VietNamNet Bridge - GrabFood, Go-Food and Now are in a battle in the food delivery market. The food delivery market has been remapped since the beginning of 2019. While newcomers have been thriving, some veteran players seem have seen unsatisfactory business performance. 

Lala, belonging to Scommerce, suddenly disappeared in October 2018 after half a year of operation. In early March, Woowa Brothers from South Korea arrived in Vietnam, announcing the takeover of Vietnammm, one of the pioneers in the online food ordering market.

Surprisingly, the market, expected to have value of over $38 billion by 2020, according to Euromonitor, is controlled by newcomers, including GrabFood and Go-Food.

A survey by Kantar TNS in January 2019 found that GrabFood is now the most commonly used food delivery service in Vietnam with 68 percent of total votes. The second position belongs to Now with 19 percent, and the third to Go-Food with 1 percent.

According to Gcomm, a market survey firm, fast delivery is the most important factor for Vietnamese to consider when choosing food ordering apps.

Now penetrates deeply into restaurants’ business systems with its order-taking devices. As Now’s devices are installed at restaurants, the devices in the restaurants send information about orders and food will be prepared immediately and be ready when deliverymen arrive to take food away.

As for Go-Viet, with strong financial support from startup Go-Jek, it offered discount rate of 10 percent in the first months of operation, having successfully mobilized tens of partners-drivers who are present at nearly every corner in HCMC and Hanoi.

The food delivery market is witnessing cutthroat competition among new players. GrabFood and GoViet marketing campaigns have signed contracts reportedly worth hundreds of thousand of dollars with celebrities. While Go-Food chose Son Tung, a young singer, GrabFood chose Bui Tien Dung, the goalkeeper of Vietnam national U-23 football squad.

An analyst noted that the five-year operation in Vietnam brought valuable experience that helped Grab draw up wise business strategies. It did not ‘put all its eggs into the same basket’, but allocated the budget for development of creative products.

GrabFood, for instance, together with famous restaurants and brands, is the co-owner many dishes and drinks. One of them is a dish created by GrabFood and McDonald’s.

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