Lyon Simanungkalit, the founder of Do Pronto, a local food delivery service, said he wants to help students get food fast when they are hungry. He said, “We provide delivery to students and the community. [They] can order food and groceries from Laie Shopping Center, Polynesian Cultural Center Marketplace. They can simply order what they want and we will deliver it to them.”
Simanungkalit, a senior from Indonesia majoring in business management finance, said his inspiration came from feeling lazy to go buy groceries, or when he was hungry around midnight but the [campus] cafeteria was closed. He said it’s far to walk from campus to L&L or Seven Brothers.
“This is the solution where students can go to the website and order something they want and we will deliver it to them in 30 minutes,” Simanungkalit explained. “Pronto means fast, quick, immediately, or soon.”
Manu Panuve, a junior from Tonga majoring in business management, works at Do Pronto. She said the service completes all orders online but said the Do Pronto team is looking forward to adding a phone service in the future.
Panuve said pricing depends on what order is placed, between food and grocery delivery. “For the food delivery if you order and it’s below $50 then we charge $4.50 but if it’s more than $50 we charge $5.50. However, if it’s grocery shopping and the price is below $50 we charge $6.50 but if the price is higher than $50 we charge $7.50.
“The reason why we have different pricing is with grocery shopping it weighs a little bit heavier in comparison to food delivery. So that’s [why we have] those two pricings.”
Although the duration of delivery depends on the time needed to prepare the food, Simanungkalit said the goal is to deliver as soon as possible.
Eden Brown, a freshman from the Cook Islands majoring in exercise sports science, has been a customer of Do Pronto twice. “For me, I work at the night show and I don’t get to eat dinner because the cafeteria is closed. I want to go eat but I always have assignments and studies to do.
“By the time I’m ready to walk over, most shops have closed. At least now I can stay on campus and do my homework while someone else brings me a meal. The delivery prices are so cheap. It’s about time Laie had a service like this.”
Simanungkalit explained Do Pronto is not collaborating with restaurants directly, but Do Pronto deliverers will go to the restaurants to pick up the food. He said, “For example, if you want barbeque chicken from L&L, the people just put an order there and deliver it to you.”
Brown ordered from L&L and McDonalds and said the online order was easy. He added he would recommend Do Pronto. “It’s perfect for students and even the community. The only people that deliver around here is Dominos or Pizza Hut. Sometimes people just don’t feel like that kind of food.”
Simanungkalit said, “For the groceries, there is an order section on the website where people can put whatever they want. For example, if they want to put eggs, they put eggs in the order and we will read the order and we will go to Foodland and get it for them. We ask that people put the order in detail because we don’t want to make mistakes.”
Dhika Naraputraka, a sophomore majoring in business management marketing from Indonesia, has also used Do Pronto. He said he was sick and could not go to Foodland, but he wanted to eat grapes. Naraputraka said the process to order online from Do Pronto was simple, and he received his delivery of fruits well under 30 minutes. He said he would recommend it.
Panuve shared, “We just started … every Friday we do a flash sale, so between the hours of 5-8 p.m. we do a free delivery.
“When we do a free delivery, it’s under a condition. Last Friday the condition was you have to like our Facebook page, follow our Instagram, tag a friend on a post. In every week we make changes, but if you do those things we will do that for free.
Panuve said Do Pronto does not currently have a headquarters, but as the business continues there may be one established. She said the target area of Do Pronto is Laie, but there are plans to expand to Kahuku and Hauula.
Writer: Geena DeMaio