Online takeaway orderingspecialist set to expand

Nifty Nosh co-founder Barry Lynch from Magheralin and new investor Suneil Sharma joined Ahmed Nasir from the Jharna Restaurant on Belfast's Lisburn Road to unveil the ambitious growth plans for Nifty Nosh. The Jharna, Bithika and Indie Belfast in the city, which are sister restaurants, were the first Indian eateries to join the Nifty Nosh service when it went live back in 2007. Plans are now under way to firmly build on Nifty Nosh's 300-strong network of retailers over the next three years.

The growth target is included in a business development programme which will be supported by a planned £1million phased investment in the company over the 36-month period.

Founded in 2007 by Barry Lynch and his brother Ciaran, Nifty Nosh has grown steadily, mainly within Northern Ireland.

But now the brothers and new investor Suneil Sharma are aiming to push into the Republic of Ireland market.

They plan to be established in the Republic by the end of this year, adding to the 300 retailers in the independent takeaway sector who currently use the company’s services across Northern Ireland.

While its existing takeaway clients are mainly from within Northern Ireland, takeaways in London, Manchester and Glasgow are also linked in to the Nifty Nosh web platform.

More than 60,000 consumers currently use its website to order takeaway food and under the ambitious growth plans that figure is expected to increase five-fold within two years.

The company currently employs 11 people, mainly in customer support and administration, at its HQ in Belfast. And it is aiming to add more staff as it spreads its wings.

Operations director Barry Lynch said, “We offer a service and support that rivals the biggest in the world. Thanks to this fresh investment we are aiming to provide an even better service, and to grow our sales and retailer base.”

More than half of the visitors to the Nifty Nosh website use mobile devices and the wider use of mobile technologies in ordering takeaways is an area the company is keen to develop.

Nifty Nosh is the only indigenous operator providing an online takeaway food ordering service.