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Meal subscription app launches for office workers in Singapore

US-based MealPal, a subscription service for takeaway lunch and dinner, has made its foray into Asia by launching in Singapore, making it the 17th market of operations globally.

At a cost of about S$7-9 per meal under subscription, MealPal has brought 250 F&B partners on board, presently catering to meal pickups at Buona Vista, CBD, Novena, and Orchard. This includes hawker centres, such as Lau Pa Sat, Amoy Street Food Centre, and Timbre+ at One North; as well as restaurants such as The Soup Spoon, Teppei Syokudo, and Tuk Tuk Cha.

The company operates on the principle of connecting F&B partners looking to leverage economies of scale with time-strapped professionals seeking convenient and affordable meals nearby.

In Singapore, it is led by country manager, Reece Wee, and has also brought on board Joanne Lu, formerly of FlashMeal. "Our staff numbers will grow rapidly in the coming months as we scale up," a company spokesperson told exclusively to Human Resources, adding: "We are always on the lookout for great talent and will hire once we have found the right fit."

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Having asked about expansion to the Pasir Panjang region, the spokesperson has shared the team will consider other regions where it can find sufficient consumer demand, adding, "We are hoping to launch in other business hubs in Singapore later this year, such as Jurong East and Changi Business Park."

At the moment, MealPal is not offering any corporate discounts but as the business scales up, it may consider doing so "if there’s enough demand from corporates".

To suit local needs, MealPal has modified the way it communicates to F&B partners - launching SMS communications to hawkers as opposed to a daily email as many owners do not have an email account.

Recognising that lunch is a more social affair in Singapore than in some of its other markets, MealPal is also launching WorkPals on the same platform. This is a feature where colleagues can see what each other have ordered, and coordinate meals and pickups together. This is the first time the company has launched WorkPals at the same time MealPal services are launched.

The MealPal team in Singapore:

Aditi-Jul-2018-team-mealpal-provided

 

Co-founder Mary Biggins has commented: "Singapore has without doubt been our most exciting launch of any other market. The nuances and unique qualities of the food culture here, how work colleagues cherish their lunchtime as an important social part of the day, and the incredible variety of food options from grain bowls to hawker lor mee means our launch couldn’t have come at a better time."

In its two years of operation, MealPal has raised over US$35 million in venture capital funding and has served more than ten million lunches in 16 cities globally, including in US, Canada, UK, Australia and France.

Photos / MealPal

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