The Future of Food Tech Innovation
“We are moving towards a time when anyone, anywhere can order anything,” according to Amanda Roche Kelly, Managing Director of JUST EAT in Ireland. “Consumers are looking for quick, innovative ways to order foods.”
JUST EAT is Ireland’s leading takeaway delivery service connecting over 1,800 restaurants and over 30 different cuisine types with customers throughout the country. Furthermore, JUST EAT has also become one of Ireland’s fastest growing, most exciting and dynamic technology companies. The JUST EAT app has been downloaded over 700,000 times since it launched in October 2013, it is the number 1 app under ‘Food & Drink’ in the App Store in Ireland and has been consistently since launch.
“We are not just an app, we are an eco-system,” she pointed out. As Managing Director, Amanda Roche Kelly has been directly responsible for driving the company’s growth and developing the use of technology to reach JUST EAT customers in new ways.
The Irish takeaway food sector is booming. It currently provides 29,100 jobs and accounts for 57% of the restaurant market. Takeaway food is expected to grow by 17% by 2020 with online expanding by 40-60%, driven by mobile technology. JUST EAT is at the forefront of this technological development and is helping to fuel growth. With 79% of customer in the 18-35 years age bracket, market growth is likely to continue in the long-term.
Going forward, JUST EAT in Ireland and globally is concentrating on three key areas. It is growing a Food Tech ecosystem by working with the largest technology companies, such as Facebook, to connect with consumers. JUST EAT is also providing a platform to help restaurants grow, by sharing ideas globally. Thirdly, JUST EAT is supporting start-ups. For example, it has introduced a seed programme in the UK. “Technology is driving the future of food delivery,” she said. “The future of Food Tech is start-ups.”
“Together we are creating the world’s greatest food community.” She elaborated: “77 million customers are availing of our services globally.”
Amanda Roche Kelly was a keynote speaker at Tec Connect Live, Ireland’s largest technology event, which was held recently in the RDS, Dublin.
