A new food ordering app called YQueue is set to launch on the Gold Coast in May. The recent start up has seen a successful first launch in Singapore and now the founder George Lim looks to recreate that success in Australia.
YQueue has been designed with the local food and beverage merchants in mind, as well as the consumer, which is what is setting it apart from other big names in the food ordering game, according to Hannah Churcher, Nishi Ratnayake (Account Executives) and Jay Nathwani, National Sales Manager.
They spoke to us about the upcoming May launch, the platform’s Unique Selling Points (USPs) and YQueue’s future expansion.
Tell us about the launch in Singapore – how successful has YQueue been there so far?
“The platform was officially launched in Singapore in the third quarter of 2017. YQueue currently has over 100 signed merchants across Singapore and we already have over 35 signed on the Gold Coast in Australia, despite not officially launching till May.
“The popular bubble tea establishment ‘Each A Cup’ had 942 orders, 356 unique customers and saved 30 hours per month on the YQueue platform. Additionally, the entire Singaporean Subway franchise has successfully adopted the YQueue platform which has been especially fruitful on their University campuses.”
Why have you chosen to expand into Australia and why now?
“Singapore and Australia were chosen as the founder of YQueue, George Lim, has successful businesses and relationships in both countries. It made sense for us to start in these locations before rolling out to other international cities.
“Our developers are located in Brisbane and hence rolling out a platform here makes sense in terms of testing, adoption and local support which we understand is a priority for Australian business owners.
“Australian businesses in the food and beverage industry, suffer from high labour and overhead costs, often finding it hard to survive. Our platform, if fully embraced, can and will help the owners. We understand that business is changing rapidly and keeping up with the latest advancements and automating various processes and functions will develop a competitive advantage.”
How is YQueue different to companies such as Uber Eats and MenuLog?
“Our unique selling proposition is to provide an all-in-one solution that provides the equivalent benefits and functionalities to both end-users and businesses who partner with us.
“We have seen a pattern of small businesses simply being provided with a channel and promised a percentage increase in sales revenue.
“We’re different because provide a solution which gives businesses the capacity to reduce their operational costs, streamline their systems and operations, and ultimately provide them with the opportunity to provide their respective clientele with the best possible experience.
“Our hyper-localised approach in dealing with businesses face-to-face paired with our ongoing support not only technically but also in marketing and sales consultancy sets us apart from competitors. Each business will have temporary YQueue support staff, to assist in set-up and implementation of the YQueue platform before and during the launch promotional period.
“The app features in-built CRM which provides businesses with a direct marketing channel to strategise and communicate with theirr clientele.
“We also have apayment management system that has both local and international providers including DBS, Alipay, Google Pay, Amex and WeChat Pay; this ensures we can continue a relationship with the international tourism market which is a huge part of Australian revenue.”
How are you spreading the word about the May launch?
“Our marketing strategy is multi-faceted and contains no predominant channel or tactic. We are using business partnerships with other start ups such as YesThanks Australia, influencer marketing, social media paid and organic promotion and different events to increase brand awareness.”
What are YQueue’s plans for the next five years?
“The plan for the next five years is to constantly grow the capacities of the YQueue application.
“Certain technical developments we can foresee include our ‘delivery’ functionality, where partnered businesses can utilise internal staff as their delivery drivers. Our application roadmap also includes booking table reservations and further down the line there will be lots of exciting add-on features in the third quarter of 2019 and 2020.
Singapore and Australia were picked as the initial launchpads for the platform and we are in talks about having the USA and London as our next targets.”
