Between Digital Streets and Hidden Names: What Delivery Apps Tell Us

There is a quiet rhythm to scrolling through a food delivery app that often feels like browsing a menu of possibilities. Names pop up like friendly storefronts on a digital street, inviting you to sample dishes from around town without leaving home. It can be a small pleasure on a busy evening a chance to try something new or support a favorite neighborhood eatery. But recently, that gentle stroll through virtual culinary choices has felt more like wandering through a hall of mirrors, where familiar facades conceal familiar names and ambitions that are anything but local.

Across several delivery apps, independent restaurateurs have begun to sound an alarm about what they see as a growing trend: big chain restaurants quietly listing brands under different names and presenting them in a way that looks like small or independent businesses. In the United Kingdom, owners of locally owned eateries have pointed out that global franchises including well-known names such as Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Frankie & Benny’s, Las Iguanas, and Barburrito are operating “virtual restaurants” on platforms like Deliveroo and Just Eat with labels that obscure their true identities. For some local business owners, the effect is as if sharks have slipped into a pond meant for minnows, their shadows larger than the community kitchens they share.

For restaurant owners like Justina John, who runs ONJA Taste of Tanzania in Cardiff, the presence of these disguised brands feels like a burden on businesses already navigating tight margins and fierce competition. “It’s like little fish trying to swim with the sharks,” she says, describing the overwhelming presence of chain-linked virtual brands on delivery apps that make it harder for genuine independent establishments to stand out. She and others want delivery platforms to take greater responsibility for verifying listings and helping customers distinguish between true local eateries and subsidiaries of larger corporations.

Platforms often describe such listings as part of the rise of “virtual brands” or delivery-only offerings, a trend that expanded rapidly during and after the pandemic as restaurants sought to diversify their revenue streams and make better use of kitchen capacity. These delivery-only concepts can allow established restaurants whether independent or part of a chain to test new menus and reach new customers without the cost of a separate physical location. Delivery platforms defend their practices by noting that the address of each kitchen is shown in app listings, allowing customers to see where the food comes from if they choose to check.

Yet the optics of the situation, especially when menus and names look like tiny neighborhood spots, have stirred frustration among smaller operators. Some argue that the sheer number of disguised listings can drown out truly independent restaurants, dilute consumer attention, and erode trust in delivery platforms as spaces where local businesses and communities can thrive together. They also say that larger chains have the financial muscle to advertise heavily and secure top placement in search results, making it harder for smaller names to be noticed.

In gentle news terms, independent restaurant owners are raising concerns about certain major chain restaurants listing multiple virtual brands on delivery apps under names that make them appear as small or local establishments. Operators of delivery platforms like Just Eat and Deliveroo say such virtual brands are one tool among many that restaurants big and small can use to reach customers and expand offerings, and that key identifying information such as kitchen addresses is displayed for users.

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Sources

BBC News Yahoo News Singapore (BBC republishing) MCA Insight (BBC republishing) Utusan Malaysia Reddit summaries referencing BBC reporting (as noted)