How to Replace Foodhub With Direct Online Ordering
Can restaurants replace Foodhub with direct ordering?
Yes. Restaurants that rely on Foodhub for delivery orders can set up a branded direct ordering channel — a website, app, or both — allowing customers to order directly without going through a marketplace. Most restaurants do not close their Foodhub listing immediately but shift their best customers to the direct channel over time, reducing fee exposure and improving margin.
This article explains why restaurants consider moving away from Foodhub, how to set up direct ordering, and what to look for in a platform.
What is Foodhub?
Foodhub is a UK-based food delivery marketplace. It competes with Just Eat and Uber Eats but with a different pricing model — restaurants pay a monthly subscription fee rather than a per-order commission percentage. This made it attractive to operators looking for a lower-cost marketplace alternative.
Despite lower headline costs compared to the major platforms, Foodhub still creates the same fundamental commercial problem: your restaurant sits on a marketplace customers can browse for alternatives. Customer contact details belong to Foodhub, not to your restaurant. You cannot follow up after an order, run targeted promotions, or build a direct loyalty relationship.
That limitation is why restaurants across the UK are increasingly setting up direct ordering channels alongside — or instead of — their Foodhub listings.
Why restaurants consider leaving Foodhub
Customer data belongs to the platform
When a customer orders through Foodhub, their name, email, order history, and contact details are stored by Foodhub. The restaurant sees order details but cannot access customer contact information for future marketing. If a customer orders from you every week for a year through Foodhub and then stops, you have no way to reach them.
A direct ordering channel changes this. Orders placed through your own website or app give you the customer’s data. You can send a loyalty offer, ask for a review, or share a new menu item.
Brand exposure on a competitive marketplace
On Foodhub, your restaurant sits on a list alongside every competitor in your area. Customers browse by price, cuisine, or rating. The decision to order from you is made in a context designed by Foodhub. Your own website or branded app puts your restaurant in front of customers on your own terms.
Fixed costs regardless of volume
Foodhub’s subscription model means you pay whether the orders come in or not. During slow periods, the fixed cost per order rises. A direct ordering platform may work out cheaper per order at lower volumes and provides no commission drag at higher volumes.
No loyalty relationship
Customers who order exclusively through Foodhub are loyal to the platform, not to your restaurant. They will switch to a competitor that appears higher in the list or runs a promotion. Direct ordering channels allow you to build genuine loyalty — stamp cards, points, exclusive offers — that keeps customers coming back specifically to you.
Steps to replace Foodhub with direct ordering
1. Choose a direct ordering platform
The first step is selecting a platform that provides branded online ordering. Key criteria:
- A branded website and mobile app your customers can download
- Integration with your POS so orders arrive in the kitchen automatically, without manual entry
- Loyalty and marketing tools to build repeat ordering behaviour
- Menu management you can control without technical assistance
Flipdish is a restaurant technology platform used by thousands of restaurants across the UK and Ireland. It provides branded websites and mobile apps alongside a full POS system, customer loyalty tools, and AI marketing automation. Orders placed through the direct channel land in the kitchen the same way as any in-person order.
2. Build your ordering channel
Once you have a platform, setup involves four main areas:
Menu: Most platforms provide onboarding support to get your menu live. Flipdish’s team works with restaurants to set up categories, descriptions, item photos, and upsell prompts during onboarding.
Branding: Apply your logo, colours, and brand imagery. Branded channels perform meaningfully better than generic ones — customers who see a professional, branded experience on a restaurant’s own app are more likely to download and use it again.
Delivery configuration: Define your delivery area, minimum order value, delivery fee, and estimated times. Start conservatively and adjust based on operational capacity.
Payments: Configure online payment so orders are paid at checkout. This eliminates cash-handling overhead for delivery and reduces no-shows for collection orders.
3. Move your Foodhub customers across
The most effective migration tactics:
In-bag flyers: Include a card in every order bag explaining that customers get a discount or free delivery if they order directly next time. This is the highest-impact, lowest-cost action most restaurants can take. Customers who are already happy with your food are the easiest to convert.
