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Uber Eats: An appetite for growth

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To date, Uber has dazzled us with its super efficient app, courier off-shoot, car-pooling service, quick and easy taxis - and their luxurious siblings. And to this already extended family Uber is now adding UberEATS; a new food-delivery service recently launched in ten cities.

UberEATS was originally trialled in Los Angeles in 2014 and thanks to its success, Uber will now be rolling it out across mainland America in cities including Austin, New York and Chicago, as well as municipalities farther afield such as Barcelona and Toronto.

The original trial featured a rotating list of two or three daily lunch offers delivered by couriers in 10 minutes or less between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. from a mix of trendy LA food outlets. The new expanded offering will be available throughout the day however, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and with a broader range of restaurant options.

In the participating cities, a new app update means the already slightly chaotic Uber interface now offers users two options at the top of the screen so they can toggle back and forth between car-hailing (which includes UberT, UberX, UberBLACK, UberPool and UberRush) and food delivery. And just like as you wait for your Uber to turn up, users can track their food's progress as it travels to them. Uber drivers can choose whether they want to be involved in UberEats and if so they receive the $5 delivery fee from each UberEats order they deliver.

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But what does all this mean for the already saturated food delivery marketplace? Well, it could spell trouble for smaller startups such as Hello Fresh, Plated and GrubHub. Uber already has a reputation for efficient performance and with a capital of almost $62.5 billion behind it, Uber can afford to undercut almost everyone else on the market.

Last month, Mashable reported that an analyst at Cowen and Company wrote in a GrubHub investor note: "We see Uber's existing install base of both users and drivers as providing potentially important advantages vs. many existing competitors in food delivery. The density of Uber's driver network may also allow the company to execute deliveries somewhat faster and more efficiently." Understandably, they’re scared.

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And Uber’s insatiable appetite doesn’t stop there. Whilst UberEATS is currently housed under the umbrella of the Uber user interface, the company is busy trialling a stand-alone version of the app in Toronto. It’s a move much like Facebook’s decision to launch Messenger separate to the main Facebook app, and if successful, the distinction will ensure Uber retains the design simplicity that made it so popular in the first place.

Such ease combined with Uber’s speed and efficiency indicates a reinvention of the food delivery marketplace as we know it. Just don’t get your ride and your lunch confused...

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