Delivery accounted for 22% of global foodservice spending in 2025, and it continues to grow. More specifically, home delivery keeps gaining ground in the global foodservice market, having risen from 9% in 2019 to 21% in 2024, with a projected share of 24% by 2029. The key question is how suppliers - manufacturers and distributors specializing in foodservice products - can interpret this shift, and which opportunities and B2B marketing strategies emerge from the latest data.
Useful data and insights for suppliers and operators
These data points (source: Euromonitor) offer several useful insights for both foodservice operators and suppliers. Delivery growth is being supported in part by aggressive discounts, loyalty schemes and platform subscriptions, all of which help increase order frequency and the perception of convenience. Over the longer term, however, profitability, the overall customer experience and ease of management remain the factors that matter most.
An important point is that delivery growth should not be seen simply as the expansion of another channel, but as a shift in market share away from eat-in consumption. By 2024, delivery had already reached 21% of the global consumer foodservice market, and the trend suggests a continued erosion of the eat-in share over the coming years.
At the same time, delivery growth is taking place in a context where quick-service and limited-service formats are also performing well - formats more closely tied to fast consumption, affordable pricing and offers that are easier to adapt to changing habits. Consumers tend to reward options that are easier to manage from a spending perspective, more flexible across different occasions, and better suited to informal moments such as snacks, quick meals or individual orders.
Delivery becomes a structural component
If delivery now accounts for more than one fifth of global foodservice spending, it can no longer be treated as a secondary channel. Several sources support this view. For example, the National Restaurant Association (NRA - the largest trade association in the sector worldwide, representing more than 500,000 operators in the United States) describes off-premises as an area where speed of service, a strong customer experience, value offers and loyalty programs are becoming increasingly important, to the point of being true "must-haves" for repeat business. The NRA report "Off-premises restaurant trends" also highlights consumers' interest in combo options (meal bundles) and in offers that expand the menu beyond the traditional lunch and dinner dayparts, opening up broader consumption occasions.
For these reasons, delivery growth reflects the rise of a different operating model, with specific needs that require targeted responses from suppliers.
New needs for operators and suppliers
Both suppliers and restaurant operators can gain a strategic advantage if they adjust their offering to the needs shaped by the delivery channel.
The first need is real profitability. A recent Toast report notes that, for many restaurant groups, delivery and takeaway generate volume and visibility, but also bring platform fees, packaging costs, refunds and greater operational complexity. The same report notes that, in the United Kingdom, profitability remains the main issue for 48% of industry leaders, while inflation continues to affect 80% of operators.
The second factor to consider is the product's ability to maintain quality outside the venue: selecting items that are best suited to delivery, prioritizing those that travel well, using appropriate packaging, separating hot and cold items, packing sauces and condiments separately, and testing in real conditions how the dish arrives after around 30 minutes.
The third factor is workflow simplification. Integrated technologies help manage orders, payments and delivery packaging more efficiently, while also improving data collection and reducing costs. At the same time, foodservice-specific formulations and formats can also make the overall process more efficient by streamlining preparation, assembly, portioning and final delivery.
In light of these changing needs, operators using delivery are looking for suppliers that can help protect margins, quality and operational efficiency.
Balance between ease of preparation and quality
Analysts suggest focusing delivery menus on high-margin items, bestsellers and dishes that can be prepared in advance without compromising the final result. This points to the need to improve delivery margins through smarter menus, data analysis and more efficient operating procedures.
From the supplier's perspective, it becomes increasingly important to offer solutions that help restaurant operators achieve consistent quality while easing pressure on time, staff and margins.
For operators, some targeted solutions are especially relevant:
- portioned or pre-processed ingredients, useful for simplifying preparation and improving process efficiency;
- semi-finished products with strong yield, helping operators strike a better balance between finished product and food cost;
- bases and preparations that reduce complexity, preparation time and variability;
- ready-to-bake or ready-to-heat solutions designed to preserve structure, temperature and consistency even after transport.
