Boolanga Business Bites

Your Personal Navigator in the Ever-Evolving World of Food Delivery

Week 22.01.2024

In the fast-paced world of food technology, where every byte counts, we're thrilled to welcome you to the latest edition of Boolanga Business Bites! ????

Get ready to embark on a delectable journey through the ever-evolving landscape of food delivery – a realm where innovation, flavors, and technology converge to redefine how we experience gastronomy.

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Industry News

?? Food Delivery

Europe’s food delivery apps are beginning to serve up a profit. The companies can point to 2023 as proof that their concept works and can assume further growth in the future (Financial Times).

Uber is closing alcohol delivery service Drizly three years after acquisition. Uber is shutting down its alcohol delivery service, three years after the cab-hailing company acquired it for 1,1 billion dollars (Techcrunch).

Food delivery service hikes prices to cover minimum wage rise.?DoorDash is planning to raise delivery fees for both New York City customers and restaurants in response to recent minimum wage increases for delivery workers (Tickernews).

Just Eat, Europe's largest takeaway delivery firm, says profits will rise this year. They said it is expected to report 2023 core earnings ahead of its forecast, after it broke even on free cash flow in the second half of 2023 (Irish Examiner).

Foodpanda fined Tk10 lakh for unfair market practices.?A directive by Bangladesh Competition Commission also prohibits Foodpanda from preventing restaurants from forming partnerships with other delivery platforms (The Daily Star).?

Gig economy: UK Supreme Court adds to developing case law with Deliveroo collective bargaining ruling. In late November 2023 the UK Supreme Court ruled that a group of Deliveroo riders aren’t in an employment relationship with Deliveroo and can’t therefore access collective bargaining rights under trade union law (International Bar Association).?

Deliveroo Plus More Than Doubles UAE Subscriber Base in 2023. Number of subscribers increase 174% year-on-year in 2023 (Transport&Logistics).?

Grubhub agrees to 3,5M dollar settlement for fees charged during the pandemic.?The settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit brought by the AG’s Office alleging Grubhub illegally overcharged fees to Massachusetts restaurants in violation of a state fee cap put in place during the COVID-19 public health emergency (Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly).

Just Eat Takeaway to end Paris delivery service, around 100 jobs affected.?Just Eat Takeaway will close its in-house delivery service in Paris, Europe's largest meals delivery company said on Thursday, a move which could impact around 100 jobs (Reuters).

Grubhub Orders Fall 13% Amid Company’s Cost-Cutting Measures.?The company’s North American business, of which Grubhub comprises the majority, saw orders fall 13% year over year to 67 million and saw gross transaction value (GTV) decline by 15% (PYMNTS).

Deliveroo sees 2023 earnings slightly ahead of guidance.?British meal delivery company Deliveroo said its 2023 earnings would be "slightly" ahead of the 60-80 million pounds ($76-101 million) it had guided, while the total value of orders on its platform had risen by 3%, in line with its forecasts (Reuters).

Stuart, a last-mile logistics company, has joined forces with UrbanPiper, a large integrations provider. This combined tech offering will be available throughout the UK, Ireland, and Europe with the goal of speeding up order time as well as delivery times (FoodOnDemand).

DoorDash to hike NYC delivery fees to offset minimum wage increase — here’s how much it will set you back. A month after?city legislation forced?food-delivery apps to pay higher hourly wages – at least $17.96 an hour – DoorDash told restaurants that they will be paying a higher commission rate effective Wednesday, according to a memo obtained by The Post (New York Post).

Zomato Unveils Its Sustainability Plan, Eyes 100% Deliveries Through EVs By 2033. The sustainability themes encompass Zomato's dedication to achieving 100 per cent electric vehicle deliveries by 2033 and ensuring the delivery of 100 million plastic-free food orders by 2025 (BW disrupt).

?? Grocery Delivery

HelloFresh fined 140k pounds over 'deluge' of spam marketing messages.?The fine relates to direct marketing messages sent to subscribers of the meal kit brand between August 2021 and February 2022, which the ICO found “lacked proper consent” (TheGrocer).

Instacart helps to get groceries to military families.?Grocery technology company?Instacart?and national nonprofit organization?Military Family Advisory Network?(MFAN) have joined forces to provide free groceries and delivery to military families who have relocated to a new base (Progressive Grocer).

How Instacart plans to gamify omnichannel shopping.?The company envisions its smart cart users earning rewards the way players do in the popular game Pokémon Go, a vice president said (Grocery Dive).

Instacart and DoorDash Hike Fees in Seattle Following Wage Law.?Seattle in 2022 passed legislation that increased wages for drivers for the delivery apps. That law went into effect Saturday (Jan. 13), and is happening as the federal government is looking to raise wages for gig workers around the country (PYMNTS).

Instacart Stock Spikes as Analyst Suggests an Uber Takeover.?Instacart?stock jumped Wednesday after an analyst speculated the grocery delivery company could be a takeover target for ride-sharing platform?Uber Technologies (Barron's).

Ocado Sees Further Revenue Growth Supported by Volumes.?Ocado?Group said it expects revenue to further increase in fiscal 2024 supported by volume growth after a record Christmas performance (The Wall Street Journal). Britain's

Ocado Retail pauses new sites for two to three years.?British online supermarket Ocado Retail is operating at about 75% of its capacity and does not expect to open any new robotic warehouses in the UK for two to three years, its boss said on Tuesday (Reuters).

?? Delivery Tech

Walmart has invested in drone deliveries in this particular market.?Supermarket News?reportsthat Walmart’s partnerships with drone delivery services Zipline and Wing, the latter owned by Google (The Takeout).

Alphabet’s Wing supersizes delivery drones to tow big orders.?Wing, the drone-powered delivery company operated by Alphabet, intends to introduce a larger craft capable of towing heavier packages to customers (Techcrunch).

?? E-Commerce

Several emerging trends are set to reshape e-commerce in 2024.?E-commerce is a dynamic industry that has transformed the way we shop and conduct business. With rapid advancements, your business must stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive (Forbes).

Amazon is testing an artificial intelligence tool that lets shoppers ask questions about a specific product.?The feature could keep shoppers from scrolling through pages of reviews or reading through a listing to find information about an item (CNBC).

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