Government pilot project 'eatsHUB' on route to becoming a super app after successful launch

The platform is part of Thailand's National Delivery Platform project, on which the DEPA has collaborated with private sector partners to drive the economy into the new normal.

Deputy Minister of Digital Economy and Society Newin Chorchaithip told a press conference on Thursday that after a seven-month pilot project in 18 provinces, more than 600,000 people had registered for the platform, which has received over 10 million visits, bringing technology equality to more than 26,000 small and medium-sized restaurant operators and creating over 3,000 rider jobs.

He said that the eatsHUB platform has generated more than 500 million baht in economic value, which is higher than expected.

"I hoped all Thais will support this national platform," he said. "The platform is now ready to expand services in order to become a Super Application."

The food delivery platform, according to the ministry, is one of the e-commerce businesses that was growing in line with global trends.

It is estimated that global e-commerce sales would increase by 21 per cent in 2022 compared to last year, which had a value of US$2.8 trillion and is still growing.

Meanwhile, Newin insisted that the DES always prioritises the development of Thai entrepreneurs to become full-service e-commerce providers, particularly Thais who act as intermediaries between merchants and consumers.

"The project is regarded as a model government project aimed at entrepreneurs as well as the younger generation who want to develop applications and who can study this to enhance their work and businesses in order to drive Thailand's digital economy to continue to grow," he said.

DEPA director-general Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin said that the Thai food delivery platform, eatsHUB, was officially launched in May and was able to raise awareness and reach people in 18 provinces across the country.

Bangkok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Sawan, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phetchaburi, Surat Thani, Phuket, Songkhla, Chonburi, Chanthaburi, Rayong, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, and Nakhon Phanom are among the pilot provinces.

With this incredible success, Nuttapon promises to keep improving its services while promoting real-world access to technology for restaurant operators.

He plans to serve all 77 provinces in Thailand by 2023, with the goal of having 50,000 restaurants on the platform and over 1 million registered users.

Furthermore, he expects that the platform will receive at least 20 million visits (including repurchase), creating jobs for over 6,000 food delivery workers and generating an economic value of over 1 billion baht.

"The next goal is to work with the private sector to upgrade the service to a Super Application, which will cover other services such as selling local raw materials directly from manufacturers to stores and consumers, adding a variety of features, and expanding coverage nationwide with standards and fairness," he noted.

Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, chairman of Food Odery and operator of eatsHUB, said that it is a platform created by public-private partnerships to support very small businesses with lower gross profit charges.

"It is dependable and can precisely meet the needs of the customer," he said, adding "It is creating equality by controlling the service standards of member stores to distribute products fairly and in quantities that are not different from eating at the shop."

He confirmed that the private sector is prepared to expand its full-service support team for the next developments, including a call centre team to accommodate older people who may not have access to smartphones and a team to effectively manage systems for restaurant operators.

The eatsHUB platform was created with the intention of assisting small and medium-sized restaurant operators and providing people with opportunities to start new careers. It charges member stores about 8-10% of the revenue share, which is lower than the 30% billing rate of other platforms.