Every food business in Ghana wants the same thing: more orders. Not followers, not likes — orders. The good news is that getting more orders is not magic. It is a list of small things done properly, and most of your competitors are not doing them.
Here are 15 tactics we have seen work in real Ghanaian kitchens, from Accra to Kumasi. Start with the first three today.
The quick answer
Fix your food photos, make sure you can be ordered from in more than one place (one marketplace plus your own store), and start messaging your regulars on WhatsApp on purpose. Those three alone move the needle. The other twelve below compound it.
Photos and menu (do these first)
1. Retake your five best sellers. The photo of your food is your shopfront. Natural light, plain background, phone camera is fine. Ugly photos make even delicious food look risky.
2. Put prices on everything. Menus with no prices create "how much?" messages, and every extra question loses half the customers.
3. Name dishes like people search for them. "Grilled tilapia + banku" beats "Chef's Special #3". Clear names sell; confusing names create silence.
Where you sell
4. Be on at least two channels. One marketplace (Bolt Food or Chowdeck) for discovery, plus your own store for profit. If one app has a bad week — they do — the other keeps you selling. We compared the platforms honestly in Bolt Food vs Chowdeck vs Dingo.
5. Get your own ordering link. A free Dingo store gives you one link that works on WhatsApp status, Instagram bio and flyers: customers order and pay without you typing a thing. Zero commission on every order.
6. Take orders in the DMs automatically. Read how a WhatsApp ordering system answers, sells and takes MoMo payments while you sleep.
7. Make paying effortless. Payment links in the chat, MoMo checkout on your store. Every extra step between "I want it" and "paid" loses customers.
Local visibility (free, and most ignore it)
8. Set up Google Maps properly. When someone nearby searches "food near me" or your dish, Google shows options. A complete Google Business Profile — photos, hours, menu, location — is free and powerful. We explain the whole thing in why Ghanaian businesses need SEO.
9. Collect Google reviews on purpose. After a happy delivery, send the customer your review link. Five honest reviews put you ahead of most of your street.
10. Show up where your area is. Local WhatsApp groups, office lunch groups, church and campus communities. One group poster with your ordering link beats ten generic flyers.
Repeat customers (where the real money is)
11. Save every customer's number. Every order, every platform. This list is the asset nobody can take from you.
12. Message your regulars on purpose. New dish? Slow Tuesday? Send a short, friendly WhatsApp status or broadcast. Regulars who hear from you monthly order more — that is the whole trick.
13. Make Wednesdays special. Slow days are a pricing problem. A midweek offer gives people a reason to pick you on the quiet days instead of nobody.
Presentation and delivery
14. Package like the food matters. The same meal arrives soggy or perfect depending on you. Decent packaging protects your reviews, and your reviews protect your future orders.
15. Deliver when you say you will. Late food is the number one reason customers never return. Promise realistic times and beat them.
Your one-page checklist
- 5 best sellers re-photographed
- Prices visible everywhere
- One marketplace + your own store
- WhatsApp ordering set up
- MoMo payment link in every chat
- Google Business Profile complete
- 5 new Google reviews
- Customer number list growing weekly
- Midweek offer running
- Packaging and delivery times checked
Print it. Stick it on the wall. Tick them off over two weeks.
Want it done for you?
This is the boring truth: all of this works, but it takes consistency. If you would rather run your kitchen than run your marketing, that is what Brand Afro does every day for Ghanaian businesses — see our services, including restaurant websites that bring orders.
If you would rather do it yourself, start with a free Dingo store and its WhatsApp selling AI, and keep 100% of every order.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get more orders on Bolt Food?
Better photos, competitive app pricing, and fast acceptance times rank you higher in the app. But remember the commission — our Bolt Food commission breakdown shows what you really keep. More app orders at 20% can earn less than fewer direct orders at 100%.
What is the cheapest way to get more food orders?
Your phone. Retake photos, complete your Google profile, message your regulars on WhatsApp, and set up a free Dingo store. That is a full weekend of work and zero cedis.
How do I make customers order directly instead of through apps?
Give them a reason: your direct prices can be lower because there is no commission, add a small thank-you for direct orders, and make paying by MoMo effortless. Then keep them close with monthly WhatsApp messages.
Ready to grow your orders this month?
Set up your Dingo store at madingo.store, claim your shop name, and start taking direct orders today. It takes about 3 minutes, and the free plan costs nothing forever.