Grubhub Inc. provides an online food order and delivery service run by Just Eat Takeaway, through which diners can connect with local restaurants. The company was founded in 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.
In 2019, there were over 19.9 million users and 115,000 restaurants associated with the company in over 3,200 cities throughout the United States.
Grubhub Net Worth
Over the last two decades, the online food-delivery empire has grown to be worth over $2.37 billion, starting as a simple tool for people to order food from restaurants in Chicago.
Grubhub History
The idea of ordering takeout online was conceived in New York and Chicago in the early 2000s by two groups. This idea led to Seamless in New York City, and Grubhub came into being in Chicago.
The process of ordering food was complicated at the time. There were a limited number of menus available, and paying with a credit card required stating the numbers over the phone.
Both Seamless and Grubhub made things a lot simpler by saving card information and uploading the complete menus of local restaurants. Both companies charged 10% commissions to restaurants, but now they may charge up to 30%.
Grubhub and Seamless merged
During their debut decade, Grubhub and Seamless were dominant in the food delivery market, but they began competing against each other as food delivery began to take off in the early 2010s.
The two companies merged in 2013, creating a company capable of handling 70% of all takeout orders. Through this partnership, customers in over 500 cities were able to order takeout from over 20,000 restaurants.
The company’s loss
Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates emerged as new food delivery services in California following the Seamless and Grubhub merger. Rather than just taking takeaway orders, the new services offered restaurants delivery services at an increased commission rate.
Matt Maloney, the CEO of Grubhub, called it “the dumbest business you could ever be in” because of its razor-thin profit margins. However, Grubhub also started offering delivery services to restaurants in response to increasing stock market pressure.
The company recorded its very first annual loss in 2019, which Maloney attributed to the delivery services provided and market competition.
Revenue
Grubhub, a company that owns brands such as MenuPages and AllMenus, grew 53% every year since it merged with Seamless in 2013, allowing customers to order takeout with the tap of a finger.
The revenue generated by Grubhub has grown consistently since its public launch, despite its market share decline in 2019. In 2016, it generated $500 million, which increased to nearly $1.8 billion by 2020.
