KARACHI (Kashmir English): Lifestyle, inflation and changing consumption patterns are reshaping online food and grocery orders in the country, observes foodpanda Pakistan CEO Muntaqa Peracha.
He said Covid-19 gave boost to online food delivery. “During Covid-19 we expanded rapidly, launching four verticals in 18 months instead of one in two years,” he recalled. “Impulse purchases defined that period — snacks, cigarettes, and small-ticket items.”
He said average order sizes have since increased. Grocery baskets have increased from Rs800-900 during the pandemic to Rs2,000-2,200 now a days, while food deliveries average Rs1,200. The mixed average per order now stands at Rs1,400-1,500.
“The pandemic was about changing habit. Now we’re working to shift customers from impulse buys to weekly grocery missions,” Peracha said, adding that monthly shopping is still largely done offline.
Food delivery continues to generate about 70pc of the company’s topline, with groceries contributing the remainder.
The platform is active in 35 cities for food deliveries and 12 for groceries, with dark stores operating in seven.
foodpanda is a subsidiary of Germany’s Delivery Hero which entered Pakistan in 2016. Lahore University of Management Sciences estimates the company’s investment at $100m over the past decade, including €2.3m in kitchen infrastructure. Last year, the company contributed a tax of Rs9.76bn.
foodpanda future plans
The company has a plan to double business in the coming three years by increasing number of kitchens, expanding marts through owned and franchised outlets, and broadening its shops platform.
The platform relies on 50,000 registered riders for its operations, of whom 17,000-18,000 are active daily.
Full-time riders earn Rs48,000-50,000 per month, though fuel and maintenance costs are borne by them. Compensation rates adjust with fuel price swings.
foodpanda charges an average 25pc commission, with variations depending on order volumes. Only 15–20pc of eateries on the platform are currently GST-registered.
Foodpanda suffered a setback in May 2023 when mobile internet was suspended for nearly three days as the company lost 70pc of its gross merchandise value. “It wasn’t just us — Daraz, Careem, everyone was hit,” the CEO said.
