Report Foodpanda to Exit Thailand, Halting Services on May 23

[snoop1130]

Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

In a surprising announcement, food delivery giant Foodpanda has revealed that it will be ending its operations in Thailand effective May 23, 2025. This move marks a significant shift for the popular platform, which has been a staple in the lives of millions of Thai customers since its inception.

 

Today, April 23, Foodpanda Thailand broke the news through a heartfelt statement on its official fan page. They cited current market conditions as the primary factor for this decision, explaining that they no longer align with the company's long-term strategic goals.

 

The company expressed its gratitude for the unwavering support received over the years from its customers, merchants, partners, and riders. "We are deeply saddened that our journey has come to an end, and we would like to thank all our customers for their continued trust in Foodpanda," the statement read.

 

 

 

Foodpanda's departure is a consequence of the intensely competitive nature of the food delivery industry in Thailand. Challenges such as rising operational costs and evolving consumer behaviours have compounded the difficulties of maintaining a competitive edge.

 

As Foodpanda prepares to shut down its service, Thai customers will have until May 23 to place their final orders. The closure is set to leave a notable gap in the market, with competitors like GrabFood and LINE MAN likely to seize the opportunity to expand their market share.

 

This unexpected exit raises questions about the future dynamics of Thailand's food delivery sector and how remaining players will adjust to the absence of one of their major competitors. The transition could significantly reshape the food delivery landscape as operators vie to capture the void left by Foodpanda's withdrawal.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-04-23

 

 

 

[Kerryd]

It's too bad.

I remember the old Waiters on Wheels, which gave way to Foodpanda, which I guess is giving way to Grab.

Don't like Grab. Can never get the app to accept my address and whenever I try to "find my location" - it thinks I'm 300+ kms away !

Once or twice a year I give it a try and it's the SAME problem - indicating that they simply can't be bothered fixing it.

Can't figure out the "market conditions no longer align with the company's long-term strategic goals" bit.

You're a food delivery company. People are still ordering food online, How does that not align with your "long term strategic goals" ?

What are your "long term strategic goals" if you're a food delivery company that no longer wants to deliver food ?

Oh well, I'm sure the folks at GRAB are rolling on the floor giggling at how rich this is going to make them.

[Patong2021]

Thailand has 2 leaders in food delivery operations; Lineman and Shopee.  Both of them deliver more than restaurant food. My local Lotus and 7-11  can have Lineman drivers in the checkout with various items picked up for delivery.   Food Panda Thailand  had losses in every year of its  operations. It was not sustainable and should have closed down years ago.

[Rolo89]

A shame, leaves the others with more power in the market. Which is what they want and then can increase prices.

[flyingtlger]

[josephbloggs]

10 hours ago, Kerryd said:

It's too bad.

I remember the old Waiters on Wheels, which gave way to Foodpanda, which I guess is giving way to Grab.

Don't like Grab. Can never get the app to accept my address and whenever I try to "find my location" - it thinks I'm 300+ kms away !

Once or twice a year I give it a try and it's the SAME problem - indicating that they simply can't be bothered fixing it.

Can't figure out the "market conditions no longer align with the company's long-term strategic goals" bit.

You're a food delivery company. People are still ordering food online, How does that not align with your "long term strategic goals" ?

What are your "long term strategic goals" if you're a food delivery company that no longer wants to deliver food ?

Oh well, I'm sure the folks at GRAB are rolling on the floor giggling at how rich this is going to make them.

It was actually Food by Phone which was bought by Food Panda when they entered the market. The lost millions each year, with a total loss in Thailand of over $360 US. That's huge!

Food Panda was hit and miss - their website and app are much nicer to use than Grab etc, but often restaurants would show as "temporarily unavailable" or the drivers would take ages to show up. I can't get my home address to register in Grab either and I have to use a house a few doors down from me which is annoying.

Shame FP couldn't make money.

