RGP rebrands as Delivery Hero

RGP Korea, the operator of stable of food delivery apps, announced on Monday that it is changing the company name to Delivery Hero Korea to match the name of its Berlin-based parent company.

The rebranding signals the European company’s drive to continue investment in the Korean market where the food delivery market is growing at remarkable speed.

RGP Korea currently runs three food delivery apps in the country: YoGiYo, Baedaltong and Foodfly. YoGiYo and Baedaltong are the No. 2 and 3 food delivery services in Korea trailing market leader Baedal Minjok. Together, they control the vast majority of the food delivery market.

A global operator of food tech services launched in 2011, Delivery Hero owns online platforms for ordering food in 43 countries. But only a few of those regional offices go by the name Delivery Hero.

“Korea is one of the largest and most important global markets that Delivery Hero is present in at the moment,” said Delivery Hero Korea CEO Kang Shin-bong. “The name change was intended to highlight the importance of the local market and express the desire to continue investment.”

Delivery Hero established RGP Korea, an abbreviation for restaurant growth partner, in late 2011 as a regional affiliate. YoGiYo was a service launched by RGP, while the other two were acquired later on - Baedaltong in 2014 and Foodfly in 2017.

A company spokesman explained that the different names of regional affiliates are based on a policy that foreign offices should run autonomously in a way best for each country.

The rebranding demonstrates Delivery Hero’s ambitions to expand its presence in Korea which, according to the company, is one of its top three fastest growing markets.

The name change, which shows a better connection with the European food group, may also attract competitive employees. Due to its fast growth so far, the company is planning to relocate to a new venue three times larger than its current premises.

Company sales grew 80 percent year-on-year in 2017.

The local food delivery app market is estimated at around 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion), a tenfold increase from 2013.

Industry leader, and Delivery Hero Korea’s biggest rival, is Baedal Minjok, which controls 60 percent of the market.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]