GoFood, a food delivery app and website run by restaurant owners in the UAE is set to launch later this month.
More than 500 businesses representing 2,000 restaurants have already signed up to be on the GoFood platform and the number of restaurants is expected to hit 2,500 by the third week of June.
The idea for GoFood was born during the global COVID-19 Crisis of 2020 when food aggregators and delivery service providers refused to reduce their commissions (some as high as 30 per cent per order).
Since GoFood is directly run by the restaurant owners themselves, consumers using the app or website will not be charged delivery costs (although a few smaller restaurants may do so). There are no membership of signing fees. A GoFood loyalty programme will also come with the app, which can be used for discounts and special offers with participating restaurants.
“GoFood is not a third party application. It’s created by restaurant owners who have realised they need to be their own digital landlords for their own survival. There is no way we can sustain our business by paying 30 per cent of our revenue to an aggregator,” says Shanavas Mohammed, one of GoFood’s founders and the managing director of Golden Fork Seafood Restaurants.
GoFood has partnered with logistic companies for delivery options and will also utilise various social media platforms to enhance the partnering restaurants’ visibility and expedite orders. The focus is to help restaurants lower delivery costs and manage their expenses and data better.
GoFood is incorporated in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) free zone with an authorised capital of AED 3 million.
