Food delivery startups are coming up with innovative ways to deliver groceries and restaurant-quality food to customers. Individuals and companies can both take advantage of on-demand services that cater to busy lifestyles. Food delivery companies in every part of the world are focusing on specific parts of the industry to bring new ways for people to get what they need.
In this article, we will teach you about some of the best fast-growing food delivery startups out there. We’ll also give you information about their investors, funding, and founders.
Top Food Delivery Companies to Follow
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the most exciting food delivery startups of 2024 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
1. Swiggy
- Location: Bengaluru, India
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Nandan Reddy, Phani Kishan Addepalli, Rahul Jaimini, Sriharsha Majety
- Founded In: 2014
- Funding: Series Unknown, $2.9 Billion
- Investors Include: ARK Impact, Kotak Mutual, Alpha Wave Global
The US has several food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash, but in India, Swiggy is the rising food delivery service. They serve popular cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and more.
2. Wonder
- Location: New York, New York
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Marc Lore
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series Unknown, $850 Million
- Investors Include: Forerunner Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures
Wonder takes food delivery service to the next level by using some of the most popular menus in New York and making it just steps away from your doorstep. The company hires vans where chefs are waiting inside to cook your favorite meals, and they deliver the food to you seconds after it has been finished.
3. Club Feast
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Atallah Atallah, Christopher Miao, Ghazi Atallah
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Seed, $13.8 Million
- Investors Include: General Catalyst, Modern Venture Partners
Club Feast concentrates on the corporate side of food delivery and produces catering for larger companies. They handle everything from ordering, delivery logistics, and communication with restaurants to bring food for big teams.
4. HungryPanda
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Kelu Liu
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Series D, $220 Million
- Investors Include: Felix Capital, Vintage Investment Partners
Focused on Chinese food and groceries, HungryPanda brings food delivery to people living in the UK. They have a wide range of food items on their menu, and they also offer grocery delivery.
5. Deliveroo
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Greg Orlowski, William Shu
- Founded In: 2012
- Funding: Post-IPO Equity, $1.7 Billion
- Investors Include: Delivery Hero, Durable Capital Partners
Delivering on the same concept that made DoorDash and Uber Eats popular, Deliveroo is attempting to become the premier food delivery service in London. The company handles any restaurant foods or groceries and delivers them right to the customer’s doorstep.
6. Food Rocket
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Vitaly Alexandrov
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Series A, $27 Million
- Investors Include: Circle K Venture, Baring Vostok Capital Partners
Food Rocket is focusing on Chicago residents and has recently expanded to San Francisco. Since the company is hyper-focused on only a couple of cities, they are able to provide deliveries within 15+ minutes. They even have plans to open their own in-person store soon.
7. Shef
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Alvin Salehi, Joey Grassia
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series B, $102.3 Million
- Investors Include: Y Combinator, Craft Ventures
Shef is transforming the way people get high-quality foods cooked by highly trained chefs. No longer do customers have to physically go to five-star restaurants, but they can order directly from the chef themselves. Shef gives chefs a platform to offer their customized menus directly to consumers with delivery right to their doorstep.
8. DoorDash
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Andy Fang, Evan Moore, Stanley Tang, Tony Xu
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: Series H, $2.5 Billion
- Investors Include: Roofstock, Lunchbox Technologies
DoorDash is one of the original food delivery startups, and they are still going strong. The company has a wide range of restaurant partners, and they are constantly expanding to new cities. They have also recently expanded their services to include grocery delivery.
9. Sesame
- Location: New York, New York
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Joshua Morgan
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Pre-Seed, $3.4 Million
- Investors Include: Tuesday Capital, Relish Works, Eldridge, SpringTime Ventures
Sesame was started by career restaurant operators who were tired of paying commission every time a to-go order came through from a delivery service. They now offer zero-commission deliveries for restaurants so that every dollar goes directly back to profit.
