Johannesburg – The Uber Eats and Smart Kitchen Co. partnership has resulted in astonishing success since it was launched in South Africa, which could result in potential job creation.
Head of Grocery and New Verticals for Uber Eats Sub-Saharan Africa Cikida Gcali-Mabusela says that the virtual mall epitomises Uber Eats’ determination to be an enabling partner for delivery people and offers a highly diversified platform that affords them a range of ways to make a living or supplement their income.
"We are proud of this partnership with Smart Kitchen Co., a youth-founded and youth-led start-up that was founded in 2017 by Jasper Meyers. Supporting youth entrepreneurship is at the heart of our operations, and through this partnership, Smart Kitchen can potentially increase its staff count from 45 to 200 due to the increased demand provided through the Uber Eats partnership," said Gcali-Mabusela.
According to the platform, the store works the same way as any other merchant on the Uber Eats app but offers a unique grocery shopping experience that includes many specialty items, such as dairy and meat alternatives, which were identified as having product selection gaps in many other online grocery offerings.
They further said that the digital storefront offers browse and search functionalities to provide a user-friendly shopping experience and an innovative "bundles" feature that lets shoppers buy a pre-selected range of items combined around specific events or themes like "Movie Night", "Brekky Bundle" and "Cleaning Bundle."
"Already, the Uber Eats Market is generating a lot of positive noise in consumer circles, and the store has enjoyed extremely positive shopper feedback, especially around the very short delivery times, which are under 15 minutes for more than 60% of people shopping at the Uber Eats Market," said Gcali-Mabusela.
She said that Uber Eats has long recognised the potential that is inherent in the so-called ‘quick commerce’ space to extrapolate its successful food delivery model and harness its strong infrastructure and vast network of delivery people to provide an expanded set of sought-after delivery services.
"The Uber Eats Market positions us to not only leverage the explosive worldwide growth of quick commerce but also to drive its adoption in Africa," she says.
"The stellar success of the initiative validates our long-held belief in the value that we can unlock, for consumers and delivery people, by aggressively expanding into new verticals," added Gcali-Mabusela.
According to Uber Eats, within a week of its launch, the online store became the number one performing non-restaurant outlet on the Uber Eats app, achieving an astonishing 149% month-on-month growth in September 2022.
Gcali-Mabusela said that Uber Eats has already scaled up the model, rolling out nine new online store presences nationwide with Smart Kitchen Co. and saying that there are plans to have Uber Eats Markets operating in over 30 locations across South Africa by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
She added that this rapid expansion of the Market stores, coupled with Uber Eats’ ongoing commitment to adding more businesses to its platform, is good news for delivery people across the country.
"While food delivery will always be in high demand, we know that the best way to maximise your earnings is through a diverse range of income-generating activities, and the Uber Eats app is fast becoming the preferred platform for delivery people in South Africa to be able to achieve that income diversification and business growth," she said.
The Star