Food delivery businesses face several challenges including cost control, customer service, logistics, staffing, and unpredictable spikes in order volume. These issues are compounded when processing and delivering food orders. Delivery speed is the number one factor in customer satisfaction, with 60% of customers across all markets citing it as a key factor. The quality of perishable items is significantly affected by an increase in travel time, even if only a few minutes difference. While speed is a vital component, it is also essential to ensure the safety of delivery people on the road. Additionally, companies must ensure that they are equipped to deal with spikes in order volume, which may be predictable or unpredictable. Finally, manually planning routes is inefficient and costly.

Tara Firma Farms, a Bay Area farm and CSA known for their pasture-raised meats, experienced a sudden doubling of their home delivery membership due to the pandemic. This surge in demand presented a significant challenge for the farm, which was using outdated CSA management software with limited functionality. The software was better suited for smaller, produce-only CSAs and required manual intervention for tasks such as offering discounts or analyzing sales data. The farm was also in the process of replacing their CSA management software, adding to the stress of managing the increased demand. Additionally, the farm discovered that they were undercharging for delivery and some delivery routes were not profitable.

Brake Bread, a subscription-based and on-demand bakery in St. Paul, Minnesota, faced a significant challenge during the pandemic. The bakery, which had been delivering naturally leavened bread since 2014, saw a dramatic shift in its business model in March 2020. Previously, delivery accounted for only 25% of their business, but by September 2020, it had risen to 90%. The rapid increase in delivery subscribers, which tripled from 300 to 900 in just six months, put a strain on their existing community-supported agriculture (CSA) membership management software. The software was not equipped to handle the surge in demand, nor did it provide the necessary features such as real-time inventory, business data, marketing, payments, and delivery routing.

Mad Giant Brewery, an award-winning beer producer based in Johannesburg, South Africa, faced a significant challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country imposed two separate alcohol bans, which left the brewery without revenue for months. The brewery's traditional business model, which involved selling their beers at their taproom and supplying to bars across South Africa, was severely impacted as people were no longer visiting these establishments. The brewery, known for its quick pace and innovative approach, needed to find a new way to reach its customers and maintain its revenue stream. The growing interest in home alcohol delivery in South Africa presented an opportunity, but the brewery needed a reliable and efficient platform to manage this new business model.

Danzeisen Dairy, a family-owned dairy farm in Arizona, had been successfully selling their products in local markets for over five years. However, they had been hesitant to venture into home delivery due to the hot Arizona weather and concerns about keeping the milk cold if customers weren't home. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to most people sheltering at home, presented an opportunity for the dairy farm to reconsider this decision. The challenge was to quickly set up a home delivery system that would ensure the milk remained cold during delivery, provide a smooth customer experience, and be easy for the staff to use. Additionally, they needed to integrate this new system with their existing retail operation, which ran on a distinct system.