Jumia Food: A Post-Mortem
Published on: November 16, 2024
Company Overview
Jumia Food was a pre-payment food delivery platform founded in 2013 by Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, both ex-McKinsey consultants, alongside Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Kofi Afaedor. Initially launched in Nigeria as an arm of the e-commerce platform Jumia, its operations spread to other African countries like Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, and Ivory Coast. By 2014, Jumia Food launched its offices in other African countries like Algeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Tunisia.
Nigerian vendors partnered with the e-commerce platform to showcase and sell their products. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this partnership was utilized, yielding significant returns. This business model helped Jumia Food establish itself as a trusted food delivery platform in several states.
Ahead of World Food Day in 2020, Jumia released its first Africa Food Index Report to show the impact of the pandemic on food trends and choices. The study revealed that due to the advent of smart technology, more individuals purchased more fast food online and preferred Indigenous meals to continental dishes.
This research report strengthened Jumia Food’s drive to expand operations from its primary delivery station in Lagos to other states in Nigeria. The company had about 110,000 active food vendors on its platform to meet customers' demands, directly competing with Konga.
Jumia Food made strategic moves to become a leading delivery platform in various cities and countries amidst fierce competition. By partnering with several food vendors as third-party providers, they were able to provide a wide range of meals, some peculiar to certain locations. Meal prices were made affordable to accommodate the budgets of low-income earners, who comprised a large percentage of young people who ordered food online. They also have partnerships with logistics companies such as Errand360 to ensure seamless deliveries.
These efforts were concentrated in major cities and featured mainly online operations. However, Jumia Food aimed to expand into rural areas by setting up pick-up stations, and offering hybrid delivery options.