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Foodora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
foodora
Company typePrivate
IndustryOnline food ordering
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
FoundersKonstantin Mehl, Emanuel Pallua, Manuel Thurner, Stefan Rothlehner
Headquarters
Berlin, Germany
Areas served
Sweden
Norway
Finland
Hungary
Austria
Czech Republic
Key people

Pedram Assadi
Jana Senner
Camille Hadjéri
Herbert Haas
Prashant Søegaard
Hans Skruvfors
Niklas Östberg
Productsfoodora PRO, foodora market,
OwnerDelivery Hero
Websitefoodora.com

Foodora is an online food delivery brand owned by Delivery Hero. It was founded in Munich, Germany, and operates in Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.[1][2][3][4]

History

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foodora rider in Tampere, Finland

Foodora was founded under the name Volo GmbH in Munich in February 2014. It relocated to Berlin when Rocket Internet acquired the majority of the company in April 2015.[5] In June 2015, it also acquired food delivery services Hurrier (in Canada), Suppertime (in Australia), and Heimschmecker (in Austria), which all operate under the Foodora brand. In September 2015, Delivery Hero acquired Foodora from Rocket Internet.[6] Foodora was then merged with Delivery Hero's upscale food delivery brand, Urban Taste, under the name Foodora.[7]

In December 2018, the Dutch group Takeaway purchased the German delivery operations of Delivery Hero, including Foodora Germany. On April 1, 2019, the transaction was completed, with Foodora GmbH officially belonging to Lieferando, a part of Takeaway.[8]

Operations

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Using Foodora's website or mobile app, customers can browse restaurants near them, place their orders, and pay. The order is then prepared by the restaurant, picked up by one of Foodora's couriers (foodsters), and delivered to the customer “in about 30 minutes".[9] Foodora provides both B2C and B2B food delivery services.

Geographical presence

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Foodora operates in the following countries: Austria, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic[3] and formerly Slovakia, where it operated between 2021 and April 2024.[10][11] On late May 2024 it was decided that it would soon not operate in Denmark [12] and on June 14th it announced that it would cease operations for the country on the same day while it offered a discount code for Just Eat.

Australia

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Foodora had expanded over the Australian market in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. In September 2015, it acquired a local delivery company named Suppertime, later re-branding it to Foodora in May.[13] On 1 August 2018, Foodora announced that it was closing operations in Australia on 20 August 2018, citing a focus on markets with higher potentials for growth.[14][15] Unions called out Foodora's decision to leave the country during various disputes with workers, including over alleged unfair dismissal and millions of dollars of back pay, which had led to the Fair Work ombudsman taking the company to federal court a few months earlier.[16][14] In November 2018, Foodora admitted that workers owed more than $5 million dollars in unpaid wages were "more likely than not" employees.

Canada

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Foodora delivery man outside of a commercial office

In July 2015, Foodora entered the Canadian market by acquiring Toronto-based delivery company Hurrier.[17] They expanded to Montreal in October 2015 and later re-branded both cities to Foodora in January 2016. An expansion to Vancouver occurred in 2016. They expanded to Ottawa in early 2019.

In February 2020, deliverers in Toronto and Mississauga were granted the right to unionize with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.[18] Two months later, Foodora filed for bankruptcy in Canada and exited the market. Observers noted that Foodora's bankruptcy filing shortly after a successful unionization effort resembled the company's behavior in Australia.[19] CUPW noted that Delivery Hero's profitability had doubled between 2019 and 2020, and later reached a settlement for former workers, with Foodora paying the union $3.46 million dollars.[18][20]

Netherlands

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Foodora ended its operations in the Netherlands on 15 October 2018.[21] It had been active in the country, since May 2015.

Sweden

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Foodora is the largest restaurant delivery service in Sweden, where one third of its employees have a collective agreement, negotiated with the Transport Workers' Union.[22] In March 2021, the company introduced the first Foodora's delivery robot into its fleet in Stockholm. The droid, called Doora, will work in quick commerce, delivering household goods, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.[23]

In 2023, in response to an investigative report by media outlet Breakit citing employees' concerns over work conditions in the company, Foodora announced it would hire an external investigator to examine its compliance and governance structure.[24][25]

Controversies

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Foodora has been accused of "sham contracts" with its workers.[26] In October 2016, its workers in Turin responded to the proposed change from hourly work to piece work with an organised protest against the general reduction in the quality of work.[27] In 2017, its workers protested working conditions in Berlin.[28]

