Direct sales for food businesses: cut out the middlemen

Selling direct means customers order, book and buy vouchers from you rather than through a marketplace that takes a large cut and keeps the customer. For an independent food business it is usually the single biggest lever on margin: delivery apps commonly charge around 30% of each order, deal sites keep a large share of a discounted voucher, and booking systems that charge per cover bill you more the busier you get. Direct channels cost a fraction of that, and every customer who buys from you directly is one you can reach again for free.

Add up what the middlemen cost you

Most owners know their delivery commission. Few have added up the whole stack. Pull a typical month's statements and list every intermediary:

• Delivery and collection apps: commission on every order, commonly around 30%, often charged on collection too.
• Deal and voucher sites: a large share of an already discounted price, for customers who may never return at full price.
• Booking systems: per-cover fees, a monthly subscription, or both. At, say, €1.50 a cover, 200 bookings of four people is €1,200 a month, and the bill grows as you get busier.
• Advertising to win back customers you have already served once.

Put the total beside your monthly profit. For many independents the intermediaries take more than the owner does.

What a single order is worth, direct or not

Take a €40 order where food is €14 and the labour to make and pack it is €8.

• Through an app at 30%: €12 goes in commission. You keep €28, and after food and labour €6 is left for rent, energy and everything else.
• Direct: at 1.5% commission on a direct collection order, nearly all of that €12 stays in the business. On delivery at 6%, most of it does.

The difference is not a rounding error. On the app order, commission is twice what you keep; on the direct order, it is a small line. Run your own volumes through the delivery app commission calculator.

The customer relationship is the bigger prize

Commission is what you can see. What you cannot see is who your customers are.

When someone orders through a marketplace, the marketplace owns the relationship. You get an order; it gets the customer, and next time it decides which places to show them first. You cannot thank them, reward them, or tell them about the dish they loved when it comes back.

When they buy from you directly, the relationship is yours. On Mosey you can see your regulars, what they order and how often, and you can:

• count every order and in-store payment towards a loyalty programme, which is free to run
• send an automatic thank-you after an order, or a win-back message when a regular goes quiet, with no per-message charge
• tell followers and nearby customers who opted in when something is worth announcing

See analytics and your customer data for what you can see and do.

Stop inflating your app menu

Many places charge more on delivery apps to cover the commission. It protects margin and teaches customers that ordering from you is expensive.

On a direct channel you can charge your menu price, because you are not covering a 30% cut. That becomes your best argument for switching: the same food, the same price as in the room, with loyalty that counts. Customers who notice the difference move on their own.

Bookings and vouchers belong on your own channels too

Bookings. Take reservations in the app, from a link in your Instagram bio or Google listing, and through a widget on your own website, where diners book without needing an account. Mosey reservations are free up to a monthly booking allowance, then €79.99 or €169.99 a month, with no per-cover charge at any level and no commission on deposits. More in a free restaurant booking system.

Vouchers and promotions. Sell your own at 4.5% and 4.5% commission, at the price you choose. You get paid when they are bought, and the buyer is your customer from the start rather than a deal-hunter passed through a third party.

Choose a direct channel that does the whole job

You need ordering, payments, bookings, vouchers and a way to reach customers. Stitching five separate tools together means five logins, five bills and customer details scattered across all of them.

What to look for:

• A low, published commission and no monthly fee to take orders
• Payments to your own account, not held by the platform
• Menu control: prices, sizes, extras, allergens and items marked unavailable, from your phone
• Pickup slots and delivery zones so the kitchen is not swamped
• Loyalty and messages built in, so the customer relationship pays off

On Mosey, money goes to your own Stripe account as the customer pays, Stripe's card fee is passed through at cost, and 23% VAT applies to Mosey's fee. For ordering in particular, see low-commission online ordering.

Move customers across in stages

Do not switch off the apps overnight. Build the direct channel, then shift volume to it.

First month: build it.

• Get your menu online. Photograph the printed one and Mosey's scanner reads the items, prices and sections for you to check.
• Set pickup slots and, if you deliver, zones and drivers.
• Run test orders with staff until it is smooth.

Next two months: promote it.

• Put the direct link on receipts, in every bag, on table cards and in your social bios.
• Match your in-room prices on the direct channel.
• Consider a first-order incentive for followers who have never ordered. On Mosey that can be an automation that mints a voucher for each person.

After that: measure and shift.

• Track the share of orders coming direct each week.
• As it grows, reduce the hours you are live on the apps, or keep them only for nights when you need new customers.

Get your staff behind it

Staff talk to every customer, so they are your best channel. Give them one line each:

• At the till: "You can order directly from us next time. Same prices as here, and it counts towards your rewards."
• With a takeaway: "There's a link on the bag for ordering direct."

Explain why it matters to them: a business that keeps more of each order is a more secure place to work, and tips on Mosey reach the venue in full with no commission taken.

Quality is still the job

Direct channels reward the places people want to come back to. Keep the food, the packaging and the handover as good as the dining room, reply to ratings, and fix what keeps coming up. A direct customer who has a bad meal has no marketplace to blame but you, and a good one has every reason to come back.

Claim your business free and set up your direct channel, or see pricing first.