Takeaway pricing across delivery platforms and your own menu

3 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

A takeaway selling the same dish at the same price on its own menu and on a delivery platform is running two businesses with completely different economics. One keeps the whole ticket; the other loses a substantial percentage in commission before any food cost is counted.

Operators frequently discover this only when the accounts are done properly. The kitchen was busy all month, the platform volume looked encouraging, and the profit was worse than a quieter month with more direct orders. Busy and profitable are not the same thing in this trade.

Pricing has to reflect that difference, and the platforms' own terms determine how far you can go. Read the agreement before changing anything.

1. Takeaway pricing across delivery platforms starts with knowing the real commission

Work out the actual cost per channel.

Calculate the net you receive per order

Commission, any payment fee, packaging and delivery if you provide it. That is what you actually keep. Do it for your ten best-selling dishes.

Compare it against a direct order

The same dish through the two routes returns very different amounts. Most operators are surprised by the gap. Put both figures on one line and look at them.

2. Price platform menus to protect the margin

The commission has to come from somewhere.

Set platform prices above your direct prices

Most platforms permit this, though terms vary and some restrict it — check your own agreements before doing it. Some platforms enforce parity and some do not.

Raise them enough, not a token amount

A small uplift does not cover a large commission. Work out what it actually takes rather than adding a gesture. Divide by one minus the commission rate.

3. Adjust the menu, not just the numbers

Some dishes should not travel at all.

Remove what arrives badly

Anything that suffers in twenty minutes in a box costs you a review and a repeat customer. Better absent than disappointing. Test every dish after twenty minutes in a box.

Favour the dishes with good margins and good travel

Platform menus do not need to be your full menu. Choose deliberately. A shorter menu also travels out of the kitchen faster.

4. Drive the profitable channel deliberately

Your own orders are worth substantially more.

Make direct ordering visibly cheaper

If your platform prices are higher, the customer has a reason to order direct next time. Say so on the insert in the bag. Show both prices if you can.

Put something in every platform order

A card with your own number and a genuine reason to use it. This is how platform customers become yours. It costs pennies per order.

5. Judge the platforms on profit, not turnover

Volume is not the measure.

Report platform and direct revenue separately

With margin, not just takings. Turnover through a platform flatters everything. That comparison is the one that informs any decision. Review it monthly.

Be willing to reduce platform reliance rather than eliminate it

They bring genuine new customers. Treat the commission as acquisition cost on a first order. The objective is that they are a channel rather than the whole business. Cutting them entirely usually reduces sales.

Conclusion

Work out what you actually keep from a platform order after commission, payment fees and packaging, and compare it against the same dish sold directly — the gap is usually larger than operators expect.

Then price platform menus above your direct prices by enough to genuinely cover the commission rather than a token amount, checking your own agreements first because terms differ and some restrict it. Take the dishes that travel badly off the platform menu entirely, make direct ordering visibly the cheaper route, and put a card in every single bag. Report platform and direct revenue with margin separately, and aim to make the platforms one channel rather than the business.