The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry expects to double the growth of food delivery platform eatsHUB next year in terms of economic value and participating restaurants after the pilot service was launched in May this year.
The platform was founded by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa) in collaboration with Food Ordery, an affiliate of SET-listed TV Direct, aiming to assist small food vendors amid economic challenges.
Touted as Thailand's first national food delivery platform, eatsHUB charges vendors a commission fee, known as gross profit (GP), at a low rate of 8-10%, compared with the standard 30% collected by other major operators.
According to the Depa, since May eatsHUB has been operating in 18 provinces.
The platform has been accessed 10 million times, serving 25,000 small and medium-sized restaurants, generating 500 million baht in economic value and creating 3,000 jobs for drivers.
Newin Chochaiyathip, DES vice-minister, said the platform supports accessibility for online food ordering services with low GP fees, delivers high benefits and provides services that match new customers' lifestyles.
"More than 600,000 users have registered with the platform over the past seven months with 10 million accesses," Mr Newin said.
He said the DES Ministry expects double growth of the platform in 2023 with economic value reaching one billion baht and the number of participating restaurants hitting 50,000.
The platform will be developed to become a super app in the future, Mr Newin said.
Depa president and chief executive Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin said eatsHUB was developed with the intention of helping small and medium restaurant entrepreneurs and creating jobs.
Through the cooperation between the state and private sector, the platform is reliable and meets the needs of users, he said.
The next goal is to work with the private sector to develop it to become a super app, covering other services, such as supporting the sale of raw materials from local producers to shops and consumers, he said.
"eatsHUB is an application aimed at helping small entrepreneurs by taking into account the culture and behaviour of retail merchants, which is different from foreign apps, particularly supporting the lower GP fee and a money transfer system where member stores will receive money for products the following day," said Mr Nuttapon.
The platform focuses on services for each community that involve eateries and drivers within 1-5 kilometres, with various features provided, including a point of sale system, self-promotion campaigns, messaging service and a call centre.
The food delivery business is a highly competitive segment with a slight margin as various foreign platforms have engaged in this market.
With high operating costs, some operators pass the burden to consumers.
Some 20% of eatsHUB's operational budget is funded by Depa, with 80% covered by Food Ordery.
Interested food vendors can apply for the platform via www.foodordery.co.th, while users can make orders through its mobile app, which can be downloaded via both Android and iOS systems.