Careers at Delivery Hero

Mission

Delivery Hero operates a network of online food delivery platforms, enabling consumers to place and pay for orders online from a range of local restaurants.

History

Delivery Hero was founded in 2011 by Niklas Östberg (“Östberg”), Kolja Hebenstreit, Markus Fuhrmann, Claude Ritter and Lukasz Gadowski, who recognised that, like many other businesses, food delivery was poised to expand through the use of online services and mobile apps. The co-founders reportedly set out to make Delivery Hero the world’s foremost food delivery platform. Of these co-founders, only Östberg retains an executive function at the Company.

Using seed capital raised in 2010 and funds from Series A and Series B rounds of funding in 2011, amounting to almost €30 million, Delivery Hero embarked on a series of acquisitions in an attempt to consolidate its business internationally. The Company began by making acquisitions in Australia, Mexico and Russia, followed by acquisitions in Germany and the UK, which remain the Company’s largest markets. Following further funding rounds, Delivery Hero began an acquisition push in Europe in 2012, in Asia in 2013 and entered Latin America in 2014.

To date Delivery Hero has raised around $1.41 billion in 12 rounds of funding, with investments from investors such as Rocket Internet, Insight Venture Partners, German Startups Group and Hasso Plattner Ventures. The Company now purports to be the world’s largest online food ordering network, operating in 33 countries through a number of subsidiary companies, managing a network of around 300,000 participating restaurants worldwide, and processing around 10 million orders every month. Recent estimates have the Company valued at just over $3 billion.

Benefits at Delivery Hero

Business model of Delivery Hero

Customer Segments

Delivery Hero has two major customer segments: general consumer and restaurants. The Company provides a marketplace that allows users to browse and order food from their computer or smartphone, targeting consumers that do not have the time or capacity to cook for themselves or visit restaurants in person. Delivery Hero is active across 33 markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas, with its core markets being in the UK and Germany. Delivery Hero’s marketplace offers products from more than 300,000 participating restaurants worldwide, primarily comprising small and medium-sized local businesses that wish to extend their brand reach and expand their customer base.

Value Propositions

Delivery Hero provides value to its customers through its convenient and easy-to-use marketplace, through which consumers can order food and make payments online. The platform is accessible via mobile and desktop browsers and various mobile apps, allowing users to place orders at their convenience, from their home or on the go, at prices the same or similar to if they had ordered in person.

Consumers are able to browse and place orders from a variety of local restaurants organised within a simple-to-use interface and receive a range of offers and discounts. Delivery Hero’s platform enables participating restaurants to extend their brand reach, secure new customers and increase sales.

Channels

Delivery Hero’s services can be accessed through its mobile and desktop websites at www.deliveryhero.com, where users can browse menus, manage accounts and place orders. The Company also has iOS and Android apps available to its users, which have the same functionality as the Delivery Hero website.

Delivery Hero operates through various subsidiary companies in its 33 markets, operating as Hungry House in the UK, Lieferheld in Germany, Pizza Portal in Poland and Foodik in Russia. These operating brands all operate their own websites and mobile apps.

Customer Relationships

For consumers, Delivery Hero’s platform is entirely self-service. Users can browse menus from their computer or mobile device, before placing an order and completing payment with no interaction with representatives from Delivery Hero or from the selected restaurant. While users can create an account through the Company’s website or via one of its mobile apps, orders can be placed without registration. After an order is placed, users can contact customer support staff over the phone or via an online chat service.

Restaurants can sign up to be part of the Delivery Hero network through an online form or through direct contact with the Delivery Hero team. The Company operates a number of social media accounts through its various brands and subsidiary companies, including on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. It also keeps registered customers updated with deals and discounts via email.

Key Activities

Delivery Hero operates a network of online food ordering and delivery platforms across 33 markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East. The Company’s platforms, accessible via mobile and desktop browsers and mobile apps, allow consumers to browse menus from a range of local restaurants, place orders and make payments.

Delivery Hero charges participating restaurants a subscription fee in order to be part of its network and takes a commission on every order placed through its marketplace. The Company also manages a network of affiliate marketing partners, to which it pays commissions on sales.

