foodpanda today announced the launch of its 150th pandamart in Asia. With its first store launched in Singapore in October 2019, pandamart, foodpanda’s grocery cloud store network, has since been rolled out to 40 cities, across eight markets in the region — Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines. With this milestone, foodpanda now operates Asia’s largest network of cloud grocery stores, providing consumers with easy access to more than 4,000 grocery and household products, delivered within 25 minutes. 

Operating the cloud store concept with pandamart

pandamart cloud stores are purpose-built for deliveries only, with no walk-in retail storefront. Technology and data intelligence form the foundation of every pandamart — from determining its location, to the products carried in each store and how inventory is arranged within the space for maximum picking efficiency, so groceries and household essentials can be efficiently packed and delivered on-demand to consumers. Products available via pandamart include household essentials from global brands like P&G and Unilever, as well as fresh produce from local grocers. pandamart also carries plant-based and sustainably-grown produce and products on the platform.

The global pandemic has changed the way people obtain food, groceries and other daily essentials. Research firm Forrester  reported that grocery is the fastest-growing category in the APAC region, with the adoption of online grocery services expected to grow 30% from 2019 to 2024 and online penetration doubling from 5.1% in 2020, to 10.6% in 2024. 

This trend corresponds with the surge in consumer demand that foodpanda saw on its platform. Across the region, the number of first-time customers ordering groceries via foodpanda more than doubled between the first and second half of 2020 — a trend that continues to grow in 2021. The goal for relatively newer markets like Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines is to make pandamart available to consumers nationwide. This has already been achieved in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong where the service was launched earlier.

A regional look at how pandamart leverages technology for accessibility, variety and speed

With location intelligence and data trend insights, pandamart locations are strategically chosen to make grocery deliveries accessible to communities for both major cities and suburban areas. 

In Malaysia, pandamart became an essential service when the Movement Control Order (MCO) went into effect earlier this year, with grocery orders increasing by almost 70% in the single month of January 2021. Recognising the importance of supporting local food producers, pandamart worked with local partners to source more than 60% of products in Malaysia, offering consumers locally-produced products such as vegetables and soft drinks. 

Across the Causeway, pandamart in Singapore offers one of the largest variety of products across the region, with some cloud stores stocking over 5,000 unique products. In addition to groceries and household essentials, Singapore’s pandamart also carries unique offerings from well-loved homegrown SME brands such as Ooh Mala Chips, Ice Cream Cookie Co., Prima Taste and more. With an increasing number of consumers seeking plant-based meat alternatives, pandamart Singapore also offers products from Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat and Quorn.

In Pakistan where 24/7 on-demand grocery delivery is relatively new, pandamart offers a convenient option for consumers to receive their essentials delivered to their doorsteps quickly and safely. On average, pandamart deliveries in Pakistan are completed in under 20 minutes. 

Shaping new grocery shopping preferences

To meet fast-changing consumer needs and preferences, foodpanda has invested to grow its q-commerce, or quick commerce, offerings. Beyond its core food delivery vertical, foodpanda is accelerating the rollout of pandamart and foodpanda shops in partnership with retailers, to offer consumers greater convenience, speed and variety. 

“Launching 150 pandamart across 40 cities in the midst of a pandemic was no easy task, but foodpanda realised the critical importance in bringing our consumers what they really needed quickly and safely, especially during times of movement constraints,” said Abhishek Sahay, Director of New Verticals at foodpanda. “Now that we’re operating in eight markets, our goal in 2021 is to take pandamart into more cities within our existing markets, plus launch pandamart in all 12 operating markets by the end of 2021.”