Porterfetch food delivery start-up caters to those who want late-night meals
SINGAPORE — With food delivery services on the rise here, another player has jumped on the bandwagon, but with the aim to be active in the night hours when most food outlets would be winding down their business.
Launched in July, online portal Porterfetch operates as a concierge service fetching meals between 9pm and 3am daily, from more than 110 stores islandwide.
Among them are some of the popular eateries in the supper scene, with homegrown names such as Ponggol Nasi Lemak, Swee Choon Dim Sum and Rochor Beancurd House, as well as international brands including Tim Ho Wan and Starbucks.
Unlike services such as FoodPanda and Deliveroo which only deliver from stores in the area where the consumer is, Porterfetch delivers islandwide. It also does not require users to spend a minimum amount in each order.
Orders from different stores must be made separately, as it is with other service providers.
Among the main players now, FoodPanda requires a minimum order of $15, and Deliveroo’s is S$18 for dinner orders.
Both charge S$3 or $3.50 for each delivery, and they typically operate until about 11pm daily.
The delivery fee charged by Porterfetch starts at S$5 and goes up depending on how far away users are from the stores. It also charges a service fee, at 9 per cent of the food bill excluding delivery charge.
For instance, ordering five servings of dim sum that cost S$20 from 126 Dim Sum in Geylang to be delivered to Dover in the west can set you back S$40. Such a delivery from east to west took about an hour and 15 minutes, when TODAY tried the service on Tuesday.
Porterfetch is the brainchild of two longtime friends and self-proclaimed foodies Daniel Chan and Kenneth Ho, both 32.
Mr Chan said: “The point is that we don’t want customers to be restricted by vicinity or minimum order. It is up to them to decide what makes sense.”
“Cross-island orders” are not uncommon, he added, noting that consumers are willing to pay to satisfy their supper cravings.
“During ungodly hours, it’s much better (to use Porterfetch) than make a return trip by taxi. It also eliminates the hassle of queuing, ordering or waiting.”
A majority of the platform’s offerings are traditional brick-and-mortar establishments curated from food blogs, online recommendations and forums.
Mr Chan said: “We knew from the get-go that what would set us apart would be stores we (partner), and we wanted out the selection to really reflect what people want ... We see ourselves as helping to give these stores a competitive edge and relevance in an online world where everything is increasingly available at the push of a button.”
The idea sparked during a Chinese New Year gathering, a time described by Mr Chan as “the most difficult night of the year to get food”.
“Our rumbling stomachs led to a conversation on how we could get our cravings for the best of Singapore’s supper scene satisfied. We realised that many of our favourite stores in the city were still not available on demand,” he said.
The “porters” behind Porterfetch are a team of motorcyclists paid according to the number of jobs made and distance travelled.
The platform has clocked 5,000 orders over the last three months, which come in mostly on Fridays and Saturdays.
Mr Kenichi Sim, 39, an ambulance driver stationed at Kranji army camp, said that the service comes in handy during his night duties.
“I like the alternative choices that Porterfetch offers. Of course, the late delivery timing till 3am was what really attracted me. (The porter who delivered my first order) was very polite. Food was sent to me hot,” he said.
Porterfetch’s mobile app for iOS will be released by the end of the year, and an Android version will come later. The company is also looking at expanding into a round-the-clock service, and delivering items beyond food.
“Ultimately, we envision Porterfetch as a remote control for the city, bringing the best of Singapore within reach (to consumers), without the need for people to get up,” Mr Chan said.
