How to Set Up a Delivery Zone That Actually Works

The most common mistake is launching with too large a delivery area. Restaurants look at a map, draw a generous circle, and think "more coverage means more customers." In practice, a wider zone means longer delivery times, colder food, higher driver costs, and worse reviews. Start smaller than you think you need to, and expand based on evidence.

Use drive time, not distance. Two miles in a quiet suburb might take 5 minutes. Two miles through a city centre at 6pm on a Friday might take 25 minutes. Your delivery zone should be defined by how long it takes to get there, not how far away it is on a map. A good starting point is 10-15 minutes' drive time from your kitchen during your busiest delivery period. Open Google Maps at 7pm on a Saturday and check how long it actually takes to reach the edges of your intended zone. You will be surprised.

Consider natural boundaries. Rivers, railway lines, motorways, and steep hills create real barriers that add minutes to journeys. A postcode that looks close on a map might actually require a 10-minute detour to reach. Walk your zone boundary mentally — if a driver has to cross a bridge, go through a level crossing, or navigate a one-way system, that adds up quickly.

• Test the furthest point yourself — before launching, drive to the edge of your proposed zone during peak hours with a takeaway container of hot food. Open it when you arrive. If it is still at an acceptable temperature and quality, your zone works. If not, pull it in.
• Start with a 1.5-2 mile radius — for most urban restaurants, this covers a population of 10,000-30,000 people, which is more than enough to generate consistent orders. Suburban restaurants may need a slightly larger zone (2-3 miles) to reach the same population density.
• Expand in phases — once you are consistently fulfilling orders within your initial zone with an average delivery time under 30 minutes, add another half-mile ring. Monitor delivery times and customer satisfaction for two weeks before expanding again.
• Use postcode-based zones — most ordering platforms let you define zones by postcode rather than drawing on a map. This is more precise and avoids the awkward situation where one side of a street is in your zone and the other is not. List every postcode you want to serve and be specific.
• Check where your existing customers are — if you have been taking phone orders or using aggregators, look at where your delivery orders actually go. You will likely see clusters. These clusters should be the core of your zone.

Not every delivery costs the same amount to fulfil. A customer 0.5 miles away is quick and cheap to serve. A customer 3 miles away takes three times as long and costs three times as much in driver time and fuel. Zone-based pricing lets you charge appropriately for different distances while keeping close-range delivery competitive.

The two-zone model is the simplest approach. Define an inner zone (within 1-1.5 miles) and an outer zone (1.5-3 miles). The inner zone gets a low or free delivery charge. The outer zone pays a higher fee or needs to meet a higher minimum order. For example: free delivery within 1 mile on orders over £15, or £2.50 delivery for orders in the 1-2.5 mile range with a £20 minimum.

For areas at the very edge, consider collection only. If a postcode is technically reachable but the drive time makes delivery impractical, offer collection as the only option. Customers in those areas who really want your food will drive to you, and you avoid the risk of a cold, delayed delivery that results in a complaint. This is much better than delivering to the edge of your zone and disappointing someone.

• Adjust zones by time of day — if traffic in your area is significantly worse during peak hours (5:30-8pm on weekdays, for instance), consider reducing your delivery zone during those times. A 3-mile zone that works at 2pm might not work at 7pm. Some platforms let you set different zones for different time slots — use this feature if it is available.
• Use higher minimums for the outer zone — a £12 minimum for inner zone and £20 for outer zone ensures that longer deliveries are at least proportionally profitable. Customers in the outer zone tend to order for households or groups anyway, so a higher minimum is rarely a barrier.
• Be transparent about delivery charges — show the delivery fee clearly before checkout, not as a surprise at the end. Customers accept reasonable delivery fees when they can see them upfront. Hidden charges lead to abandoned baskets and bad reviews.
• Free delivery as a reward, not a default — offering free delivery on all orders sounds generous but it eats into every margin. Use free delivery strategically: for orders over a certain value, for first-time customers, or during quieter trading periods to stimulate orders. This way, free delivery drives behaviour rather than simply costing you money.
• Review your zone data monthly — look at where your orders are coming from, which zones have the highest average order value, and where complaints about delivery time are concentrated. This data will tell you whether to expand, contract, or re-price your zones. The goal is a zone that balances reach, quality, and profitability — and that balance will shift as your business grows.