Deliveroo needn't worry about Uber eating its lunch in Ireland any time soon
The ride-sharing app expanded its food-delivery service to four new cities today.
UBER MIGHT HAVE intentions to launch its food delivery service in 22 countries, but it won’t be coming to Ireland any time soon.
The ride-sharing company has posted a number of job listings around the world, including six positions in Ireland, for its the takeaway meal delivery division called UberEats.
Even though Uber has launched the initiative in Amsterdam and is going on an aggressive hiring drive to fill out its food delivery-wing, a spokesman for the company told Fora that there is no time frame for launching UberEats in Dublin.
He added that it is very early days for the food delivery service in Ireland and until the company finds the right staff to establish the business here, Uber will not announce a launch date for UberEats on these shores.
Some of the roles advertised for the service in Dublin include a general manager, head of marketing and staff to oversee the creation of partnerships with restaurants.
The half-dozen jobs planned for Dublin are part of a 150-person hiring drive the company is doing on a worldwide basis to bolster its UberEats divisions in 22 countries.
In addition to its launch in Amsterdam today, the company rolled out the service to Dubai, Johannesburg and certain parts of Tokyo.
Next on its immediate hit list are Hong Kong, Taipei, Jakarta, Bangkok, Brussels and Stockholm.
Different model
UberEats, which is available through the regular Uber app, operates in a similar fashion to its core ride-hailing business. However, the driver network is completely separate to its ride-sharing service, with the company separately employing moped drivers and cyclists to deliver the food.
The one exception to the UberEats model being used in most markets is Johannesburg in South Africa, where UberX drivers are also used to deliver food.
The ambitious service, which launched in June, has claimed it can fulfil food deliveries within 30 minutes of an order being placed. In a bid to get one up on its competition, UberEats has no minimum order requirement and does not charge delivery fees.
Keeping ahead
A number of firms already operating in the food delivery space are watching with a keen eye to see how UberEats develops.
The biggest player in the Irish market, Deliveroo, has recently raised a lot of cash to fund a massive rebranding exercise and other expansion plans.
It recently launched a specific corporate product for businesses that use its service and will soon open its own kitchens in Dublin in order to bring its delivery network to more parts of the city.
Other market leaders that might be fretting over Uber’s move into the food business include JustEat and Dutch-giant Takeaway.com, the latter of which hopes to raise €350 million as part of an initial public offering this week.
However, the threat Uber poses to the food delivery sector could give investors the jitters.
Since 2014, nearly €9 billion in venture capital funding has been poured into food delivery startups, but according to data from CB Insights, funding in the sector has fallen by more than half during the first six months of 2016 compared to last year.