This conclusion follows logically from the fact that competitive advantage increasingly depends on leaner menus, transport-friendly products, prep-ahead solutions, efficiency and cost control.
B2B campaigns aimed at restaurateurs
For manufacturers and distributors supplying the restaurant sector, the most credible selling points are those tied to the channel's concrete needs:
- Reducing time and complexity in the kitchen: suppliers can highlight ease of preparation, consistency of results, integration into kitchen workflows and fewer errors.
- Products designed to preserve quality in transit: here, both ingredients and semi-finished products matter, as does packaging. Product stability, temperature retention, texture preservation and the maintenance of sensory characteristics all become relevant.
- Delivery menu profitability: this is a strong lever because margin pressure is a key issue for most restaurant operators. Relevant points include yield, portioning, waste reduction, lower labor impact, stronger food cost control, and the possibility of building bundles and combos to increase average spend.
- Offering products suited to delivery: beyond supplying sound-quality products, suppliers can also focus on more specific aspects, such as the possibility of building dedicated menus with versatile ingredients and preparations that lend themselves to bundles and promotional offers, while still maintaining a sense of quality and value for off-premises consumption.
- Support for commercial development: food and beverage suppliers can provide a range of services to support their B2B clients, such as menu analysis, solutions tailored to takeaway and delivery, marketing materials, and practical guidance to help build a more efficient and appealing offer.
Opportunities for ingredients, semi-finished products and ready-to-bake / ready-to-heat preparations
Delivery rewards streamlined menus, more efficient processes and preparations that arrive in good condition. This creates growing opportunities for:
- semi-finished components that save time and ensure consistency;
- ready or pre-portioned bases that reduce complexity;
- ready-to-bake / ready-to-heat products that support speed and consistency;
- sauces, dressings and toppings designed to be added separately;
- portioned or modular solutions suitable for combo menus, individual meals, shareable options and offers aimed at family households
There is also a broader point linked to consumption trends. According to a Grubhub report, there is strong interest in home delivery for hot, convenient and protein-rich ready meals. This reinforces the idea that delivery is not driven by convenience alone, but also by formats and proposals designed for specific occasions, leaving room for new ingredients, toppings, protein bases, snacks, bowls and functional components.
And what about traditional ingredients?
By "traditional" ingredients we mean products such as cured meats, cheeses, preserves, sauces, culinary bases and other items with a strong territorial identity, linked to the origin of the ingredients, quality certifications or well-established recognition in terms of authenticity and perceived value.
From a delivery perspective, there is still plenty of room for these products, but they need to be repositioned in ways that make them attractive for this channel as well. To be convincing, traditional ingredients also need to show that they perform well within a delivery and off-premises consumption model.
For example, a traditional ingredient can become more appealing to a B2B customer if the supplier shows that it:
- can enhance quality, yield and recognizability in the delivered dish;
- works well in recipes that travel well;
- helps differentiate the menu without making preparation too complex;
- is versatile and can be used across multiple preparations, reducing waste and excess stock;
- can be used for premium additions (options and add-ons that can improve customer satisfaction while also justifying higher spending).
If delivery increases the importance of menu engineering, quality retention and value perception, traditional ingredients must also be presented in relation to these parameters, not only in terms of origin or sensory profile.
Enhancing the offer and B2B communication
For restaurant operators working with delivery, interest in a supplier grows when commercial claims are backed by concrete and easily verifiable elements. What matters is not only the quality of the product itself, but also the ability to show, credibly, the value that product can generate in day-to-day operations.
From this perspective, factors such as data on yield and portioning, clear guidance on preparation times and usage, evidence of product performance during transport, versatility across different recipes or consumption occasions, and materials that help build a more practical, quality-oriented and differentiated offer can all make a difference.
In other words, in delivery-oriented foodservice, suppliers can strengthen their appeal when they position themselves as partners able to provide objective arguments, practical applications and support in developing a more efficient and competitive offer.
