Chowdeck and Glovo users are weighing rising costs against convenience as food delivery becomes a daily necessity.
At the beginning of 2025, *Anita, a Lagos-based marketer, resolved to reduce her reliance on food delivery apps to regain control of her budget. As one of Chowdeck’s top users in 2024, with 168 orders, she considers her app use excessive. Yet, like many New Year’s resolutions, this one quickly fell by the wayside.
Two weeks into January, she was already 20 orders deep—exactly where she left off in 2024. In the face of mounting deadlines and a busy life, January was already a lost cause, and February was the next “try again” date.
For users like Anita, food delivery apps like Chowdeck, Glovo, FoodCourt, and Heyfood are more than meal solutions—they are essential tools for navigating the chaos of modern life. While these apps provide convenience, the tension between convenience and price gnaws at their users. According to data from Picodi, Nigerian households spend 59% of their income on food—the highest of any country surveyed. For users like Anita, food delivery apps are a luxury that comes with an ongoing internal debate: Are they worth it? For many, the answer is yes.
“I’m not happy with how much I spend on food, but there’s nothing I can do,” Anita admits. She juggles a social media marketing role and university classes, and for someone constantly on the go, the time saved by food delivery apps is invaluable.
It’s a humorous product-market fit: customers who can’t live without the apps making doomed-to-fail resolutions about quitting. But not every user frowns at the cost.
Take Ada, for example. In 2024, she placed 283 orders on Chowdeck but has no qualms about the growing expense. “Time is money, and Chowdeck saves me a lot of time,” she says.
Before her recent graduation, Ada balanced a demanding job as a product designer at a venture-backed beauty-tech startup with university classes and content creation on LinkedIn. Her days were packed with meetings, deliverables, and tight deadlines. In her world, time is at a premium, and Chowdeck provides a precious few extra hours every day.
Ada’s experience is one of predictability. She orders from the same restaurant almost daily, knowing exactly what to expect. It’s an experience she values deeply—reliable, efficient, and hassle-free. “I don’t care about variety,” she says. “I just want to know my food will be there when I need it.”
Yet, nothing is perfect. As with everything that gets a lot of use, they are users who are hyperaware of the limitations of food delivery apps.
Fayokunmi, another power user who placed nearly 300 orders in 2024, is considering switching to Glovo after a frustrating experience.
His regular order—a hearty meal of Amala with Ewedu and Gbegiri—had always been a satisfying ritual until a recent issue: the restaurant started separating his Gbegiri and Ewedu into two plates and charging him extra for the split.
Despite leaving multiple notes asking them to plate his food together, the problem persisted. But his main gripe wasn’t the additional cost—it was that when he contacted customer support, the app deferred to the restaurant, saying nothing could be done.
For Fayokunmi, the issue wasn’t just about food or cost—it was about being let down by an app he had relied on for years. The lack of resolution from Chowdeck’s support team left him feeling alienated, he claimed, but he’s not ready to give up on food delivery apps altogether.
His reluctance to ditch the app speaks to a larger truth about food delivery apps in Nigeria: they’ve evolved from luxury services to vital productivity tools. For users like him, Ada, and Anita, these apps aren’t just about food—they’re about saving time in a world where every minute counts.
This shift in how people view food delivery apps is part of a broader trend. In a world where work and life demands are ever-growing, apps like Chowdeck and Glovo have embedded themselves into daily routines, making them more essential than ever. But this growing dependence comes with challenges. As food delivery services become more critical to people’s lives, they also face higher expectations and increased scrutiny.
Providing convenience and consistent quality will be key to staying relevant in a contested market. Apps that can adapt quickly to user frustrations while keeping their core value proposition—time savings and convenience—intact will continue to thrive in the competitive food delivery landscape.
This highlights a key factor super users take seriously: variety. While users often develop loyalty to a single restaurant, a broad selection is crucial in attracting new customers and keeping them engaged.
Chowdeck, which claims to have a million users, seems to have mastered this. Six out of ten “super users” say the diverse restaurant selection drives their preference. This is likely driven by strategic partnerships, like a 2024 exclusive deal with Chicken Republic, which excluded other apps like Glovo and HeyFood from taking orders from the popular chain in specific prime locations.
However, cost-conscious users trade variety for price. Take Adekunle Adeleke, a Glovo super user who briefly switched to Chowdeck for its more expansive selection of vendors. “Once [Chowdeck’s] delivery fees increased, I had to reconsider,” he told TechCabal.
Delivery fees are a popular concern and can cost up to ₦1,000 on some apps, with service fees adding to the pile.
To remain competitive, platforms must find a balance—the right unit economics to ensure they’re not losing money on every delivery while giving customers the perception of a good deal.
Historically, food delivery companies have subsidised costs, charging users less than the service cost. The extent of these subsidies often depends on the company’s funding. Glovo, operating in 7 countries, has raised over $1 billion—over 200 times the amount raised by local competitors like Chowdeck, HeyFood, and FoodCourt combined.
Yet well-funded companies like Bolt Food and Jumia Food have exited the segment, citing a race to the bottom and unsustainable unit economics. The players that have taken their place are innovating around sustainability concerns.
Glovo and Chowdeck have introduced subscription plans to users potential cost savings and encouraging them to place more orders.
Glovo Prime, for instance, has a ₦2,000 monthly subscription that helps users save on delivery fees. Chowdeck offers a ₦3,500 monthly plan, ChowPass, that discounts fees from select restaurants. These cost savings are important with Adekunle Adeleke claiming to have saved over ₦116,000 in three months with Glovo Prime, ordering at least once daily from Glovo.
Omotoso Dolapo, a director at a fintech startup, subscribes to ChowPass and Glovo Prime and spends around ₦400,000 monthly on food delivery. She prefers Chowdeck for its variety but relies on Glovo for groceries and competitive pricing. “The market is chaotic, and I need to optimise for productivity.”
However, users want increased functionality and convenience. Aderinsola Oluwafemi, a product designer and Chowdeck super user who placed 220 orders in 2024 wants to order from multiple restaurants simultaneously. That way, she doesn’t need to leave her apartment multiple times to pick up orders. “I know this will be hard,” says Oluwafemi, who is also a product designer.
“Time is money, and it is saving me a lot of time,” said Peace Solomon, a self-described Chowdeck loyalist, who spends around ₦50,000 on Chowdeck orders weekly. “I use my free time to study and create content for my LinkedIn.”
Adeleke, a Glovo user, wants a wider restaurant selection and more reliable deliveries. “It can be a real fight to get your food on time,” he told TechCabal, citing instances of Glovo riders making deliveries barefoot. While Glovo provides full refunds for such incidents, he would prefer if it happened less frequently.
Chowdeck and Glovo did not respond to requests for comments.
Despite the feedback, food delivery apps are generally in lockstep with their users—this goldmine of a customer segment happy to spend money consistently so they can be productivity machines. That sort of trade-off is familiar to the ambitious, who understand that being productive is about making marginal changes. So what if they spend 30 to 40% of their income on food delivery apps? It’ll ensure they have entertaining New Year’s resolutions for 2026.
