Two former St Andrews University students are taking on major food takeaway delivery companies with their new environmentally-friendly service, ecoeats.
The business was established by Phil Houseley and Stewart McGown in the early part of 2020 after the pair met while studying in the university town.
Both men were passionate about finding a way to protect the local environment while still enjoying takeaways from local restaurants and cafes.
And with COP26 on the horizon in Glasgow next week, they are tapping into a concern many food-lovers have about doing their bit for the environment.
Phil spent some time working as a Deliveroo courier, so he already knew how the sector operated – as well as what needed to change.
The mission
Their mission is to tackle two of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions – fuel emissions and single-use plastic and unnecessary packaging generated by the takeaway industry.
To do this, deliveries are made in zero-emission vehicles, while businesses can package their food in reusable ecoboxes.
The business was first a pilot in St Andrews last year. It has now started operating in Dundee’s city centre and Glasgow.
More than 40 businesses joined the service during the St Andrews pilot. Ecoeats estimates it has already delivered around 63,000 meals to customers in the town.
Meanwhile, close to 100,000 orders have been made in total now that the business has spread its reach.
The aim of ecoeats is to challenge companies such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats by offering customers a fairer and more sustainable choice when it comes to the environment.
Riders use bikes, ebikes and also electric vehicles.
The pair have also gained financial backing from millionaire environment campaigner Julia Davies of Osprey Europe.
The entrepreneur has invested £200,000 to help with the trial of reusable containers for delivered food.
What are ecoboxes?
Participating restaurants deliver food using the ecoboxes, which are made from BPA-free polypropylene.
These are then collected by couriers at customers’ convenience, washed and sanitised, then put back into circulation.
Stewart explained: “Phil and I got together and began trying to completely remove petrol emissions from deliveries.
“But we quickly realised we needed to solve the huge amount of plastic waste going out, so we started working on this new programme.
“We ship our ecoboxes to businesses, as if they are buying single-use plastics. They pack up their food and deliver to customers. These containers can be left outside your door and someone will collect them the next day.
“We’re also hoping our new drop-off boxes will be coming soon, which means our customers can drop them off themselves.”
Phil and Stewart launched the Dundee operation in September and they have around 20 businesses on board, with more coming soon.
They currently deliver around the city centre and customers can enter their postcodes to discover if they are within the delivery vicinity.
If a postcode is not on the list, individuals can submit where they are so the firm knows where to expand next.
Who has signed up in Dundee?
While Ecoeats don’t yet publicly disclose their rates commission, they say their partners make four times as much profit per order than other platforms
This means local businesses can retain more profits. It also means they avoid passing additional costs on to customers.
Major delivery companies can take in the region of 30% to 35% plus VAT in commission for their services.
Mary’s Kitchen Tearoom on the city’s Perth Road was one of the first to sign up with ecoeats. Owner William Wallace says he likes their eco ethics as well as their support of small businesses.
Other businesses using the service in Dundee include Tailend, Broughty Burgers, Medina Bar and Grill and Su Sushi to name a few. More will be launching soon.
William Wallace said: “We have tried other delivery companies like Just Eat but we felt perhaps they weren’t great to work for – and they were all about the money.
“But then ecoeats came along. They started in St Andrews and they’ve done a stellar job there. I spoke to friends who told me they were a good company to work for.
“I phoned them to make sure all their staff were on a decent wage and the cars were electric. We want to do our little bit for the environment.
“Their commission is very good – they’re genuinely there to help other businesses grow as well.
“We’ve been live for about five weeks. When we started there were only two or three signed up – but it just keeps growing.”