Homegrown grocery delivery firm honestbee has been swimming in troubled waters since “on or around January 2019“.
It cited “stiff competition” in the groceries markets in Singapore as it faced competition from the likes of Cold Storage, NTUC and RedMart.
It ended up ceasing its food delivery business to focus on its core grocery business to reduce operating costs.
It’s clear that juggling both businesses at the same time is tough, but food delivery firm foodpanda has went ahead to make its foray into the grocery delivery market.
According to foodpanda, this grocery delivery service is part of a pilot scheme that introduces new services to enhance the customer experience.
“The decision to introduce new services and options on foodpanda comes off the back of strong consumer insights, trends and data. In the past year, we’ve experienced great success with the introduction of TigerNow and Ben & Jerry’s on our platform,” said Luc Andreani, Managing Director, foodpanda Singapore.
“Given the efficiency of our infrastructure that we have spent the last seven years developing, we are now in a position to expand our offering to be the go-to partner of choice in Singapore.”
Beyond food, foodpanda customers can now order groceries, flowers and household essentials on its app.
It has partnered with over 1,000 retailers, including provision shop Sri Murugan, Buzz convenience stores, supermarket Hao Mart, Shine Korea Supermarket, natural and organic food store Nature’s Nutrition, mother and baby care retailer Mothercare, among others.
This is in addition to access to leading brands like TigerNow, Wine Connection and The B.I.G Wine Company, who also have the added benefit of accepting orders after 10.30pm.
According to the website, delivery fees start at S$2.99 and you can get the goods delivered to your doorstep in 25 minutes or less.
To celebrate the launch of the new vertical partners, foodpanda is currently offering free delivery on all shops orders throughout November.
For first-time orders, users will also receive a S$10 discount.
Is Expanding Into Grocery Delivery A Good Idea?
In terms of price and speed, foodpanda definitely holds a candle but it lacks partners like major supermarkets NTUC and Cold Storage, which hold a huge market share in Singapore.
With these brands on board its app, foodpanda will definitely see a higher traction in their grocery delivery services.
For now, its partnering brands are mostly under-the-radar — but if they offer a wide variety of goods at a competitive price, foodpanda stands a good chance in leading the game in time to come.
Featured Image Credit: foodpanda / Screenshot of the app