No one wants Foodpanda Indonesia.
Not enough consumers ordered its delivery service and after as long as a year trying to sell the business as a going concern, Foodpanda’s parent Rocket simply shut it down.
The last order was taken at 10pm on Monday October 3, after which the business disappeared from online.
It’s the latest chapter in a tale of woe for the delivery company in Southeast Asia. It sold its Vietnam business last year and is currently trying to raise $50 million to keep its Indian operations running, as it struggles to gain market share off more successful local rivals. In Hong Kong it closed down an upmarket Foodpanda spin-off last year just weeks after its launch, disguising it as a merger.
In a statement sent to staff obtained by DealStreet Asia, Foodpanda Indonesia management said the company had ceased all food ordering activities on a permanent basis. “In particular, the company will close its website and mobile application in Indonesia, and terminate cooperation with all restaurant partners.”
The closure of the business comes as no surprise, despite misleading statements on its future by Foodpanda management earlier this year..
In August, Inside Retail Asia quoted a Techcrunch correspondent saying multiple sources had confirmed the business was for sale – for less than US$1 million. Yet a Foodpanda spokesperson said somewhat enigmatically: “Foodpanda has grown very fast in Southeast Asia over the last couple of months and strengthened its market leading position in the region. Driven by our increased dominance in the region we have experienced interest from a variety of different parties to partner or to invest which we are evaluating now.”
But no one wanted the business, despite Indonesia being the world’s fourth most populous nation.
Foodpanda Indonesia debuted in 2012 and had built a virtual menu from thousands of local restaurants. Consumers, however, appeared to prefer app-based ride-hailing services offering delivery, such as Grab Bike and Go-Jek.
Foodpanda CEO Ralf Wenzel says the company will continue to focus on “core markets” such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan.
