(Bloomberg) — Uber Technologies Inc. plans to grow its food delivery business in Germany to around 70 cities by the end of this year, up from the current 14 in Europe’s largest economy.
Eve Henrikson, Uber’s regional general manager for delivery in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the investment was the result of “lots of demand.”
“That gives the confidence to push and expand,” she said in an interview.
Germany’s food delivery market has been dominated by Just Eat Takeaway.com NV until last year. Companies including Uber and DoorDash Inc. broadened the market when they started local operations during the pandemic, while Berlin-based Delivery Hero SE announced in December it was exiting the country.
Henrikson said Uber Eats had the advantage of being able to offer restaurants a network of couriers, whether or not they already had a fleet. Just Eat relies on a premises having its own riders.
Read more: Uber, Just Eat Takeaway CEOs Spar on Twitter Over Tax and Shares
Food delivery stocks have sunk in recent months as investors shift their focus to profit rather than fast-growing technology companies. Uber’s delivery business weathered a selloff better than others and recorded adjusted profits for the first time last quarter, driven in part by its European business more than tripling since the start of the pandemic.
The San Francisco-based company has also been investing in new business areas in Europe, such as a partnership with French grocery chain Carrefour SA to offer rapid delivery starting in Paris last October. That service is now in nine cities across France, Henrikson said.
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