Skip to main content

GrabFood vs. FoodPanda--How Foreign Delivery Services Help Grow Filipino Businesses

Moneymax

I could remember the pandemic when ordering from GrabFood and Foodpanda became the thing. The COVID-19 pandemic would've totally stifled the restaurant and food businesses, especially before the vaccinations. Right now, I've had my three Pfizer shots in total. As restaurants began to re-open, dine-in was still strictly not allowed until a certain percentage of Cebu City was vaccinated. I began to order some food whenever I need to (or want to) even with such limited choices. This had me thinking about how imported services can help local businesses. 

Whether those "nationalists" want to admit it or not--neither GrabFood nor Foodpanda are founded by Filipinos. Instead, GrabFood is founded in Singapore and Foodpanda is founded in Berlin, Germany. If it wasn't for the fall of the Berlin Wall--there would be no Foopanda. Back then, I remembered dining in my favorite local restaurants. However, the delivery service came and there were times I felt too lazy to go out and eat. Instead, I decided to take advantage of the delivery services. Back then, there was Honest Bee which is no longer available. I decided to go for GrabFood and Foodpanda in order to get my favorite foods. These favorite Filipino foods are like Chika-An (part of Creative Cuisine), Golden Cowrie, and Mang Inasal (which 70% is now part of Jollibee Foods). It was something to get it delivered though I tend to prefer dine-in and served fresh. 

The idea that foreign investors don't benefit locals is a lie. GrabFood and Foodpanda (as well as other delivery services) prove it. Some naysayers may say that foreign investments don't create jobs for Filipinos. However, Grab and Foodpanda both have Philippine branches managed by Filipinos even if both are owned by foreigners. Where a foreign investor goes--they would be wise to buy local and hire locals to reduce costs. The delivery drivers aren't Singaporeans or Germans in the Philippines. Instead, they're driven by Filipino drivers. Local restaurants that don't have their own delivery services can benefit from partnering with them to deliver their food.

How did these delivery services, like GrabFood and Foodpanda, benefit the local businesses? A local restaurant owner would be able to use GrabFood or Foodpanda to deliver their food to selected areas. The local restaurants' delivery services may be very limited or maybe even more costly than partnering with a delivery service. However, some restaurants have mastered the art of delivery on their own. What happens is their coverage is increased. They may have small spaces so people will end up ordering through the delivery services. 

Can you imagine if local businesses decided to just do everything on their own? Once again, it would be, as the late Lee Kuan Yew would say it, a failure. In one of his speeches, Lee said that let's stop trying to do everything ourselves. Instead, these resourceful Filipino investors decided not to care if the delivery service was Filipino or foreign. What mattered is that the delivery service could help in their delivery of goods. They put aside sentiments of the Second World War (because Germany was part of the now-extinct Axis powers with Japan and Italy) or over the late Flor Contemplacion (who was rightfully executed in Singapore). Instead, they focused on how to grow their businesses through these foreign delivery services. Some even have both GrabFood and Foodpanda (or whatever may be good) to put their eggs in two baskets. 

As Deng Xiaoping would say, "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or what. All it matters is that it catches mice." How true. These delivery services may be foreign in origin. However, the Filipino partners didn't care if they had to partner with foreigners. What they cared about is that they could partake in the wealth generation. Deng's real Great Leap Forward was focused on one thing--results. If you're against foreign investments then one should consider not using GrabFood and Foodpanda at all. 

References

"[Battle of the Brands] Foodpanda vs GrabFood: Which Food Delivery Service is Better?" by Venuz Zoleta (Updated: May 20, 2022)

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Tragic Windfall of the Late Flor Contemplacion's Family

PEH.ph Last year, I wrote an article talking about Flor Contemplacion crybabies spreading fake news for 30 years . I noticed that the movie could be watched for free on YouTube (which is one hour and 52 minutes long), and the one that you had to pay for via rent or personal soft copy ( which is two hours and two minutes long). I was looking into the film and realized the "for free" version lacks the exaggerated water dunking and electrocution torture scene, which I believe is available, which is a ten-minute difference. I remember seeing the old version where Flor was tortured by Singaporean police via water dunking and electrocution, to get an answer out of her. The famous line by the late Nora Aunor was, "I did not kill anybody!" It's 31 years, and I don't expect the fake news about Flor to stop just because  it's past 30. No, fake news is that hard to kill even in the digital age. It reminds me of the fate of Flor's sons , where one of them, Sandr...
Read more

Is Jollibee "Invading" South Korea Now as It's About to Acquire 70% of Shabu All Day?

