Rocket Internet-incubated startup foodpanda and its affiliate hellofood have received an additional $20 million in funding from investors including Phenomen Ventures.
The new capital will enable foodpanda, which now partners with 22,000 restaurants, to expand its delivery marketplace for restaurants by launching in over 40 markets by the end of 1Q2014. In the upcoming weeks, foodpanda will arrive in Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Last year, foodpanda launched in over 20 countries and released a mobile app for iOS and Android to supplement its Web site.
The latest funding brings the total amount foodpanda has raised since its launch in 2012 to $48 million. Back in May 2013, foodpanda raised $20 million, also from Phenomen Ventures, as well as Investment AB Kinnevik. Then in Sept. 2013 it picked up $8 million from iMENA Holdings.
Both AB Kinnevik and iMENA Holdings are regular investors in Rocket Internet’s startups. Based in Sweden, AB Kinnevik is also a Rocket Internet shareholder and has invested in properties like Lazada, which is currently positioning itself as the “Amazon of Southeast Asia.” iMENA, on the other hand, focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, as its name suggests. It recently invested $7 million in Easy Taxi, Rocket Internet’s taxi-calling app.
foodpanda competes with other well-funded delivery services, such as Delivery Hero and Just-Eat.Like other Rocket Internet properties, foodpanda wants to gain an edge by focusing on emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, and part of Africa.
Not only is launching in those countries relatively inexpensive, but it also gives Rocket Internet a chance to build a massive customer service and logistics network that it can then leverage to grow startups in other verticals. For example, foodpanda’s payment system, tailored for countries with low-credit card penetration, can then be used for e-commerce businesses selling fashion and other merchandise.
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