Takeaway delivery service Deliveroo has boosted restaurant and food supplier revenues by €15 million since its launch in Ireland in early 2015, the company says.
The delivery service group commissioned consultants Capital Economics to study its impact on the countries in which it operates.
According to Deliveroo, the report shows that it has added €15 million to the sale of its restaurant clients and their suppliers.
This is due to increased revenues for the restaurants through its service, which brings them new customers, and from those businesses spending extra with their suppliers as a result, the report states.
Deliveroo allows customers to order food through its smartphone app. The company offers its services to many restaurants that otherwise would not offer deliveries to customers.
Deliveroo has 430 restaurant customers in Ireland. The company says the Capital Economics analysis shows it has hired an additional 170 people as a result of the extra business that the service generates.
The group's regional manager Liam Cox said Deliveroo had grown every year since its launch in Ireland.
“Over the past 12 months alone orders through the platform have increased 84 per cent in Dublin and 130 per cent in Cork,” he said.
He added that since the company commissioned the economic impact report four months ago, the number of delivery riders working for it has doubled to about 1,000.
Noticeable impact
Jack Kirwan of Dublin restaurant Sprout and Co said that Deliveroo has had a noticeable impact on the business since he signed up to it several weeks ago.
“It is early days, but it has been working very well for us,” Mr Kirwan said at the weekend.
He added that Deliveroo was particularly suited to the food offered by his restaurant, but suggested that it may not suit every outlet.
Deliveroo riders are part of the so-called “gig economy”, which means they are self-employed and work casual hours. The company has defended this saying that riders can determine their own working hours.
However, the gig economy has come under increasing fire for the poor security of employment, and the terms and conditions it offers workers.
A spokesman for Siptu, Ireland’s largest trade union, which represents service sector workers, said it was pushing for greater protections for such workers.
Deliveroo said that it would support 3,000 jobs in Ireland within two years if it continued to grow at the rate it had since its launch here.
