How to Replace Foodhub With Direct Online Ordering

Foodhub is a UK-based food delivery marketplace that charges restaurants a fixed monthly subscription rather than per-order commission. Compared with Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, the fixed-fee model can be attractive for restaurants with consistent order volumes.

But even a fixed-fee marketplace has fundamental limitations. On Foodhub, you do not own the customer. You cannot contact them outside of Foodhub's platform. You cannot run your own promotions without using their tools on their terms. And your order volume depends on Foodhub's traffic, algorithm and business decisions.

A direct ordering channel removes those dependencies. Here is how to build one.

Why restaurants move away from Foodhub

Operators who reduce their Foodhub dependency typically do so for one or more of these reasons.

You do not own the customer. When someone orders through Foodhub, Foodhub retains that customer relationship. You receive the order but cannot email, SMS or retarget that person outside the marketplace. Every repeat order has to compete for visibility in Foodhub's listings rather than coming to you directly.

Your brand is secondary. On any marketplace, your restaurant is one listing among dozens in the area. You compete for attention inside someone else's platform, within their design constraints and alongside your competitors. A direct ordering channel is fully branded to you.

Promotional dependency. Running a discount or promotion on Foodhub means using their tools and following their rules. A direct channel lets you run any promotion—a loyalty reward, a bundle deal, a limited-time offer—entirely on your own terms.

Dependency risk. Any change Foodhub makes to its fee structure, algorithm or market strategy affects your order volume directly. Building a direct channel reduces your exposure to any single platform's decisions.

What a direct ordering channel requires

To replace Foodhub as an ordering channel, you need:

  1. A website or ordering page customers can find through Google and direct traffic
  2. An online ordering system that handles menus, payments and order confirmation
  3. A connection to your kitchen—ideally via POS integration so orders land automatically
  4. A marketing plan to drive customers to your own channel

You do not need to build any of this from scratch. Flipdish online ordering provides the full infrastructure as a ready-to-use platform.

Setting up direct online ordering with Flipdish

Flipish provides everything needed for a direct ordering channel:

  • A branded ordering website under your domain, with your menu, photography and design
  • Branded iOS and Android apps under your restaurant's name on the App Store and Google Play
  • Direct POS integration so orders appear in the kitchen automatically—no tablets, no manual entry
  • Payment processing with no per-order commission beyond the platform subscription
  • Customer data capture—email, phone number and ordering history—that you own for future marketing

Setup involves configuring your digital menu, setting delivery zones and fees, connecting payment processing and publishing your site. Flipdish supports operators through each step.

Moving customers from Foodhub to your direct channel

Building the infrastructure is the first step. Getting customers to use it is the second—and in many ways the more important one.

Packaging inserts. Include a card or sticker in every order with your ordering URL and a first-order discount code. Customers who enjoyed their food have every incentive to try ordering directly.

Receipt messaging. Add your ordering URL and an incentive to every printed and digital receipt: “Order directly and save 10%.”

Staff training. When customers call to order, train staff to mention your website. A simple prompt—“You can also order directly on our site and get a discount”—converts a meaningful number of callers over the course of a month.

Google Business Profile. Update your listing with a direct link to your ordering page. Customers searching your restaurant name on Google see this before they find a marketplace listing.

Social media. Link to your ordering page in your Instagram and Facebook bios. End every food post with a prompt to order directly.

Email and SMS. Once you have customer contact details through Flipdish, you can send targeted campaigns. A win-back offer to customers who have not ordered in 30 days, directing them to your direct channel, is a proven tactic for shifting habits.

Push notifications. Customers who download your Flipdish app receive push notifications—new menu items, flash promotions, time-limited deals—with no messaging cost beyond the platform subscription.

Running direct and Foodhub in parallel

You do not have to close your Foodhub listing to launch a direct channel. Most operators run both for a period and gradually shift promotional effort toward the direct channel.

The goal is to change the customer habit. A customer who orders via your website or app once—with saved address, saved payment and a familiar branded experience—is likely to order directly again. Over time, your direct customer base grows while marketplace dependency shrinks.

Many restaurants find that direct order volume grows steadily in the months after launching, particularly as customers accumulate on the loyalty programme and push notification list.

The economics of a direct channel

On Foodhub's fixed-fee model, you pay a predictable monthly amount regardless of order volume. But you still do not own the customer, and every order competes for visibility in a marketplace.

On direct ordering via Flipdish, you pay a platform subscription and retain all order revenue with no per-order deduction. More importantly, every customer who orders directly becomes a customer you own—one you can market to repeatedly at no additional per-message cost.

The compounding value of this customer database is where direct ordering becomes materially more valuable than any marketplace over time. A direct customer who orders 20 times a year, retained with a loyalty reward or birthday offer, is worth substantially more than a marketplace customer you cannot contact between orders.

Self-service kiosks for walk-in trade

For restaurants with a dine-in or collection trade, self-service kiosks are a natural complement to online ordering. Kiosks handle in-store orders without front-of-house staff, increase average order values and integrate with the same POS as your online channel.

A customer ordering at a kiosk can be prompted to download your app for future orders—creating another path to grow your direct customer base.

AI phone ordering

Phone orders remain significant for many takeaways and restaurants. The Flipdish AI Phone Agent answers calls automatically and takes orders using the same menu as every other channel. Orders go straight to the kitchen without staff involvement.

During peak hours when staff are occupied, this ensures no calls are missed and every inbound call converts to an order rather than a lost customer.

How Flipdish helps

Flipish provides the complete infrastructure for a direct ordering channel: branded website, mobile apps, POS, kiosks, AI phone ordering and customer marketing—all from one platform.

Restaurants in the UK and Ireland that move their direct ordering to Flipdish typically see consistent growth in direct order volume over the months that follow, as customers form new habits and the marketing tools build retention.

To learn more about how a direct ordering channel works, visit the Flipdish online ordering page.