Australian online food and beverage ordering app, Menulog, has announced the closure of its business in Australia in two weeks. Confirming the announcement, Menulog released a statement saying it would not take orders from midnight on Wednesday, November 26. The online food and beverage ordering app also advised the customers to use any unused credits or vouchers before the last operating day.
Following the decision by Menulog, around 120 employees would be affected, for which the firm said it had already offered them employment support and redundancy packages. Menulog also mentioned that the affected employees would be entitled to a four-week voluntary payment.
What did Menulog’s CEO say?
Menulog’s chief executive, Morten Belling, in his latest communique, said that he was forced to make the decision and announced it was ‘tough’.
Not only was the 20-year-old firm’s chief executive unhappy with the announcement, but Restaurant & Catering Australia national president, John Hart OAM, said that Menulog’s closure was a loss to the restaurant industry.
Market Share Decline
According to a senior lecturer in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School, Alex Veen, Menulog’s market share had declined from around 80 per cent in 2014 to less than 25 per cent. Citing the reason for Menulog’s failure, Veer said that the firm did not diversify as compared to its rivals Uber and DoorDash. The latter heavily pivoted into grocery deliveries.
He also mentioned that Menulog’s failure raises questions about the competitive food delivery market in Australia. He raised the issue of duopoly or monopoly and compared it with Australia’s supermarket.
In the meantime, Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) national secretary Michael Kaine shared his concern, saying Menulog’s failure will be a shock to hundreds of food delivery riders as they rely on Menulog for their income. Kaine even accused the former coalition government of not acting to fix the standards in the gig economy.
According to him, the coalition government’s inaction led to few options for customers in an unsustainable industry. He added that this also led to exploitative and dangerous job options for those at the bottom of the gig economy.
What Next For Menulog
On Wednesday, Menulog released a statement saying the decision to announce the closure of its local operations would allow it to focus on investments in other markets.
As per the global research firm IBISWorld, in 2024, Menulog generated total revenue of $244.62 million, which included sales and other revenue. Earlier in 2015, Menulog was acquired by British Just Eat. Before Menulog, Deliveroo, and Foodora also shut down in Australia in 2022 and 2018, respectively.
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