Read more >
   Listen to the podcast (duration: 35:25) >  Any number of companies and industries have been upended by the pandemic of the past two years, but few consumer sectors have been more radically reshaped than food delivery. At the outset of COVID, lockdowns and physical-distancing requirements gave the category an enormous boost, as delivery became a lifeline for the ailing restaurant industry. Two years later, food delivery has gone from a steadily-growing but still small piece of the restaurant (and grocery) business to a major growth driver, worth more than $150 billion globally and having doubled in the US. Whereas restaurants largely used to handle the limited delivery options that existed, these days a complex ecosystem of players is involved, led by delivery platforms such as DoorDash, GrubHub, PostMates, and Uber Eats, just to name the dominant ones in the US. The fact that the sector has largely remained unprofitable hasn’t diminished the appetites of investors, especially as a new group of global quick-delivery or q-commerce players are raising the stakes, promising the arrival of groceries, restaurant food or virtually anything else in only 10 or 15 minutes. In this episode, McKinsey partners Vishwa Chandra and Victoria Lord, co-authors of a recent report on the food delivery sector, join us to discuss the rapidly evolving economics, the emerging battlegrounds, and new opportunities and challenges on the horizon.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information