‘Ethical alternative’ to food delivery apps launched

Described as a portal that links restaurants with their customers and facilitates ordering and payment, Offie has no commissions, contracts or order limits.

Restaurants pay a flat monthly fee for online ordering and can bolt on extra services including social media and marketing.

Developed with the help of Just Eat alumnus Ash Ali, Offie can take orders via restaurant websites, on social media pages and can also be integrated into restaurant apps but is being billed as a behind-the-scenes product that is not customer-facing.

Khan - who owns India Dining in Warlingham, Surrey - says Offie has been developed to address the “unfair and grossly disproportionate” commissions and fees charged by the big food delivery apps.

“Restaurants that sign-up to online delivery apps do receive an increase in takeaway orders," he says. "But high commission rates mean they are frequently operating at a loss on every app-based order they receive because the cost of preparing an authentic dish and the price of its ingredients is more than what those restaurants actually receive,” he says.

“When coupled with existing staffing issues, these charges are by far the gravest threat to curry houses since their introduction to the UK high streets.”

A curry has become as synonymous with British culture as fish and chips, and we want it to stay that way for generations to come,” adds Offie operations director Ashok Balakrishnan.

“This can only be achieved if restaurant owners recognise the damage that high-commission fast food apps are having on the UK’s most beloved adopted national dish.”