage multiple brands in one facility, customers can order from each of them on the same bill and conveniently pick up the food at once with no line ups.
Benefits of a White Label Mobile App for Ghost Kitchens & Restaurants
Now, you may be wondering what the benefits of investing in a white label app could be for your business. We thought we could shine some light on our top five.
1. Full Insight into Customer Data and Analytics
The first benefit is that having your own food ordering mobile app allows you to capture your customers’ data. That is, data can be collected directly from your customers which can be extremely useful for maintaining long-term viability for your business.
A survey by Deloitte discovered that 49% of respondents find the greatest benefit of using analytics to be better decision-making capabilities. Two-thirds of the respondents also stated that having data analytics plays an important role in driving business strategy. This shows that data analytics can help you optimize business performance by using direct insights on consumer trends.
Contrary to third-party delivery apps, where restaurant businesses are given minimal information and insights on their customers, a white label app allows you to have a complete picture. Based on the valuable insights you gain through data, you can create a personalized experience for your customers and foster brand loyalty. You can also analyze buying patterns that can improve the predictions of future trends. In fact, you will finally have access to customer contact information, past purchases, and in-platform behaviour.
By investing in a white label app and customizing it to your brand, you can communicate directly with your customers via email, text, social media, and even mail. Instead of activating a generic promotion targeting anonymous lapsed customers, you will be able to send them a personalized offer based on their unique profiles.
2. Cost-Efficient and Higher Profit Margins on Your Online Food Sales
Building an app from scratch would require a lot of time and money in comparison to using a white label app. NextGen Kitchens has built a ready-to-use mobile app designed for restaurants and ghost kitchens. Therefore, you won’t need to invest additional time, money, and effort in the app development and updating process.
Using a third-party mobile app, such as UberEats or SkipTheDishes, is a good strategy as you get exposure to a large audience. However, they use a high commission-based approach, meaning that they collect 20-30% of your online revenue as a fee. The benefit of having your own app is that 100% of your sales go back into your business. Instead of paying commission fees for each transaction, you are only paying a monthly membership that does not increase if you generate a larger volume of sales. This allows you to effectively scale your business as you grow the number of users on your mobile app.
It is crucial, especially for brands operating out of a commissary or ghost kitchen, to generate healthier profit margins on online sales, as they represent their main revenue stream. This holds true for most quick service restaurants as well, as almost half of orders take place off-premise.
Benefits for Ghost Kitchen, Commissary, and Food Court Space Providers
Even if you are not a restaurateur but provide ghost kitchen space, or manage a commissary or food court, you can benefit from adopting a mobile app for your facility. By doing this, you will be able to grow brand recognition, which in turn can strengthen your relationship with new and existing operators. Furthermore, this offering can help your clients stay afloat, hence, increasing satisfaction and reducing their turnover rate. In addition, you could feature multiple brands on this platform and enable customers to place an order with items from multiple brands on one cart with NextGen Kitchens’ Mix-and-Match technology.
3. Mobile App is Branded to your Business:
Contrary to third-party marketplaces where you are competing with countless other brands, an app of your own makes online food ordering convenient for new and loyal customers. This is because the app is focused solely on your restaurant or ghost kitchen’s brands.
You are able to brand the mobile application specifically to your restaurant business so that people wanting to make an order with you can find you easily – on their phone screens. The app’s name, logos, food images, and menu are all completely focused on your brand. Additionally, having customers download your app means that you can also notify them when new menu items or promotions become available. You will stand out from the competition and nurture your online customer loyalty, resulting in long-term growth and viability.
4. Convenience and Time-Efficient Online Ordering for the Customer
Did you know that 83% of consumers said convenience is more important now than it was 5 years ago? Keeping that in mind, another benefit of investing in a white label app for your restaurant is the convenience and efficiency that transpires with having one.
For starters, having your customers order food online for pick up means reduced line-ups and wait times. In fact, a survey discovered that 75% of retailers and restaurants report losing customers due to wait-related issues. Customers crave efficiency and convenience. Therefore, being able to reduce wait times through online ordering platforms is a great way to increase customer satisfaction. In addition, by ordering online, the customer experience is improved as people are able to prioritize their safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Giving clients a convenient and efficient way of online ordering, through your own mobile app, is also a great way to keep up to date with these changing consumer preferences and gain a competitive advantage.
