KENYA – Bolt Food, a prominent player in Kenya’s online food delivery market, has introduced an innovative feature that is set to transform the meal ordering experience.
The new feature allows customers to pre-order their meals, even in situations when restaurants are fully booked, closed, or experiencing high demand.
This scheduled orders feature is designed to optimize the restaurant order process, increase revenue, and enhance meal preparation efficiency.
Customers will benefit from a fixed delivery cost, which is communicated to them when scheduling their meal delivery.
According to Edgar Kitur, the Country Manager at Bolt Food, the scheduled orders will enhance the overall Bolt Food app experience for restaurants, couriers, and customers, resulting in a smoother operation.
“This feature allows restaurants to optimize order management and kitchen preparation, couriers to increase their earnings by strategically planning deliveries throughout the day, and customers to enjoy their favourite restaurant meals through Bolt Food, all at their preferred time and location,” he said.
“Since we launched, there has been a 20% uptick in orders utilizing this feature.”
The introduction of this feature comes as Bolt Food responds to the growing demand for food delivery services.
The company has also extended its delivery hours to offer 24/7 delivery services on weekends to cater to the increasing need for restaurant deliveries.
Bolt Food has also partnered with over 40 providers to ensure Kenyans have access to more delivery options, particularly after midnight, with primary restaurant partners including Piri Piri Barbecue, Chowpaty, Pizza Hut, and Evry.Day Mart.
Bolt Food, which was launched in March 2021 during a time of pandemic-related restrictions, has steadily expanded its services to meet the evolving needs of Kenyan customers.
Currently, the platform boasts over 1,500 restaurants and provides income opportunities for over 4,000 couriers in Nairobi and its surrounding areas.
The company’s investment in its Kenyan unit, totalling Sh14.74 billion (100 million euros), underscores its commitment to expanding services beyond the 16 towns it initially operated in for ride-hailing services.
According to data from Statista, the revenue in the Online Food Delivery market in Kenya is projected to reach US$374.90 million in 2023, with an impressive annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 19.33%.
This growth trajectory is expected to result in a projected market volume of US$760.30 million by 2027. Furthermore, the Meal Delivery market in Kenya is set to witness a 45.6% increase in revenue in 2024, with the projected market volume for 2023 reaching US$306.70 million.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Meal Delivery market in Kenya is projected to amount to US$23.94 in 2023, and the number of users in the Meal Delivery market is expected to reach 25.1 million by 2027, with a user penetration rate of 22.3% in 2023.
