Last week, Delivery Hero, a Berlin-based online food ordering company operating in a dozen of countries, and Foodik.ru, announced a merger agreement aiming to “compete for leadership on the Russian market” and “access new international growth opportunities.”
The merged company will operate under the Foodik brand, allowing Delivero.ru customers to access Russian restaurants through Foodik’s platform. Foodik’s founder Alexander Shamis will become chairman of the merged company.
Delivery Hero has 450 employees around the world, the majority working from its headquarters in Berlin. In August of this year, the company secured a capital injection of $49 million from Kite Ventures, a Moscow-based venture fund operating internationally, and Kreos Capital, a leading European provider of growth debt and equity investment for high-growth companies.
Foodik has pioneered online food ordering in Russia since 2008, receiving funding from Western and Russian angel investors. The startup now partners with more than 1,000 restaurants in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg.
Another major player on the Russian market is Delivery Club, which recently secured $4 million from Russian venture fund Addventure. The startup claims to process one third of all food delivery online orders in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Among other local players are Izrestorana.ru, which deliver restaurant food, and Daytoday.ru, whose offer combines food ordering, home cleaning, laundry and other services.
