Burger King joins Lalamove in bid to double deliveries

Burger King joins Lalamove in bid to double deliveries

Executives of Burger Thailand and Lalamove celebrate their on-demand delivery partnership.
Executives of Burger Thailand and Lalamove celebrate their on-demand delivery partnership.

With food delivery a smash hit, US fast-food chain Burger King has teamed with on-demand delivery app Lalamove to tap the fast-growing market.

Lalamove is the largest on-demand delivery provider in Thailand, with more than 40,000 registered drivers in Bangkok and 500,000 app downloads.

Burger King hopes the collaboration enables it to meet the needs of customers better than before.

Prapat Siangjan, general manager of Burger Thailand Ltd, said the existing delivery service of Burger King via the 1112 phone number will remain in service until the delivery channel through Lalamove is fully established.

At present, 5% of Burger King sales are through the 1112 delivery service. Under the partnership with Lalamove, the chain hopes to double sales via delivery in 2018.

"The number of foreign customers keeps on increasing, and we found that the online channel is one of the most practical ones, so we will focus on the online channel," Mr Prapat said, adding that the website www.burgerking.co.th started delivery service via Lalamove on Nov 1.

The company is now studying a mobile app that Burger King plans to launch next year. But Mr Prapat said ordering via smartphone today is not difficult, whether or not it's done through a mobile app.

The food industry this year is experiencing middling growth of 2-5%, but delivery service is one of the fastest-growing segments because of trends in consumer behaviour.

"Normally for walk-in customers of Burger King the average bill is 220 baht person, but for delivery service it's higher than 400 baht," Mr Prapat said.

Burger King plans to increase the number of branches by an additional 15-20 in 2018, each with an average investment of 25 million baht. Most of the new stores, in Bangkok and big cities nationwide, will offer drive-through service.

At present, Burger King has 89 stores (84 in Thailand and five abroad).

Three years ago, the ratio of foreign to Thai customers at Burger King was 60:40; but today it's reversed, as more Thais are likely to order food for delivery and the company has opened more outlets in both Bangkok and provincial areas.

"Digital is really the big word, and we are trying to go towards cashless," Mr Prapat said. "Today, 70% of sales are with cash, but in 2018 it will be 50-50 of cash to cashless."

Chanon Klahan, managing director of Lalamove Thailand, said that after three years in operation, Lalamove has enjoyed rapid annual growth in delivery service.

Revenue increased from 120 million baht last year to 540 million this year, Mr Chanon said.

He said the rapid growth of e-commerce (15% last year and 20% this year) is mainly due to delivery services. Food is a natural for on-demand delivery because people seek convenience.

"Competition in delivery service next year will be more about speed of service, and delivery time should be decreasing," Mr Chanon said, adding that Lalamove plans to expand its service to provincial markets next year.

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