COVID-19 caused plenty of issues for multiple businesses. However, some sectors experienced unprecedented growth as people work from home and need everything delivered to them. Home delivery of food is one such service that gained momentum during this pandemic. UK-based HungryPanda is a food delivery platform that has raised a notable €58.47M in its latest funding. The latest funding round comes soon after the €16.7M the startup raised, earlier this year.
New investors bank in on HungryPanda
The latest €58.47M funding round for HungryPanda was led by the investment company Kinnevik, which invested a major chunk of €29.2M in the food delivery startup. Previous investors such as 83North and Felix Capital also participated in the funding round.
The two investors share the experience of building sector-leading platforms including Wolt, Deliveroo and Just Eat. Other investors joining this round include Piton Capital, VNV Global and BurdaPrincipal Investment.
According to the company, it will invest in growing its market share in the US, Canada and Australia to cement its market leader position while exploring new business opportunities and expanding its market offering. This will be supported by investment in technology and talent with plans to double the team to 1,000, claims HungryPanda.
“This has been an exceptional year of growth for HungryPanda. We can launch in new cities in just two weeks and have established ourselves as the market leader due to our laser focus on developing the best service for our customers and providing high-quality execution,” says Eric Liu, CEO and Founder of HungryPanda.
“The new investment further cements us as the leading specialist food delivery service for the Asian market overseas and will be used to double down in our existing markets,” he further adds.
The company tells Silicon Canals that, in Europe, HungryPanda will still be relatively UK-focused.
Started local, gone global
The food delivery platform HungryPanda started its business in London, where its headquarters are currently situated. The company was founded in 2017 by Eric Liu, a computer science graduate at the University of Nottingham. Liu faced issues in getting hold of authentic Chinese food on-demand, and thus the idea for HungryPanda was born. The company has grown exponentially, about 300%, in the last three years with a total staff of 500 people.
HungryPanda previously raised €16.7M in a funding round that happened in February this year. 83North and Felix Capital led the previous round, and the amount was directed towards hiring, product development and global expansion, particularly in the United States.
The company differentiates itself by offering ‘authentic Chinese food’ on its platform, which is tailored for Chinese populations overseas. It also accepts payment methods like Alipay and WeChat Pay, and uses WeChat for marketing.
According to the company, in 2020 HungryPanda continued its fast expansion and is now operating in six different countries, across 47 different cities across Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the UK and the US. Supported by strong unit economics, the business claims to be already profitable in the UK and other major cities such as New York, with a clear path to profitability in more locations.
Image credits: HungryPanda
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