WhatsApp ordering for grocery and sweet shops: catalog, packs by weight and local delivery
Updated October 19, 2026
If your regulars already send their shopping list on WhatsApp, you can turn that chat into orders that arrive priced and complete. Menuthere gives a small grocer, deli or sweet shop an ordering page and, on the Pro plan (US$39 a month), a catalog customers browse inside WhatsApp. They add items to a basket in the chat, send it, and get a link that opens your shop with those items in the cart. Packs are sold by weight or size, each with its own price. You set a minimum order and where you deliver, and pay 0% commission. On every plan, including Free, a customer can also send their finished order to your WhatsApp in one tap.
In short
- Fits: neighborhood grocers, delis, spice and specialty food shops, sweet shops and confectioners with a set price per pack.
- Doesn't fit: a supermarket that needs barcode scanning, stock counts or prices set by exact weight at the till.
- Packs as sizes: 250 g, 500 g and 1 kg of the same sweet, each with its own price; one size can be switched off when it runs out.
- Small-basket rules: a store-wide minimum order, delivery zones you draw or pick by area name, and free delivery above an amount (Lite and above).
- Festival boxes on pre-order: gift boxes that need a few days' notice, on the dates you choose.
Is Menuthere right for your shop?
Menuthere is built for food businesses with a menu. A shop with a few dozen to a few hundred products, each with a photo and a set price, fits it well. Be honest with yourself about the rest.
| Your shop | Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet shop or confectioner selling boxes and packs by weight | Good | Each weight is a size with its own price. Gift boxes can be pre-ordered with notice. |
| Deli or specialty grocer with a fixed range | Good | Categories, photos, and a catalog customers browse in WhatsApp |
| Corner shop where regulars order a weekly list | Good | Ordering page, minimum order and local delivery zones |
| Items priced by exact weight on the day (fresh fish, cut meat) | Partial | Mark them "price as per size / custom": they show on your menu but can't be ordered online. Sell fixed packs instead. |
| Supermarket needing barcodes, stock levels or thousands of SKUs | No | Menuthere has no barcode scanning or stock counts. Use a retail e-commerce system. |
If you mainly want a simple WhatsApp-first shop for non-food products, a general tool may suit you better; see our comparison with Take App.
Selling by weight and pack: a worked menu
Each item can have sizes, each with its own name and price, and the customer picks exactly one. Add-ons add to the price and can be required or optional. Here is how a mixed sweet and grocery shop might set up three items (prices are examples):
| Item | Sizes (pick one) | Add-ons |
|---|---|---|
| Pistachio baklava | 250 g $9 · 500 g $17 · 1 kg $32 | Gift box +$3 (optional) |
| Basmati rice | 1 kg $4 · 5 kg $17 | none |
| Assorted sweets box | Small (12 pieces) $14 · Large (24 pieces) $26 | Ribbon and card +$2; message in the order note |
- When the 1 kg pack runs out, switch off just that size. The other sizes stay orderable, and you switch it back on yourself.
- Delivery-only price: an item can have a separate delivery price, for example to cover chilled packaging, on every plan.
- Allergens and nutrition: each item can carry tags for the 14 common allergens, calories and a halal mark, on every plan.
The WhatsApp catalog for a shop
On Pro, the Catalogue screen publishes your items to WhatsApp so customers can browse and build a basket without leaving the chat.
- Ask support to switch it on. The catalog is enabled store by store.
- Check what's ready. Items need a name, a price and a photo. The screen marks anything with No photo, No price or No name.
- Press Sync. It sends every ready item and is safe to run again: it updates what's there rather than duplicating it.
- Link the catalog to your number once in WhatsApp Manager → Account tools → Catalogue. Menuthere can't do this step for you.
When a customer sends their basket, Menuthere replies with a link that opens your shop with those items in the cart. Prices are checked against your live menu at checkout, so a catalog you haven't synced since a price change can never charge the old price. Sync again after you change prices or switch items off.
