Eating. A primal, reptilian need that we respond to several times a day. In many developed countries, we are fortunate enough to be able to choose and try out different flavors from all over the world, thanks to restaurants and brasseries, among other things. But it's not always possible to get to the restaurants. How do you get all these dishes into your own home? 

Sometimes, a simple question can change everything in your life. That's what happened to Will Shu. If you want to know his story, the Deliveroo story and how this seemingly simple idea turned into one of Britain's most iconic unicorns, it's right here. 

The idea that changed everything 

London is famous for some of its monuments, of course, but there are also many restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world. This is what Will Shu discovers when he moves to the city. But to taste all these delights, you have to travel. 

Home delivery is not part of the service, and Will Shu sees this as an idea to bring to more people, but also to allow people to eat what they want, without waiting. 

The idea is to create a connection between several players in the same market: restaurants, delivery drivers who have to deliver orders in less than 30 minutes, and consumer customers, who sometimes want to indulge themselves and eat well, yet stay at home and don't feel like cooking. Deliveroo was born. To achieve this, he joined forces with Greg Orlowski. 

To make this feasible, and in particular to meet the delivery deadlines to which the company is sensitive; to guarantee freshness, but also to respond to local issues, Will Shu wants to work neighborhood by neighborhood, for a local service; a value that speaks to many people, all over the world.  

The development and consecration of Deliveroo

Offering a home delivery service is already a first step, but Deliveroo wants to go further by diversifying and studying prices. 

After all, one person's desires are not the same as another's. Which dishes work best? For years, the company has been studying not only the needs of its emerging clientele, but also their financial possibilities. For many people, dining out is a luxury, or an exception to mark special occasions. 

While London, and by extension England and Great Britain, are of course Deliveroo's core target market, its success is rapidly spreading beyond its borders, barely two years after it was founded. In 2015, Deliveroo was already celebrating its millionth order. 

That same year, Deliveroo raises its first round of financing to further expand internationally. It raised $195 million. A year later, the company raised its fifth round of financing, this time for $275 million. 

Over the years, the company has established itself in 11 markets, including Italy, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

 In France, the number of partner restaurants runs into the thousands. But the success is far greater. Today, there are more than 160,000 Deliveroo partner restaurants and shops, which we can count on to deliver a delicious meal whenever we feel like it. 

While home delivery was not part of the restaurants' initial prerogatives for 90% of them, this possibility has enabled them to increase their sales by 5 to 30%, while delighting Deliveroo financially and the taste buds of all their customers. 

That might be enough, but no. Deliveroo goes even further. Why not help new restaurants set up shop? In dedicated areas, at lower cost, it's possible to get started while minimizing the risks: tools enable newly-established establishments to understand what appeals, so they can always count on a clientele. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. 

Delivery drivers who are self-employed, students or unemployed are not forgotten. From the outset, Deliveroo has known that without them, its operations would be much less efficient. 

Will Shu is the first to know, because in the first year, he was in charge of this role, working full time to meet the various customer orders. Flexibility in scheduling is paramount. They are paid by the job, as they are not salaried. Some see this as a great opportunity, especially as you don't need a car (scooters and bicycles are all you need), while others see it as an impoverishment of the profession. As far as safety is concerned, the company provides free insurance, but this does not cover all accident risks.

With this service, customers can eat differently, more often and with greater variety. This allows them to develop their sense of taste, as well as their critical faculties, by keeping only the establishments that make them salivate, while diversifying their food more easily. 

Promoting intermediation between the various players, Deliveroo uses algorithm-based technology to match supply and demand. Because the time of day influences the way restaurateurs work, the tool has to adapt to it, so that orders can be easily prepared and delivered. Orders can be placed directly on the site, but also via a mobile application. 

Deliveroo: key information

An idea, a success? The recipe (no pun intended) seems so simple. And yet, it germinated in Will Shu's mind in 2013, just after his move to London. 

As soon as it was set up, it grew to become the unicorn start-up in the catering sector, probably the best known to lovers of good food.

In France alone, the number of salaried employees oscillated between 100 and 199 in 2020. This does not, of course, include delivery drivers, who are considered service providers and do not have a salaried contract. 

By 2021, sales had risen by a staggering +57% (or 2.15 billion euros). In August, the start-up recorded sales of £922.5 million (an increase of 82%). 

Having rapidly acquired unicorn status, Deliveroo took advantage of a relaxation of IPO rules to make its debut on March 21, 2021, less than 8 years after its creation.

 The company was then valued at £2 billion. 

Deliveroo is on all fronts, and the year 2022 promises to be rich in terms of development and creativity. 

It's an excellent one for Deliveroo, which has not only focused its efforts on large restaurants, but also on neighborhood restaurants, which are more likely to suit everyone's possibilities. 

Since 2018, just five years after its creation, Deliveroo has been expanding its business by offering the same home delivery service, but this time with food retailers such as Picard, but also supermarkets and hypermarkets (Casino, Carrefour in France, for example).

 The list by country is of course much more extensive, to the delight of consumers. 

The Deliveroo logo has changed over the years, and the highly expressionistic kangaroo of the early days changed typography after 2016, for the conquest of the world. It's also the explanation for the site's name, a mix of "delivery" and the last two letters of kangaroo. 

The slogan used in TV ads " on s'fait un Deliveroo? "is a familiar reflex to acquire when you want to treat yourself, without having to get in the kitchen or go out to eat...