Shopee prepares to open food delivery services in Malaysia

Shopee’s food delivery service ShopeeFood has opened recruitment for delivery couriers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, the company announced in its official social media account.

This could indicate the service’s launch in Malaysia, making the country the next geography after Indonesia where Shopee will launch its food delivery business.

If that’s true, ShopeeFood will challenge incumbents like GrabFood and Foodpanda in the country.

Earlier this month, ShopeeFood also expanded to three more cities in Indonesia. Outside the Greater Jakarta area, the service can now be accessed in Bandung, Jogja, and Surabaya, making it a significant threat for the GoFood and GrabFood duopoly.

In 2017, Shopee parent firm Sea Group acquired Vietnamese food delivery company Foody. Its platorm Now has been locked in a fierce competition with Grab in Vietnam.

ShopeeFood’s expansion to Malaysia would be an indication that Shopee isn’t stopping its food delivery initiative. While the vertical is outside the company’s core ecommerce segment, industry sources previously told Tech in Asia that the company is driven, and that the vertical can help the narrative of its payment service, ShopeePay.