Hong Kong’s Lalamove to cease its food delivery unit in the Philippines

Hong Kong-based on-demand logistics platform Lalamove announced today plans to cease its food delivery service Lalafood in the Philippines on February 15 and refocus efforts on its core delivery business.

“While as a company we have learned a great deal from Lalafood, a decision has been to redirect our focus entirely on our core Lalamove delivery business,” according to a notice released by Lalamove.

Photo credit: Lalamove

Moving forward, the logistics service said it plans to expand in Manila and to the Pampanga province this month. Despite challenging conditions last year, the company claimed it has maintained “sustainable growth.”

“2021 will continue to be another year of strong growth for Lalamove in the Philippines. We are committed to strengthening our investment in the Philippines to better serve our customers and provide more opportunities for our driver-partners and employee,” it added.

The company launched its food delivery service in the Philippines in 2018. It competes with rivals such as Grab and Foodpanda in the country.

Alex Lin, managing director of Lalamove Singapore, previously told Tech in Asia that the demand for Lalamove’s food and beverage-related deliveries has grown 300% in Singapore since the start of April last year.

See also: Do food delivery platforms deserve the public beating they’re getting?

The Hong Kong firm reportedly closed a US$1.5 billion round led by Hillhouse Capital Group in January, which brought the company’s valuation to around US$10 billion. Other Lalamove backers include Sequoia Capital China and Tiger Global Management, among others.

Correction (February 11, 11:30 pm): This article originally said that Alex Lin is the managing director of Lalamove. However, he is the managing director of Lalamove Singapore.