The food delivery business needs to solve an array of issues in order to achieve profitability. Fundamentally, a lack of product differentiability and a low barrier to market entry drives the margin low to non-existent. But as a consumer, what frustrates me the most is the amount of time spent to go through the list of seemingly endless choices, only to be presented with a delivery fee at the end that is more than I am willing to pay, and have to cancel the order altogether.

From the choice of cuisine down to the specific menu item, a customer can easily waste more than 15 minutes just to go through the options, read the reviews, check the prices, and get a delivery time estimate to see what strikes her fancy and matches her budget. Even those who crave novelty and variability in their meals would find the process annoying if they have to do it over and over again. Yes, one can save their favorite restaurant if they have a user account with the delivery company. And even so, this would not work for a user who wants a slightly different meal but without the need to go through the same ordeal every time.

So all this rambling is meant to suggest a slightly different business model - one that resembles a cafeteria delivery service. A cafeteria offers a slightly different menu every day but at the same level of consistency and price point that consumers do not have to worry about. They can simply subscribe to the cafeteria and select specific days for food delivery - without actually needing to go through the menu every time.

For this to work requires a high level of trust from the customers on the kitchen operations, but it can also create a more predictable revenue stream for both the restaurants and the delivery companies. So experienced and established chefs may find this option more appealing than the current model.