[EVENKEEL]

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

[josephbloggs]

7 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

What a ridiculous comment. Nothing at all to do with laziness. It's rush hour and I don't want to drive one hour each way to a restaurant, nor do I have time. I'm at work and want to order some lunch as I don't have time to go out. I'm at home with a baby and can't go out. I just fancy something different so I can browse by cuisine and pick something. I'm watching football and fancy a pizza, should I miss the game and drive out to a pizza restaurant? Or just order one. I've gone out and left the kids at home, can I not order them some food?

Tons of valid reasons for using food delivery apps. Laziness rarely comes in to it.

Anyway, well done for being a proud luddite, keep flying the flag and depriving yourself of convenience and choice.

[cdemundo]

19 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

So you're saying you couldn't afford to use it?

[EVENKEEL]

14 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

What a ridiculous comment. Nothing at all to do with laziness. It's rush hour and I don't want to drive one hour each way to a restaurant, nor do I have time. I'm at work and want to order some lunch as I don't have time to go out. I'm at home with a baby and can't go out. I just fancy something different so I can browse by cuisine and pick something. I'm watching football and fancy a pizza, should I miss the game and drive out to a pizza restaurant? Or just order one. I've gone out and left the kids at home, can I not order them some food?

Tons of valid reasons for using food delivery apps. Laziness rarely comes in to it.

Anyway, well done for being a proud luddite, keep flying the flag and depriving yourself of convenience and choice.

It's just another step towards pussifacation. Soon there'll be an app to have someone shovel food in your mouth for you.

[EVENKEEL]

14 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

So you're saying you couldn't afford to use it?

Really? You sure you want to go there?

[spidermike007]

43 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

That is a ridiculously judgmental statement. Panda is an incredibly convenient luxury. Will be very saddened to see them go. 

[ricklev]

It will be interesting to see if Grab decides, with Foodpanda gone, that the expat/tourist market is large enough to make an investment in English speaking employees to serve that niche market with something other than unedited machine translations.    

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

I never used a food App either....  but I understand their place.

I guess the need for them has diminished to a point where it's no longer viable or profitable.

[EVENKEEL]

37 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

That is a ridiculously judgmental statement. Panda is an incredibly convenient luxury. Will be very saddened to see them go. 

😭 🤧  Hopefully less MB's on the road as well

[DualSportBiker]

When the Panda ate Food By Phone they had around 20x FBP's marketing budget and they could not compete. Held out for a while, but had to concede defeat. Then at events the public face of the Panda described themselves as the company that opened the food delivery market here! That was nearly 20 years after FBP opened! I remember being stuck by the outrageous arrogance of the muppet who thought buying the company that kicked off the food delivery market here meant they got to wear the hat that said "first"! They were ten years late and spent way too much on market entry. The owner of FBP did rather well out of their late arrival!

[Sydebolle]

Call me old fashioned but food does never improve by having it raced across town in a thermo box. 

Notwithstanding people with limited or no mobility I still believe that taking time to go to a restaurant or cook it yourself is a (psychologically) much better way to provide your body with fuel. 

[RocketDog]

5 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

A misunderstanding of Darwinism.

The truth is that the adaptable species survive, not the strongest.

 

But your version appeals to a lot of people to justify their actions. 

Misinformation.

 

[Airalee]

15 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Thailand has 2 leaders in food delivery operations; Lineman and Shopee.  Both of them deliver more than restaurant food. My local Lotus and 7-11  can have Lineman drivers in the checkout with various items picked up for delivery.   Food Panda Thailand  had losses in every year of its  operations. It was not sustainable and should have closed down years ago.

Foodpanda is far more than just restaurant food.  
 

I could choose from multiple Lotus, Big C, Tops, Gourmet Market etc.   Stand alone florists, butchers, fruit markets, pharmacies…

 

Foodpanda definitely did incur losses.  Impossible not to with the deals offered.  All my grocery shopping for years was done using 20-30% off coupons (plus free delivery) and the prices are the same as in the market, including the in store discount/sale price.  “happyfresh” delivery service was the same but they went out of business much faster.
 

It was similar with many restaurants too.  Cheaper to get food delivered than go to the restaurant…and living on Sukhumvit…it would still arrive hot.  Special deals also just for foodpanda that could also use discount codes on top of too.

