Work from home, call for meals: food delivery platforms provide lifeline to Hong Kong’s empty restaurants
- Deliveroo, Foodpanda and Uber Eats report a surge in orders, eateries signing up
- Hit by hard times, top-end restaurants and cafes start offering home deliveries too
The three main delivery platforms, Deliveroo, Foodpanda and Uber Eats, have seen orders rise, with more food outlets signing up too.
Deliveroo has also invested more than HK$10 million (US$1.29 million) in a common kitchen hub in Quarry Bay, where restaurants cook their takeaway meals. The company’s general manager in Hong Kong, Brian Lo Ka-chung, said sales and orders had doubled in the first three months of the year as Covid-19 crisis hit, compared with the previous quarter.
Between January and late March, 1,500 eateries joined the platform, raising the total number of restaurant partners to about 6,500 – nearly 40 per cent of the city’s licensed restaurants and factory canteens.
“Many restaurants used to be reluctant to join or concerned that their branding would be affected,” Lo said. “But for survival’s sake, they are now trying food delivery.”