A direct-delivery alternative to Uber Eats and Mr D
An Uber Eats alternative for restaurants in South Africa is a direct ordering and delivery setup you own: your brand, your customer data, no marketplace take-rate. doorbell provides WhatsApp and branded ordering plus dispatch so you can move volume off aggregators.
That doesn’t mean leaving the marketplaces. For most restaurants the answer is marketplace + direct: keep the apps where they bring you new customers, and give your regulars a channel you own — a direct delivery app under your brand.
Marketplace + direct, not marketplace vs direct
Marketplaces are still useful for discovery. This page is for the owned channel — when you want the order, the brand experience and the customer relationship to stay yours.
| Marketplace channel | Direct channel with doorbell |
|---|---|
| Customers belong to the marketplace | You own your customer relationships |
| Commission on every order | Fixed per-store platform fee, no commission on direct orders |
| Your brand sits next to competitors | Fully branded customer experience |
| Marketing through the marketplace | WhatsApp, website & mobile apps you control |
| Generic ordering experience | Built around your menu and stores |
When marketplaces are useful
- Discovery — customers who don’t know your brand yet find you while browsing
- Reach — you appear in front of people who already have the app installed
- New areas and new stores — a fast way to create early demand
- Marketplace-first customers — some customers will always prefer ordering from an aggregator
When direct ordering becomes valuable
- Repeat customers — people who already know and choose your brand don’t need a marketplace to find you
- Growing order volume — as volume grows, commission on every order grows with it
- Multiple stores — one owned channel serves every store instead of commission at each one
- Your own marketing — specials, promotions and loyalty sent straight to your customers
- Customer data — order history and contact details stay in your business
What actually changes between the two channels
Customer relationship
On a marketplace, the customer relationship sits with the platform. On a direct channel, the customer orders from you, and their order history and contact details stay with your business.
Brand experience
Marketplaces show your menu in their layout, alongside competitors. A direct channel is your brand from the first tap to the delivery confirmation.
Ordering channel
Marketplace orders arrive through the marketplace app. Direct orders arrive through your own website, your own iOS and Android apps, and WhatsApp.
WhatsApp ordering
Your regular customers already use WhatsApp. doorbell turns that into an ordering channel: send specials and product carousels in chat, and the customer checks out on your branded page, pays and tracks the delivery — no app download needed. See how WhatsApp ordering works for restaurants.
Managed delivery
Direct ordering only works if the delivery works. doorbell provides the delivery side as a managed service, so you don’t need to run driver fleet management yourself:
- Driver dispatch and managed drivers
- Live tracking for customers
- Delivery confirmation
- Customer care, including proactive contact when a delivery is delayed
Within 5 km, a completed delivery costs R50: the customer pays R45 and the store contributes R5. See what’s included in direct ordering + managed delivery.
The hybrid model
The practical approach is to run both channels, each doing the job it’s best at:
Keep the marketplaces
Stay listed where marketplaces bring you new customers.
Launch your direct channel
Branded web ordering, apps and WhatsApp, with managed delivery behind them.
Invite repeat customers to order direct
Use your packaging, your stores and WhatsApp specials to tell regulars about your own channel.
Measure the channel mix
Track how much of your volume moves to the direct channel and what each channel costs you.
What would moving repeat orders direct change?
Enter your own figures. The calculator doesn’t assume any marketplace’s commission — use the rate from your own marketplace agreement.
Illustrative only, not a quote. It uses the figures you enter plus doorbell’s published pricing, and assumes deliveries within 5 km. It excludes marketplace delivery and service fees, promotions, packaging, VAT and differences in what customers pay for delivery on each channel.
For franchise groups
For franchise groups, marketplace fees become commission across every store, every month. One owned channel for the whole network changes that maths — and it can be tested with a 30-day pilot on 1–3 branches before any wider decision. See the case studies for how a live pilot is measured.
Most restaurants start with direct ordering + managed delivery (R1,000 per store per month), then add WhatsApp ordering for restaurants or a branded restaurant ordering app as the owned channel grows.
Move a slice of volume onto a channel you own.