How to Run a Food Delivery Online Store (Skip the 30% Commission)

Food delivery aggregators in Thailand typically charge restaurants 25-35% commission per order. On a 200-baht lunch, the restaurant keeps 130-150 baht before ingredient cost, gas, and labour. Most small restaurants are losing money on every aggregator order and only break even on dine-in.

Running your own ordering website lets you keep 95%+ of every order. The trade-off: you handle delivery yourself (or partner with a 3PL on better terms). For restaurants with a loyal local customer base, this math is a no-brainer.

Your own food delivery site works well when:

- You already have repeat customers who know your brand (no discovery problem) - Your average order value is 250+ baht (delivery cost is a smaller % of revenue) - You serve a defined neighbourhood within 5-7 km - You have predictable order volume (e.g. lunch crowd, weekend dinners)

It does NOT work when: - You depend on third-party aggregators for discovery to find new customers - Your average order is under 150 baht (delivery cost wipes out margin) - Your restaurant is in a low-density area with no walk-in foot traffic

Restaurant menus on ecommerce sites need different structure than retail:

- Modifier groups: spice level, protein swap, size, add-ons -- model these as product variants or add-ons in Rukter - Photos for every item: phone-camera photos are fine but every item needs one -- text-only menus lose 40% of orders - Daily specials: tag items as "today only" with a countdown -- creates urgency and reduces waste of perishables - Combo bundles: pre-built sets at a small discount lift AOV by 25-40% - Out-of-stock toggle: critical for restaurants -- ingredients run out mid-service, and over-promising orders is the fastest way to destroy trust

Unlike retail ecommerce, food orders cannot all be fulfilled simultaneously. Use time-slot booking:

1. Define delivery windows: e.g. 11:30-12:00, 12:00-12:30, 12:30-13:00 2. Cap each slot at the maximum number of orders your kitchen can produce in that window 3. When a slot is full, the customer sees the next available slot at checkout 4. Auto-cut off ordering 30 minutes before the slot starts so the kitchen can prep

This prevents the classic delivery-app disaster of 30 simultaneous orders crashing the kitchen at noon.

You have three delivery options:

Own delivery (you or a hired driver): - Cost: 50-150 baht per drop (fuel + time + bike depreciation) - Best for: orders within 5 km, predictable volume, premium experience (your driver knows your customers)

3PL partner (on-demand courier services): - Cost: 60-120 baht per drop - Best for: variable volume, longer distances, days you cannot deliver yourself - Set up a corporate account for better rates than the app default

Customer pickup: - Cost: 0 baht (offer 10% discount to incentivise) - Best for: lunch crowd, office buildings within 500m - Always offer this option -- 20-30% of orders will choose it if priced right

Bad packaging is the #1 reason customers do not reorder. Invest here:

- Insulated bags: 200-400 baht each, last 2 years; orders arrive hot - Leak-proof containers: paper bowls with PE coating, or rigid plastic with sealed lids - Separate sauces and crunchy items: a soggy spring roll loses you a customer for life - Hot vs cold separation: never pack ice cream and pad thai in the same bag - Brand it: a 5-baht sticker on every container = free local marketing every time the customer carries it out

For cold items (smoothies, salads, desserts) consider ice packs in summer months -- the difference in arrival quality is dramatic.

A food site lives or dies by local discovery. Free channels that work:

- Google My Business: claim your restaurant, add menu photos, link to your ordering site. This is the single biggest free lever for local restaurants. - LINE OA: blast a "today's special" message at 11am every weekday. LINE has the highest open rate of any channel in Thailand (>80%) - Facebook neighbourhood groups: post one daily special photo with the order link (most groups allow this for local businesses) - QR code at the cashier: every dine-in customer takes home a sticker or business card with the QR to order delivery next time - Loyalty program: 10th order free, tracked automatically in Rukter -- repeat order frequency typically doubles