Deliveroo S'pore general manager: delivery an ‘indispensable part' of food and beverage industry
Siddharth Shanker returns to the QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards for a special panel on delivery and ordering.
Food delivery, according to Deliveroo Singapore general manager Siddharth Shanker, has become an “indispensable” component of the food & beverage industry.
As the third-party aggregator continues to expand its reach and grab a wider share of the delivery market through data-driven maneuvers, they are also looking to differentiate themselves through innovative corporate social responsibility programmes.
Shanker returns for a third time in the QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards both as a panelist on our delivery & ordering panel and as a speaker on their Food Market concept.
QSR Media: What are your key business philosophies?
Shanker: At Deliveroo, we operate in a highly competitive space. We run a three-sided marketplace and our key stakeholders include customers, restaurants and riders, who we consistently work to deliver the best value for.
Our overarching ambition is to become the ‘definitive food company’, while at the same time, giving back to the communities we operate in. Committing to ‘giving’ initiatives that work for our stakeholders and make a meaningful impact to our communities in the long run can be challenging, but extremely rewarding. As a company that is all about food, ensuring that great food is accessible to all naturally aligns with our business.
For example, we recently expanded our partnership with not-for-profit organisation TOUCH Community Services, where customers could pay a meal forward for the elderly in need while ordering one for themselves. With the support of our restaurant partner Chang Cheng Group and customers, we raised 1,000 meals for over 155 elderly. Of course, the success of any CSR programme depends on how committed the company, its partners and the community are to giving and creating a meaningful impact. The response to this initiative is testament to how supportive the entire community of consumers, riders and restaurants have been and we are currently looking at ways to expand this programme.
What particular issues or developments are you currently thinking about that you think the multi-site restaurant industry should also take a closer look at?
Food delivery has become an indispensable part of the F&B industry and we are committed to helping our restaurant partners, from Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) to small food outlets and large restaurant chains, succeed. We’re currently looking at a number of developments for the multi-site restaurant industry, which includes supporting restaurants on the technology front and through marketing campaigns.
In terms of technology, we leverage the millions of data points we have to identify customer preferences and order trends. This data is regularly shared with restaurant partners who use these insights to improve operations and focus on targeting the right customers through marketing campaigns and promotions. We also analyze this data to advise our restaurants partners on how best to structure their menus on Deliveroo to maximise conversions while customers are browsing on the app. In order to better work with multi-site restaurant partners, we are investing to integrate with their POS systems to ensure smoother operations. Indeed, this ensures that the order flows through the standard process without disrupting operations.
Marketing and Out-Of-Home (OOH) campaigns are a great way in which we can support multi-site restaurants, in terms of promoting new products, highlighting relevant promotions and supporting with packaging.
In the coming months, we will continue to refine our world-leading technology that links customers, restaurants and riders together. Whether on our app or in our dine-in sites, this means going beyond building good user experiences to creating technology that is a joy to use, whether it be for multi-site restaurant partners, QSRs, small food outlets and large restaurant chains.
What are some of the things you're personally excited to do at the third QSR Media Asia Conference and Awards in Singapore?
For the past two years, the QSR Media Asia Conference and Awards has hosted many inspiring speakers, so I’m honoured to join the event line-up this year to share more around the key issues happening right now in the delivery sector.
This will include the status of delivery now in Asia, lessons on brands and aggregators collaboration, delivery from a brands perspective, as well as the future of delivery and expected trends. I’m also looking forward to meaningful discussions with others in the industry to exchange and share ideas, trends and knowledge around this fast-evolving industry.
(Don’t miss your chance to interact with hundreds of restaurant leaders in Asia. Click HERE to join the 2020 QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards!)
