Zomato has launched its online ordering services in South Africa.
After making strides in the restaurant search and discovery market in South Africa, Zomato is now eyeing an even larger chunk of South Africa’s ever-growing food and beverage sector.
Each month, more than 13 000 calls are made to restaurants in South Africa through the Zomato app, of which over 9 000 are made in Johannesburg alone. Zomato lists more than 10 000 restaurants in South Africa, with over 200 000 user-generated ratings and over 100 000 reviews.
The restaurant industry in South Africa is growing at a steady pace, with revenues estimated to touch $7-billion in 2015 according to industry reports. South Africans are increasingly working longer hours, and the busier schedules have had a positive impact on the home delivery and takeaway market, making it the ideal next step in Zomato’s expansion plans for its online ordering business.
Zomato already operates its online ordering business in Dubai and Melbourne as well as 14 cities in India.
Zomato set up operations in South Africa in April 2013, and has since become the de-facto choice for anyone looking to eat out, or to order in from restaurants. Zomato is used by consumers globally to discover, rate and review restaurants, as well as create their own personal network of foodies for trusted recommendations. Spanning 23 countries, Zomato helps over 90-million monthly visitors search for great places to eat at.
Building on its powerful search and discovery product, Zomato will now allow users in Johannesburg to order food online for home delivery from a selection of over 150 restaurants, including Burgerack, Stella Luna, Simply Asia, Sandwich Baron, and Founder’s Grill, to name a few. Consumers can Order Online using either the ZomatoApp (available on iOS and Android) or the web site and will soon be able to place orders online for takeaway as well. The service will be rolled out in other cities in South Africa in the near future.
The Gurgaon, India based startup, which has to date raised $223-million in funds from Info Edge India, Sequoia Capital, Vy Capital and Temasek Holdings, is targeting 250 orders per day across South Africa by the end of the current fiscal. A significant portion of these orders is expected to come from Johannesburg.