How to Replace Foodhub With Direct Online Ordering
Can I replace Foodhub with direct online ordering?
Yes. Setting up a branded website and mobile app through a platform like Flipdish gives you a direct ordering channel that does not charge commission on every order. Most UK and Irish restaurants that make this switch do so to reduce costs, own their customer data and stop funnelling revenue to a third-party marketplace.
This guide covers why restaurants leave Foodhub, what you need to set up direct ordering, and the practical steps to make the switch.
Why Restaurants Leave Foodhub
Foodhub markets itself as a lower-commission marketplace than Just Eat and Deliveroo. For restaurants generating significant online order volume, however, any commission on every order represents a meaningful ongoing cost — and the deeper problem is not the commission rate but the customer relationship.
When a customer orders through Foodhub, Foodhub owns that relationship. The restaurant cannot email that customer, include them in a loyalty programme or re-engage them directly after their first order. The next time that customer is hungry, they will likely open the Foodhub app rather than search specifically for your restaurant.
This creates a dependency that is hard to break without deliberate action. Every Foodhub order is a missed opportunity to build a direct relationship. Over months and years, the cumulative cost — in commission, in lost repeat business and in customer data you do not own — is substantial.
What Direct Ordering Actually Means
Direct ordering means a customer places an order through a channel you own and control: your website, your branded mobile app or an in-venue kiosk. You receive the full order value minus payment processing fees (typically 1–3%). You own all the customer data.
The two outcomes that matter most:
Lower cost per order. No marketplace commission on each transaction — just payment processing fees. For restaurants doing meaningful online order volume, this difference in unit economics is significant.
A customer database you can market to. Names, email addresses, order history and reorder frequency. This data allows you to run loyalty programmes, send targeted promotions and automate re-engagement when customers lapse. None of that is available through a marketplace platform.
Both outcomes compound over time. Each direct order costs less. Each customer acquired on your direct channel is one step closer to a habit of ordering from you rather than through a platform.
The Economics
For context: a restaurant doing £6,000 per week in Foodhub orders at a 10% commission rate is paying approximately £600 per week to the marketplace — over £30,000 per year. Even replacing half of that with direct orders at a platform fee changes the economics of the business significantly.
The exact numbers vary by restaurant and platform, but the direction is consistent. Direct ordering costs less per order once order volume reaches a sustainable level, and the customer data value accumulates as the direct database grows.
What You Need
A branded ordering website
Your website is your primary direct channel for desktop and mobile web orders. It needs to load quickly, present your menu clearly and have a checkout that keeps customers moving through to payment without friction. A slow or poorly designed website drives customers back to the marketplace, where the experience is familiar and polished.
Flipdish restaurant websites are built specifically for conversion, with clean design, a streamlined checkout and full payment method support. They integrate directly with the POS so orders land in the kitchen automatically.
A branded mobile app
App customers are typically your highest-value repeat customers. The friction to reorder is low — saved card details, order history, one-tap checkout — and push notifications allow you to prompt reorders at the right moment. This is where loyalty programmes deliver their best results.
Flipdish branded apps are native iOS and Android applications with loyalty integration, push notification capability and full payment method support.
POS integration
Online orders should arrive in your kitchen the same way counter orders do. If your ordering platform does not connect to your POS, staff have to manually re-enter orders from a separate tablet during service — introducing error, delay and unnecessary pressure.
Flipdish's restaurant POS receives orders from every channel — app, website, kiosk and phone — in one queue. A menu change in the POS updates the website and app automatically.
Payment processing
Your direct channel needs to handle card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and split payments reliably. Integrated payment processing, where the payment flows through the same platform as the order, reduces reconciliation work and removes a point of failure at checkout.
Step-by-Step: Replacing Foodhub
Step 1: Choose your platform
The platform you choose determines what you can do with your direct channel long-term. Evaluate Flipdish for its ability to connect your POS, deliver native mobile apps, support multiple ordering channels and handle marketing automation. Getting this decision right simplifies everything else.