Key Partners

Delivery Hero partners with a variety of different companies across its 33 operating markets. It collaborates with tech companies, delivery service providers and marketing affiliates. Delivery Hero operates and manages affiliate marketing networks through which online publishers, websites and businesses can receive commissions when their referrals lead to a sale.

These affiliate networks are operated via local subsidiaries, with the Company’s UK affiliate program managed by Hungry House. Delivery Hero has previously partnered with a number of local delivery service providers, often leading to a merger or an acquisition of the Company.

Following an investment by Germany’s Rocket Internet, Delivery Hero has partnered with Foodpanda, a similar company owned by the investor. Additionally, Delivery Hero has partnered with data analytics companies, such as Localytics, to obtain insights into customer habits.

Key Resources

Delivery Hero’s key resources are its software platform, its IT infrastructure and its personnel. The Company’s business model also depends largely on its network of participating restaurants, and benefits from the Company’s network of affiliate marketing partners.

Cost Structure

Delivery Hero primarily incurs costs relating the maintenance of its software platform and IT infrastructure, the retention of its personnel and the management of its partner and restaurant networks. The Company has a workforce of around 3,000 employees, to whom its pays salaries and benefits, and operates a network of offices that accrue fixed costs relating to rent and utilities.

Revenue Streams

Delivery Hero generates revenue through fees levied on its participating restaurants. The Company charges an initial a set-up fee and a monthly subscription fee for restaurants to have delivery orders placed through its marketplace, and takes a commission on every order completed. In the UK, one of Delivery Hero’s core markets, these fees amount to a reported £499 set-up fee, a monthly £14.90 subscription fee and 14% commission on all orders.

It is not clear how these fees vary across the Company’s various operating jurisdictions. Delivery Hero does not disclose its revenue figures to the public. Estimates, however, suggest that the Company generates around $600 million in annual revenue.

Our team

Niklas Östberg,
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

info: Niklas has served as Delivery Hero’s Chief Executive officer since 2011. Östberg’s first business venture was AktiePlus, a research and analysis provider that he founded in 1999 and managed until 2002. In 2003 he completed internships at business execution service provider 2i International and banking giant Merrill Lynch. In 2005, after completing his master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management, Östberg joined global management consultancy Oliver Wyman, where he worked as a project manager until 2010. He moved into the online food ordering space in 2007, becoming Chairman and a partner in OnlinePizza Norden AB which has since been acquired by Just Eat. He became an investor in food delivery business Mjam in 2009, serving as the company’s Chairman. Between 2009 and 2011 he also served as Chairman of Pizza Portal and Pizza Online, which now operate as the Company’s brand’s in Poland and Finland respectively.

Pieter-Jan Vandepitte,
Chief International Officer

info: Pieter-Jan was appointed Delivery Hero’s Chief International Officer, responsible for international markets, and global lead for sales, customer care and business intelligence, in 2015. After beginning his career in professional services, Vandepitte moved into the tech space in 2010. He worked as an analyst at accounting firm Arthur Andersen from 2000, moving to Deloitte as an assistant director in 2002. He spent two years as an engagement manager at McKinsey and Company between 2008 and 2010, before co-founding e-commerce company Groupon. Vandepitte served as Groupon’s Senior Director of Finance for a spell in 2010, later taking on the role of Managing Director of Benelux in 2011, and finally serving as its International Vice President of Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa from 2012. In 2014 Vandepitte founded tech company HomeLab, which he left that same year to be appointed Chief Financial Officer of game developer Peak Games, his final executive role before joining Delivery Hero.

Emmanuel Thomassin,
Chief Financial Officer

info: Emmanuel was appointed Delivery Hero’s Chief Financial Officer in 2014. He has also been a member of the supervisory board at international corporate branding agency MetaDesign since 2010, where he previously served as Chief Executive Officer between 2007 and 2012. Thomassin is also a former member of the supervisory board at Saxess, which provides software solutions primarily to customers operating within the financial services industry.