Dangers posed by Food Aggregators

Food Aggregators is the flavour of the season - be it Swiggy, Zomato, Food Panda. It really is convenient for lot of people and I know many who swear by them. ( I am not a great fan of getting packed hotel food. I like them fresh.

One of the reason I stick to Ghee Roast in hotels, at least they are made fresh, unlike Iddli or Pongal or Vada which are pre prepared) Restaurants have got themselves associated with Food Aggregators because 1. It gives them better reach 2. Better Deal Flow 3. Reduces their Delivery Cost But they are 1. Forced to give up to 30% Discount to the Food Aggregator eating into their profits Since the profit margin in food business is much higher, the increased volume compensates to some extend for their revenue loss. In the short run, it is fine. But there is a major pitfall The Restaurants have handed over their "Home/Office Delivery Customers" on a Platter to the Food Aggregators. The Food Aggregators are quietly building up their Customer base at the expense of the Restaurants. Once they attain a critical volume, they have plans to have have their own massive base kitchens that operate 24x7. Admitted customers still have loyalty to Restaurants through Food Aggregator App. This will vanish once Food Aggregators start offering quality food at affordable cost. They can do that because of Economies of Scale Since nearly 40-60% of a Restaurants sale is through "Take Away and Home Delivery",they will be hit very badly & even pushed out of Business. 2-3 years ago, Restaurant owners in Eranakulam took a decision to not engage Food Aggregators, sensing the above. I am not sure whether that still holds. Businesses evolve but one has to be aware of long term dangers to survive