About Port of Peri Peri
Founded in 2016, Port of Peri Peri offers Portugese-style grilled chicken and signature sauces made with African Bird’s Eye chili peppers. The fast casual chain is headquartered in Villa Park, IL and led by Syed Pasha, a former business intelligence analyst who was inspired to make a massive career change after tasting the restaurant’s zesty chicken.
"I tried that first bite and thought, 'This is unlike anything I’ve had before,'" recalled Syed of his first Port of Peri Peri experience. In 2017, he asked the original owners — two South African cousins based in London — if he could become their business partner, and has since expanded the restaurant to 20 locations across five states.
The Challenge
As the business grew, Syed turned on Google Analytics and was surprised to find that his website was getting a high volume of organic traffic. Many people clicked on the Port of Peri Peri menu but didn’t convert since the website didn’t offer online ordering.
Syed needed a way for customers to place orders directly on their website, as well as a centralized system to track sales analytics across owned and franchised locations.
At the same time, the restaurant staff struggled with the inefficiency of phone orders. "With phone orders, a customer has to find our number and hope that an employee picks up and can hear them over all the background noise," said Syed. "I’d rather help customers be self-sufficient."
Online Ordering helps us capture customers by providing a convenient ordering experience — without spending a penny on advertising or commission.
The Solution
After reviewing several platforms, Syed chose Online Ordering, DoorDash’s direct online ordering solution that enables customers to place orders directly on a Port of Peri Peri-branded website, commission-free.
Online Ordering is designed to drive higher conversions and larger order sizes with a seamless ordering experience and built-in upsell functionality. Online Ordering also gives Syed full ownership of his sales analytics, and adds incremental orders to Port of Peri Peri’s existing sales on DoorDash. There are no monthly software fees for Online Ordering and no commissions to pay per order; instead, restaurants pay payment processing fees.
Syed also enjoys partnering with the DoorDash team. “We achieve lots together,” said Syed of his account manager. "She’s gone above and beyond, determining the best radius, optimizing my menu, and walking me through the numbers to help us continue to grow."
The Results
Since signing up for Online Ordering, Port of Peri Peri has seen a 56% increase in DoorDash orders, which has resulted in a 17% increase in DoorDash sales.
The restaurant now averages about 20 Online Ordering orders per location per week, and boasts a 4.8 average DoorDash customer rating. Syed also added Online Ordering links to his Google Business profile, which drove an additional $4,000 in weekly sales — proving that small promotional efforts go a long way with Online Ordering.
Looking ahead, Syed hopes to reach even more customers across online platforms and dine-in locations. "This is the kind of food that can appeal to the masses," he said.
