Trofira, a Jos-based food delivery startup has announced that Dr Elvis — a virtual kitchen in Jos — will be the first food brand to be added to its database.
Trofira enables its users to order food from restaurants and have them delivered at their doorstep. Similar to America’s DoorDash, the startup intends to solve the logistics and data management challenges faced by online food vendors in Jos, Nigeria.
“Delivery guys will not kill me in this town”, Patience Patrick, the founder of Street Chow; another virtual kitchen in Jos tweeted. The onboarding of Dr Elvis reflects Trofira’s plan to partner with virtual kitchen within the metropolis to enable efficiency and effective delivery.
According to Elvis Henry, the Lead Chef at Dr. Elvis, the partnership with Trofira will ease him from the inadequacies he has experienced while delivering with logistic companies.
In Lagos, residents spent N830 billion ($2 billion) eating out in 2019, representing 34% of total food expenditure, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This data reflects that, a reasonable delivery charge will prompt a Nigerian to patronise a food-delivery apps like Trofira.
“We intend to lower the logistics fee, not just as a means of empowering small and medium scale businesses (SMEs) but also, providing a last mile aid to the businesses that come on board with us”, Johnpaul Nwobodo, Trofira’s co-founder and CEO told CRESTHUB.
Ahead of its launch, Mr Nwobodo disclosed that over 17 local vendors will be onboarded in the coming weeks as part of its preliminary data testing activities. Trofira intends to ensure inclusion in onboarding vendors by working with “mama puts” within the Jos Metropolis.
Last December, Trofira sponsored the Jos Food Festival; an annual event organised by Dr Elvis as an avenue to connect with vendors, potential users and other key players in the food and logistics value chain in Plateau state. This motive has not faded, “[this partnership with] Dr. Elvis will aid us in getting a detailed insight in the food market in Jos”, Nwobodo added.
The Challenge: “What I ordered Versus What I Got” and Others…
A research by YNaija stated that false advertising [when images of food displayed aren’t what they appear in real life] is one of the challenges within Nigeria’s food delivery industry, The research further disclosed that users are turned off by poor UX designs that make navigating these apps difficult.
