Hungry foodpanda expands into Pattaya

Online food-delivery marketplace foodpanda has announced the expansion of its services to Pattaya in Chon Buri – the third province in which it has a presence, following Bangkok and Chiang Mai. 

It also plans to extend its footprint to other areas in Bangkok, as well as into other Thai cities.

Alexander Felde, co-founder and managing director of Germany-based foodpanda, said the Thai business is operating its marketplace on all Internet-based platforms, allowing users to select local restaurants and place orders online at its website www.foodpanda.co.th or via the foodpanda mobile app.

Currently, 50 per cent of orders come from the mobile app and 45 per cent from desktop computers. Only 5 per cent of customers are at present ordering via phone. 

Business has been growing strongly at between 10 and 15 per cent per week, and the company is planning to add around 200 restaurants to its portfolio by the end of the year, he said. 

When ordering food online, customers just need to enter their sub-district, find their favourite local restaurant and choose from the online menu. Orders are then sent from foodpanda’s online platforms to restaurants, and foodpanda – or , in the case of Pattaya, its new partner – picks up the orders for delivery to customers. 

The website and mobile app also list many major vendors that do their own delivery, like McDonald?s, Scoozi, Ootoya, and many more.

Customers in Thailand can currently enjoy the widest selection of cuisines and flavours from more than 400 restaurants, and returning users can access their order history for fast and convenient re-ordering, he added. 

Moreover, users can customise their meals as in a restaurant by choosing, replacing or adding toppings of choice. 

The app allows for paying via cash on delivery or through various integrated online payment options, such as credit cards. 

“We deliver food to central business and residential areas in Bangkok such as Silom, Sukhumvit, Nana, Khlong Toei Nua and Asoke, to name just a few. Together with our partners Door2Door, we will be delivering deliciousness from top local restaurants right to customers in the central Pattaya, Jomtien, Na Jomtien, East Pattaya, Naklua, Bang Lamung and Mapprachan Lake areas, all at the touch of a screen or the click of a mouse,” said Felde.

The delivery charge amounts to Bt60 per order in Bangkok and Bt40 in Chiang Mai. In Pattaya, the charge starts at Bt50 per order, increasing to Bt140 based on distance. 

“Our revenue comes from charging a zero success fee per order to the restaurants and collecting a small delivery fee from customers,” said the MD.

As to foodpanda’s partners, they will be able to maximise their reach to consumers through its website and latest mobile app. Many of its partner restaurants see incremental growth by offering delivery of more than 30 per cent in sales after partnering with the service, he added.

“Our network covers 43 countries across five continents. Once customers have foodpanda’s mobile app in their phone, they can easily access more than 30,000 restaurants in these 43 countries. The app also features an integrated online payment capability, so customers can conveniently make the payment online wherever they are,” said Felde.

Fast-growing foodpanda was established in the spring of 2012 and is headquartered in Berlin. 

The business started with www.foodpanda.com www.foodpanda.com, and now has www.foodpanda.co.th www.foodpanda.co.th for Thai-language users. 

The foodpanda mobile app was introduced last year and has already had more than 2.5 million downloads worldwide, he said.

Since its launch, the company has raised over US$100 million (Bt3.2 billion) in funding. New funding of $60 million will be invested to continue its growth in existing markets, by partnering with even more restaurants in more cities and further improving customer service. 

“We cannot share specific numbers for targeted revenue. What we can share with you is our latest success: more than 2.5 million downloads of the foodpanda mobile app, and the new partnership with Door2door in Pattaya,” said Felde.

While foodpanda will provide the platforms for food ordering through its website and mobile application, Door2Door will undertake delivery through its Pattaya network.