We all know the food delivery industry has accelerated over the last few years, and there’s opportunity out there on many levels. Pronto is a fantastic example of how a locally run marketplace can be a real success, with restaurants and customers loving the idea of using a localised platform that’s fairer for restaurants.

Launching Pronto

Pronto was born out of the need for local food deliveries during the pandemic, with many restaurants having never placed any focus on doing takeaway food. Pronto acted as a lifeline for many restaurants in Ilkley, who could continue to get food to their customers when their doors were closed.

To make this happen the founders needed to be able to set-up a fully branded marketplace with a seamless online ordering system, and do it quickly with pressure of the pandemic taking its toll on restaurants. They went from concept to launch in just a month by using Redbox. A white-labelled solution meant the marketplace was ready to go with the Pronto stamp on it in very little time. Mark, the co-founder, said: “I wanted to set up a food ordering app for our town as lots of restaurants didn’t really do takeaway. I thought it might be a difficult process but after speaking with the guys at Redbox it seemed pretty straight forward. Thankfully it was and with the support they provided I got up to speed with the system in a day or two, and then just started adding restaurants.”

Managing Pronto

Pronto can rest assured that the platform will function smoothly and continue to stay ahead of the game with regular updates. A low maintenance set-up and ongoing system development at Redbox means that marketplace owners can spend their time supporting restaurants and working on promotion and marketing, as opposed to getting wrapped up in the technical details. A recipe for success that encourages growth, and allows even the least techy out there to manage a marketplace platform and utilise powerful technology.

Mark stated that “the full backend system means that I can give logins to restaurants so they can manage their own menus. This was a big draw as on other platforms they would have to go through call centres which can take up to two weeks to make any alterations or mark things as Sold Out. The app updates pretty much instantly when a restaurant makes a change, which they all love.”

Favourite Features?

On top of all of the functionality of the marketplace itself, the marketing features have been a real benefit for Pronto. Once a customer base has been built up, the Redbox marketing function allows you to create email and push notification campaigns to send out to your customers and keep them coming back. Pronto let their customers know about new restaurants, promotional discounts and new menu items. A key feature for Pronto is the ability to segment; “Being able to target particular types of customers using the segmentation feature is brilliant, it means we can let the pizza lovers know there’s a new pizza place on Pronto, or encourage another order from customers who haven’t placed an order in a while by letting them know there’s a discount at a restaurant near them”. They can see how these campaigns perform by checking the reporting dashboard – so they know what’s working and what’s not! Retaining customers is even more important than acquiring them.

What do Restaurants Think?

“The set up was effortless, the app is very functional, support is 24/7 and the commission is incredibly competitive. It’s achieved for us exactly what we wanted and will continue to run along side the restaurant being open” – Piccolino

“Once all set-up its effortless to make menu changes in the back-office and if you having trouble, the customer service provided by Pronto is personal, fast and highly effective” – Host

“La Pazzeria is a very young business and we to use Pronto from day one. It’s a very easy to use platform for restaurants and customers. It has been a great help for the take off of the business. They are a very helpful with any problems 24/7” – La Pazzeria

Just a few of the many fantastic reviews of Pronto that show how useful a locally managed marketplace can be for restaurants.

Pronto Moving Forward

Many of the restaurants onboarded onto the Ilkley based takeaway service continued to do takeaway after they re-opened, realising that this second revenue channel made a lot of sense. This solid foundation of restaurants and repeat customers means that Pronto continues to be a part of the Ilkley community, and are looking to expand the areas they cover. The founders say they have “now got about 25 restaurants on our Redbox Marketplace and they love it, and customers give us lots of positive feedback about their ordering experience. Love it!” As the Redbox platform continues to improve and innovate, and Pronto continues to provide excellent an service to their customers, the potential for growth remains high.  

Check them out here (use LS29 1AA as an Ilkley postcode if you want to see their selection of restaurants): pronto.co.uk

If you would like to find out more about setting up your brand’s digital ordering service drop us an email: sales@redbox.systems or give us a call on +44 (0)1134660024

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