- Australian food delivery platform Menulog is rolling out a nationwide expansion of its grocery delivery service.
- The instant delivery space is growing, with startups raising a combined $93 million in the past three months.
- Grocery and convenience will be a priority in 2022, the company said.
Australian food delivery platform Menulog is rolling out a nationwide expansion of its grocery and convenience delivery service, as the instant delivery space ramps up.
Grocery and convenience will continue to be a priority in 2022, the company said, with ambitions for further growth within its partner and delivery networks.
Founded in Australia in 2006, Menulog was acquired by Dutch-based Just Eat Takeaway.com in 2015.
Menulog said since January 2021 it had experienced a 232% surge in partner growth as a result of skyrocketing consumer demand, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said.
Food delivery spending has been slowly rising.
In April last year, the amount spent was around 120% higher than pre-pandemic averages.
And by July 2021 food delivery spending was almost 200% above pre-pandemic levels.
Menulog said it now has more than 2,200 partners live on the platform, including an expansion of major trading partners including BP, IGA Supermarkets and Quickstop United Petroleum.
It comes as ‘instant delivery’ startups — which have already built a strong presence in the US and Europe — begin to ramp up operations in Australia.
Three players are vying for market share in Australia, including Send which currently operates in Sydney and Melbourne, and Voly and Milkrun, which recently raised $18 million and $75 million respectively in seed funding.
Instant grocery services began popping up in the US and Europe in the early 2010s, with US-based goPuff founded in 2013, but the sector has taken off in the past two years.
German-based Gorillas has emerged as the market leader, boasting $1 billion in funding to bring 15 minute grocery delivery to the masses.
Other fast-growing overseas offshoots include Getir, which operates across Turkey, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France, and JOKR, which is trying to export the model to Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
Menulog has also differentiated itself in recent months by taking the lead on changes to worker pay and safety in Australia.
Amid rumblings the country will follow others in beefing up gig worker regulation, Menulog announced in April 2021 it would begin trials to transition some of its workers from independent contractors to employees.
A Fair Work hearing in January ruled that employees in the brand new ‘delivery worker’ category would be covered under the same award as courier truck drivers.
Morten Belling, managing director for Menulog ANZ, said that as on-demand grocery delivery emerged as a growing sector in Australia, the company was looking to capitalise on its existing regional network.
“On-demand delivery of groceries and convenience items is a growing market sector, one in which we are well-established and continuing to boost our offering,” Belling said.
More than a third (35%) of Menulog’s partner restaurants are based in regional Australia, a key differentiator from other market players solely focused and limited to inner city suburbs.
“Menulog’s point of difference has always been our breadth across Australia, fully servicing metro areas, and with a strong courier and partner network spanning suburban, regional and rural areas,” Belling said.
“Even though there are very few retail restrictions in play right now, consumers continue to embrace our platform for convenience items as they’re needed and craved, whether that’s fresh fruit and vegetables or pantry essentials,” he added.
“We’re delighted to make it even easier for Australians to support their local, independent supermarkets and convenience stores.”
Extracted from Business Insider
