Talabat (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: , ''Ṭalabāt'') is an
online food ordering
Online food ordering is the process of ordering food, for Food delivery, delivery or pickup, from a website or other application. The product can be either ready-to-eat food (e.g., direct from a home-kitchen, restaurant, or a virtual restaurant) o ...
company founded in Kuwait in 2004. As of April 2021, Talabat operates in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. A subsidiary of
Delivery Hero
Delivery Hero is a German multinational online food-delivery service based in Berlin, Germany. The company operates in 50+ countries internationally in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and partners with 500,000+ restaurants. Deli ...
since 2016, Talabat became the largest online food ordering company in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
.
History
![Talabat-logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Talabat-logo.png)
In 2004, Talabat General Trading and Contracting Company was founded by Abdulaziz Al Loughani and Khaled Al Otaibi in Kuwait. The name "Talabat" derives from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
language and it means "orders" or "requests".
As Talabat’s popularity grew locally, it won the "Best E-Business Award" repeatedly in 2008 and 2009 with special recognition from the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, الشيخ صباح الأحمد الجابر الصباح, translit=ash-Shaykh Sabāh al-ʾAḥmad al-Jābir aṣ-Ṣabāḥ; 16 June 192929 September 2020) was the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwa ...
.
In 2010, the business was operating out of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with an average of 1,250 daily transactions. Talabat then underwent key changes such as the re-branding from 6alabat.com to Talabat.com, a shift from a hybrid form of Arabic and English spelling to a pure English spelling.
In 2011, a revamp of the platform took place with a new website layout and improvement in
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
.
In 2012, Talabat expanded to Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. On 19 January 2012, Talabat released its mobile application for
Android devices. An app for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
devices was also released.
In 2013, it continued its expansion to
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
.
In 2015, Talabat was acquired by the global German e-commerce group
Rocket Internet
Rocket Internet SE is a German Internet company headquartered in Berlin. The company builds startups and owns shareholdings in various models of internet retail businesses. The company model is known as a startup studio or a venture builder.
It ...
for US$170 million. It became part of Rocket Internet's business unit Global Online Takeaway Group.
In 2016, Rocket Internet's food delivery business, including Talabat, was taken over by online food marketplace
Delivery Hero
Delivery Hero is a German multinational online food-delivery service based in Berlin, Germany. The company operates in 50+ countries internationally in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and partners with 500,000+ restaurants. Deli ...
. In line with this acquisition, Abdulhamid Alomar took over as the CEO of the company.
In 2017, Talabat expanded its operations to Jordan.
In 2019, former
Grab executive Tomaso Rodriguez was appointed as CEO, after the stepping down of Abdulhamid Alomar.
Lawsuits were filed against the company after they were found violating fair competition rules in Kuwait. A settlement plea made by Talabat was also turned down.
In January 2020, food delivery company Carriage, also owned by Delivery Hero, was absorbed by Talabat.
In August 2020, it has been confirmed the Egyptian food delivery service Otlob, which was in operation since 1999 and became a Delivery Hero subsidiary in 2016, is getting rebranded as Talabat. As of September 2020, Talabat operates in Egypt.
In October 2020, Talabat announced they will expand into Iraq in early 2021, initially operating in
Erbil
Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000.
Hu ...
, Iraqi Kurdistan before gradually expanding into more cities in the rest of the country.
In December 2020, Talabat and
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
signed a partnership to list Talabat App in the Huawei marketplace.
In August 2021, Talabat was selected as the official food delivery provider for
Expo 2020
Expo 2020 ( ar, إكسبو 2020) was a World Expo hosted by Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 ...
, and their pavilion would display technological innovations for food delivery, such the
cloud kitchen
A virtual restaurant (also known as a ghost kitchen or dark kitchen) is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick up based on phone and online ordering. It is a separate food vendor entity that operates out o ...
concept, whilst representing multiple food brands. In September 2021, Talabat partnered with
Terminus Group
Terminus Group () (aka Terminus) is a Chinese company headquartered in Beijing, China.
History and operations
Terminus was founded in 2015 by Victor Ai, a Washington University graduate. In 2019, Harvard Business Review recognized Ai as one of ...
, who is also an official premier partner for Expo 2020, to launch ten autonomous,
last mile food-delivery robots for Expo visitors.
Expo 2020 itself launched on 1 October 2021 following a year-long delay due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
References
{{Online food ordering
Companies of Kuwait
Online food ordering
2015 mergers and acquisitions
2004 establishments in Kuwait