Foodora workers in Australia have spoken out about the company. Workers have protested against the continuously falling rate of pay and policies that encourage dangerous behavior on the road.[29] Also of concern is workers' status as independent contractors despite their working conditions resembling that of employees. Foodora has responded punitively against workers who have spoken out, leading at least two workers to pursue legal action against the company.[30] On 16 November 2018, Foodora lost its unfair dismissal case, as the court ruled that its drivers were classed as employees rather than contractors, and was ordered to pay a former delivery driver almost $16,000 in compensation.[31] According to a survey carried out at the end of 2020 on behalf of Foodora, 8 out of 10 of the company's employees are satisfied with their work.[32][33] Foodora has been positively rated by Timbro for having low thresholds to enter the labor market.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Azaa, Wee Sile. "Upmarket restaurants embrace a tech delivery service". cnbc.com. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. ^ Stefan, Nicola (19 February 2016). "Delivery Hero's Foodora Expands as Rivalry Intensifies". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b "On-demand food delivery service foodora merges with Delivery Hero's Urban Taste and breaks into the global market". Dgap.de (in German). 2015-09-17. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  4. ^ Chapman, Sophie (2 August 2018). "Foodora to end operations in Australia by 20 August". Business Chief. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  5. ^ The Eureka (2015-05-27). "Today in Germany: Granify, Venture Stars, Volo, Campanda.de". theheureka.com. Vertical Media GmbH. Archived from the original on 2016-04-27. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  6. ^ Bien, Perez (2015-10-08). "German start-up foodora plans to take Hong Kong's online food-courier services upmarket". SCMP. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. ^ Bien, Perez (2015-10-08). "German start-up foodora plans to take Hong Kong's online food-courier services upmarket". scmp.con. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Kein Pink mehr auf den Straßen: Foodora ist jetzt Lieferando". 2019-04-18. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  9. ^ Bodo, v. Braunmühl. "On-demand food delivery service foodora merges with Delivery Hero's Urban Taste and breaks into the global market". dgap.de. DGAP-Media. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Donášková služba foodora na Slovensku skončila". Omediach.com (in Slovak). Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  11. ^ "Donášková služba foodora ukončuje svoju činnosť na Slovensku". Foodora (in Slovak). 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Foodora kaster håndklædet i ringen i Danmark". 27 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Suppertime rebrands as Foodora, Launches in Australia – B&T". B&T. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  14. ^ a b "Foodora condemned for closing Australian operation during back pay dispute". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 2018-08-02. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  15. ^ "Foodora to pull out of Australia later this month". ABC News. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  16. ^ Syfret, Wendy (2018-08-03). "Foodora Is Leaving Australia In a Shadow of Employee and Union Complaints". Vice. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  17. ^ Wu, Leslie. "Restaurant Delivery Service Foodora Quits Canadian Market". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  18. ^ a b "Former Foodora workers reach $3.46M settlement with app's parent company - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  19. ^ "CUPW Alleges that #Foodora Acted Unlawfully by Pulling Out of Canada. Here's the Complaint. – The Law of Work". 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  20. ^ "CUPW and Foodora Canada Reach Settlement for Workers". CUPW. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  21. ^ "Licht uit bij Foodora in Nederland". emerce.nl. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  22. ^ "Foodora anställer över 300 personer i Sverige: "Till arbetsrättsliga villkor"". 24 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Doora, bring me a pizza please! Stockholm pilots delivery droid". Reuters. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  24. ^ AB, Breaking Media. "Anställda vittnar inifrån högkvarteret – usel arbetskultur, hot och våldtäktsdömda chefer på Foodora". www.breakit.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  25. ^ Keane, Jonathan. "Foodora Launches Investigation To Find "Risks Or Gaps" In Its Work Practices". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  26. ^ "Deliveroo and foodora accused of using sham contracts for bicycle delivery riders". Smh.com.au. 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  27. ^ Tassinari, Arianna; Maccarrone, Vincenzo (2017-01-23). "Striking the Startups". Jacobin. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  28. ^ Julius Haswell (2017-05-18). "Foodora and Deliveroo couriers protest working conditions in Berlin". The Local. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  29. ^ "Delivery riders protest against 'UberCheats, Fraudora' conditions and pay". ABC News. 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  30. ^ Patty, Anna (2018-03-13). "'Fired for taking a holiday': Bicycle couriers claim unfair dismissal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  31. ^ Chau, David; Kontominas, Bellinda (16 November 2018). "Foodora loses unfair dismissal case and is ordered to pay former delivery rider $16,000". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  32. ^ Edor, Liv (2021-02-16). "Foodorabudet: Hade jag råd skulle jag sluta på en gång". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  33. ^ "Ny undersökning: fler än 8 av 10 nöjda med arbetet på foodora". Mynewsdesk (in Swedish). 10 February 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  34. ^ Dahl, Svend (2021-03-05). "SMEDJAN | Jag sökte jobb på Foodora". Timbro (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-04-17.
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