Co-founders of Bite Local, Dave Wilton and Ashley Arnott, joined us for a brief chat on some of the key aspects of the business. 

We covered details of the franchise business including what the role it plays in the market and how it fits, what they love about the business, the type of people that are best suited, any common misconceptions about the brand or industry and more…

(What is Bite Local?)

"Bite Local is a restaurant services business supported by a mobile app. So basically looking at the big overseas mobile apps and we've built our business off the back of everything they did poorly, and built something fantastic. 

Where are you located?

We're based on the Mornington Peninsula. That's where we started. We're growing throughout Victoria and rest of Australia. 

(What do you love about what you do?)

What I really love about Bite Local is the way we're working with our restaurant partners and building a really strong relationship with them, providing them a great value service with our own delivery team. 

It's also great working with our team of drivers, working with them and providing a fantastic service to our customers. So really it's about doing better than our competitors, and really being focused on that local aspect. 

That's what local is really all about. 

What do you look for in the right-fit person to be a franchise owner?

There's no one type fit, but we're really looking for someone that's customer focused, that enjoys meeting people, getting out in the community, being involved. 

You don't need any special experience as such. We provide all the training that's required. 

So that's really at the core of it, you've got to be customer focused, you need to really want to meet people. 

What’s a misconception you believe people have about your brand or niche?

Look In terms of misconception, I mean, Bite Local is very new. 

A lot of people won't know or won't have really heard of the brand. We're not spending millions of dollars on marketing at the moment. 

I think the misconception really would be around food delivery and that these businesses don't care about restaurants, they don't care about customers. 

And that's where Bite Local really flips it on its head because we're all about caring, we're all about the outcome and providing a great service for both restaurants and customers, and looking after our drivers as well. 

What would be your advice or guidance to people looking to get into their own business?

Probably have a look at the business and really try to understand what the business is so that you can be a right fit for the business. 

You don't necessarily have to have experience in the business, but you have to understand the industry it operates in I think. 

So you know, something like Bite Local, it could be, you might be a delivery driver, you might be restaurant owner, you might just gone and have bought something from a restaurant. But you know a little bit about that industry. 

What is your key focus for the next 12-18 months?

So a key focus really for us is growth. 

We think we have a great model and by growing through a franchise network, we're able to grow wide, but still remain local because we'll be local where that franchisee lives. 

So really it's about growth. We'll be improving our technology and increasing our marketing so people are a bit more aware of the local brand and we can take market share from the big guys and help more restaurants, and help more people."