Foodpanda raises $100 million from Goldman Sachs, others

It has now raised over $310 million since its launch in 2012

Foodpanda, a global mobile food delivery marketplace, has raised $100 million in funding led by Goldman Sachs. Existing investors, among them Rocket Internet SE, also participated. With the last funding of $110 million in March, Foodpanda has now raised over $310 million since its launch in 2012.

As part of the financing round, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners will join the advisory board of Foodpanda.

After acquiring key competitors in India, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Eastern Europe, and South East Asia, the company will use the recent investment to further expand its own delivery and improve customer experience across 40 countries, said the firm, which recently announced that it would  extend its delivery in India.

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 ordering of food from a mobile app and the Web.

Foodpanda, with its affiliated brands, focuses on emerging markets, operating in 40 countries across five continents, leading in 32 countries, among them India and Russia. Foodpanda is active in over 580 cities around the world, operating in 12 of the largest 20 metropolises, and partnering over 60,000 restaurants.

To up Indian headcount
Foodpanda will increase its headcount three to four times in India by the end of this year.

Delivery will be the big focus, said Saurabh Kochhar, chief executive, Foodpanda.

Foodpanda claims to be India’s largest online food-ordering platform. The company is targeting restaurants with delivery services, as well as those that have not yet started these.

While the company will not grow much beyond 200 cities, it hopes to increase the number of restaurants to 20,000 end of this year.

“We are looking at multiple growth in every possible cities in the country,” said Kochhar. Currently tier I accounts for nearly 50 per cent, while the balance comes from tier II and III.

Queried whether the company is open for further acquisitions in India, he said, “we are open, but nothing on the cards immediately. If something comes up, which can be a compliment for our business, then we will look into.”

Early this year, Foodpanda has acquired rival JustEat in India in a stock-led deal.

Commenting on the recently launched delivery services, he said, though the service was recently launched, he claimed already the company clocked 20 per cent orders and are hoping to escalate this figure to 60-70 per cent by next year.

By extending company's services from the online stage of ordering to actual delivery at the consumer’s doorstep, the company aim at augmenting  customers’ engagement with foodpanda and deliver to a larger set of partners.

Currently, the service covers five Indian cities -- Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru -- and the company is planning to ramp up this number to 12, in the next 3 to 6 months.