When the first online food ordering was made on the efood platform in 2011, it was hard to imagine that in a few years the same process would become a daily routine for millions of Greeks. During a typical week, most of us open the app to order food from our favorite restaurants or stock up on ingredients from supermarkets, deli and butchers. Wine cellars come to our home in minutes. In a few clicks, books, flowers and even gifts will arrive at our door without you having to run around the shops. The changes that brought a new breath both to our daily life and to the evolution of the Greek market in general, had, to a large extent, the popular platform as a common denominator.

Going back to its creation and then following its path through the first decade of its life, it is clear that e-foods are worth studying as a catalyst for a new era of distribution. By innovating and accelerating new trends, he has changed not only how we, consumers, order and receive food, but the market itself: from expanding the store clientele (and, as a result, more food outlets) to creating innovative “ghost restaurants”. ”, working exclusively with the distribution of products, without the full operation of a physical store. At the same time, the distributor profession itself took on a different form, and within a few years, a whole industry of quick commerce was formed. While on the other side of the screen we have seen technology advance and user experience improve, efood has evolved from a start-up to an organization with over 4,000 employees.

Promising New Landscape for Greek Stores

It was not long before the global health crisis began, when in 2018 efood introduced an efood-driven service that allows stores to distribute their products using their own fleet quickly, flexibly and at significant operational costs. When health measures began to be implemented in food service a few months later, delivery services were a valuable relief as they allowed stores to essentially continue to operate. Significantly, during the pandemic, more than 6,000 new businesses have joined the efood platform and taken over the distribution of their products, ensuring the continuity of their work, as well as the retention of their staff. At a rapid pace, new categories of stores were joining the platform, in addition to ready-made food, and in 2020, supermarket and small retail goods also began to arrive at our door within minutes of ordering. Since its inception, with only 54 stores, efood has now integrated 21,000 stores in 100 cities in Greece into its platform, creating additional turnover for them over the years, which together exceeded 2 billion euros. Hand in hand with the development of the platform, we see a change in the culture of stores.

The distributor profession is changing

From casual work, we see that the distributor profession is positively diversifying and is now a conscious choice for thousands of professionals who enjoy competitive pay and benefits. The innovative efood company was the first to provide its distributors with important benefits such as insurance and work equipment, which largely set a positive example in the market. Full fleet training, a focus on road safety and the introduction of new technologies are gradually redefining the distributor profession, while at the same time expanding opportunities to work more cost-effectively. In particular, over the past three years, payments to the largest group of distributors in Greece exceeded 1.8 million euros.

Fast commerce: from unfamiliar words, habit

Sweets or cosmetics? Clothes or bouquets? Now we know for sure that with a few taps on the screen of our mobile device, the goods we need will be delivered to where we are. Not in a few days, but in less than an hour. Global e-commerce trends have been realized in Greece through e-food, and unknown words such as fast commerce have become a habit. In 2019, efood pioneered the creation of an electronic food marketplace, including small retailers, with online ordering and distribution as a pilot project. Over the course of three years, the service has evolved, both in terms of delivery speed, and in terms of available products and pricing policy. A completely new market has just been created, positively influencing the development of small retail and local trade.

Using new technologies as a tool

Innovative applications and new technologies are always key components of the work of efood, which strives day by day to improve and develop its services for both users and companies with which it cooperates. From continuously improving the user experience to transaction security, fleet management and instant delivery, the efood technology team is shaping a new era of distribution every day.