A new food delivery company will launch in Rotorua tomorrow night, giving locals the chance to choose food from 10 restaurants to be delivered right to their doorstep.
Rotorua residents will be able to order and have their food delivered through the Deliver Eats website from 5pm tomorrow, just in time for dinner.
But QE Health registered dietician Catie Pearson has warned that while it was a good opportunity for people who may not be able to go out, it was all about moderation and making sure foods high in fat and sugar were not over consumed.
She said there was a potential of a negative flow-on effect with the lack of exercise and not leaving the house.
But it was not all doom and gloom, with Pearson saying simple choices to include a portion of fruit and vegetables in the meal was a good start.
"The foods we really want to watch are pure sugar or fat because they're not going to give us any nutrition," she said.
Deliver Eats has been a labour of love for co-founder Ankush Konde who had worked day and night between his job at Gun Supplies.
"Every big city has some kind of food delivery," Konde said.
"And I thought, 'why can't we start something like that here?'"
The restaurants currently signed up to the service include Indian, Turkish, Chinese, Italian and American cuisines.
Working the same way Uber Eats does, orders can be made on the downloadable app and delivery times could be scheduled.
Konde said Rotorua people he had spoken to mentioned a grocery delivery service would be more beneficial.
After three months of seeing how the restaurant delivery went, Konde said he hoped to bring in a grocery delivery service through the app.
El Burrito Mexican Bar & Grill manager Sunin Kumar said while it was too early to make any predictions, he was both excited and hopeful about the partnership.
"They are new and we are new ... we're helping each other out," he said.
Texas Chicken Lynmore manager Varun Jay did not think the delivery would decrease the number of people coming into the store but would provide comfort for customers who wanted to stay home.
"Especially with winter," he said.
The decision to join with Deliver Eats came from Head Office and the manager said the team was excited to see what would happen.
Healthy takeaway tips from a dietician
-Kebabs with a large salad options
-Ask for extra vegetables with Chinese
-Avoid rich and creamy Indian options, try a pilaf
-Limit added extras high in sugar and fat