Tantalizers, Nigeria’s only publicly listed restaurant franchise, paid food delivery platforms ₦65,000 ($42*) in commissions in 2024—a stark contrast to the over ₦6 million ($5,459*) it incurred in 2023. It is the lowest amount the company has spent on service fees since joining platforms like Glovo in 2020.

Despite this dramatic drop in e-commerce spend, Tantalizers, which operates about 40 franchises and corporate outlets across Nigeria, reported ₦2.1 billion in revenue by September 2024, 80% of its total revenue in 2023, a year marked by its largest e-commerce spend.

Tantalizers began using delivery apps like Glovo and now-defunct Jumia Food to drive sales in 2019. By 2020, the company took a more direct approach, launching its food ordering platform and fulfilling orders with an in-house fleet of bikes, as COVID-19 restrictions caused a surge in demand for online food delivery. 

As a result, service fees were significant, climbing from ₦1.7 million in 2021 to ₦6 million in 2023 before declining to ₦65,000 in 2024.

The reduction in service fees—commissions paid to food delivery platforms for their services—reflects poor sales on the platforms.  Once a trendy restaurant chain, Tantalizers, one of the country’s oldest players, has struggled to keep up with competition. “Changing lifestyles reflected in online food ordering and home delivery has brought a number of faceless competitors into the food industry,” the company said in a 2019 financial statement. 

The restaurant has failed to capture the imagination of the younger demographic, with a poor 2.7-star rating on Chowdeck. The Place, one of its more trendy competitors, has 4.3 stars.  

The company’s struggle to compete is reflected in its financial performance and ongoing losses. For the nine months ending September 2024, Tantalizers reported a pre-tax loss of ₦231 million, following losses of ₦284 million in 2023 and ₦241 million in 2022.

In October, Food Specialties and Organics and private equity firm Banklink Africa acquired a majority stake in Tantalizers for ₦1 billion. With new capital, Tantalizers will aim to reposition itself in today’s competitive restaurant scene.

*Dollar conversions were made using the prevailing rate at the NAFEM window at the specified time.