Southeast Asian on-demand app Grab is strengthening its food business in Indonesia teaming up with cloud kitchen startup Yummy Corp, which will expand their combined networks to more than 80 cloud kitchens in seven Indonesian cities.
“Our expertise complements each other,” said Grab’s managing director Neneng Goenadi in an online press conference. “Yummy can assist brands in setting up their store, handling the branding, and training staff, while Grab can assist in delivery and data analytics.”
Merchants registered with Yummy will be integrated into Grab’s ecosystem. It will allow users to purchase multiple menus from different merchants operating in the same kitchen in one order, which saves time and delivery cost. There are currently more than 200 brands available on the GrabFood platform.
Goenadi said that food delivery contributed more than 50% to Grab Indonesia’s revenue, but she didn’t reveal the total gross merchandise value (GMV). A recent report by research firm Momentum Works found that Indonesia generates USD 3.7 billion in GMV, with Grab dominating 53% of the market, while rival Gojek followed with 47%.
The number of new merchants on the platform is also increasing “significantly,” Goenadi added, without mentioning details. In October 2020, a Grab Indonesia spokesperson told KrASIA that the firm saw a 25% growth in new sign-ups from January to July.
However, competition is set to increase as e-commerce platforms are entering the space. Tokopedia and Sea Group’s Shopee have started listing ready-to-eat food and beverages on their platforms since last year, although they still rely on Grab and Gojek for the last-mile delivery. Facing the new entrants, Grab plans to add more services for customers.
“Last year, we launched numerous new features such as contactless delivery and payment, and mix-and-match orders,” said the head of marketing Hadi Surya, “We will continue to develop more features for better customer experience.”