On the first day of 2014, an email came to our inbox with “Happy Hungover” in the subject line. In the email body there were tips for “5 Top Hangover Cures.” We did not drink, but the subject line for sure attracted our attention, to see who sent it.

It was from JUST EAT, our choice for takeaway ordering service when in London especially during bad weather and we have no desire to cook. The service is very convenient. We just have to use the internet, visit JUST EAT website, click our postcode, choose a takeaway from more than 1000 menus online and pay by cash or card.

JUST EAT is a fine example of combining food and technology to make life easier for customers.

We are a fan of Food+Tech Connect,  a media and research company that builds a network for innovators transforming the business of food. According to Food+Tech Connect, the food media landscape has done a 180 in the digital age and companies have to experiment with new business models and utilize innovative content distribution to stay in the game.

It turned out that the trend of ordering food online has reached Indonesia’s metropolitan cities. We came across several such services: Klik-Eat.com, Room Service Deliveries, and Foodpanda.  

On the last week of December, when we were gathering to discuss about Omar Niode Foundation’s programs for 2014 we tried foodpanda service as we did not want to break our conversation to go out finding some food.

Foodpanda is a growing online food delivery platform currently active in several regions including Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. As of today, foodpanda along with its affiliated brands, operate in 31 countries across the world, including Indonesia.

In populated cities, such as Jakarta and Bandung, the need for tasty food never come to an end, since some people either are too tired to go outside to purchase food, don’t have time to cook at home or perhaps are fed up with the same food at their work place.

According to its website, foodpanda in Indonesia has managed to cooperate with over 400 restaurants, offering more than 30 cuisines, spread among cities in Indonesia, including Jabodetabek (Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi), Bandung, greater Denpasar on the island of Bali, and Surabaya.

Cuisines listed on foodpanda website means the type (rice dish, seafood, chicken and many more) and the food origin (Western, Middle Eastern, Asia and other regions).

We simply made a visit to the website, and entered our city and area of living. As we ordered from Kemang in South Jakarta, we saw 81 restaurants serving the area, clicked Italian and Pizza and chose Convivium an Italian restaurant popular among young generation.

Once we picked the restaurant and chose spaghetti salmon e crema and lemon tart from the menus, all our order as well as the price and estimated delivery hour showed on the right side of the screen. We then clicked proceed to checkout, filled out customer details, placed our order and received our order details by email.

There were several features that we like on the screen. The first one is foodpanda’s commitment for Fast Delivery, Price Promise and Exclusive Discount. The second one is the Show Only “Halal” option on the screen to filter the restaurants.

Our order arrived in an hour with packaging from the restaurant. They tasted as good as we expected from Convivium, but we did not to imagine a similar ambience like when we are inside the restaurant, after all we are ordering a take away food that came in plastic food containers, not in fancy plates.

The sign of foodpanda that came with the food was only in the food receipt since everything came from the restaurant. Currently foodpanda Indonesia still uses “cash on delivery” payment method with plan for payment through online banking, bank transfer and credit card.

There was a statement from foodpanda a few months ago that we carefully noted: “While the most delivery service are only provided by fast food restaurants, foodpanda includes other vendors and enables customers to also choose healthy menus.”

Leaving aside the 5 Top Hangover Cures sent by JUST EAT as mentioned in the beginning of this post, we relate foodpanda’s announcement of healthy menus to the 2014 No. 1 Food Trends listed by Food + Tech Connect: The emergence of the IndieWoman.

"There’s been an explosion of meal kit subscriptions, which garnered a lot of buzz and investment in 2013. These companies often target young professionals who can afford the $10+ price tag per meal, making them ideal for the “IndieWoman” who has limited time but has the means to spend more on fresh, healthy, easy-to-prepare food."

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Images: Diego Cervo/Shutterstock, foodpanda, Omar Niode Foundation