Foodpanda answer to rumors

Foodpanda India has rubbished reports it will close down, parent Rocket Internet saying the market is one of its fastest growing internationally.

“We are extremely happy with the development of our business in India,” Saurabh Kochhar, CEO, Foodpanda India said in a statement emailed to Inside Retail Asia.

“We are a global player in food ordering business, backed by a group of renowned investors. Whenever we have felt the need for investments we have invested and we will continue to do so.”

Kochhar said the company is market leader in India’s online food sector.

“We have achieved an outstanding rate of automation in India and have built incredible technological innovations that have dramatically improved our order processing, vendor management and delivery rider allocation.

“Marketplace businesses generally require many years to turn profitable,” he continued. “We are happy to see this happening even faster at Foodpanda. Online food ordering is one of the most profitable internet business models and we are proving so in India as well.”

Further, Kochhar told the Times of India the country is expected to be one of its top three globally by 2019.  Currently, its top markets are Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, India and Malaysia.

“We have no plans to exit from the Indian market. We are best placed to grow and consolidate our leadership in the Indian market,” Kochhar said.