Food delivery service HungryPanda announced today it has raised $20 million in funding. The round was led by 83North and Felix Capital and makes up HungryPanda’s total funding to date.
HungryPanda sets itself somewhat apart from other food delivery services in that it caters specifically to overseas Chinese communities — the millions of ethnic Chinese people living outside China and its territories. The platform is designed for Chinese-language speakers, sells predominantly Chinese restaurant food and groceries, and accepts digital payments from services like WeChat Pay and Alipay.
The platform, which users can access via the HungryPanda website or app, aims to help Chinese users overcome cultural and language barriers when ordering food. Business owners, particularly Asian restaurants, can also take advantage of the service to reach and provide delivery to a more relevant base of customers.
The service was started in 2017 in the UK, and also operates in cities across Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand. According to the press release, HungryPanda is “operating profitably in the UK and New York” and plans to launch in 18 more U.S. cities in 2020.
“The US is strategically important to us and it will be our primary focus in 2020,” said Eric Liu, CEO of HungryPanda. “We bring global experience and expertise in this market, which has already made us the leader in a number of cities in the US, including New York where our order volume is almost four times more than the closest competitor.”
HungryPanda will use the new funds to fuel that expansion, as well as grow its team and technology, the company said in the press release.
The service joins other food delivery companies already part of 83North’s portfolio, including Just Eat and Wolt. Felix Capital, too, counts other food platforms among its investments, including Deliveroo and Frichti.
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