Moving Away From Just Eat: How Restaurants Can Build a Direct Ordering Channel
You can take orders without Just Eat
Restaurants across the UK and Ireland are cutting their reliance on Just Eat and building ordering channels they own and control. This is not a complicated transition, but it requires a clear plan and the right technology.
This guide explains why restaurants leave Just Eat, what they replace it with, and how to make the switch without losing orders in the process.
Why restaurants leave Just Eat
Just Eat charges commission on every order placed through its platform. Rates vary, but most restaurants pay between 13% and 30% per order, plus a service fee the customer also pays. On a £25 order, that can mean £5 to £7 going to Just Eat before staff costs, ingredients, rent, or tax are considered.
Beyond cost, restaurants on Just Eat face:
- No access to customer data — Just Eat owns the relationship with the customer
- No control over how their brand appears in the listing
- Dependency on a platform whose algorithm determines their visibility
- No ability to run their own promotions without paying for placement
- Reviews that affect their ranking but are hard to manage directly
The restaurants making the move away from Just Eat are not anti-technology. They are choosing technology that works for them rather than against them.
What a direct ordering channel looks like
A direct ordering channel lets customers place orders on a website or app owned by the restaurant, without a marketplace in the middle.
The components are:
| Component | What it does |
|---|---|
| Restaurant website with ordering | Takes orders online with no third-party commission |
| Branded mobile app | Gives loyal customers a fast, branded experience |
| POS integration | Routes online orders directly to the kitchen |
| Payment processing | Takes card payments at a flat rate, not a commission |
| Customer database | Stores order history so you can market to customers again |
All of this is available through Flipdish online ordering, which gives restaurants a complete direct channel with no per-order commission to a marketplace.
How to stop depending on Just Eat
Cutting Just Eat entirely overnight rarely works. The practical approach is to grow your direct channel while reducing what you spend acquiring orders through Just Eat.
Step 1: Set up direct ordering first
Before you change anything, build the destination. A basic ordering website takes a few days to configure through a platform like Flipdish. Your existing menu can usually be imported or copied across.
The site does not need to be elaborate. It needs to load quickly, work well on mobile, and make checkout as fast as possible.
Step 2: Get your existing customers to use it
Your most loyal customers — the ones who already know you — are the easiest to convert. They do not need to discover you. They just need a better place to order.
Tactics that work:
- Put a QR code on receipts, packaging and tables linking directly to your ordering site
- Add a message to Just Eat packaging inserts: "Order directly and save on fees"
- Run a small promotion for first-time direct orders: a free side, a discount, or loyalty points
- Tell customers through your social channels
Step 3: Build a loyalty programme
Marketplaces keep customers loyal to the platform. A direct channel lets you keep customers loyal to your restaurant.
Flipdish AI Marketing helps restaurants segment customers by order history, send targeted promotions, and run campaigns that bring customers back to your direct channel rather than a marketplace.
Customers who have your app or have ordered from your website once are far cheaper to retain than to acquire through Just Eat.
Step 4: Redirect your marketing spend
Just Eat charges for visibility on its platform. That money goes further when used to drive direct traffic instead. Google Ads, Meta ads, and local SEO can all drive customers to your ordering website at a cost that competes with marketplace commission, especially over time.
What happens to orders during the transition?
Handled correctly, total order volume should stay flat or grow as direct orders increase.
Restaurants typically go through three phases:
- Setup: Direct channel goes live. First customers convert.
- Growth: Direct orders increase month on month. Marketplace share starts to drop.
- Optimisation: Some restaurants stay on Just Eat for discovery but no longer rely on it. Others leave entirely.
The right choice depends on your market. In areas with high marketplace usage, staying listed on Just Eat while growing direct orders is reasonable. In areas where word of mouth and social drive most orders, cutting the marketplace entirely may be the faster move.
The financial case
A restaurant processing £10,000 per month through Just Eat at 20% commission pays £2,000 per month to the platform. Over a year, that is £24,000.
A direct ordering setup from a platform like Flipdish typically costs a flat monthly fee with no per-order commission. The break-even point is usually reached within the first few months of operation once direct volume picks up.
The longer calculation includes customer lifetime value. A customer who orders through Just Eat is worth one order to you. A customer who orders through your own app, earns loyalty points, and receives your promotions is worth considerably more.
What to look for in a direct ordering platform
Before choosing technology, check:
- Does it integrate directly with your POS or kitchen display?
- Can you launch a branded mobile app, not just a website?
- Does it give you full access to customer data?
- Are there per-order commissions or is the fee flat?
- Does it support loyalty and marketing tools?
Flipdish covers all of these. Restaurants get a branded website, an iOS and Android app, POS integration, and access to customer data — all on a flat-fee model.
Common objections
"Our customers only use Just Eat."
They use Just Eat because it is convenient. Make your direct channel equally convenient — fast mobile checkout, saved addresses, loyalty rewards — and customers will switch.
"We cannot afford to lose the orders."
The goal is not to lose orders but to move them from a channel that charges 20% to one that costs a flat monthly fee. Total revenue should stay the same or increase.
"This sounds complicated to set up."
Setting up direct ordering is a few days' work with a modern platform. Flipdish provides onboarding support to get restaurants live quickly.
The bottom line
Just Eat built its business by making itself hard to leave. The commissions, the customer data lock-in, and the algorithm dependency all serve that purpose. Restaurants that understand how the economics work can make a different choice.
The technology to build a direct ordering channel is available, affordable, and proven by thousands of restaurants. The question is not whether it is possible — it is whether you start now or wait until margin pressure makes it unavoidable.
If you run a restaurant in the UK or Ireland and want to reduce your marketplace fees, Flipdish online ordering is the place to start.
