Deliverect, an international scale-up that simplifies online ordering for more than 20,000 locations across 40 markets, has announced the release of new research into consumer perspectives on sustainability trends and expectations related to food delivery.
What were the findings of Deliverect’s survey?
The survey commissioned by Deliverect and conducted by Censuswide, polled over 1,000 Aussie consumers on how eco-friendly takeaway options impact their ordering decisions.
Australian consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable options
While 65% said they find sustainable eating to be more expensive, almost one third (30%) are willing to pay more for takeaways in restaurants that have visible sustainability practices.
Another 38% would even consider changing what they order from the menu to be more sustainable. Some restaurants are already catching on: in fact, 40% of survey respondents already think there are ample sustainable and affordable options in food delivery/takeaways.
Transparency in sustainability processes
46% would like eateries to better share how they are working to make deliveries more sustainable. 56% also don’t think restaurants are transparent about their sustainability. 62% feel it’s important that restaurants are open about their practices to limit food waste.
Avoid excessive food waste
The UN Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index reports over 900 million tons of food is thrown away each year. The survey revealed that while 76% of consumers usually keep larger than necessary food portions for another meal, 40% say seeing large amounts of food waste frustrates them and puts them off from ordering from that restaurant again.
Even more so, 70% said that having accurate portion sizes to avoid food waste is important to them, and 68% feel takeaway restaurants should have precautions in place to avoid unnecessary food waste. Not surprisingly, 40% say seeing large amounts of food waste frustrates them and puts them off from ordering from that restaurant again
Be conscious of sustainable packaging
With so many packaging options out there: consumers are on the lookout for eateries using sustainable materials. It impacts where they choose to order from, with the study finding:
- 50% prefer to order from eateries that remove excess packaging from the food delivery
- The research study also found that almost half (48%) would also show preference to a restaurant that uses eco-friendly packaging and doesn’t use single-use plastic
- The research study also found that 59% of consumers believe having sustainable packaging (plant-based/non-plastic/
compostable) is important to them
What are the stakeholder thoughts?
Zhong Xu, Deliverect Co-Founder & CEO of Deliverect shares advice for eateries: “To stay up on the competition and meet client needs, consider making sustainable strides like revamping your menu to include locally-sourced ingredients and cutting down your delivery times.”
“Even better, look to modern technology to improve your operational efficiencies and open the door to more time for you to focus on sustainability. Deliverect automates your online order flow (delivery, click and collect and table apps) to give you faster online order flow to the kitchen, better delivery times and faster menu management,” Xu further commented.
Outback Steakhouse‘s Operating Director, Mike Palmer, adds: “Deliverect has helped us to focus on what is vital to our clients, how we cook food and how we sustainably package it.”
“We are receiving the order tickets faster and therefore not making any order mistakes which results in less food wastage. By allowing us to group delivery platforms, we can be much more efficient with deliveries and have seen a 20% time savings and we’re able to get the food out probably two to three times quicker than we were previously,” Palmer said.
