Just Eat may be the best example of perfect market fit in the wrong country. Launched in Denmark in 2001, the team slowly realised they had built a great technology for local businesses, but in a country with a relatively small interest in takeaways.
However, about 500 miles west across the North Sea was a country responsible for 50 percent of the food delivery market in Europe, the UK. In 2005, Just Eat launched in E14 Docklands, and within six months were generating £7,000 a month from that single postcode.
Compared to other food delivery apps, Just Eat was wholly focused on the technology. It forced all businesses to install the Just-Connect box, which at the time cost £250 (now £699), connecting the business to the Just Eat ordering platform. This was a lot better than other solutions, which included faxing orders and sending automated phone orders.
From its base in the London Docklands, Just Eat continued to grow. Within three years, the company had moved its HQ to London and launched in the Netherlands and Ireland.
Just Eat’s business model was highly successful, it took 10-15 percent commission for every order, without any meaningful overhead. In the past few years, due to pressure from Uber Eats and Deliveroo, it has started to run its own delivery service.
It has also partnered with major food brands, like McDonalds, Greggs and Subway.
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Find out moreEven with the new competition, Just Eat holds a commanding lead in the UK. This is partly due to the aggregator vs platform model, in many towns Uber Eats and Deliveroo are unable to operate, as they need to hire delivery riders, whereas Just Eat doesn’t handle the majority of its orders.
Expansion for Just Eat has come in the form of acquisitions. It acquired Menulog in 2015 for £445 million, bolstering its position in Australia and New Zealand. It also acquired Skip the Dishes in Canada, which has become the most popular aggregator in Canada.
It also owns a 33 percent stake in iFood, an aggregator in Brazil responsible for about 85 percent of all food delivery in the country. This stake could be worth $1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
In 2019, Just Eat announced a merger with Takeaway.com. Both companies operate in Europe, although Takeaway.com is more prominent in German and East Europe, while Just Eat controls France, Spain and the UK. The new company is called Just Eat Takeaway.
The takeaway giant added a third pillar to its empire, in the form of Grubhub, which it acquired in June 2020 for £5.75 billion. Just Eat beat out Uber, which was also exploring an acquisition of the aggregator. The deal gives Just Eat a 20 percent foothold in the US market.
The combined revenue of Just Eat Takeaway and Grubhub ($3 billion) makes it the largest food delivery company in the West, although it is dwarfed by Meituan Dianping and Ele.me, the two Chinese delivery giants, which have both reported revenues of over $7 billion.
One of the worries for Just Eat Takeaway is that its model, predicated on restaurants delivering to the customer, becomes less valuable as platforms step in to cover delivery.
That said, Just Eat hasn’t been hit with the criticism over hefty commissions, sometimes over 35 percent, which Uber Eats and Deliveroo ask for in exchange for delivery services.
We have collected data and statistics on Just Eat revenue, profit and usage. Read on below to find out more.
Just Eat Overview
| Launch date | August 2001 |
| HQ | Kolding, Denmark |
| People | Jitse Groen (CEO, Takeaway.com), Peter Duffy (interim CEO, Just Eat), Paul Harrison (CFO) |
| Business type | Subsidiary |
| Parent company | Just Eat Takeaway |
| Industry | Food delivery |
Just Eat Revenue
| 2011 | £34 million |
| 2012 | £60 million |
| 2013 | £96 million |
| 2014 | £157 million |
| 2015 | £248 million |
| 2016 | £375 million |
| 2017 | £545 million |
| 2018 | £779 million |
| 2019 | £1,000 million |
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Profit
| 2013 | £7 million |
| 2014 | £19 million |
| 2015 | £35 million |
| 2016 | £72 million |
| 2017 | (£72 million) |
| 2018 | £80 million |
Note: Just Eat has not released Q4 2019 earnings, so we do not know the net profit. We assume, due to heavier investment in first-party deliveries, it may be lower than the £80m reported in the previous year.
* Parentheses indicates loss
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Orders
| 2011 | 14 million |
| 2012 | 25 million |
| 2013 | 40 million |
| 2014 | 61 million |
| 2015 | 96 million |
| 2016 | 136 million |
| 2017 | 172 million |
| 2018 | 221 million |
| 2019 | 286 million |
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Users
| 2011 | 2.4 million |
| 2012 | 4.1 million |
| 2013 | 5.9 million |
| 2014 | 8.1 million |
| 2015 | 13 million |
| 2016 | 18 million |
| 2017 | 21 million |
| 2018 | 26 million |
| 2019 | 38 million |
Note: Just Eat records users as active if they order more than once a month.
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Restaurants
| 2011 | 17,000 |
| 2012 | 29,900 |
| 2013 | 36,400 |
| 2014 | 45,700 |
| 2015 | 61,500 |
| 2016 | 68,500 |
| 2017 | 82,300 |
| 2018 | 105,000 |
| 2019 | 240,000 |
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Orders Processed
| 2014 | £1.0 billion |
| 2015 | £1.7 billion |
| 2016 | £2.5 billion |
| 2017 | £3.3 billion |
| 2018 | £4.2 billion |
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Average Revenue Per Order
| 2011 | £1.97 |
| 2012 | £2.00 |
| 2013 | £2.11 |
| 2014 | £2.29 |
| 2015 | £2.35 |
| 2016 | £2.59 |
| 2017 | £2.92 |
| 2018 | £3.30 |
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Average Yearly Orders Per Restaurant
| 2015 | 1.821 |
| 2016 | 2,167 |
| 2017 | 2,300 |
Source: Just Eat
Just Eat Valuation
| 2015 | £1.5 billion |
| 2017 | £5.5 billion |
| 2019 | £5.9 billion |
Sources: TechCrunch, Guardian, Eater
Just Eat Countries Available
| 2014 | 8 |
| 2016 | 12 |
| 2018 | 13 |
Just Eat Other Brands
| Menulog | Just-Eat acquired Menulog for £445 million in 2015. The app works in Australia and had 2.6 million monthly active users (MAUs) in 2019. It generated £28 million in revenue |
| iFood | Just-Eat holds a 33 percent stake in iFood, the largest food delivery service in Brazil. It had 10 million MAUs and £123 million in revenue in 2019 |
| Skip the Dishes | Acquired by Just-Eat in 2016 for $200 million, Skip the Dishes has become a leader in Canada. It has 3.5 million MAUs and 30 million yearly orders, generating £177 million in revenue |
Just Eat Competitors: Revenue and Countries Available
Note: Just-Eat Takeaway revenue includes Grubhub. Uber Eats revenue includes Postmates.
Just Eat other key stats
- Just Eat revenue hit £1 billion in 2019, a 28 percent increase year-on-year
- 38 million people use Just Eat more than once a month
- Largest Just Eat age demographic is 18-34 year olds, young families on average order the most (Just-Eat)
- Average order value was £19.05 in 2018
- Average customer orders from Just Eat 8.4 times per year
- Average restaurant receives 2,300 orders per year
- Combined, Just Eat Takeaway and Grubhub generate $3 billion in revenue, making it the largest food delivery company in the West (Merger Sight). It is third worldwide, behind China’s Ele.me and Meituan Dianping
- Just Eat is the most popular delivery service in the UK, followed by Dominos and Deliveroo (Statista)
