Exclusive new report on food delivery

Published on September 23, 2019

So, where is going Food Delivery?

Hi,

I don’t think I have to tell you that food delivery is often regarded by media and pundits as the whole of FoodTech. Indeed, it does not require to be an expert to see that the biggest deals have been made there. But that doesn’t tell us where food delivery is going. That’s why we deep dived in this ecosystem in the last few months. We just released a detailed (152-pages long) report on the subject. Here are 5 conclusions we share with you (the report is available here).


#1 – Delivery is a fast-moving ecosystem: as you can see above, there is not a single type of delivery startup, but many, some rising and some shrinking (see Discovery Box).

#2 – Delivery investments are rising: below, you can see in red the investments in FoodTech delivery startups rising year after year to reach $8.6B in 2018. Counterintuitively, this amount can be split almost evenly between marketplaces (grocery delivery by startups such as Supermercato24, Instacart, GoodEggs, etc.) and restaurant delivery. A small, but rising share of the investments, is now dedicated to Cloud Kitchens and in a lesser extent to delivery robots.

#3 – Investments in delivery are rising much faster than other FoodTech categories: along with delivery investments in red below, global FoodTech investments are displayed in blue. In the past 5 years, the share of delivery has risen from 38 to 64% of global FoodTech investments.

Delivery investments - DFL

#4 – Food Delivery is just starting in big markets (but not in Europe): giant marketplaces are developing in the US, China and India (from Instacart to Meicai) but not in Europe where the size of the market of individual European countries is not enough.

#5 – After a lot of investments in some areas (meal kits, restaurant delivery), startups are looking for profitability by expanding in other fields: strategies are diversified with many attempts to go vertical (see Blue Apron’s acquisition of a ranch or Deliveroo’s will to supply ingredients to restaurants), horizontal (Swiggy and PostMates now delivery everything) or both ways (HelloFresh launching Go to deliver hot meals in offices while acquiring land to grow its produce).

Much more is waiting for you in the report:

– investments and deals by geography and activity

– top startups, top deals

– trends

Much more in. the report

If you are interested, you can buy the document alone or with a personalised brief. Pricing information are accessible here.

Have a great read!

Matthieu

You're in a good company

Join the 60+ clients of Digital FoodLab: leading agrifood companies, retailers, banks, investors, startups, and public organisations.

Use case: project for a global F&B company looking to map its AgTech innovation ecosystem and the best startups to partner with

What we did:

  • Mapping of the AgTech ecosystem: startups, research regulators, and other leading companies.
  • Discussion to select areas to focus on.
  • Analysis of the information to reveal the trends and a model to analyse eventual partners.
  • A workshop to validate the opportunities based on our recommendations.
  • Scouting of relevant partners followed by introductions.

Results:

  • Mapping the different categories of innovations in AgTech that should be considered now to create long-term benefits for the business.
  • Identification of key partners (an incubator and a couple of startups).

Use case: project for a CPG company on the healthy ageing ecosystem

What we did:

  • Education of the board through a couple of workshops to define the perimeter
  • Identification of key opportunities and threats created by long-term evolutions (technologies, business models, behavioural changes).
  • Deep dives on each of the priority categories.
  • Co-construction of a vision on how the company should address these challenges.
  • Identification of partners (startups, incubators, funds) to move forward.

Results:

  • Creating a consensus on which categories to prioritise and how to address them.
  • Implementation of an open innovation strategy through the development of partnerships.

Use case: project for a global CPG company to develop a strategy on the healthy ageing ecosystem

What we do (ongoing mission on a subscription model):

  • Kick-off where we present an overview of the AgriFoodTech ecosystem to select with the client the categories to cover and for each, the level of information required.
  • Monthly newsletter: each month we send a newsletter with the articles that we have gathered ranked by relevance, their summaries, and a layer of analysis.
  • Database: we set up a personalised database that will be filled month after month with the information gathered on the companies identified for the watch.
  • Workshops: twice a year with the client’s innovation team and other “innovation curious” team members, we present an overview of the evolutions, key trends and a dashboard of the topics followed by the watch.

Results:

  • A clear, regular and evolutive tool to follow what is happening in terms of innovation on key topics.
  • A forum (through the workshops) to discuss innovation trends and new opportunities.

Use case: opportunity screening for an ingredient company

What we did:

  • Kick-off to define the perimeter of the ecosystem studied.
  • Mapping of the different trends shaping the innovation ecosystem of the client.
  • Analysis of the trends on DigitalFoodLab’s trend curve and other relevant frameworks.
  • Workshop to discuss DigitalFoodLab’s recommendations on key trends to prioritise

Results:

  • Shared view of the innovation ecosystem for the client with a view of the trends to prioritize.
  • Clear document (personalised trend curve) that can be easily shared internaly to explain the company’s innovation choices and which can be then updated each year.

Use case: scouting for an agriculture coop

What we did:

  • Kick-off to define the perimeter of the client, the goals of the scouting (partnerships) and the criteria on which startups should be evaluated.
  • Set-up scouting: we selected the first batch of 20+ key startups following the criteria of the client.
  • On-going scouting: then we set up a quarterly scouting of about ten startups.
  • For each scouted startup, we created an ID card with key information such as the business and technological maturity, funding, and corporate partnerships. We also added an explanation of why we selected this startup.

Results:

  • An ongoing and evolutive scouting are matching the client's criteria and its capabilities in terms of deal flow.

Use case: working on an acquisition process for a CPG company

What we did:

  • Kick-off to define what the client is seeking, notably in terms of maturity.
  • Workshop with the client based on a mapping of the different innovation ecosystems adjacent to its activities to select some priorities and discuss inspiring examples of startup acquisition stories.
  • Identification of 20+ targets.
  • Workshop to select the most relevant to engage with.
  • DigitalFoodLab worked as a sparing partner during the acquisition process, notably to help design how the acquired startup could be integrated into the overall company’s strategy.

Results:

  • Different results from traditional M&A processes with a focus on the client’s innovation strategy.
  • Identification of a good match for an acquisition.

Use case: market due diligence on sugar alternatives

What we did:

  • Kick-off with the client to discuss its interest on this category, its expectations and existing level of information (notably on the target company).
  • Mapping of the ecosystem to analyse the different existing alternatives and technologies to compare them.
  • Interview (calls) with relevant startups made by our internal biotechnology expert.
  • Recommendation on whether to invest or not.

Results:

  • Clear view of the ecosystem and of the reasons to believe (or not) in each sub-category.
  • Enforceable recommendations based on facts and expertise.