Helsinki, Finland — 14/12/2025
For years, high-commission food delivery apps have promised growth, visibility, and convenience to local restaurants. In practice, many of those same restaurants are now facing shrinking margins, rising dependency, and declining control over their own businesses.
At the center of the problem is a model that takes 20–30% commission on every order.
What was once positioned as a partnership has increasingly become a financial burden. And across Finland and Europe, restaurant owners are beginning to ask a critical question: Is this model sustainable at all?
SPED Technology believes the answer is no.
The Real Cost of High-Commission Delivery Platforms
On paper, commission-based platforms look simple: they bring orders, and restaurants pay a percentage. In reality, the economics are far harsher.
A 30% commission often forces restaurants to:
Increase menu prices for delivery customers
Absorb delivery losses to stay competitive
Reduce portion size or quality
Depend heavily on one external platform for sales
In many cases, delivery orders generate less profit than dine-in orders, despite higher operational complexity.
This is not growth. It is margin erosion.
Dependency Is the Hidden Risk
Beyond commissions, the deeper issue is platform dependency.
High-commission delivery apps typically:
Control customer access and visibility
Own the customer relationship
Limit direct communication with customers
Push restaurants into discount-driven competition
Restaurants become listings inside an app they do not own — interchangeable, replaceable, and vulnerable to algorithm changes.
SPED Technology argues that this structure actively weakens local businesses instead of strengthening them.
How SPED Fixes the Problem
SPED Technology was built on a different principle:
Restaurants need infrastructure, not extraction.
Instead of taking a percentage from every order, SPED offers a low-cost, subscription-based restaurant technology ecosystem that gives control back to the restaurant.
The SPED platform provides:
Brand-owned restaurant websites
Integrated online ordering (pickup & delivery)
Secure payment gateway integration
Own-delivery management system
Delivery driver mobile app
Merchant dashboards and reporting
Optional SPED Ads Services for campaigns
This allows restaurants to grow without being penalized for success.
Subscription Over Commission: A Structural Advantage
Under a subscription model:
Costs are predictable
Profit scales with order volume
Restaurants retain brand and pricing control
Customer relationships stay protected
SPED’s success is tied to restaurant sustainability — not order extraction.
“Restaurants should not be taxed on every order just to exist online,” said Md Samsuzzaman, Founder & CEO of SPED Technology. “Ownership, not dependency, is what creates long-term growth.”
Privacy-First and Data-Responsible by Design
SPED Technology does not share customer data with third parties.
Customer information is used only to operate SPED services such as ordering, delivery, and customer support. If a restaurant wants to promote offers or run campaigns, this can be done only through SPED Ads Services, ensuring privacy, transparency, and compliance.
This approach protects customer trust while still allowing restaurants to grow responsibly.
A Shift Already Underway
Across Finland, more local restaurants are moving away from high-commission dependency and investing in:
Direct ordering
Own delivery systems
Brand-owned digital channels
SPED Technology positions itself at the center of this shift — not as another marketplace, but as a long-term technology partner.
The Bottom Line
High-commission food delivery apps are failing local restaurants because the model is designed to extract value, not build it.
SPED fixes this by offering:
Subscription instead of commission
Ownership instead of dependency
Infrastructure instead of algorithms
For restaurants, the future belongs to those who control their technology, their customers, and their margins.
Faq
Q1: Why are high-commission food delivery apps bad for restaurants?
High commissions reduce profit margins, force price increases, and create dependency on platforms that restaurants do not control.
Q2: How much commission do food delivery apps charge?
Many platforms charge between 20% and 30% per order, excluding additional fees.
Q3: What is SPED Technology’s alternative to commission-based delivery?
SPED uses a subscription-based model, allowing restaurants to keep more revenue while owning their digital infrastructure.
Q4: Does SPED Technology share customer data?
No. SPED Technology does not share, sell, or rent customer data to third parties.
Q5: Can restaurants advertise to customers on SPED?
Yes. Restaurants can run campaigns through SPED Ads Services in a privacy-compliant and transparent way.
Q6: Is SPED suitable for small local restaurants?
Yes. SPED is designed specifically for local restaurants that want control, predictable costs, and long-term sustainability.