YC-backed Dahmakan acquires rival to tap Thailand’s $1b food-delivery market

Dahmakan co-founders Jonathan Weins (L), Jessica Li (M), and Christian Edelmann (R) / Photo credit: Dahmakan

Asia loves food, so it’s no surprise that online food delivery is one of the region’s biggest tech sectors.

Among the fastest-growing markets is Thailand, where the food-delivery industry has more than doubled in size over the past four years. Worth US$463 million in 2014, food delivery in the Land of Smiles is projected to hit US$1.02 billion in orders by the end of 2018, according to research consultancy Euromonitor International.

That’s why Malaysian ready-to-eat food delivery startup Dahmakan has just acquired Bangkok-based competitor Polpa, marking its first foray into the Thai market.

Much like Dahmakan itself, Polpa is a vertically integrated, “full-stack” food-delivery service. It designs its own menus, runs its own kitchens, and prepares its own food, which it then delivers on demand.

Polpa has achieved positive unit economics through a super-efficient production and delivery system.

Dahmakan will integrate its logistics and operations tech, including an AI-driven delivery routing system and order prediction tool, with Polpa’s platform in the coming weeks. Android and iOS apps for Polpa – which currently only accepts orders through its website – will also be launched in the near future.

Dahmakan didn’t disclose financial details of the acquisition, but co-founder and chief operating officer Jessica Li told Tech in Asia that Polpa co-founders Julian Timings and Prongfa Uennatornaranggoon will join Dahmakan’s executive team and become shareholders as a result of the deal.

Li claimed that Polpa is among the biggest ready-to-eat delivery players in Bangkok, in terms of daily meals delivered and growth rate, and that it has been profitable since it launched in 2014.

“We were impressed with both the brand and traction that the Polpa team has. Polpa has achieved positive unit economics through a super-efficient production and delivery system, which impressed us a lot,” said Li.

One of Dahmakan’s chefs at work / Photo credit: Dahmakan

She added that Dahmakan expects Bangkok to become its fastest-growing market, with Polpa’s revenue projected to increase five times during its first year of operations as a Dahmakan subsidiary.

She confirmed that Polpa had not received any venture funding prior to today’s acquisition.

Buying into the market