UK-based food-delivery service Deliveroo is tasting huge success since entering the market in November, with sales growth running at up to 70 per cent week on week.

Up against entrenched services such as Foodpanda, Deliveroo’s growth has been mainly driven by its focus on quality rather than quantity, according to Singapore GM Tristan Torres Velat. He had been working with eCommerce outlet Ensogo when Deliveroo asked him to lead its entry into the Asian market.

Velat says Deliveroo managed to sign up 600 restaurants in less than four months, its office has more than 30 staff and he has are more than 450 delivery riders on the streets.

“We don’t disclose our order volume, but we have been growing 50 to 70 per cent week on week,” he says. “Because we are growing so fast, I need to hire nearly 100 riders week to week.”

Velat says quality starts with the restaurants, which need to be mid- to high-tier, such as Potato Head Folk, PS Cafe and MeatLiquor. Deliveroo uses end-to-end technology, with nothing in the process outsourced.

This means food can be delivered within an average of 32 minutes, often faster. Before Deliveroo, people had to sometimes wait up to 90 minutes for deliveries, says Velat.

“When you use either our website or app, you can track the status of your food delivery.”

To maintain food quality, Deliveroo has set up delivery zones so that orders do not have to be in transit for more than 10 minutes. “We don’t work with more than 32 to 35 restaurants in each zone, so can pay special attention to all our restaurants,” says Velat, who has lived in Singapore for five years.

While the platform is free for both customers and restaurants to join, customers pay a delivery fee.

Meanwhile, Deliveroo has also launched in Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney.