- What attracted and led you to joining Bolt Food?
I was excited about the challenge of building the food delivery business in South Africa and have the opportunity to contribute to this growing brand.
- What soft and hard skills do you require to be effective in your role?
Our success will ultimately depend on my ability to build a great local team, so the team is empowered to execute business goals effectively. We are focused on using data to drive our decision making, so a solid understanding of data generation and management is critically important. As new entrants in a competitive market, I would also say a good level of resilience and creativity is needed.
- With Uber Eats and Mr D already operating in all major cities, what do you plan on doing that is different to what your competitors are doing?
Like Bolt e-hailing in South Africa, we compete largely on a competitive value proposition for the customer. In a nutshell, this means that on average, we expect customers to be paying less for the same delivery service on Bolt Food, than they would be paying with our competitors.
- Talk to us about how Bolt food is doing in Cape Town?
We had a relatively slow start in 2020 which was heavily influenced by COVID 19 and the imposed lockdowns; however, this has since transitioned and we are starting to see good growth in customer demand and restaurant partners, resulting in possible expansions to other cities soon.
- What are your plans to launch across the rest of the country?
We expect to launch in Johannesburg soon with other major cities to follow shortly after.
- How do you decide on which city to launch next in?
We look at a number of factors. Population size, density as well as restaurant coverage are important. We also need a good courier supply to ensure quality service, so we look at areas where couriers are operating or could operate.
- What is your value proposition for restaurants?
We aim to support our restaurant partners by bringing them incremental revenue at a really competitive commission rate. We also work with restaurants on campaigns, and are often prepared to co-sponsor menu offers, which can drive massive additional order volumes through their digital kitchen doors.
- How much can customers expect to pay for a delivery fee?
Our delivery fees range between R2 and R6 depending on the customer’s distance from the restaurant.
- Last month you announced that you have recently partnered with Pathway cycles, talk us through why you partnered with the company?
Pathway Cycles operate a fleet of e-bicycles. Partnering with Pathway increased our courier coverage while being aligned with Bolt’s sustainability goals
- What is Bolt Food doing to assist restaurants during this difficult time?
We work closely with our restaurant partners to ensure our partnership is sustainable for both restaurants and couriers. This transparent, localised, high-engagement approach is appreciated by our direct stakeholders.
- What can you tell us about your future plans for Bolt Food?
Cape Town food delivery is just the start. You can expect rapid geographic and vertical expansion to come, as well as some innovative customer, courier and restaurant partner App features.
