Industry researchers predict that the global foodservice market may surpass US$5 trillion by 2029. How big is this market? We can get an idea about its scale from the fact that the GDP of the British economy was a little more than US$3 trillion in 2021. The Bureau of Labour Statistics estimated that in 2019, more than 12 million young people aged around 32 worked in the restaurants and food services industry. Jobs in this field could grow at more than 7% for the next ten years, up till 2029.
For a market this large, with so many people employed, price wars are inevitable. For the restaurants, their entire geography could potentially be their addressable market. And there could be thousands and thousands of restaurants serving a region. Competition in the field would be cutthroat. And it would boil down to prices. Restaurants that offer the same quality food and services at a more reasonable price than their peers will certainly be at an advantage.
However, price optimization requires continuous monitoring of varied parameters for a long time. From sourcing to the menu, the entire supply chain of food services needs a robust optimization strategy for the pricing to be efficient without taking a toll on the company’s bottom line.
The MealMe Solution
With a single API from Mealme, restaurateurs and distributors get access to inventory data from millions of large supply chain stakeholders, starting from large retailers to grocery stores, convenience stores, liquor stores, electronic stores, home goods, and more. The store search API of MealMe is a comprehensive solution with its Restaurant Search and Grocery Search API.
The Restaurant Search API comes with its menu items solutions or Menu API. Every menu item and grocery product returned includes real-time ordering availability, prices, item customizers, and modifiers. Essentially, it helps API users have 360-degree access to the ecosystem and fetch the best possible deals out of it.
If we look at the system from the prism of usability and user convenience, the real-time menus and inventory on MealMe are available in JSON format, available via API, S3 Bucket, or Snowflake. Integration of the API requires adding a few lines of code to embed checkout from millions of stores into the user’s app.
Access to competitive data and real-time price points is an advantage that MealMe equips its users with. However, its benefits do not end in ensuring access. Its food delivery API adds to the efficiency by ensuring that the product reaches the user in time. The Food Delivery API of MealMe includes 30,000 third-party delivery services, courier services, and stores with their drivers.
Essentially, the MealMe APIs empower restaurant conglomerates and distributors to stay on top of the market. They do it by offering deep access to every phase of the supply chain and by making real-time price monitoring possible. It also ensures that the optimal outputs reach the hands of the users in time. Access, knowledge, and delivery guarantees ensure that there is no element of unpredictability in a business’s pricing strategy.