Online food ordering service JustEat.in looking to break even by 2016, to shift focus to mobile

Bangalore-based Achindra Online Marketing Pvt Ltd, the company behind the online food delivery site JustEat.in, is looking to shift its focus to mobile going forward, according to co-founder and CEO Ritesh Dwivedy. The company, which is backed by Axon Partners Group and private equity firm Forum Synergies India, is also looking to break even by 2016.

"The market is shifting towards mobile. As a food ordering platform, we understand that being mobile first is the key to our business. So, all our efforts will go towards enhancing our existing mobile apps, going forward," Dwivedy said. JustEat already offers apps on Android, iOS and Windows platforms.

Currently present in 10 cities, including Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Pune, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, the company has partnered with more than 2,500 restaurants across these cities. "In Bangalore, where we have more than 700-800 partner restaurants, the business has already achieved breakeven, while Mumbai and Delhi operations are close to achieving breakeven. We are now looking to expand to more cities in the country," he added.

According to Dwivedy, JustEat should complete this year with 5 lakh orders, which will be double the number of transactions it did in 2013. The company also offers online table reservations services, but home delivery has been its key revenue generator. As of now, the table reservation business is contributing less than 10 per cent to its overall revenues.

JustEat.in's parent UK-based JustEat Group recently acquired rival Meal2Go to enhance its technology.

"This acquisition has nothing to do with the Indian business. However, we are evaluating Meal2Go's technology and will modify it if required to suit our business. It will help us scale even better," said Dwivedy. JustEat.in is also eyeing acquisitions of companies operating in the similar space. "We have been evaluating a couple of firms, but nothing has been finalised yet. It will take a few months for a clear picture to come out," he said.

The firm was originally started as Hungry Zone in 2006 by Dwivedy, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus. In 2011, UK-based online takeaway ordering service JustEat acquired 60 per cent stake in the startup and rebranded it as JustEat India. JustEat.in allows users to search for and locate restaurants of their choice and place orders/make reservations with the same. The firm had secured an undisclosed amount in funding from global investment firm Axon Partners Group and Forum Synergies India, with participation from JustEat Group in November 2013. Prior to that, it had raised an angel round from Indian Angel Network in 2008.

In India, JustEat.in mainly competes with Foodpanda, a Rocket Internet-backed global, multi-location online food ordering platform. In India, Foodpanda has coverage of 3,000 restaurants across 14 cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)