Rocket Internet-backed FoodPanda, an online platform for aggregating and delivering food from take-out restaurants, has expanded into two more emerging markets and also launched its first mobile app on Android and iOS. The FoodPanda delivery service apes the likes of GrubHub in the U.S., or Just-Eat or Delivery Hero in Europe but in classic Rocket Internet style it’s taking the model to emerging markets.
The two new markets added to FoodPanda’s menu are Argentina and Venezuela, expanding its operations in Latin America and bringing its total operational footprint to 25 markets. FoodPanda has been expanding quickly in recent months. Early last month it added another 12 countries, ramping up in its target emerging markets quickly — allowing it to claim it is “the online food delivery service with the widest geographical reach”, targeting a population of three billion people across its footprint (with “more than 10,000 restaurants signed up”).
The service was founded about a year ago, according to SG Entrepreneurs, although a Rocket Internet spokesman said FoodPanda launched food deliveries in Asia six months ago and in all other markets three months ago. The spokesman would not confirm how many orders FoodPanda has processed since launch, or how many registered users it has. We also asked about its funding level to date and were told funding will be announced “within the next weeks”. FoodPanda is currently in the process of raising money to help fuel continued growth.
FoodPanda operates under a variety of brand names in the different markets, including hellofood and HungryPanda. The full list of markets it operates in is as follows: Argentina, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal.
The new FoodPanda app is available in 14 markets initially, namely: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal and Russia. Within the next two weeks, FoodPanda said the app will also be available in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Hungary and Poland. The app lets users specify their area and then lists all the available restaurants nearby. Once an order is placed, the user receives a notification with their order details and an expected delivery time.
FoodPanda is another opportunity for Rocket Internet to cross-leverage its different ecommerce and payments startups — such as its Payleven mobile reader business — to gain efficiencies in logistics/delivery network, payments and billing, and in the general position as a hub for ecommerce.