Dive Brief:
- DoorDash is adding a $12 value box meal option across 20 U.S. markets, including Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Boston and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a Monday press release.
- DoorDash said the meal boxes come with a zero-dollar delivery fee and reduced service fees, and are about 30% below the average price of a delivery entree at participating restaurants.
- The meal boxes could help DoorDash ameliorate consumer price sensitivity over delivery fees. Consumer and restaurant pushback against high fees and delivery commissions have created opportunities for competitors like Olo, which launched an app last month that aims to undercut delivery companies by not charging order commissions.
Dive Insight:
The delivery giant highlighted the meal boxes as a way for restaurants to “create distinct opportunities to reach new customers and grow their volume.”
DoorDash has offered the $12 boxes in some markets for a while, with participating merchants seeing “up to a 40% increase in total sales,” with particular strength among new customers.
The delivery aggregator quoted one of the participating restaurants as saying the meal boxes brought in diners who had not previously eaten at the restaurant.
“We’ve seen stronger midday traffic from office workers and solo diners looking for an affordable lunch, and we’re welcoming more repeat guests who first discovered us through DoorDash,” said Laura Lyons, co-founder/CEO at Love & Honey Fried Chicken, which offers a $12 CBP Nashville Sandwich Meal through the delivery service.
DoorDash’s value boxes come as major brands are generally retreating from the price-point value positions that kicked off the restaurant value wars in 2024. The intense value competition between major QSRs generally pressured margins without generating a significant enough surge in traffic to justify the price cuts, recent analyses suggest. DoorDash’s value boxes, then, could have limited utility for some operators.
In addition to the value boxes, DoorDash expanded its catering delivery offering, which includes $0 delivery fees. DoorDash said it can simplify the catering discovery process by offering recommendations based on “group size, budget, cuisine preferences and dietary needs.”
