Case study
How a 12-Outlet Restaurant Chain Built a Delivery-App Growth Engine
An anonymised client runs 12 quick-service restaurant outlets that depended entirely on delivery-app placement for orders, with a dormant social presence and no owned audience. VR Digital built a short-form content and paid social engine that turned Instagram and delivery-app performance into a compounding growth loop.
Client
Anonymised client
Industry
Food & Hospitality
Engagement
5 months · ongoing
Services
Paid Social + Social Media Management
Anonymised client
An anonymised client runs 12 quick-service restaurant outlets that depended enti…
Instagram Reach
+412%
↑ Client-reportedDelivery Orders
2.4x
↑ Client-reportedPaid Social ROAS
6.1x
↑ Client-reportedNew Followers
+68K
↑ Client-reportedObjective
Almost total dependence on delivery-app search placement for order volume. Inconsistent, low-production social content with no repeatable system. No local audience or community around any individual outlet. Paid social spend, where it existed, was untargeted and untracked against actual orders. No mechanism to convert social attention into an owned, remarketable audience.
Challenges & Solutions
What stood in the way, and what we changed.
Almost total dependence on delivery-app search placement for order volume.
- Inconsistent, low-production social content with no repeatable system.
- No local audience or community around any individual outlet.
- Paid social spend, where it existed, was untargeted and untracked against actual orders.
- No mechanism to convert social attention into an owned, remarketable audience.
Built a weekly content production system: hook-first Reels, a recurring behind-the-scenes series, and outlet-specific stories.
- Recruited 2–3 local micro-influencers per city on a performance-based UGC deal structure.
- Whitelisted the best-performing organic hooks into Spark Ads targeting a 5km radius per outlet.
- Launched geo-targeted lunch and dinner daypart offers with trackable delivery-app promo codes.
- Built outlet-specific Instagram highlight funnels driving straight to each location's delivery-app listing.
- Stood up a weekly reach, engagement and order-attribution dashboard per outlet.
Our approach. 4 phases
Four phases, each with a clear output.
Step 01
Audit and research
The starting point, the data available and the questions customers ask.
Step 02
Plan
Priorities, measures and the work agreed in writing.
Step 03
Build and launch
Tracking, pages, campaigns and content go live.
Step 04
Measure and improve
Results reviewed against the agreed measures, with changes logged.
Results.
Instagram reach grew 412% across all outlet accounts in five months. Delivery-app order volume grew 2.4x, with promo-code tracking attributing the majority to social. Paid social campaigns returned a 6.1x ROAS on whitelisted creator content. Combined outlet following grew by more than 68,000 followers. Owned audience (followers + opted-in offer list) now drives repeat orders independent of delivery-app algorithm changes.
Instagram Reach
+412%
↑ Client-reported
Over 5 months · client-reported
Delivery Orders
2.4x
↑ Client-reported
Across the full engagement period
Paid Social ROAS
6.1x
↑ Client-reported
Across the full engagement period
New Followers
+68K
↑ Client-reported
Across the full engagement period
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The starting state
Almost total dependence on delivery-app search placement for order volume. Inconsistent, low-production social content with no repeatable system. No local audience or community around any individual outlet. Paid social spend, where it existed, was untargeted and untracked against actual orders. No mechanism to convert social attention into an owned, remarketable audience.
What we changed
Built a weekly content production system: hook-first Reels, a recurring behind-the-scenes series, and outlet-specific stories. Recruited 2–3 local micro-influencers per city on a performance-based UGC deal structure. Whitelisted the best-performing organic hooks into Spark Ads targeting a 5km radius per outlet. Launched geo-targeted lunch and dinner daypart offers with trackable delivery-app promo codes. Built outlet-specific Instagram highlight funnels driving straight to each location's delivery-app listing. Stood up a weekly reach, engagement and order-attribution dashboard per outlet.
“We were basically renting our customers from the delivery apps. Now people find us on Instagram first, and our best-performing outlets are the ones with the strongest local following — that's not a coincidence.”
Client team (anonymised)
Marketing Head, Spice Route
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Case study FAQs
How should I interpret the reported results?+
Read the figures alongside the stated challenge, timeframe and channels. Ask about the metric definitions and supporting evidence before using a result in your own forecast.
Will my business achieve the same outcome?+
Results vary with audience, competition, budget, offer and execution. A published case study is an example of an engagement, not a guarantee for another business.
Which parts of the approach can be applied elsewhere?+
The research, tracking and testing process can inform other projects. The channel mix and messaging need to fit your own customer journey.
How do you set goals for a new campaign?+
We review the starting point, available data and commercial priorities, then agree deliverables and relevant success measures.
Can we review the scope before starting?+
Yes. Your proposal should explain the work, responsibilities, reporting and separate media or tool costs before delivery begins.
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- Founder industry experience
- 8 years
- Based in India
- India
- Digital services
- 9
- Strategy & automation
- Custom