In my May 2019 column titled Meal kits, food delivery and the death of the kitchen, I wrote about the popularity of food delivery apps that were emerging as utilities, in some cases even replacing kitchens with fully cooked meals or partially prepared meal kits.
Companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates, GrubHub in North America, JustEat Takeaway and DeliveryHero in Europe, Deliveroo in UK and Australia, Meituan in China and the likes of GrabFood, Foodpanda and their ilk in Southeast Asia were delivering great value for customers even as they destroyed shareholder value.
“Nobody is making money in food delivery,” I wrote at the time, predicting that it was indeed highly unlikely that anyone would ever make money unless there was massive consolidation in the space that upended the economics of the business.
