Saudi restaurant market sees healthy growth: HungerStation COO

Ali Aldamanhori, Chief Operating Officer of HungerStation

The restaurant market in Saudi Arabia is witnessing good growth, Ali Aldamanhori, Chief Operating Officer of HungerStation Co., told Argaam in an interview.

The prices of food items are determined by restaurants and the company seeks to match prices, he noted.

On the sidelines of Seamless Saudi Arabia 2023 event, Aldamanhori said the company is working to match prices with restaurants, indicating that unifying prices is a challenge for the entire sector.

He also pointed to the competitive increase in the number of restaurants that dominate and hinder the growth of other restaurants.

He said that through partnerships with restaurants and cloud kitchens, the HungerStation app targets expanding the growth opportunities outside its operating region. The participation of restaurants in joint marketing opportunities can enhance growth opportunities, he added.

The food-delivery app is working to improve the growth methodology, as it focuses on enhancing beneficiary experience, which includes speed of delivery and consumer services, in addition to expanding app’s services.

HungerStation app is available in more than 100 cities in the Kingdom, where the selection of cities is based on the population census and drafting of work plans depending on the needs of representatives and the number of restaurants.

The company is considering expansion to other cities in the Kingdom. 

He further indicated that there will be no change in administrative and strategic plans or scope of work, after Germany's Delivery Hero fully acquired HungerStation.

Aldamanhori also referred to the Saudi Internet report issued by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) for 2022, where HungerStation app topped the list of the most downloaded restaurant and delivery apps with 20 million downloads for the second time in a row and processed over 400 million successful requests over the past years.