Foodpanda seals $110m funding

One of the world’s best-known merchant bankers has taken a strategic stake in fast-growing food delivery service Foodpanda.

Just 50 days after securing $110 million cash injection from its parent and other new investors, the Rocket Internet subsidiary says Goldman Sachs has invested another $110 million into the business and will take a seat on its advisory board.

The funds are being used by Foodpanda to snap up rival delivery services in new and existing markets to help it gain critical mass and eliminate competition. Since its launch in 2012 the business has now raised more than $310 million.

Its latest acquisitions have been in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian markets, along with Russia, Mexico and Eastern Europe.

Foodpanda says it will use the Goldman Sachs funds to expand its own delivery activities and improve overall customer experience across its 40 markets.

Foodpanda’s service standards are slipping in some established markets and customers often lack an alternative supplier due to Foodpanda’s ‘scorched earth’ acquisition strategy. Improving delivery times, the temperature control and delivery condition of food and improving customer response times is becoming a major challenge for the company in some markets.

“Last-mile delivery has been part of Foodpanda’s operations since the beginning. It will now accelerate its efforts to drive customer satisfaction, aiming to offer the most convenient way of ordering food – from the mobile app and online,” the company said in a statement.

Ralf Wenzel, co-founder and CEO of Foodpanda group, said Goldman Sachs has deep expertise in online marketplaces and will help the company build the leading mobile food delivery marketplace in Emerging Markets targeting over 3 billion consumers.

“The Emerging Markets represent the largest opportunity in online food delivery and we are committed to create the most convenient way for ordering and delivering food.”

Foodpanda now has partnerships with more than 45,000 restaurants across 40 countries, and claims market leadership in 32 of those markets.