Food delivery giant iFood: investment surges 25% Targets Brazil's low- and middle-income groups
Recently, Brazil's local food delivery giant iFood has increased its investment in Brazil from 13.6 billion reais last year to a total of 17 billion reais in the current fiscal year (ending March 2026), representing a 25% increase. iFood plans to allocate this fund to promotions, technology (especially artificial intelligence), marketing, and credit support for restaurants.
The funds for this round of investment mainly come from the company's earnings in Brazil and a portion provided by its controlling shareholder, Prosus Group (the specific ratio has not been disclosed). Lucas Pittioni, Vice President of Public Policy, Legal Affairs, and Mergers & Acquisitions at iFood, stated that the additional investment is based on the judgment that Brazil's food delivery market will continue to grow, and the company is not blindly "pouring money" into subsidies to fend off competitors.
He said, "The growth rate of investment in promotions is consistent with the overall investment growth, both at 25%. Some may question whether we are engaging in irrational overspending to compete with rivals, and the answer is no. The additional investment was planned as early as April this year."
Currently, iFood processes 120 million orders per month and has approximately 55 million customers. The company aims to achieve 200 million monthly orders and 80 million customers by 2028. In other words, it hopes to increase the number of takeaway orders per capita, with its core strategy being to deepen its presence in the low- and middle-income Class C consumer market.
iFood estimates that the total income of delivery riders will reach 5.2 billion reais in 2025, a 27% increase from last year. There are over 400,000 riders in Brazil, among whom about 30% work more than 90 hours per month, and the remaining 70% are part-time riders.
Pittioni noted that both the number of orders and the remuneration per order are continuously increasing. Currently, riders' incomes, depending on their working hours, range from 1.8 to 4.1 times Brazil's minimum wage.
In terms of formal positions, iFood expects to add 1,100 new jobs this year, with 500 still to be filled, mainly in the technical field. Among the announced 17 billion reais investment, iFood will allocate 1.8 billion reais to credit support services for the development of the catering industry. Pittioni stated that this fund is crucial for restaurant development, helping them upgrade in terms of professionalization, modernization, and operational efficiency. iFood said, "Many small and medium-sized restaurants struggle to obtain bank loans, especially family-run restaurants, which find it difficult to secure financing through traditional banking channels."
Daniel Wainstein, a partner at financial consulting firm Seneca Evercore, pointed out that even if this part of the fund is used for loans to merchants rather than directly invested in technology or marketing, it should still be considered an investment.
Wainstein also stated that intensified competition in the food delivery market is beneficial to the entire ecosystem. "Consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries. In an environment of intensified competition, companies either compete with better services or lower prices. Ultimately, restaurants and platform users will benefit."
Maurício Morgado, a professor at Brazil's Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), believes that the entry of new platforms is also beneficial to riders. He said, "Restaurants generally complain about the excessive commissions charged by existing platforms. Now, with more competitors entering the market, it will help balance this situation, especially against the backdrop of the prevalence of flexible employment."
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