10. Hungryroot
- Location: New York, New York
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Benjamin McKean, Franklin Becker, Gregory Struck
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series C, $75.4 Million
- Investors Include: Crosslink Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Hungryroot is combining the power of AI with food delivery service. Instead of needing to create your own grocery list, Hungryroot uses a combination of quizzes to find out exactly what you need.
11. Gopuff
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Rafael Ilishayev, Yakir Gola
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: Undisclosed, $3.4 Billion
- Investors Include: Marcy Venture, Guggenheim Investments
Gopuff has combined a couple of different business models to create a delivery service that is able to hit your doorstep in minutes. With a microcenter filled with daily essentials and foods, you can get what you need without having to wait.
12. Starship Technologies
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Ahti Heinla, Janus Friis
- Founded In: 2014
- Funding: Series B, $197.7 Million
- Investors Include: TDK Ventures, Goodyear Ventures
Instead of having to hire multiple delivery drivers that can ensure the food gets to the customer, Starship Technologies is using a fleet of self-driving vehicles to deliver goods to customers.
13. Sharebite
- Location: New York, New York
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Ahsen Saber, Dilip Rao, Mohsin Memon
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series B, $62.9 Million
- Investors Include: Not Boring Capital, Contour Venture Partners
Sharebite is attempting to put company culture at the forefront of their delivery service. They provide companies with meal cards that employees can use to order food whether they are at the office or at their home.
14. Freshly (Acquired by Nestle)
- Location: New York, New York
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Carter Comstock, Michael Wystrach
- Founded In: 2012
- Funding: Series C, $107 Million
- Investors Include: Monkfish Equity, White Star Capital
Freshly is another major food delivery service in America that is focused on providing healthy meals. The company offers meal plans for every type of eater and all customers have to do is heat it up in their homes.
15. Imperfect Foods (Acquired by Misfits Market)
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Ben Simon, Benjamin Chesler, Ron Clark
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series D, $229.1 Million
- Investors Include: Norwest Venture Partners, Insight Partners
The world wastes about 1.4 billion tons of food every single year. Imperfect Foods is looking to fight this issue by delivering perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste. The company works with farmers, manufacturers, and retailers to source their food and get it to customers at a discounted price.
16. Dunzo
- Location: Bengaluru, India
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Ankur Aggarwal, Dalvir Suri, Kabeer Biswas, Mukund Jha
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series Unknown, $382.6 Million
- Investors Include: Alteria Capital, Lightbox
People in India don’t have to go far for groceries and other essential items to be delivered right to their door. Dunzo is focused on local delivery and connects its users to the nearest possible delivery partner.
17. RailMitra
- Location: Patna City, India
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Manish Chandra, Nitish Kumar
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: N/A
- Investors Include: N/A
RailMitra is a train service that focuses primarily on giving passengers as much information about their ride as possible. Recently, they’ve partnered with catering companies that allow them to deliver food to customers right to their seats at their next stop.
18. Beelivery
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Lee Parkinson, Yazan Bin Mohammad
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series A, $6.4 Million
- Investors Include: GreenBank Capital, UKTV Ventures
Beelivery has quickly become the UK’s biggest food delivery service, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The company has a wide range of restaurants that they partner with and offer its services to customers 24 hours a day.
19. Gebni
- Location: New York, New York
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Ali Dahmani, Mohamed Merzouk, Sid Merzouk
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Seed, $400,000
- Investors Include: N/A
Instead of sticking with the same flat prices for food delivery, Gebni uses smart pricing tech to save customers and restaurants money. As prices change, customers can pick between the most cost-efficient options.
20. Bella & Bona
- Location: Monaco, Germany
- Industry: Food Delivery
- Founders: Matteo Cricco, Niccolo Ferragamo, Niccolò Lapini
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Convertible Note, $3 Million
- Investors Include: Plug and Play
Companies can eat healthy when ordering through Bella & Bona. The startup is able to use its own kitchens to cook up and serve healthy and delicious foods directly to corporate teams.
