For fish and chip shops and takeaways
AI phone answering for fish and chip shops, so the fryer never stops for a question
Hello answers your shop's phone, website chat and email while you're cooking. It handles the questions that eat into a Friday night: are you open, where are you, what's on the menu, do you do gluten-free, is the fryer shared. It sends callers your online ordering link or puts them through to the counter, and it never promises food is safe for an allergy.
6,990
takeaway food businesses in New Zealand, February 2025
$11.17
average price of one fish and chips, September 2026 (it was $4.42 in 2006)
$4.4b
takeaway food sales in the year to June 2025, the fastest-growing part of hospitality
Source: Restaurant Association, media release 15 October 2025
Facts checked 20 October 2026.
What customers ring about, and how Hello handles it
"Are you open?"
The most common call, and the one that interrupts you most. Hello gives your hours, including public holidays, straight away.
Gluten-free and allergies
Hello answers from the allergen information you approve, including whether your fryer is shared. It always asks the caller to mention any allergy when they order and never says food is safe for an allergy.
Menu and prices
Hello reads out your menu and prices as you've set them, and suggests the family pack or kids' meals if you've told it to.
Placing an order
Hello isn't a till. It texts the caller your online ordering link, or puts them through to the counter phone if you'd rather take phone orders yourself.
Where are you and is there parking?
Directions, parking and whether you deliver, answered without anyone leaving the fryer.
Bulk and event orders
Orders for a sports team or a work do need a person. Hello takes the date, numbers and contact details and texts them to you.
What Hello does for fish and chips
- Answers every call, chat and email, even with a queue out the door
- Gives hours, menu and prices exactly as you've approved them
- Answers the shared-fryer and gluten-free questions consistently, every time
- Texts your online ordering link, or puts the caller through to the counter
- Sends bulk and event orders to your phone with the details
- Shows you each month what customers asked, so you can update your menu board
What Hello won't do
- Take payments or put orders into your till
- Promise that food is safe for an allergy
- Quote prices or specials you haven't approved
- Tell callers how long the wait is, unless you give it a standard time to quote
How it plays out
Example: Friday at six
There's a queue to the door and the phone keeps ringing. Hello answers eleven calls in an hour: six about hours and the menu, three about gluten-free fish, and two that want to order, who get your ordering link by text. Nobody at the fryer touches the phone.
Example: Sunday morning
You open at 11. At 9:30 someone rings about a 40-person order for a club prizegiving. Hello takes the date, numbers and their phone number and texts it to you. You call them back before you open.
The rules that shape how Hello answers
Customers must be able to find out about allergens
MPI says takeaways selling unpackaged food must know what allergens are in it and be able to tell customers when asked. The allergens are those listed in the Food Standards Code, including peanut, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, milk, egg, wheat and gluten, and soy. MPI also notes frying oil can carry fish or peanut, which is why customers ask about shared fryers.
"Gluten-free" is a claim you must back up
If you call something gluten-free, MPI says you must manage that allergen so the food is genuinely safe. Hello uses only the wording you approve and adds a reminder to tell staff about allergies.
Surcharges must be clear before people buy
If you add a public holiday surcharge, the Commerce Commission says customers must know before they decide to buy. Hello mentions it when someone asks about a public holiday.
What a missed call is worth
One fish and chips averaged $11.17 in September 2026, according to Stats NZ, and a family order costs several times that. Hello Solo is NZ$149 + GST a month, about NZ$4.90 + GST a day.
Source: Stats NZ, Selected price indexes: September 2026
| Calls a day | Plan | Price | About per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to about 5 | Hello Solo | NZ$149 + GST a month | NZ$4.90 |
| 5 to 30 | Hello Team | NZ$299 + GST a month | NZ$9.83 |
| 30+ | Hello Scale | Quoted | n/a |
Getting set up
- 01Type in your menu and prices, or upload your menu as a document.
- 02Write one clear line about gluten-free cooking and your fryer. Hello will use it word for word.
- 03Add your online ordering link, or the counter phone number for orders.
- 04Set your hours for public holidays and any surcharge.
Questions from fish and chips
Can Hello take phone orders?
Hello isn't a point-of-sale system, so it doesn't put orders into your till. It texts callers your online ordering link or puts them through to the counter.
What does it say about gluten-free and allergies?
It uses the allergen and fryer information you approve, word for word, and always asks the caller to mention any allergy when they order. It never says food is safe for an allergy.
What happens when lots of people ring at once?
Hello answers several calls at the same time, so nobody gets an engaged tone on a Friday night. Check how many calls your phone line can forward at once.
Is Hello worth it for a small shop?
Hello Solo is NZ$149 + GST a month for up to about 150 conversations. If the phone interrupts you most evenings, that's usually the right plan.
Can it update our hours for a public holiday?
Yes. Change your hours in the app and Hello uses the new hours straight away.
Do we need a website?
No, but it helps. Hello can build its knowledge from your website, or from your menu and a few answers you type in.
Written by Phil Dossett, co-founder of Leadica, the Auckland company that makes Hello. Facts checked 20 October 2026.
Sources
- Stats NZ business demography 2025, via Figure.NZ
- Stats NZ, Selected price indexes: September 2026
- Restaurant Association, media release 15 October 2025
- MPI, Food allergies and intolerances
- MPI, Checking food allergens when dining out
- Commerce Commission, public holiday surcharges
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