Food Delivery Trends to Watch in 2024 & Beyond

Food and technology are both revolving along with consumer demands. Here are some of the food delivery trends to watch in 2024.

For businesses, serving and delivering food is about winning customers’ wallets, hearts, souls and repeated orders. Over the last few years, the food delivery sector has witnessed rapid growth and a shift in consumer behaviour. This is making companies and restaurants look for lucrative ways to retain customers.

Online food delivery revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 21.78%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$73.38 bn by 2027.

Foodtech companies looking to get into the business of making customers’ tummy and soul happy should look out for food delivery trends that will gain traction in 2024 and beyond.

There is a list of food delivery trends that can help your Foodtech company beat the competition and successfully deliver piping-hot pizzas!

Intriguing and Interesting Food Delivery Trends To Look Out for in 2024

Not a day goes by when we are not seen salivating by browsing food menus of restaurants 10 km away. But all thanks to companies working towards bringing us scrumptious food in mere 10-20 minutes. Who would have thought technology and food would have gone together?

1. Delivery Robots

Never thought that we would have robots delivering us our food. But we guess the wildest dreams do come true, especially when food is the driving force. Food delivery service Uber Eats is partnering with Serve Robotics, an autonomous delivery startup. Even Pizza Hut has partnered with Serve Robotics.

Food delivery robots are equipped with GPS technology, cameras, and sensors and replace last-mile delivery personnel to reduce labour costs and make on-demand delivery more affordable.

2. Robotic Chefs

Compliments to the chef!

Robotic chefs are emerging as a transformative trend in the food industry. Not only delivery but now even the food is being prepared by the robots. (You know what this means- no more onion tears.) These automated systems make dishes with high accuracy. From precise ingredient measurements to fast cooking, robotic chefs can guarantee consistency in food taste.

Moreover, they are addressing issues like labour shortage and escalating costs by reducing resource wastage. Appetronix is a Canadian startup that is building an autonomous kitchen robotic system, RoWok, which cooks made-to-order meals. It can prepare 60 meals per hour.

3. Serving Robots

Hi, my name is Robot 420, and I will be your server today!
What would the human entity would like to have today?

The food delivery trend is seeing a rise in demand for contactless services, personalised interaction, and streamlined operations, making restaurants utilise food-serving robots. In a time where hygiene and safety are prioritised, these robots make it possible to minimise human contact with food and beverages.

Glattee Robotics is a German startup that builds service robotics for restaurants. They use invisible laser beams to scan and determine their surroundings. Some of them feature voice outputs to interact verbally with workers or consumers, including tray shelves and closed cabins.

4. Delivery Directly from Restaurants

Another food delivery trend that is gaining traction is restaurants not depending on third-party platforms like Zomato, Swiggy or UberEats. There is no doubt that there has been a growth in third-party delivery apps, but so has the number of restaurants and grocery stores that are setting up their own in-house food delivery management platforms.

The main reason is taking back control over food delivery. Grocers and restaurants know that delivering to customer satisfaction is vital, and a bad delivery (even if it’s the fault of the third-party provider) is considered the fault of the restaurant or grocer. Food giants like McDonald’s and Dominos understand this and are building on their own delivery management platform.

5. Delivery Done by Drones

The sky is raining food!

Food delivery by drones is one of the coolest food delivery trends being tested globally. It all started when Dominos delivered pizzas to customers in 2016 in New Zealand via a drone. Zomato delivered meals via drones in 10 minutes. Moreover, many other firms like Google, Amazon and Uber are perfecting this food delivery trend of 2024.

Drone delivery allows you to make an increased number of deliveries in less time as it does not have to deal with heavy traffic.

6. Delivery Done By Self-Driving Cars

Food delivery by driverless cars has been doing rounds in the market for some time now, and many business firms have shown interest in it. DoorDash is beelining for all food delivery trends. This year, the firm formed an alliance with General Motors to test self-driving cars to deliver meals to consumers.

As per Allied Market, the global market of autonomous vehicles is expected to hit the $556.67 billion mark by the year 2026.

7. Order By SmartWatch

Other than seeing time, smartwatches are being used for everything. The market for smartwatches is surging. Online food delivery firms are even harnessing their power.

Dominos has introduced its app for Android smartwatches to ease their ordering process. Do not have your smartphone on you; it does not matter if you have your smartwatch. Also, OrderUp launched its app for Apple Watch users.

8. Stacked Deliveries

A recent trend that is sure to be a big one in 2024 is ‘stacked’ deliveries. It is when multiple deliveries are stacked or consolidated to gain efficiencies for drivers and consumers. For example, a virtual concierge service picks up multiple deliveries for one customer from various locations like their grocer, dry cleaner, and restaurant.

For example, delivery orders can be stacked from customers living in the same neighbourhood or building.

Food Will Never Be The Same Again…

Food delivery trends are truly changing how we order and receive food. There may be more upcoming food delivery trends in 2024 than we have written about, but what remains common is satisfying customers’ demands and cravings.

As demands rise, so do the expectations, and delivery time plays a huge role. The need for optimising delivery routes remains the same. That’s why the need for last-mile delivery software or delivery management software stays persistent. What better than TrackoMile for acing the game?