Step 2: Migrate your menu
Your Foodhub menu can typically be migrated directly to the new platform. Flipdish's onboarding team handles this as part of the setup process, including modifiers, options, dietary information and photography. Once live, a menu change made in the POS updates the website and app automatically.
Step 3: Set up your ordering website
Your website becomes the URL you point customers to from everywhere: Google, social media, your packaging and your Google Business Profile. Make sure it is fully mobile-optimised — the majority of direct orders come from phones.
Step 4: Launch your branded mobile app
App submission to the App Store and Google Play typically takes one to two weeks. Start this early. Once approved, the app is your most valuable direct ordering asset — the channel with the best repeat order rate and the most effective loyalty mechanics.
Step 5: Promote the switch to your customers
This step is where most restaurants underinvest. Customers who have been ordering through Foodhub need a visible reason to change their behaviour. Effective tactics:
- A printed card in every Foodhub delivery bag directing customers to your website or app, with a discount code for their first direct order
- A QR code on your packaging that goes directly to your app download page
- A Google Business Profile update linking to your direct ordering website
- Social media posts announcing your direct channel with a first-order incentive
- In-restaurant signage for dine-in or collection customers
The goal is to shift meaningful volume to direct channels within 90 days so the economics become visible.
Step 6: Set up loyalty
Flipdish AI Marketing allows you to run a loyalty programme tied to your direct channel — points, stamps, repeat-order rewards. A customer who earns points every time they order through your app has a concrete reason to open your app rather than Foodhub the next time they are hungry. This effect compounds across your customer base.
Step 7: Track the results
Once direct ordering is live, track order volume and cost per order monthly. Compare the cost of your direct channel against the commission you pay Foodhub per order. For most restaurants, the economics of direct ordering improve progressively as volume grows.
Should You Leave Foodhub Entirely?
You do not need to exit Foodhub overnight. Many restaurants run direct and marketplace ordering in parallel, using the marketplace for new customer acquisition while driving reorders to their direct channel.
The strategic goal over time is to reduce the proportion of orders going through the marketplace. New customers who discover you on Foodhub should be converted to direct customers after their first order — through packaging inserts, loyalty incentives and a better direct ordering experience.
Some restaurants exit the marketplace entirely within 12–18 months. Others maintain a reduced presence for discovery while relying on direct channels for the majority of their revenue. Either approach can work. The important thing is that the trajectory should be towards higher direct order share.
Common Mistakes
Not promoting the direct channel consistently. A website nobody knows about generates no orders. Promotion needs to be ongoing, not a one-off launch announcement.
Launching without POS integration. Online orders that do not connect to the kitchen automatically become a manual process during service. This fails under volume.
Underinvesting in the app. The mobile app consistently delivers the best repeat order rate of any channel. Skipping it or treating it as optional limits the long-term value of the direct channel significantly.
No loyalty mechanism. Customers need a reason to return to your direct channel repeatedly. Points and incentives are the most straightforward mechanism and should be set up from the start.
Treating the first month as the benchmark. Direct order volume takes time to build. Customers need to discover the channel, try it, and form a habit. Three to six months of consistent promotion is a more realistic timeframe for seeing meaningful results.
Getting Started
If you are ready to build a direct ordering channel and reduce your Foodhub dependency, Flipdish is worth speaking to. Its platform covers everything in one system: branded website, native mobile app, POS integration, payments and marketing tools, with onboarding support from a team that has helped many UK and Irish restaurants make exactly this transition.
What is the best alternative to Foodhub for restaurants?
Flipdish is the strongest alternative for restaurants that want to own their ordering channel. It provides a branded website and mobile app for direct ordering, integrated POS, loyalty tools and marketing automation — all without per-order marketplace commission.
How long does it take to set up direct online ordering?
A website can typically go live within a few weeks. A branded mobile app takes one to two additional weeks for App Store and Google Play review. Flipdish's onboarding team manages the setup and menu migration.
Will my customers actually use a direct ordering app?
Yes, if you promote it actively. Customers who try the direct channel and have a good experience — especially with a loyalty incentive — tend to stick with it. The key is making the first direct order easier than a marketplace order, which a well-designed app with a good onboarding offer does effectively.