A couple of weeks ago I saw that Gastown restaurateur Brandon Grossutti (PiDGiN) had begun expressing interest about developing a food delivery app that would operate on a ‘cost’ basis, thereby limiting how much of their profits (typically 20% to 30%) go to big predatory apps like Door Dash, Skip The Dishes, Foodora and Uber Eats.
Last week I wrote a Vancouver Would Be Cooler If… post alluding to that effort and applauding it, but not really thinking the service – which is called From To, by the way – would be arriving any time soon. Well, the alpha testing stage of its development starts today with PiDGiN’s menu, a few drivers and a basic phone dispatch system. The next version, with over a dozen restaurants on board, is set to roll out at some point next week.
So give it a whirl, wish them luck, and consider spreading the word.
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There is a real hunger for this sort of service: a meal delivery service with dignity and without predation at the core of the business model. With the recent news that Uber Eats is negotiating to purchase GrubHub, it seems primed to get worse. I really hope this achieves liftoff, because it’s impossible to participate in the existing services and keep one’s meal down.