TOP FOOD DELIVERY TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2023

Over the last few years, the food delivery sector has rapidly grown in response to shifting consumer behaviors. In 2021, the U.S. online food delivery market value reached $23.4 billion, with expectations for growth to $42.6 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 10.5% during 2021-2027. With this rapid growth, 2022 saw the expansion of prominent food delivery trends ranging from third-party and subscription-based to grocery and meal kit delivery.

Third-party delivery services is still one of the top food delivery trends. Afterall, when meals or groceries are just a click away, the ease and convenience can be hard to pass up. Restaurants and grocery chains are leaning into trends like this to keep up with consumer demand by partnering with multiple third-party delivery services. The downside is that the food provider loses control of delivery operations and the customer experience. To mitigate this risk, some companies are bypassing single-provider, third-party delivery services and using a combination of owned online sites for managing customer orders, in-house food delivery management software for managing the routing and delivery and delivery as a service (DaaS) providers to perform the actual delivery.

At the onset, many grocers relied heavily on third parties for delivery fulfillment. Grocery is as brick-and-mortar as it gets, which means many smaller players lag in their digital transformation. The result is poor online experiences and little inhouse delivery automation. However, there is some good news for these digital dinosaurs. They can offer their stores as fulfillment centers for third-party delivery services or use delivery management software to up their digital game. Larger chains can also create convenient fulfillment centers in and around large cities, offering options to buy online and pick up in store. Whichever route a grocer goes, the reality is that grocery delivery is not going away.

Subscription-based memberships can reduced fees and free food delivery from restaurants, grocers and beyond. These trends are even happening with recurring restaurant delivery services that help local restaurants stay afloat in communities at risk of business closure.

Data and analytics are everywhere. Smart businesses know that data combined with advanced analytics is what drives business growth and results. Food providers offering delivery will not be left behind. With so much delivery data in the hands of third parties, food providers that want to better understand and optimize their delivery operations need readily available data reporting. Some food providers are building their own in-house analytics teams, while others are sourcing delivery management software with data analytics built in.

The global meal kit delivery service market was valued at $15.21 billion in 2021 and is expected to increase 17.4% CAGR from 2022-2030, making meal kit delivery another one of the significant food delivery trends.

“Stacked” deliveries, or when multiple deliveries are “stacked” or consolidated to gain efficiencies for both drivers and consumers is a new trend. “Stacked” deliveries are most efficient for businesses when the driver can assist multiple customers within close proximity.

Dark kitchens, or ghost kitchens, act as an extra branch of a restaurant, marketing and producing delivery orders under a restaurant’s brand name but without the physical restaurant location.

The global drone delivery services market is anticipated to be valued at $322.2 million in 202. While drones can help solve some last-mile delivery problems, like idle time and driver costs, there’s still work to be done before they’re dropping packages on your doorstep. regulations presents sizable challenges.

KATHERINE LEHMAN director of digital marketing Onfleet