Food delivery marketplace foodpanda Philippines is to expand into new city markets, citing the Visayas and Mindanao region as top priorities.

The expansion will see the service enter five to 10 key cities all over the country before 2014 ends, a project spearheaded by newly appointed MD Mauro Cocchieri, who was previously MD of Lazada Philippines.

Signing almost 500 restaurants all over Metro Manila, foodpanda has grown fast in the three months since its launch in June.

“Philippines is a market that’s more than ready for the innovation that foodpanda is,” said Cocchieri, who believes expansion at such an early stage is important to make the platform top-of-mind choice when customers think of an online food delivery service.

“Being ‘out there’ and very visible in cites around the Philippines presents huge potential in terms of the service foodpanda provides. It will greatly help seed in people’s minds that we exist.”

Foodpanda plans to partner with international food chains, established local brands and up-and-coming ‘holes in the wall’.