Delivery rules for small baskets
Grocery orders are often small and close by, so the rules matter more than for a restaurant.
| Rule | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum order amount | A delivery order below it can't be placed. Applies to the whole store. | Every plan |
| Delivery radius or zones | Set a maximum distance, or draw zones. Type an area name and its outline is added as a zone. | Every plan |
| Flat delivery fee | One charge for every delivery | Every plan |
| Fee by distance | Base plus per km, or price bands | Lite and above |
| Free or reduced delivery | Waived or cut above an amount, within a distance or in chosen zones. Checkout shows how much more to add. | Lite and above |
| Customers outside your area | Stopped at checkout, with the choice to switch to pickup | Every plan |
The free delivery fee calculator helps you set a fee that covers your trip. If you've never set up zones, read how to set up delivery zones instead of a radius.
Festival gift boxes on pre-order
Sweet shops make much of their year around a few festivals and holidays: Eid, Diwali, Christmas, Lunar New Year or a local celebration. On Lite and above, prebooking turns those boxes into orders you can plan for:
- Limit prebooking to the festival boxes, so the rest of your shop orders as normal.
- Set the notice, for example 3 days, and a date range that ends on the festival day.
- Customers pick a date and time at checkout, and the date prints in bold on the order ticket.
- Tell your customers with a WhatsApp broadcast on Pro. It's a marketing message, the costliest type, so send one well-timed message rather than daily reminders. A poster for the counter? Try the free festival poster maker.
A box that needs notice must be ordered on its own; checkout asks customers to split a basket that mixes it with everyday items.
What it costs
| Plan | Price | What a shop gets |
|---|---|---|
| Free | US$0 | Ordering page, QR codes, one-tap hand-off of the order to your WhatsApp, 50 orders a month |
| Lite | US$17 a month | Unlimited orders, card payment to your own Stripe account (outside India), fee by distance, free delivery above an amount, pre-orders |
| Pro | US$39 a month | WhatsApp catalog, bot and order updates from your own number, broadcasts, loyalty points |
Meta charges per message for messages sent from your own number on Pro, billed to your WhatsApp Business account and priced by the customer's country. Menuthere adds nothing to it. Estimate yours with the WhatsApp cost calculator. Lite and Pro have a 7-day free trial; a card is needed to start it, and nothing is charged until it ends.
Frequently asked questions
Can a grocery store take orders on WhatsApp with Menuthere?
Yes, if your range has set prices per item or pack. Customers order on your Menuthere page or, on Pro, from a WhatsApp catalog in the chat. Menuthere has no barcode scanning or stock counts, so it suits small shops rather than supermarkets.
Can I sell sweets by weight?
Yes. Add each weight, such as 250 g, 500 g and 1 kg, as a size with its own price. The customer picks one, and you can switch off a single size when it runs out.
What does a product need to appear in the WhatsApp catalog?
A name, a price and a photo. WhatsApp won't list an item without a photo, and the catalog screen tells you which items are missing something.
Can I set a minimum order for delivery?
Yes, on every plan. The minimum order amount applies to the whole store. From the Lite plan you can also waive or reduce delivery above an amount you choose.
Can customers pre-order festival gift boxes?
Yes, on Lite and above. Limit prebooking to the gift boxes, set the notice you need and a date range, and customers pick a date at checkout.
Can I sell items priced on the day?
They can be listed but not ordered online. Mark them price as per size or custom and they show without an Add button. Sell fixed packs if you want them ordered online.
Sources (11)
- Menuthere Docs, "WhatsApp catalogue": https://menuthere.com/docs/whatsapp/whatsapp-catalogue (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Sizes and portions (variants)": https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/sizes-and-portions-variants (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Add-ons and choices": https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/add-ons-and-choices (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Dishes priced at the counter": https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/dishes-priced-at-the-counter (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Mark a dish, size or category out of stock": https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/mark-a-dish-size-or-category-out-of-stock (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Delivery prices and tax-inclusive prices": https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/delivery-prices-and-tax-inclusive-prices (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Minimum order and maximum distance": https://menuthere.com/docs/delivery/minimum-order-and-maximum-distance (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Add a zone by area name": https://menuthere.com/docs/delivery/add-a-zone-by-area-name (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Free and reduced delivery": https://menuthere.com/docs/delivery/free-and-reduced-delivery (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs, "Dishes that need notice": https://menuthere.com/docs/hours/dishes-that-need-notice (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, "Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform": https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing (accessed 19 Oct 2026)