• Menulog reported a global revenue increase of 54% in 2020.
• It’s over 10% boost in global delivery orders was attributed to the strong growth of orders in Australia.
• The company says it added an additional 3,000 regional restaurants last year, and wants to focus on expanding outside major cities into 2021.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Food delivery app Menulog beat the previous year’s delivery orders by 104% last year in Australia, according to its annual earnings report, highlighting the continuing potential for growth in the Australian market.

The company also revealed it wants to expand even further into Australia’s regional markets, which it sees as areas of growth in the food delivery space, after bringing an additional 3,000 regional restaurants on board last year.

Menulog reported a global revenue increase of 54% to €2.4 billion (AU $3.7 billion).

And its share of global delivery orders — 19.6% in 2020 up from 9.5% in 2019 — was largely driven by the strong growth of orders in Australia (excluding the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, which report separately).

Menulog added 3,000 regional restaurants last year, and it said expanding further into regional hubs is a major plank of its upcoming strategy.

The company touted the 8,000 new restaurant partners gained in 2020, and pointed to its $1.99 off-peak delivery fee for Menulog-delivered orders as a contributing factor in its accelerated growth.

The company says the fee will drive growth for restaurants, as well as create more opportunities for off-peak orders for couriers.

In the Australian market Deliveroo is also experimenting with pricing. On March 1 it launched a two-week $1 delivery program, which it says will boost its customer base as well as the hospitality industry.

The global pandemic served as a boon for online delivery platforms globally with restaurants and cafes shuttered; particularly in Australia’s crowded market, comprising global players including UberEats, Deliveroo, Mandarin-language app HungryPanda, and DoorDash, which entered the Australian market in 2019.

Even before the pandemic, the online food ordering and meal delivery platform industry was projected to grow by 25% according to economic modelling by IBISWorld, as reported by Fast Company.

This, in comparison to the broader cafe and restaurant industry, where turnover in 2020 was 15% below that of 2019.

Delivery apps under the spotlight

Food delivery platforms have faced criticism in Australia amid accusations of insufficient worker protections, following the deaths of four delivery workers within the space of two months in November 2020.

At that time, one food delivery rider had died in Australia every two weeks on average since 27 September, Guardian Australia reported.

Globally, food delivery apps have been caught in the crosshairs of the gig economy pushback, as workers demand higher wages, and the ability to be classified as workers rather than independent contractors.

In California in the US late last year food delivery giants overturned a law that would have granted gig workers the same rights as employees.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.