Actor Suniel Shetty has been roped in as a brand ambassador and investor in a new venture, ‘Waayu’, a food delivery app, which aims to provide customers with affordable and timely food, hotels and restaurants in Mumbai. The app claims to be 15% to 20% less expensive than aggregators like Swiggy or Zomato and address problems persistent with current online food delivery services including high commissions, unfair rankings or bad reviews.
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Founded by Anirudha Kotgire and Mandar Lande of Destek HORECA, Waayu aims to help hotels and restaurants to log orders for food delivery without any commission.
The app, which is backed by Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) started its services in Mumbai and has onboarded over a 1000 restaurants across the city. The app’s cost is Rs. 1,000 per month, later slated to increase to Rs. 2,000. The team has also planned to expand the services to other cities later and to connect to the government-backed platform Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
“WAAYU app will transform the online food delivery industry by embracing a commission-free model. We have 16 revenue streams, but not all will kick in from the beginning. There is no per-order commission,” said Kotgire.
As per Waayu’s website, “It is the industry’s very own food delivery app with zero commission charges designed especially by and for restaurants for better profits, visibility, and freedom like never before!”
How to use Waayu app?
The app is available in two versions- Waayu Delivery Partner for delivery executives and Waayu for customers. As a customer, you can follow these steps to use the newly launched app:
1. Download the Waayu app from the Google Play Store or visit the website waayu.app on browser.
2. Sign up to the app using phone number or email address.
3. Enter location.
4. Browse through the restaurants and menus. Select the dishes you want to order and add them to the cart. You can even customise your order with preferences. Proceed to checkout.
5. Pay the bill either online or choose cash on delivery. Confirm the order and wait for the confirmation message from the restaurant. You can also track your order status on the app or website.
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6. Receive your order from the delivery personnel and enjoy your food.
Shetty has already invested in several startups in the past. Last year, he invested an undisclosed sum in a fitness startup Aquatein in February.