Deliveroo at 10: How Will Shu Built a food delivery empire
Deliveroo is one of the world’s most successful and innovative food delivery platforms. Founded in 2013 by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, the company has grown from a small startup in London to a global leader in online food ordering and delivery, operating in 10 countries and serving over 7 million active monthly users.
But how did Deliveroo achieve such remarkable growth and expansion? What are the secrets behind its success? And what are its plans and vision for the future?
From Boozefood to Deliveroo
Shu started the interview by reminiscing about the early days of Deliveroo when he was the first delivery rider for the company and used to deliver food to his friends to test the product.
He revealed that his initial idea was to create a platform to deliver anything after the pub and that the brand was nearly called Boozefood. However, he soon realized that the audience was broader and that there was a massive demand for high-quality food delivery from restaurants that did not offer delivery.
He also shared some of the challenges and milestones he faced along the way, such as convincing his first restaurant partner, The Stockpot on King’s Road, London, to join the platform; expanding to other cities such as Brighton and Cambridge; and growing the team, the rider network, and the restaurant and grocery partners.
He said he was proud of what Deliveroo had achieved, but they were “just starting” and had much more to do.
Grocery is a game-changer
One of the areas that Deliveroo has been focusing on recently is grocery delivery. Shu said grocery significantly contributed to Deliveroo’s business, with 8,000 grocery partner sites in the UK and Ireland and more than 10,000 overseas. It represents 11% of the Deliveroo business globally, even higher for the UK.
He also claimed that Deliveroo does more grocery orders per week than Ocado Retail, one of the leading online grocery retailers in the UK.
Shu explained that the move into grocery began before the pandemic but took off during Covid when online delivery slots with major supermarkets were in high demand. He said that many supermarkets were quick to list on Deliveroo’s platform, as well as convenience stores and independent grocers.
He added that he was surprised by how resilient the grocery business was even when supermarkets were open again after lockdowns. He said that grocery was still a huge growth area for Deliveroo and that they were constantly improving their offering for consumers, retailers, and brands.
He said Deliveroo’s app had become more user-friendly and personalized for grocery shopping. They had launched new features such as “Bundles,” which allow customers to buy curated sets of products at discounted prices.
He also said that Deliveroo had started working more closely with brands to help them reach new customers and increase their sales through Deliveroo’s platform. He gave examples of brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Unilever that had partnered with Deliveroo to run promotions and campaigns on their app.
AI is in Deliveroo’s DNA
Another area Shu highlighted as a critical factor for Deliveroo’s success: is artificial intelligence. He said that AI was a core part of Deliveroo’s DNA and used it to optimize their operations, such as routing, pricing, forecasting, and personalization.
He said that AI helped Deliveroo deliver faster, cheaper, and better service to its customers, riders, and partners. He gave examples of how AI enabled them:
- Route riders more efficiently and dynamically based on traffic conditions, weather patterns, and customer demand
- Price orders more accurately and fairly based on distance, time, and complexity.
- Forecast the market more precisely and plan for peak times.
- Personalize customer recommendations and offers based on preferences, location, and order history.
He said that AI gave Deliveroo a competitive edge over other delivery platforms and that they always invested in technology and talent to improve their AI capabilities.
Competition drives innovation
Shu also addressed the topic of competition in the food delivery market. He acknowledged that Deliveroo faced competition from other delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, Eat, and Gorillas, and restaurants and grocers offering delivery services.
However, he said he welcomed competition and believed it drove innovation and customer satisfaction. He said that he always looked at what his competitors were doing to learn from them and improve his product.
He also said he focused on delivering value to all his stakeholders: customers, riders, partners, and investors. He said he aimed to create a win-win situation for everyone involved in Deliveroo’s ecosystem.
He said that he measured his success not by market share or revenue but by customer loyalty. He said that he wanted to ensure customers loved using Deliveroo’s app and service; that riders enjoyed working with Deliveroo; that partners benefited from being on Deliveroo’s platform; and that investors saw returns on their investment.
The future is bright.
Finally, Shu shared some of his plans and vision for the future of Deliveroo. He said he wanted to expand into new markets and categories; invest in technology and talent; improve his service quality and speed; and become a global leader in food delivery.
He said that he saw tremendous opportunities for growth in emerging markets such as Asia-Pacific and new categories such as health food, vegan food, or pet food. He said he wanted to offer more choice and convenience to his customers by delivering anything they wanted within minutes.
He also said he wanted to invest more in technology and talent to enhance his product development; improve customer experience; increase operational efficiency; and foster innovation. He said he wanted to hire more engineers; data scientists; product managers; designers; marketers; salespeople; etc.
He also said he wanted to improve his service quality and speed by reducing errors; increasing reliability; enhancing safety; lowering costs; etc. He said he wanted to deliver faster than anyone else in the market, ideally within 10 minutes or less.
He also said that he wanted to become a global leader in food delivery by being present in every major city in the world; having millions of loyal customers; having thousands of happy riders; having hundreds of thousands of satisfied partners; having billions of dollars in revenue; etc.
He concluded by saying that he was optimistic about the future of Deliveroo; despite facing challenges such as regulation; labor rights; sustainability; profitability; etc. He said he was committed to working with regulators; riders; partners; investors; etc., to address these issues and create value for all stakeholders.
You can find it here to watch the full interview or read more about it.