A delivery worker with a face mask rides a scooter on a street in Shanghai, China. File photo: REUTERS/ALY SONG
Across the globe the loss-making food delivery sector was one of the big beneficiaries of the Covid-19 pandemic, but that effect has waned as consumers, faced with surging prices, have started to cut back. “It’s a misconception that competition will keep increasing forever,” said Fahd Beg, an executive at Prosus, which has investments in meals companies around the world.
“Everyone’s scaling back, everyone understands they now need to get to profitability,” said Citi analyst Monique Pollard. “Food delivery also stands out as uniquely at risk ... given that this tends to be expensive on a per person basis and likely viewed as indulgent by some consumer groups,” it wrote.