 

I’m thankful that foodpanda was willing to incur those losses.  It was good while it lasted.  I didn’t ever think it would last this long.

[Airalee]

4 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

The deals for groceries/supermarkets is/was awesome.   Call me lazy, but it’s nice not having to drive on Sukhumvit to get large/heavy orders and also utilize constant discount codes that give 20-30% off (capped at 160-180 baht usually).  It was cheaper to have grocery items delivered (always free delivery) than buy it in the store.  Prices were the same on Foodpanda as in Lotus, Big C, Tops and Gourmet Market.  Same selection too.

 

 

 

 

[kimothai]

5 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

Agree with the laziness thing but it was useful during COVID (only time I used it).

[impulse]

16 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Can't figure out the "market conditions no longer align with the company's long-term strategic goals" bit.

You're a food delivery company. People are still ordering food online, How does that not align with your "long term strategic goals" ?

 

I was wondering some of the same things.  I've lately been reading that Thai customers actually expect food delivery to be cheaper than going out and buying it because of all the discounts being offered by the delivery apps.  (Airalee posted one example a few posts ago.)

 

I don't know how accurate that is, but it would sure be challenging to offer a service that people expect to cost them less than nothing.

 

[lordgrinz]

5 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

 

I literally do everything in my power to avoid driving in Thailand, so the food delivery apps can be a Godsend.

[KhunLA]

13 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I literally do everything in my power to avoid driving in Thailand, so the food delivery apps can be a Godsend.

We are just outside the delivery range, literally 150m, as I see 7-11 deliver on the main rd, but won't drive up out dead end soi, a mere 150m.

 

I don't mind though, as we don't eat out that frequent, and more to get out of the house, than to eat anything special.   Would be nice if Pizza Co delivered.

 

Although last time, again, got us out of the house and we went surfside, 5 mins away to munch the last pizza order.

 

Semi rural, and traffic isn't an issue or dangerous.  If living in a metro area, yea, i'd use quite often.  

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm probably last man standing never to have used a food app. If you've lost mobility I see the food apps as an asset. Otherwise it's sheer laziness.

 

with respect, you are not alone. I have never used a food app. I purchase fresh ingredients then prepare and cook my own food.

I do not have a smartphone.

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

I was wondering some of the same things.  I've lately been reading that Thai customers actually expect food delivery to be cheaper than going out and buying it because of all the discounts being offered by the delivery apps.  (Airalee posted one example a few posts ago.)

 

I don't know how accurate that is, but it would sure be challenging to offer a service that people expect to cost them less than nothing.

 

It’s accurate.  I’ve been playing the system for years.  It even works with “pickup” orders.   For example…. I have stood outside McDonald’s, ordered on foodpanda, walked in and picked it up for much less than ordering at the register.  It’s a crazy business model, but I like it.

 

For groceries, I will usually limit my order amount in order to maximize the capped discount.  Sometimes, late at night, I’ll make multiple orders from 3 different 24 hour Tops stores (Ekkamai, Thonglor and Phrom Phong) and save ฿500+/- on a ฿2500ish total order.

[impulse]

25 minutes ago, Airalee said:

It’s accurate.  I’ve been playing the system for years.  It even works with “pickup” orders.   For example…. I have stood outside McDonald’s, ordered on foodpanda, walked in and picked it up for much less than ordering at the register.  It’s a crazy business model, but I like it.

 

For groceries, I will usually limit my order amount in order to maximize the capped discount.  Sometimes, late at night, I’ll make multiple orders from 3 different 24 hour Tops stores (Ekkamai, Thonglor and Phrom Phong) and save ฿500+/- on a ฿2500ish total order.

 

Sorry if you thought I was questioning your accuracy.  I didn't even see your post until after I pushed the submit button.  Seeing it, I went back and acknowledged your post. 

 

I was referring to my Thai friends and coworkers who spend a lot of time scheming where they can get the best discount that day for lunch.  They are masters of the discount...

 

[Joseph98765]

same situation with Uber...grab will spread his power more now...