foodpanda helps Hong Kong F&B with free deliveries and payment delays during coronavirus outbreak

foodpanda Hong Kong is the latest company that has introduced measures to help local businesses weather the COVID-19 coronavirus strain outbreak. The food delivery brand has announced a set of pricing strategies to aid in minimising business losses.

Backed by an eight-figure (HKD) investment, foodpanda is supporting its restaurant partners with a platform-wide free delivery promotion. It’s hoped this will encourage the growth of delivery orders for restaurants and make up some of the losses incurred from the fall in their dine-in revenue.

The campaign will run from 15 February 2020 to 15 March 2020,

Arun Makhija, foodpanda's Hong Kong CEO, commented on the scheme saying, “From our experience, free delivery is one of the most beneficial offers to our customers, and has aided on average approximately 50% of our restaurants’ business growth. During this unstable period for the F&B industry, we hope that our scheme will benefit both our partner restaurants and customers, and expect that we’ll see a 60% growth for their delivery business. Our priority during this time is to focus on the wellbeing of all our stakeholders, and support in any way we can, to ensure future success and health.”

foodpanda Hong Kong CEO Arun Makhija

The company has also said that in March it will be offering a three-month payment delay scheme, supported with a fund of up to HK$25 million dollars. To proactively support independent and local vendors, foodpanda will actively reach out to smaller businesses on its platform to provide help to those more affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

foodpanda’s announcement comes a week after Deliveroo announced its own set of measures, reducing its commission rate on orders.

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