foodpanda launches regional HQ and tech academy, names new Singapore MD

FOOD delivery service foodpanda has designated Singapore as its regional headquarters, with its office here housing 1,200 employees across local and regional operations, as well as its global tech hub.

At a launch ceremony on Tuesday (Jul 19), the company also announced its new foodpanda PowerUp! Tech Academy to upskill local tech talent and riders, and help merchants digitalise.

It will run programmes for tech talent in partnership with the government and tertiary institutions. foodpanda has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore University of Technology and Design focused on talent development, research and innovation.

Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How, who attended the launch, said that foodpanda’s initiatives are in line with the government’s push to strengthen Singapore’s tech talent pipeline.

Separately, the 10-year-old company named a new managing director for Singapore, Lawrence Wen, who has over 15 years of experience in the food and beverage, tech, consulting and financial services sectors.

His LinkedIn profile says he worked at Grab for 3 years, most recently serving as director for its food-delivery and cloud-kitchen business in Indonesia. He has also held senior roles at Pizza Hut and Australia’s Commonwealth Bank.

foodpanda’s former Singapore managing director, Luc Andreani, moved to Japan to head the business there last year, it says on his LinkedIn profile; he returned after foodpanda exited the market in December, and now serves as the company’s chief international officer for South-east Asia.

Optimistic outlook

foodpanda was founded in Singapore in 2012 as a web browser and hotline-based food-delivery service, before it launched its app. The company was acquired by Germany’s Delivery Hero in 2016. It has since used the city-state as a testbed for pandamart, its network of delivery-only stores, as well as its doorstep delivery service pandago.

Speaking at Tuesday’s event, foodpanda’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Jakob Angele reiterated the company’s commitment to investing in the broader Singapore ecosystem. foodpanda and Delivery Hero Ventures, the investment arm of foodpanda's parent, have poured over S$120 million in backing Singapore startups Flash Coffee, Toku and Omnistream.

Asked about the challenging climate for tech companies now, along with the possibility of gig-worker regulation, he said that the company has been mindful about its costs.

“We always try to grow the business somewhat reasonably and sustainably, being very conscious about how much we grow just by discounting our transactions, being very conscious about how much we increase the teams now, how many people we really need.

“I think we’re in a very healthy spot now, and of course, we are working towards profitability on an EBIT level,” he said, in reference to earnings before interest and taxes.

Angele also addressed the company’s U-turn in Japan, where it started operations in September 2020, but exited at the end of last year. The initial entry was the right decision at that time, but “the world completely changed” over the following year, he said.

“While the ramp down of Japan was not pleasant and not a nice activity for everyone involved, I think it was very good that we took the decision early before the capital markets went really down,” said Angele.

Beyond Singapore, foodpanda operates across 10 markets – Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Asked about the possibility of further market entries or exits, Angele said the company is always studying its options.