foodpanda sees strong growth, announces new key hires

• The food tech company saw 400% growth in the last year; 20% m-o-m growth in 2016
• foodpanda Singapore has launched foodpanda finest – a premium offering

FOOD delivery service, foodpanda Singapore, has announced the appointment of a new managing director, Aspa Lekka (pic, above), with effect from December. Lekka will be joined by a new head of Marketing, Laura Kantor.

The new hires follow the continued growth of the foodpanda brand in Singapore, as well as the departure of the previous managing director, Emma Heap, who has moved to South Africa to pursue new opportunities.

During the last 18 months at foodpanda Singapore, Heap, alongside CEO Jakob Angele, have made significant changes to the business, resulting in the food tech company seeing 400% growth in the last year (20% month-on-month growth in 2016).

Alongside a path to profitability strategy, the team have orchestrated numerous initiatives, including revolutionising the brand’s delivery model to encompass over 90% of its own drivers which has attributed to shorter delivery times – from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.

This is in addition to adding new functions to its service so customers are able to track the status of orders in real time.

 In the past 18 months, foodpanda has tripled its dining options - from 500 to 1,500 restaurants. In June 2016, foodpanda also announced island-wide delivery to reach out to all areas across the CBD, the heartlands and Sentosa.

To meet the demand from customers wanting an upscale service, foodpanda also recently launched foodpanda finest – a premium offering to enhance the ‘epicurean experience from the comfort of your home’.

The new team, led by Lekka, will take the foodpanda finest concept to the next level, and after trialling it in the CBD area will be looking to grow the offering across the island.

Lekka was previously the managing director of foodpanda in Malaysia, and will bring with her a wealth of experience in the Asia delivery market.

During her role in Kuala Lumpur, Lekka increased foodpanda’s restaurant offerings to nearly 1,000, and subsequently customer orders by 177%. She also expanded operations in new areas in Klang Valley, outside of Kuala Lumpur, as well as Penang.

Following her success in Malaysia, including building a strong, lean and structured team, Lekka now welcomes this new opportunity in Singapore to continue her progress with the company and take foodpanda to the next level.

She is joined by new head of Marketing, Laura Kantor (pic, right), who has worked with a plethora of high profile brands across Apac and Europe including Bupa, IBM and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Kantor will work with the team to develop data driven and integrated customer-centric marketing to boost foodpanda's presence in Singapore.

Lekka said: “I am very excited to join the team in Singapore and be part of one of our fastest growing and most successful companies globally. I am looking forward to see foodpanda offering our customers the very best delivery experience from top restaurants as well as being a great place for our employees to work and develop their skills.”
 
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