Finnish delivery platform Wolt is expanding to Luxembourg. At first, the focus will be on restaurants, but the company will add the likes of supermarkets and even pet food stores to their offering.
In the first stage of Wolt’s launch, the company will service only Luxembourg City. It will reach from Kirchberg through Limpertsberg, Merl, Cessange to Bonnevoie and Cents, including the city centre. This is a standard approach for the delivery business when it expands into a new country. That is because Wolt is looking to make a good first impression and work without a hitch from the get-go. But as is the case in other countries, filling up your entire fridge with the app should be a possibility in the future.
“Traditionally, the way we start is delivery of restaurant food. But in the end, we want to build a shopping mall in your pocket. Of course, it’s a journey. We will go through that in Luxemburg as well, and we should be able to serve a multitude of your needs and also support smaller local shops,” says Henrik Pankakoski, Regional General Manager, North at Wolt.
Having food delivered is a very common part of life in today’s day and age. The positive impact of a service like that is that it allows people to focus on other tasks. A study by data collector Norstat, commissioned by Wolt, indicated that people use the extra time saved by ordering to work, rest, and do activities they enjoy. The same paper also showed that 86% of merchants using the Finnish delivery service were small businesses.
The knock-on effect of services like Wolt is that they allow smaller businesses to increase their revenue without investing in building an online presence. Using the platform takes a cut of the merchant’s profits and, in return, allows for easier entry into the market.
“You can imagine some merchants are on a quiet street, and not everyone has seen them. But the good thing with this app is that you’re on an equal level with everyone else, and people around you can see what you offer.”
Loren Danesi, General Manager, Wolt Luxembourg
Acquisition and evolution
In June 2022, American online food delivery giant DoorDash acquired Wolt. Its market share in January 2024 was evaluated at 66% by data gathering and visualisation platform Statista. It operates in 29 countries, 25 of which are under the Wolt brand. The Finnish company brings its experience in launching in new markets and working in different languages.
DoorDash, on the other hand, has evolved further in some aspects of its product with its loyalty programme and white label delivery service, which have been replicated and are now available in Europe as Wolt Drive. The latter gives restaurants that already have an online presence the opportunity to outsource the fulfilment of their orders.
In 2021, Wolt launched its Wolt+ membership programme, offering its customers free delivery for a monthly fee. Its partnership with DoorDash will certainly help in growing its product. But as far as Luxembourg is concerned, getting established is first on the menu.
With the grand duchy’s population growth and increase in diversity over the last 20 years, it is interesting to see how that will translate into a more diverse culinary offering. Levelling the playing field a bit for merchants just might result in a larger variety of food options.
