Delivery platforms are fleshing out a cooperation model in which they directly support sales growth for merchants on their platforms. Woowa Brothers said on Tuesday that the third cohort of its free one-on-one customised consulting programme for restaurant owners, “Baemin Store Growth Consulting,” has concluded.

The programme, launched in February last year, has drawn an average 9-to-1 competition ratio each cohort, with a total of 41 restaurant owners completing it so far. It consists of a step-by-step curriculum covering store status diagnosis, solution proposals and performance measurement. Practical training is central, including profit-and-loss management, menu composition and delivery-app marketing.

The third cohort had 13 participants in March and April this year. Compared with January and February before the consulting, the monthly average number of orders rose 36.5 percent, gross food value (GFV) increased 29.9 percent and the number of customers climbed 31.1 percent. The gains came from reflecting commercial-area characteristics such as university districts and apartment complexes, increasing single-person and new customers, and expanding takeout to raise the share of repeat orders. More merchants also introduced Baemin marketing tools for the first time after the consulting. Stores that used “Immediate Discount,” which automatically applies discounts at the time of ordering, posted a sales growth rate of 54.9 percent.

Kwon Yong-kyu (권용규), head of Woowa Brothers’ Baemin Academy, said the programme was designed to solve problems with restaurant industry experts and help store growth for partners whose sales are stagnating or who are having difficulties running their stores. He said the company will expand the programme so more self-employed owners can experience tangible results.