How much is the use of food delivery apps growing in the world?

New research shows how much the use of delivery apps and other food services is growing around the world — check out the main results.

Report brings new data on increased demand for deliveries, especially ultra-fast deliveries

iFood is the most used application by Brazilians in the food and beverage category — and the sixth in the world, the report points out. State of Food and Drink on Mobile 2021, taking into account the number of monthly active users (MAU) of these digital platforms.

Throughout the evaluated period (from January 2021 to March 2022), iFood appears in first place in number of active monthly users in Brazil. The report was prepared by data.ai, an artificial intelligence platform that brings together consumption data and estimates from the world's main markets.

In the first quarter of 2022 alone, the survey shows that people spent more time using food and beverage apps than in the same period of 2021 — especially those who live in Brazil. Worldwide, the growth in usage time for these apps was 65% (totaling 5.5 billion hours), and here it was 380%.

The meal delivery apps segment continues to be the largest in food and beverages, but saw moderate growth: an increase of 5% in the number of downloads and 28% in sessions, which indicates high demand from those who already use these apps frequently. “Grocery delivery has become increasingly important as a high-growth sector in downloads and usage,” the document points out.

Trends in food and drink apps

Ultrafast delivery applications stood out for their expansion speed: 266% in number of downloads and 213% in number of sessions during the period analyzed. According to the report, convenience, cheap food and fast service are fueling demand in high-growth subgenres. “There is little doubt where the growth of 'unicorn' is happening in the market: ultra-fast delivery in 30 minutes”, concludes the report.

The State of Food and Drink on Mobile also indicated some trends that point to the future of food and drink apps. One is the new wave of interest in sustainability and food sharing.

An example cited was the Indian app UrbanKisaan, the first to connect people to farmers in the country, which saw an increase of 391% in the number of downloads between the first quarter of 2021 and 2022.

Also on the rise is concern about use technology to avoid waste (as in the case of apps that allow people to buy, at a discount, food that was not sold by markets and restaurants).