As 2022 comes to an end, we’re rounding out the year with our fourth annual Uber Eats Cravings Report: a snapshot of the most popular, unusual and unique delivery requests. And there has been no shortage of cravings over the past 12 months. From thousands of curries and ice bags to hundreds of kilometres travelled, were focused on helping you get anything right to your door.
The Takeout Trends of the Year
- The city that never sleeps: Cape Town is topping the charts again with the most orders between 12 am and 4 am! Early bird or night owl – Uber Eats has you covered!
- Ka-ching: One user saved over R8000 in delivery fee savings by using Uber Eats Pass!
- Ice Ice Baby: Ice remained one of the top-selling grocery items ordered with over 500 000 bags of ice sold this year!
- Vegan obsessed: the City of Cape Town has claimed the title of Vegan Obsessed, with the most vegan orders this year, followed by Johannesburg and Durban.
- Pap power: It’s true that South Africans love pap with almost anything as it was one of the year’s top orders.
- Some like it hot and in bulk!: The most expensive order this year was close to R13 000, which was for over 30 curries ordered from the same restaurant.
- Stuck on repeat: The Uber Eats magic you know and love wouldn’t exist without exceptional delivery people. One delivery person drove over 1200 hours bringing delicious meals, treats and essentials to Eaters throughout the year – that’s like watching your favourite movie over 570 times or singing the National Anthem over 100 000 times. One delivery person also completed almost 9000 deliveries within the year
- Around the Earth and back: Another delivery person travelled enough kilometres to circle the earth more than twice
- Loyalty runs deep: one Eater ordered from the same restaurant 348 times this year, talk about having a favourite!
The most unique delivery requests
And if the report proves one thing, people like what they like. And, man, do people get specific!
Requests like “no onions, no cheese, sauce on the side” are no strangers to Uber Eats, but these are not your average asks.
“PLEASE NO SPICE! Level 0 for the spice, please! The mildest flavour, please. No spice. I am very white, very vanilla and think pepper is too spicey haha! Please do not make it hot for this order!! Only a TINY pinch of chilli paste please, not a lot at all! Thank you! Standard is often too hot for me… please very bland, it hurts my mouth too much when it’s hot! Thanks.” one Uber Eats orderer wrote.
Others were downright adorable, like these two sweet requests: “Hi, Morning. I hope you have a lovely morning and a good day ahead. Remember life is all about positivity despite whatever is happening. May you kindly not forget to put in extra cheese 😊, because most days they seem to forget it. Thank you & take care. Your dreams are valid.“ another Eater added, “Hello there kind person.❤️ I hope your day is going well. Mine wasn’t hence I thought I should spoil myself with the pizza. Can you do me a slight favor🥺 and not include the bell peppers? However, please be generous with the chicken🤤. And also, the crusty sweet chilli and cheese you put at the top. I love that so much🤭. Include it for me please😋. I hope you have a great evening stranger but a wonderful person. 😍😍😍”!
We do hope their day got better and tastier!
And this one requires an “ahhhh” as one thoughtful, but smart dad-to-be added: “May I humbly request A LOT of Caramel at the bottom of the cup and on top, my Wife is pregnant and she has a HUGE craving for your caramel Ice cream. duly appreciated.”
And there were even a few that proved loyalty runs deep between customers, restaurants, and delivery apps as one Eater ordered from the same restaurant 348 times this year, talk about having a favourite!
At Uber Eats we aim to satisfy all cravings no matter how unique. Whether it’s burgers or bikinis, bags of ice or last-minute drinks, we’re focused on helping consumers get anything delivered right to their door!