I must confess that I find this new rather hilarious . It's because the word shabu is often associated with drugs. All the while, shabu shabu is a Korean delicacy! Well, I'm going to say that Jollibee Foods Corporation has now become a multinational buyer . Jollibee acquired 70% of Compost Coffee back in 2024 . This year, Jollibee as a multinational corporation is now acquiring Shabu All Day for PHP 5.1 billion pesos. Is Jollibee checkmating South Korea or is the Philippines conquering South Korea not just by OFWs but als through Jollibee? The answer is still no. From GMA News , we can read this article by Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas: Under the deal, Shabu All Day will be consolidated into Jollibee Foods Corp.’s (JFC) financial statements immediately upon completion of the acquisition for a total consideration equivalent to KRW127 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to closing and financing conditions. The acquisition is expected to lead to a 2% jump in revenues, incre...
Read more

Sentimentalism Over Adobe Could've Killed My Finances

Why did I drop Adobe? It's because the subscription rate is rather ridiculous (read here ). That's why I'd recommend shifting to Affinity Photo for a one-time purchase (that's probably until a super new version comes out). I looked into this video, thinking about how Adobe was once my get-go. I remember recommending Adobe Photoshop to people--whenever I saw people using Microsoft Paint. Adobe Photoshop was the get-go. I often called it "MS Paint but much better."  Eventually, I Googled for "Adobe Photoshop substitutes" and discovered Affinity Photo . True, Affinity Photo can't do animated GIFs . However, one could still draw several frames and get some other program, or an online service to create animated GIFs. I tried Affinity Photo and got convinced that buying it at USD 25.30 (price may increase any time soon). Affinity Photo was learning all over again. However, it was worth relearning since I'm not a professional graphic artist. I just ...
Read more

Trying to Understand More About the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund

There was a time when I had some excess savings. I was worried my money was getting idle . Sure, savings is king but letting it sit idle in a savings account can be a bad thing. Sure, I'm having my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund for some time and I haven't withdrawn a single cent from it. I decided to use GCash and found out how it's actually convenient. With GCash, there's also GInvest. One of GInvest's greatest products for me to indirectly get into stocks would be the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund. I placed a few pesos at first because of the low rate. However, I decided to aim to invest at least PHP 1,000.00 per month (or more during a dip but not too much either) or reach a certain target before the year ends. Of course, I've got to curb my impulsive behavior by choosing not to invest too much and not have savings. The ATRAM Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund combines both active and passive investment. Some people prefer purely active or purely passive. It...
Read more

Why Being a Miser Isn't the Right Way to Do Business or to Live Life

Sometimes, people can confuse frugality with being a miser. I think about a couple of times when I watched Spongebob Squarepants back some time ago and getting irritated at Mr. Krabs. Unfortunately, there are some people who are so obsessed with money (or money comes first) that they end up becoming misers. As I was watching Spongebob while studying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration--I felt that the Krusty Krab model won't work well in real life. I mean, I tend to eat at Jollibee almost daily since I was studying in the University of San Carlos-Main Campus (USC-Main). As I was eating there--I thought would have Tony Tancaktiong build Jollibee as an empire if he was a miser? Mr. Krabs ran his Krusty Krab on a miserly mindset--just one cook and one cashier. Mr. Krabs would even artificially inflate prices just to get more money. In real life, Mr. Krabs should go to jail. Drawing the line between being thrifty and stingy It's often easy to confuse both of ...
Read more