Food delivery platforms during the Covid-19 pandemic

The food delivery service represents one of the best options to make food available (quite) wherever it is required and, during the Covid-19 pandemic, this has played a fundamental role in everyday life. Among others, one of the main advantages of food delivery services was to conciliate social restriction, final consumption and food supply, allowing consumers to easily receive their meals and restaurants to withstand the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Using data from the websites of the most used food delivery companies in Italy, as well as from official reports and market studies, the present exploratory study is developed on a qualitative approach. Envisaging the most used food delivery platforms in Italy, the aim of this work is to discuss their main features and figures, focusing on their impact on food consumption behaviors and economic sustainability during the Covid-19 pandemic. The preliminary results of our qualitative content analysis illustrate mainly positive facts specific to the food delivery service in Italy; the pandemic has provided new opportunities for companies, people and the entire economy, highlighting reactivity and readiness to change as the key-variables to survive in the market. In addition, it emerged that the lockdown period has accelerated food delivery businesses like never before, guaranteeing resilience to the businesses/restaurants-consumers-couriers triangle. Since limited investigations have been destined to the role of food delivery platforms during the pandemic, this research brings novel insights in the area, highlighting the role of Covid-19 as a driver for developing new strategies for businesses active in the food services area.