UberEATS plans QSR tie-ups for rapid growth

On a rapid expansion mode, UberEATS, the food delivery app by the global ride-sharing giant, is tying up with local and international quick service restaurant (QSR) chains such as McDonald’s, to increase the number of orders it receives.

The company has a global tie-up with McDonald’ s as a delivery partner. It plans to bring this association to India and possibly take over the whole food delivery operation of the chain in select cities. The company is at present starting operations in various metropolitan cities and might in the next one year increase its operations into the 29 cities where its cab service aggregating business already exists.

“We are working with them on how we launch in India; we are optimistic about that. You can take that as a signal that we are interested in food of all price points. We are the only partner working with them in many of the continents,” said Jason Droege, Head of UberEverything.

The company has expanded into six cities in six months and has around 5,000 restaurants live on its portal. It says the online food delivery market grew 150 per cent year-onyear in 2016, with estimated gross merchandise value (GMV) of $300 million (nearly ~2,000 crore).

“We know there is huge appetite in India for the ease and convenience of food delivered at the push of a button. We have been thrilled by the reception we’ve got from restaurants and delivery partners eager to grow their business with us. UberEATS is the future of food; the food delivery business is where our strengths currently are and will be a great starting point,” said Droege.

In India, the company said, it was well on track to its commitment to be in seven big metros by the end of 2017. UberEATS has partnered with popular QSRs like Mad Over Donuts, Chai Point and Chaayos across the country.

In many countries, UberEATS has exclusive partnerships with popular restaurant chains. The recently announced partnership with McDonald’s is an example. This partnership is live in many countries — America, Australia, Belgium, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand, for instance, The company is already live in almost 7,000 of McDonald’s outlets.

UberEATS is available in 29 countries. In fact, in some cities round the world (Tokyo, Grenoble, Milan, Seoul), UberEATS is the primary business for Uber, over ride-sharing.