Rocket Internet takes over rival food delivery startup in Brazil

Rocket Internet has made another acquisition in its conquest to take over the world. The Berlin-based superincubator announced that it has acquired Janamesa, an online food delivery service that rivals Rocket’s portfolio company, HelloFood.

HelloFood is an international platform for ordering food online. Combined with sister company Foodpanda, it is active in 27 countries in South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and it claims to be the world’s largest group of online food ordering platforms.

HelloFood launched in Brazil six months ago, and the acquisition of Brazil-based Janamesa will double HelloFood’s user base in Brazil. Janamesa has over 600 partner restaurants and is one of the few local acquisitions Rocket Internet has made. Both Brazil and the food delivery niche are competitive markets, according to Rocket Internet, and this move will solidify Hellofood’s position.

Rocket Internet is known for taking an aggressive approach to international e-commerce. The firm takes established business models, like Seamless, Amazon, and Zappos, and sets up clones in emerging markets. Its strategy is to raise millions upon millions of dollars for these companies until they become the dominant player in the region. Its founders, the Samwer brothers, are notoriously competitive businessmen who aggressively go after market dominance.

The announcement comes shortly after FoodPanda/HelloFood took over food delivery services in Singapore and Hungary. Foodpanda/HelloFood raised $20 million in May to fuel expansion. Rocket Internet raised $500 million in July to further its goal of becoming the “world’s largest and most successful creator of high impact companies in the Internet space.”