5. Having Your Own Food Ordering App Eliminates Communication Barriers
With third-party delivery services, it is nearly impossible to contact your customer if something goes wrong with their order. There may be missing items, incorrect orders, or issues with the delivery time. Customers may call the restaurant with the issues, but since the staff has no power over the software to give a refund or change an order, it can result in decreased customer satisfaction. Even if the issue is out of your control, the customer will be unhappy and may not come back. The customer might contact the third-party delivery service, and they might often issue a refund on the entire order without asking for the restaurant’s approval. This makes it nearly impossible for restaurants to communicate and build goodwill with the customer. Since it is hard to clearly communicate with the customers, your ghost kitchen or restaurant brand’s reputation can be negatively affected.
Adding your own food ordering mobile app to your revenue channels allows you to eliminate the possibility of miscommunication. That is, customers can directly contact the restaurant if something were to go wrong with their order. In addition, customers can easily make their orders and customize them without facing the difficulties that can arise with either phone or rushed in-person orders. By investing in a white label app and customizing it to your brand, you will make communication more effective and increase loyalty and satisfaction.
Using a White Label Mobile App For Your Restaurant
Now you may be wondering how exactly can you use a white label mobile app for your restaurant.
Whether you own a restaurant, ghost kitchen, commissary kitchen, or food court, NextGen Kitchens takes care of the entire process. Our modern mobile application will already have all the important features included.
Your restaurant’s job is simple. All you need to do is provide your business’s images and menus, and we will take care of the rest. This includes uploading your mobile application to the Android and iOs app stores so that your customers can start downloading it to their devices and have your brand at the top of their minds.
There are essentially only 3 key steps in the process of using the application:
- Customer will place food orders through the mobile app and make the payment
- You will accept the order on your tablet
- You will prepare the order for pickup
Challenges of Having a Food Ordering App
Now, although there are many benefits that come with using a white label app for your restaurant, there are still some challenges that you should consider.
1. Marketing Your Ghost Kitchen or Restaurant’s Mobile App to Customers:
Firstly, when you have an application personalized to your restaurant brands, you are responsible for marketing it. This can be a challenge because if nobody knows about your mobile app, customers won’t make online food orders from you. If your brands are new to the market it may be difficult to draw customers to use the application. However, with the right marketing tactics, you will be able to reach customers who love your food.
To overcome this challenge, you need to create a marketing plan to gain exposure when you launch your own app. Contrary to the marketing and exposure that comes with joining a third-party delivery service, a white label application means that solid marketing strategies will be needed. However, having your own app will allow you to witness the return on investment and track your progress.
Repeat customers are valuable to consider as they will spend 67% more than a new customer. Therefore, reaching out to your existing customers is a good strategy as they already love your food. Customers will also appreciate you innovating your business to meet their needs, which in return will support your bottom line.
2. Limited Customization Options For Using a White Label App:
While you can insert your own branding into a white label app, you might think you are limited on how much you can truly customize it. This could seem like a potential drawback, however, you must weigh the pros and cons to see if this limitation is manageable. For example, building an application entirely from scratch may not be ideal for your business due to the time and costs involved. To address this, NextGen Kitchens’ white label mobile application has a modern design and advanced technology to provide a large variety of customization options. We have also included opportunities for upselling by adding modifiers to your menu and a tips section for your staff.
3. Increased Volume of Food Orders and Inventory Stock Discrepancies
Staying on top of your inventory and managing it efficiently is crucial to optimize your operation, especially with a larger volume of sales. It can be difficult to accurately and efficiently track your inventory, especially when you are getting orders from multiple streams such as in person, third-party delivery apps, and your own food ordering mobile app.
Although this is a challenge, this can be overcome by investing in an inventory management system. By using one, you can remain organized by accurately and consistently tracking inventory. You can also directly contact the customer through your own app and inform them if you are out of a food item. This will help increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and also help your restaurant stay organized in terms of inventory. NextGen Kitchens has developed an inventory management software that can handle the inventory of one or multiple brands.
The Future of White Label Apps For Restaurants is Here to Stay
Restaurants in Canada have seen a huge surge in online food ordering. In our technology-advanced society, it is crucial to always think of new ways to disrupt and innovate. In order to remain ahead, restaurant businesses must continuously come up with new strategies. The restaurant industry is highly competitive, especially with the rise of third-party delivery platforms. Therefore, it is important to consider other unique ways to stand out from competitors.
A white label app for your restaurant is a great strategy that poses many benefits including higher profit margins, access to customer data, and convenience for you and your customers.
For more information on NextGen Kitchens’ white label mobile application contact our team through the form below: