07 November 2023

Grab a Slice of the Pizza Delivery Market

Want to start delivering your pizzas? Great! Then you can find all the information you need to get started right in our comprehensive guide to getting started and becoming a success with pizza delivery.

Pizza is one of the most portable foods on the planet and delivery is the perfect way to grow sales. Delivery will help you reach a new audience and, therefore, it’s vital to get it right the first time.

Why now for pizza delivery?

The pizza delivery market is thriving, now worth an estimated £2.1bn, making up half of the total UK delivery market today which has grown 73% in the last 10 years, despite the recent economic turbulence the hospitality industry has faced. So, it's no surprise that operators are seeing the value that a pizza offering can bring to their business. The delivery market as a whole has seen a dramatic increase as consumers seek out faster and more convenient ways of satisfying their needs.

Getting started on pizza delivery service

Before you get started on setting up your pizza delivery service, here's some handy tips to keep in mind.

3 steps to setting up a high standard pizza delivery operation

In the following 3 steps, you'll learn how to choose the right equipment, the best disposables and the optimum delivery method to serve pizza to your customers.

Step 1: The equipment

Some pubs and restaurants may already have suitable equipment for cooking pizzas, however, for those who don’t, there are some key points to consider.

Step 2: Disposables

Packaging is used as a way to deliver your food in optimum condition but can also be used as a branding tool to communicate with customers and enhance the overall experience.

Step 3: Delivery

Planning rules have been recently relaxed which means pubs and restaurants can act as takeaways and deliver food, but there are a few points to consider before diving in.

Deciding how to deliver

When delivering, the two main options are to deliver the food yourself or via a third party. There are many providers out there who can help build your online ordering portal. Having an online system will relieve staff from telephone orders occupying their time which could be spent elsewhere. Online systems also allow your customers more control when ordering with specific dietary requirements, helping further speed up the process and removing the chance of human error.

Working with a third party

Pros:

Benefitting from another company’s resources and experience
Opportunities to reach more people
Greater time to focus on the brand and the food
A ready-made infrastructure (couriers, delivery tracking, secure payment methods)

Cons:

High set up fees and commissions
Lack of control over the delivery experience and brand dilution
Less communication and engagement with the end customer

Delivering yourself

Pros:

Full control over the whole delivery experience
No third-party communication barriers / greater brand control
The ability to receive first-hand customer feedback
Reduced longer-term investment

Cons:

The need for all resources to be self-funded
Full accountability for any delivery issues
Less visibility and opportunities to reach high numbers of customers (resulting in higher marketing costs)

Setting up your own delivery service, gives you full control over the delivery process

Comparison delivery costs

Due to recent events, many companies are reducing their standard fees or providing additional support. Some third-party delivery companies are also choosing to temporarily reduce commissions and drop activation or sign-on fees so exploring the best offers before deciding to go ahead is recommended.

Pizza Cheese that Works for Delivery

Choosing the perfect mozzarella can make or break your pizza on delivery, so it’s vital you get it right. As demand shifts to delivery, it’s important to consider how your cheese type will affect the final product as it travels, more so than ever before.

Cheese changes in taste, appearance and performance quickly as it cools, so it’s worth rethinking your cut to maintain quality. At Arla Pro we’ve tested all our mozzarellas for the ideal balance of melt, coverage, stretch, oiling, browning and colour – so we can help.

Arla Pro Large Diced Mozzarella 2kg

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Key Benefits:

Once cooked it resembles softer mozzarella formats such as buffalo, burrata and fior di latte to maintain an authentic appearance and a clear point of difference in a crowded delivery market
Low moisture content allows the pizza to be cooked more evenly, giving a crispy base and a golden crust
A 10 x 10mm cut size makes it the perfect solution for operators who use super-hot pizza ovens
Thicker cut size maintains opacity as it travels

Arla Pro Large Shredded Mozzarella 2kg (Sticks)

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Key Benefits:

Perfect for delivery, retaining opacity as it’s transported from kitchen to consumer
A 4x4x20mm cut sizes means more stretch on the cheese once cooked
Retention of colour/ opacity means you don’t need to overload with cheese to achieve the desired result on delivery who use super-hot pizza ovens