Third-party delivery platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Postmates, and Gopuff have transformed how customers interact with restaurants. For many food service businesses, these apps have gone from optional to essential. But with this shift comes a new set of challenges: standing out in a crowded marketplace, maintaining food quality during transit, and delivering a branded experience without ever seeing the customer in person.
If your restaurant relies on third-party apps for a significant portion of sales, here are strategies to help you thrive and stay competitive in the delivery-first era.
1. Optimize Your Menu for Delivery Performance
Not every item on your dine-in menu translates well to delivery. In fact, poorly chosen menu items can lead to negative reviews, wasted food, and lost customers.
Tips:
- Focus on dishes that travel well and retain their quality after 20–30 minutes.
- Offer combo meals or bundles that are easy to order and increase average ticket size.
- Remove complex or delicate items that don’t hold up during transit.
- Use clear, enticing item names and brief descriptions to capture attention quickly.
Pro Tip: Add a few delivery-exclusive items. It gives customers something new to try and creates differentiation from your dine-in menu.
2. Invest in High-Quality Photos and Listings
In the app world, your photos are your storefront. The first impression often comes from a tiny thumbnail image, and it matters.
What to do:
- Use professional lighting and clean backdrops to shoot your most popular dishes.
- Highlight vibrant colors and textures; avoid dim or heavily filtered photos.
- Keep descriptions short and focused on taste, texture, and key ingredients.
Stand Out Tip: Update your photos seasonally or rotate featured items to stay fresh on the app.
3. Prioritize Speed and Accuracy
Delivery customers have limited patience. Long wait times, missing items, or incorrect orders can result in public reviews that hurt your visibility and ranking in the app algorithm.
What helps:
- Use dedicated staff or a clear system to manage third-party orders.
- Invest in printer-integrated tablets to streamline order entry and reduce manual errors.
- Pre-pack items in advance when possible (e.g., utensils, napkins, sauces).
4. Create a Memorable Off-Premise Experience
Your food arrives in a stranger’s hands, with little opportunity to charm the customer face-to-face. That makes every touchpoint count.
Packaging plays a bigger role than ever:
- Use sturdy containers that hold up in transit and preserve temperature.
- Label orders clearly to avoid confusion, especially for group or family orders.
- Consider tamper-evident closures to reassure customers about food safety.
Why it matters: When your packaging is clean, well-organized, and branded, it reflects the same care you put into the food. It’s often the only physical part of your brand that reaches the customer.
5. Use Branded Takeout Packaging to Reinforce Identity
In a sea of brown paper bags and generic containers, custom takeout packaging helps your brand stay top-of-mind.
Even something simple like a printed paper bag, branded cup sleeve, or putting your logo on your takeout boxes:
- Increase brand recall and loyalty
- Enhance your appearance on social media (unboxing moments count!)
- Make customers feel like they’re enjoying a premium experience at home
If you’re building a consistent off-premise strategy, custom printed takeout packaging is one of the few brand elements you still control in a third-party delivery world. Morgan Chaney can help with that.
6. Encourage Feedback and Leverage Reviews
Most delivery platforms rank restaurants based on reviews, order accuracy, and prep speed. Encourage satisfied customers to leave a quick review by:
- Including a thank-you note or review prompt in the bag
- Printing a QR code that links directly to your app listing
- Responding to feedback (good and bad) promptly on your dashboard
7. Track Performance & Adjust Frequently
Most apps offer robust analytics tools; you should use them. Look at order frequency, average ticket size, prep time, and customer ratings. If an item consistently leads to complaints, remove or improve it. If customers love something, spotlight it.
Final Thoughts
Third-party apps are here to stay, and the restaurants that succeed on them understand one key truth: your delivery experience is your brand experience. Every review, every unboxing moment, and every photo in the app shapes how customers perceive you.
Stand out by being thoughtful, efficient, and consistent; on the plate and in the bag.
Need help creating branded takeout packaging that enhances your delivery experience? Let’s talk.