Not long after joining the unicorn club, Woowa Brothers, the operator of a major South Korean leading food delivery platform, acquired a Vietnamese food delivery app Vietnammm as reported by local media.
Established in 2011, Vietnammm is one of the pioneering players in Vietnam’s food delivery sector. The company is managed by Vietnam MM Company Limited, a member of the global Takeaway Group which originated in the Netherlands. In 2015, Vietnammm took over Food Panda’s operation in Vietnam from Rocket Internet.
Woowa Brothers raised US$320 million in 2018 and became a South Korean unicorn startup at a valuation of US$2.6 billion. The company said it would use the new capital to expand into foreign markets including Vietnam. At the end of 2018, Woowa Brothers announced plans to debut in Vietnam this year.Â
According to Euromonitor, Food delivery is a highly competitive market in Vietnam, as it is valued at US$33 million and is projected to reach US$38 million in 2020. Although considered a pioneer, Vietnammm’s popularity was challenged when GrabFood entered Vietnam’s market last year.
A survey conducted by market research firm GCOMM concluded that GrabFood is the fastest food delivery service provider in the country. According to GrabFood, Vietnam is its second fastest growing market for food delivery, behind Indonesia. GrabFood says it has grown 20-fold since its official launch in Vietnam in June 2018.
Although both Woowa Brothers and Vietnammm have not revealed further details about this acquisition, the merger of these two companies will further heat up the food delivery competition in Vietnam. Besides Grab Food, other players in the sector are Now by Foodie and Go-Food by Go-Viet, an offshoot of Indonesia’s Go-Jek. Go-Viet had entered the Vietnamese market in late 2018 and claims to teamed up with thousands of restaurants nationwide already, spanning casual dining, fast food, and luxury dining options.
Editor: Nadine Freischlad
