Munch: The Food-Delivery Startup That Could Have A Recipe For Success

Food start-ups are sensing an open market, and a Zimbabwean start-up may be able to avoid the pitfalls of the industry. Competition has not increased and the idea has struggled to find a financially viable business model, the challenges of food delivery have become more apparent to investors and activity in the space has begun to cool.

Meal delivery start-up, Munch is attempting to disrupt the food retail market with a simple idea: Provide just-in-time products for consumers by taking on the last mile challenge. And they promise to deliver your food in less than 45 minutes.

On-demand food delivery has exploded in the last few years in the developed world, with many start-ups getting initial funding since 2016, according to data firm CB Insights. U.S. restaurants saw $16.5 billion of delivery sales in the year ending June 2017, and non-pizza delivery traffic was up 33 percent in 2015 versus 2012, according to the NPD Group/CREST.

When demand for quality food, convenience and value is high, but the complexity of owning meal production through delivery at scale presents a challenge, so does the ability to stay afloat. Munch, a food-delivery start-up, has been making waves in upmarket Harare. The Start-up has signed more than 28 restaurants in Harare. And is looking to expand the business to other areas. Some of the restaurants are listed below.

The overall issue with the food-delivery model is the high overhead costs associated with a company sourcing, preparing and delivering its own food, or essentially taking on the costs of becoming a restaurant and also delivering the food. But Munch has a clever plan to cover the cost, for a distance of less than 3 km you pay $3, between 3- 5 km you pay $4 and for distances less more than 9 Km you pay $9 and an extra $1 for every kilometer.

Munch follows the Seamless model and avoids taking on too much responsibility for actual food preparation. It may is able to avoid other potential pitfalls, as the food-delivery space is not as crowded in Zimbabwe.