Update your Google listing: Make sure your Google Business profile links directly to your ordering channel. Customers searching for your restaurant specifically — rather than browsing Foodhub — should arrive at your website first.
Counter promotion: Train staff to mention the direct ordering app to in-store customers who ask about delivery. A simple prompt — “did you know you can order directly from our app and get free delivery on your first order?” — converts well.
Email or SMS: If you have any existing customer contact details, a single message explaining the switch with an incentive can move a meaningful chunk of orders.
4. Run both channels in parallel initially
Most restaurants run their direct ordering channel alongside their Foodhub listing during a transition period. If the direct channel does not grow as expected, you have not lost your existing revenue. In practice, restaurants that actively promote their direct channel see it grow consistently over the first few months.
As direct order volume builds, you can make a commercial decision about whether to maintain the Foodhub listing, reduce your marketing spend on it, or remove it entirely. Many restaurants find that after 6 to 12 months of active promotion, the direct channel has grown to the point where Foodhub’s contribution no longer justifies its fixed cost.
5. Retain direct customers with loyalty
Once a customer has ordered directly from you, the goal is preventing them from drifting back to Foodhub next time.
A loyalty programme — stamps, points, or cashback on direct orders — gives customers a financial reason to use your channel. Flipdish’s platform includes loyalty and AI marketing tools that automate this. Customers who have not ordered for a set period receive an automated win-back message. Customers who reach a loyalty threshold get an automatic reward. All of this runs without manual intervention from your team.
What to look for in a direct ordering platform
| Criterion | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Branded app and website | Customers need a credible, professional alternative to the marketplace |
| POS integration | Orders should arrive in the kitchen automatically |
| Loyalty tools | Direct ordering grows faster when customers have a reason to return |
| Marketing automation | Saves time managing re-engagement campaigns |
| Multi-location support | Essential for restaurants with more than one site |
| UK market focus | Local market knowledge speeds setup and support |
How Flipdish supports the transition
Flipdish is built for exactly this use case. Restaurants moving away from Foodhub get:
- A branded website and app for direct orders
- Integration with the Flipdish POS system or compatible third-party systems
- Customer loyalty and automated marketing through AI marketing tools
- An AI phone agent to handle phone orders automatically during busy periods
- Self-service kiosks for in-restaurant ordering where relevant
Flipdish works with restaurant operators through the transition — providing technology alongside practical advice on migrating customer behaviour and growing the direct channel effectively in the UK and Irish market.
How quickly does direct ordering replace marketplace revenue?
There is no single answer. It depends on how actively a restaurant promotes its direct channel and how strong its existing customer base is. Restaurants that run migration campaigns — in-bag flyers, Google listing updates, counter promotion — typically see the direct channel generating a meaningful share of delivery orders within the first month.
Takeaways with strong local regulars tend to see faster migration because those customers are already choosing the restaurant specifically rather than browsing a marketplace. They are often happy to order directly once they know the option exists and there is a small incentive to do so.
Restaurants in more competitive areas with a less sticky customer base may take longer but still see steady direct order growth if the channel is well-presented and the loyalty incentive is clear.
The economics of going direct
To understand the potential benefit, consider a restaurant taking 150 Foodhub orders per week. If the average order value is £22 and Foodhub charges a monthly subscription of £500, the platform cost alone is around £8.50 per week. But there is also the commercial cost of not owning those customers — no data, no re-marketing, no loyalty.
If the same 150 orders came through a direct ordering platform at a monthly subscription of comparable cost, the restaurant would own those customer relationships. The loyalty programme and automated re-marketing would compound over time, increasing the frequency of repeat orders without additional spend.
This is the model Flipdish is built to enable.
Summary
Replacing Foodhub with direct online ordering is straightforward for most UK restaurants. The core steps are:
- Choose a direct ordering platform — Flipdish is the strongest option for UK and Irish restaurants
- Build your branded website and app
- Migrate existing customers with in-bag flyers and Google listing updates
- Run both channels in parallel while direct ordering grows
- Use loyalty and AI marketing to retain direct customers
Explore direct ordering with Flipdish or talk to the team about what the transition would look like for your restaurant.