Deliveroo to operate as usual after DoorDash acquisition
American food, grocery, and retail delivery platform DoorDash launched in Singapore today (Oct 2), following the successful acquisition of fellow food delivery giant Deliveroo.
Tony Xu, CEO and co-founder of DoorDash, wrote in an open letter that the Deliveroo app will continue to operate as usual. Rather than the addition of DoorDash’s global scale and technology, both companies will have the opportunity to serve more people in more locations.
“This is the beginning of a new chapter, not the end of an old one.”
Xu directly addressed three primary groups for Deliveroo in his open letter: merchants, consumers, and riders. Here’s the main gist of it:
- 7 million active consumers: The company aims to improve the user experience, where it will be “even faster, smarter, and more delightful.”
- About 178,000 Merchant partners: DoorDash aims to introduce more tools to help them grow their businesses through the platform, from improving customer reach to enhancing operations.
- Approximately 130,000 riders: The firm states its intention to protect the flexibility that riders have, while investing in improvements such as better mapping and offering new forms of support and protection to ensure deliveries are conducted in an easier, safer, and more secure manner.
Miki Kuusi, co-founder of Finnish food delivery platform Wolt—which DoorDash acquired in May 2022—will assume the CEO title for Deliveroo, on top of his position as the Head of International with the American food delivery giant.
“Having known Will and others from the Deliveroo team for many years, I’ve always admired what they have built: a strong brand, a great product, and world-class operations,” said Kuusi in a press release.
“I want to thank Will in particular for everything he has done for Deliveroo and the industry as a whole. It’s remarkable what this team has built and accomplished. I couldn’t be more excited to learn from each other as we take our shared mission to the next level.”
Singapore was Deliveroo’s first international stop in 2015
DoorDash was first founded in 2013 in the US and has since expanded to over 30 countries worldwide, establishing itself as one of the world’s leading local commerce platforms. Meanwhile, Deliveroo made its international debut in Singapore in 2015, with the aim of bringing on-demand meals from restaurants that typically don’t offer takeaway services, such as Pho Stop and Cedele.
Over the past decade, Deliveroo has continued to grow its presence in Singapore, most recently partnering with the city-state’s third-largest supermarket chain, Sheng Siong, this February. This collaboration was a step aimed at helping both parties stay competitive and relevant, while offering Singaporeans an easier way to shop.
However, it’s also important to note that food delivery platforms have become increasingly competitive and saturated over the years. foodpanda has downsized its team in recent years, while homegrown apps like WhyQ have struggled to deliver despite their promising offerings.
With the acquisition of Deliveroo, would DoorDash find similar success in Singapore as it did in the West and Down Under?
- Learn more about DoorDash and Deliveroo.
- Read more articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: DoorDash, Deliveroo Singapore
