What The Fork

What What The Fork does

What The Fork (WTF) is a UK-based, community-led food ordering platform serving independent takeaways and restaurants, headquartered in Scotland and actively expanding across the UK and into Ireland and Spain. The product is structured as a dual platform: each restaurant partner receives a custom branded app with their own payment portal, menu management, customer database marketing tools, and venue-controlled refunds, while simultaneously being listed on the central WTF platform for discovery by local consumers. Underlying technology includes a custom branded app creation system, a partner dashboard for menu updates and reporting, in-app marketing tools, and a tokenised platform infrastructure designed to support future scale, governance, and community ownership structures.

The company's go-to-market is community-led and enquiry-based, relying on direct outreach to independent venues, a WhatsApp live-chat channel, and a WTF Media content sub-brand that aggregates podcasts, creators, and local influencers to drive demand. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but is positioned around a capped-cost fee structure marketed as a fairer alternative to the percentage-based commissions of major delivery aggregators. Revenue streams comprise transaction/commission fees on orders plus recurring branded-app services bundled into the partnership.

What The Fork is an early-stage private company in active product rebuild, with no disclosed revenue, funding, headcount, or transaction volume. Geographic reach is concentrated in Scottish regions (Edinburgh, The Lothians, Fife, Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, Stirling) with onboarding forms extended to additional UK nations and Spain. Key strategic priorities currently are UK geographic expansion, the WTF Media launch, and the tokenisation of platform infrastructure for future community participation.

Name

What The Fork

Legal name

What The Fork

Website

https://whatthefork.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Aberdour

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Platform Commission / Transaction Fees: Marketplace-style revenue model where What The Fork charges capped transaction or commission fees from restaurant partners. The capped cost structure suggests a percentage-based or flat-fee take rate on orders processed through the platform, designed to be more equitable than competitor platforms.
2. Branded App Services: Revenue generated from providing custom branded apps to independent restaurants, included as part of the platform partnership. The branded app system creates additional value for restaurant partners while reinforcing platform stickiness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

What The Fork is a community-led online food ordering marketplace that helps independent UK takeaways and restaurants maintain their own brand identity while gaining the discovery benefits of a multi-use ordering platform. Each partner receives a custom white-labelled branded app with marketing tools, alongside listing on the central WTF discovery platform, all under a capped-cost fee structure. The platform is supported by a venue-controlled payment portal, partner dashboard, and the WTF Media content channel for audience growth.

Product overview

What The Fork (WTF) is a community-led food ordering platform for independent takeaways and restaurants across the UK. The core offering consists of the main WTF platform combined with a dual-system approach that gives each restaurant partner their own branded app alongside central platform discovery. A companion sub-brand, WTF Media, extends the platform with content creation through podcasts, creators, and influencers. The platform is undergoing tokenisation of its infrastructure as part of its digital-first evolution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WTF Media: A new content channel bringing podcasts, creators, and local influencers together to grow audiences, drive demand, and amplify independent food businesses nationwide.

Products and services

• What The Fork (WTF) Platform Community-led online food ordering marketplace for independent UK takeaways and restaurants, providing each partner with a custom branded app alongside listing on the central WTF discovery platform. Includes venue-controlled payment portal, refund management, in-app marketing tools, partner dashboard with monthly reporting, configurable delivery zones, and coupons under a capped-cost pricing model.
• WTF Media Content channel combining podcasts, creators, and local influencers to grow audience reach and demand for independent food businesses featured on the What The Fork platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Capped cost fees designed to maximise restaurant profit margins compared to variable percentage-based competitor models

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deliveroo: Major UK-headquartered food delivery platform connecting independent restaurants and takeaways with consumers. Directly comparable business model (restaurant marketplace, commission revenue) and overlapping UK geographic footprint.
• ChowNow: Commission-free online ordering platform that gives independent restaurants their own branded ordering websites/apps — directly aligned with WTF's branded-app value proposition and capped/zero fee positioning.
• Foodhub: UK-based food delivery platform explicitly positioned on low/zero commission fees for restaurants — almost identical value proposition to WTF's capped-cost model. Most directly comparable competitor in terms of pricing positioning and SMB restaurant target segment.
• Just Eat Takeaway: Largest UK food delivery marketplace connecting consumers with restaurant partners for online ordering and delivery — the dominant incumbent WTF is positioning against. Operates the same two-sided marketplace model with restaurant commission fees.

Others

• Toast: Restaurant technology platform combining POS, payments and online ordering. Enabling infrastructure provider for restaurants rather than direct marketplace competitor, but increasingly offering ordering channels that overlap with WTF's branded-app model.
• Olo: Enterprise restaurant ordering SaaS used by large chains for direct digital ordering. Adjacent restaurant-tech ecosystem player enabling branded digital ordering, though focused on enterprise chains rather than indie venues.

Emerging players

• GloriaFood: Free online ordering system for restaurants that lets venues accept direct orders via branded online menus. Comparable in giving indie venues a low-cost branded ordering channel, with partial marketplace discovery features.

Broad incumbents

• Uber Eats: Global food delivery arm of Uber, operating broadly across the UK with restaurant marketplace plus last-mile delivery. Larger incumbent with overlapping restaurant partner base but broader portfolio and substantially larger scale.

Regional players

• DoorDash: Largest US food delivery marketplace operating an equivalent two-sided restaurant consumer model. Closely comparable marketplace mechanics, though geographically focused on North America rather than the UK.
• Wolt: European food delivery marketplace (now part of DoorDash) operating across multiple European countries. Comparable restaurant-partner marketplace model with strong presence in Northern and Central Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@whattheforkapp
• Facebookfacebook.com/WhatTheForkApp
• Xx.com/WhatTheForkApp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about What The Fork