While Uber might be considering shutting down its ride-hailing business in some key markets, it continues to expand its food delivery business into new markets. The company has expanded Uber Eats to 100 new cities in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. According to a report, Uber Eats will launch for the first time in countries like Romania, Kenya, Egypt, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.
Uber Eats is presently operating in more than 200 cities across the globe. It’s even available in some locations where Uber’s ride-hailing service hasn’t been launched yet. The new expansion of Uber Eats suggests that the company wants to be more fiscally responsible as it looks to go public in the not too distant future.
The company has said that its food delivery business is profitable in 45 of the 200 markets where it operates. The markets covered expanded from 50 to 200 in just one year and the company was just profitable in only three of its active markets in 2016.
It doesn’t hurt that Uber Eats has a successful partnership with McDonald’s. It delivers from almost 7,000 McDonald’s locations in 20 countries across the globe. This represents 9 percent of all food outlets available on the Uber Eats platform.
Uber Eats is a part of Uber Everything, a division of the company that’s dedicated to everything except ride-hailing. Jason Droege runs Uber Everything and the food delivery service has seen significant growth under his leadership.