iFood is a Brazilian technology company that has become a reference in delivery in Latin America — and arrived in 2023 delivering more than 65 million orders per month throughout Brazil.
Your Business model It is very different from the traditional ones. iFood is a Digital platform, that is, it uses technology to connect consumers, delivery men, restaurants and retailers and bring meals and purchases to customers' homes.
This platform today has more than 300,000 registered establishments and 200,000 delivery people connected in more than 1,700 cities across Brazil.
Want to know more? In this FAQ we will answer people's most frequently asked questions about history of the company and what its operating model is like.
What is iFood?
A Brazilian technology company specializing in online delivery. As a digital platform, its objective is to connect, with simplicity and practicality, millions of consumers to restaurants, retailers and delivery people.
In addition to meal delivery, iFood invests in market delivery and fintech, for example with the iFood Benefits.
In this way, the company intends to lead the digitalization of the world of food and help everyone benefit from the opportunities generated by New Economy.
This is because iFood sees technology as a means of improving people's lives and making relationships between consumers, delivery people and partner establishments increasingly productive.
One of the main New Economy companies in the country, iFood generates 0.43% of the national GDP and generates around 730 thousand jobs, according to a study carried out by Fipe (Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas) with data from 2020. For delivery drivers alone, the company generates around R$ 2 billion in income per year.
Who created iFood?
iFood was created by partners Patrick Sigrist, Eduardo Baer, Guilherme Bonifácio and Felipe Fioravante on May 15, 2011, in São Paulo (SP).
Initially, the company was a printed menu guide called Disk Cook, and orders were placed through a telephone exchange.
In 2012, the website and application for mobile devices (Android and iOS systems) were launched. The following year, the company received investments from Mobile, a Brazilian group created in the late 1990s by Fabricio Bloisi —current president of the company— and which invests in technology businesses.
Who owns iFood?
Since 2022, Movile has held controlling interest in iFood.
The company was already a majority shareholder in the company, and in November acquired the remaining stake (33.3%) of the then minority shareholder, Just Eat Holding Limited.
How does iFood work?
As a platform that enables the delivery of food, drinks, pharmacy items and pet products by connecting consumers, commercial establishments and delivery people.
You can download the free iFood app on any smartphone, create a registration and, from there, filter establishments by location, delivery cost and type of product.
This operation can also be done from the desktop.
iFood operating models
The company has two operating models:
Marketplace
This is the model used in 61% for sales made on the iFood app.
In this format, deliveries are made by establishments, which have their own or third-party delivery people, unrelated to the iFood app. Therefore, it is the restaurants and markets that define the delivery fee and manage their delivery people.
Full service (or Partner Delivery)
These are deliveries made by delivery men and women registered on the iFood platform — the model is used in 39% of sales on the app.
In this model, iFood is responsible for logistics intelligence to allocate couriers and define delivery rates and times.
Furthermore, in Full Service, delivery drivers can work in two modes: cloud (autonomous couriers) or OL (acronym for Logistics Operator). These modalities complement each other so that demand is met, offering the best experience for customers and restaurants.
