Delivery is definitely the buzz-word in food franchising right now. In the last couple of weeks two fast-food giants, McDonald’s and KFC, have unveiled delivery trials, partnering with established service aggregators, UberEATS and Foodora.

And the convenience trend isn’t limited to traditional fast food brands. A-la-carte restaurant chain La Porchetta has also launched delivery trials.

McDonald’s is testing the service from across 80 locations with UberEATS, adding a $5 dollar premium on orders within a 10 minute travel radius.

KFC Australia is to run a smaller eight restaurant trial in collaboration with Foodora.

Yum’s South Pacific subsidiary, under the stewardship of KFC Australia managing director Nikki Lawson, is adopting a careful approach to the trial.

Foodora sees the deal as a vote of confidence in Australia’s home delivery market, which is now starting to attract the attention of the big fish after years of market growth, through deals with small and medium sized boutique operators.

“We’ve worked with chains like Din Tai Fung and Pappa Rich and the bigger brands are now seeing that it’s something that could work for them – they are starting to realise that their customers want that experience as well,” Foodora CMO, Charlotte Rijkenberg, told Inside Retail.

The casual dining business La Porchetta is currently aligning and integrating all technology platforms from online ordering to point of sale systems.

CEO Sara Pantaleo said customer orders can be taken online, via an app, or by phone.

“Orders will go directly to our point of sale and print so they can be prepared and scheduled into our tracking system for delivery.

“Each restaurant has a delivery captain whose job it is to ensure efficient production and delivery, so the customer receives the meal in a timely way and there is no compromise to our product quality.”

The restaurant chain will allow franchisees to run their own driver, or work with drivers contracted throught the franchisor.

“We use driver tracking technology to ensure the quickest delivery times and keep product quality at a premium,” said Pantaleo.

More franchised brands are likely to take this path to improving convenience for the customer, with some franchisors already developing delivery platforms.