Written by Stop Losing 25% to Deliveroo & Uber Eats: Build Your Own App & Keep 10x More Profit
If you run a restaurant, café, takeaway, or food business, you probably have a love-hate relationship with Deliveroo and Uber Eats. You love the steady stream of new customers they bring. But you hate watching 25–35% of every order disappear in commissions. That’s not just expensive — it’s unsustainable.
The good news? There’s a smarter way. By building your own branded app and website, you can slash fees to around 2.5%, take back control of your margins, and still keep (and grow) your customer base. Many businesses are already making the switch and seeing dramatic improvements in profitability.
The Brutal Math Most Owners Ignore
Let’s look at a real example with £10,000 in weekly sales:
- Using Deliveroo / Uber Eats: ~25% commission = £2,500 in fees
- Using your own app + Stripe: ~2.5% = £250 in fees
Difference: £2,250 saved every single week.
That’s over £117,000 per year — money that could go toward better ingredients, staff wages, marketing, or simply higher profits.
Even after adding your own delivery costs, the numbers still heavily favour going independent. You can charge customers a modest £1 delivery fee and still come out far ahead.
Why Big Platforms Charge So Much
Deliveroo and Uber Eats aren’t charities. They spend heavily on advertising, driver networks, and technology. That cost gets passed directly to you through massive commissions. On top of that, they control the customer relationship. The data, the contact details, and the loyalty all belong to them — not you.
When a customer orders through these platforms, they’re often “platform customers,” not your customers. This makes it incredibly hard to build long-term loyalty or run your own promotions.
The Power of Owning Your Own App
Imagine having a beautiful, professional native app listed on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Your customers can:
- Browse your full menu with mouth-watering photos
- Receive push notifications for special offers and promotions
- Place orders directly with you
- Track their delivery in real-time
- Save payment details and reorder with one tap
- Earn loyalty points that actually benefit your business
You also get a modern, high-converting website that works perfectly on mobile and desktop, fully connected to your existing POS system.
Local Delivery Done Better
One of the biggest concerns owners have is “How do I handle delivery without these big platforms?”
The answer is simpler than you think:
- Focus on a 5-mile radius around your location (faster, cheaper, and more reliable)
- Recruit your own drivers — often using branded bikes or small vehicles
- Charge a small £1 delivery fee to cover costs
- Offer Click & Collect as a zero-delivery-cost option that drives footfall
Many businesses start small with one or two drivers and scale up as order volume grows. Because you keep so much more of each order, you can easily afford better drivers and still make strong margins.
A Smart Hybrid Strategy
You don’t have to abandon Deliveroo and Uber Eats completely. The smartest approach is a hybrid model:
- Keep using the big platforms to attract new customers.
- Convert them to your own app by offering lower prices, better service, and loyalty rewards.
- Gradually shift more and more orders to your own system.
Over time, many businesses manage to move 60–90% of their orders to their own channels while still benefiting from the discovery power of the major apps.
Step-by-Step: How to Make It Happen
Step 1: Create a Professional Website Add your full menu, photos, descriptions, opening hours, and contact details. Make it fast, mobile-friendly, and connected to your POS.
Step 2: Launch Your Native App Get listed on the Apple and Google App Stores. Include push notifications, order tracking, and loyalty features.
Step 3: Promote Everywhere Add your app and website links to flyers, receipts, social media, email signatures, and in-store signage. Run a launch promotion (e.g., 10–20% off first order via the app).
Step 4: Add Local Delivery & Click & Collect Implement real-time order tracking and start with a small delivery team.
Step 5: Build Your Delivery Fleet Hire reliable local riders. Brand the bikes — it’s free advertising every time they ride around your area.
Step 6: Market Aggressively Use social media ads, email marketing, SEO, and local influencers to drive downloads and repeat orders.
Real Benefits Beyond Profit
- Higher margins mean you can invest in quality and growth.
- Direct customer relationships allow you to run your own loyalty programs and targeted offers.
- Better customer experience leads to more 5-star reviews.
- Data ownership gives you insights into what your customers actually want.
- Future-proofing — you’re not at the mercy of platform policy changes or fee increases.
It’s More Affordable Than You Think
Modern no-code and low-code solutions, combined with experienced developers, make building a professional app and website far more accessible than it was even a few years ago. Flexible payment plans and project-managed services mean you can get started without a huge upfront investment.
Many small businesses are surprised at how quickly they can launch and start seeing results.
Ready to Take Back Control?
The restaurants that thrive in the coming years will be the ones that own their customer relationships and protect their profit margins.
You don’t have to keep handing over 25%+ of your hard-earned revenue. You can enjoy the best of both worlds: new customer acquisition through big platforms and much higher margins through your own channels.
If you’re tired of watching your profits disappear into delivery app commissions, now is the perfect time to take action.
Let’s chat about building your own app and website. With the right partner, you could be up and running faster than you expect — and keeping thousands more pounds every month where they belong: in your business.
Stop losing 25%. Start keeping more. Build your own future today.