Boom time for Bangkok's online food delivery industry amid lockdown

Published Mon, May 11, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Bangkok

WHILE the Thai economy is likely to contract 5-10 per cent this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the few growth sectors (other than face mask and sanitiser sales) has been the online food delivery industry which hit a tipping point last year and is now riding high in the lockdown.

"Basically the business was exploding already pre-Covid situation," said Food Panda Thailand's chief executive officer Alexander Felde, who launched the Germany-based online delivery service in Bangkok in 2012. "What happened with Covid from March (lockdown) was players, transactions and usage of the service just doubled overnight," he said.

The lockdown, enforced on March 22 was partially eased on May 3, when many venues were allowed a partial opening, including restaurant…