By Arra B. Francia
Reporter
MCDONALD’S Philippines is tapping the online food delivery service of Grab Philippines in a bid to meet the rising consumer demand for quick and efficient food delivery.
Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), the exclusive franchisee of the McDonald’s brand in the Philippines, signed a contract with GrabFood on Tuesday to cement their partnership for delivery services.
Under the partnership, GrabFood will serve as GADC’s end-to-end food delivery app partner. GrabFood delivery will be available for more than 60 McDonald’s stores in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, extending more than a thousand riders under GrabFood’s platform for GADC’s use.
Both parties look to further increase the number of McDonald’s stores with GrabFood to at least 100 hubs by the end of the year.
GADC Managing Director Margot B. Torres said the company has seen double-digit growth in delivery services over the last three years, spurring the need for more riders.
“This gives us flexibility to meet that demand from our customers…And deliver the promise of bringing McDonald’s within certain minutes. (This demand) really spreads out the need for riders, which could be costly for us,” Ms. Torres said in a press conference in Taguig on Tuesday.
Grab Philippines President Brian P. Cu said this partnership is in line with the company’s goal to ramp up its food delivery business.
“With food delivery as one of our most important business focuses for 2019, we will continue to bring innovative and rewarding food experiences to our customers, while helping our partners reap the benefits of participating in the Philippines’ digital economy,” Mr. Cu said.
GrabFood Philippines Head EJ dela Vega said the partnership with McDonald’s will bring in additional revenues.
“Restaurant-partners can expect incremental orders and revenue on top of the in-store visits they receive,” Mr. Dela Vega said.
Ms. Torres said the partnership with GrabFood will complement GADC’s existing in-house delivery riders.
“With the growth, we’re very bullish about the delivery business. (There will continue to be a need to expand) our in-house delivery model. We confidently say that because that’s what we see in other markets,” Ms. Torres explained.
This is also part of GADC’s efforts to upgrade their stores with the use of technology. The company launched in October last year its first NXTGEN store, which comes with self-ordering kiosks to facilitate customer’s ordering experience. The company now has 25 NXTGEN stores in the country.
