OrderUp

Market position

OrderUp was one of a number of companies in online food ordering and delivery, competing with services such as Grubhub, and was characterized as a hyper-local alternative aimed at smaller cities and neighborhoods. It was ultimately absorbed by larger players, first Groupon and then Grubhub.

The delivery business positioned itself around smaller and non-urban markets that larger national ordering platforms did not concentrate on, and was described as one of the first companies to use a digital franchise model to target local markets. The Order Up! ordering platform differentiates on direct, commission-free ordering under the operator's own brand, no consumer app download for QR/NFC table ordering, multi-site management, POS and Google Food Ordering integrations, and flat-rate delivery via third-party courier networks.

Technology

Web and mobile online ordering technology, including Android and iOS consumer apps, that was also white-labeled by local licensees. The current Order Up! platform provides browser-based tap-or-scan QR ordering and payment on customer devices without an app, smart visual menus, a multi-venue dashboard with granular permissions, direct and middleware point-of-sale integrations, Google Food Ordering integration for orders from Search and Maps, and delivery dispatch integrations with Uber Direct and DoorDash Drive.

Go-to-market

Expansion was driven first by licensing the technology to local entrepreneurs who ran white-labeled community ordering sites, then from 2012 by a franchise model in which franchisees operated individual city markets, with most local sites later consolidated under the national OrderUp brand. Consumer demand was served through city websites and Android and iOS mobile apps. The Order Up! platform is marketed directly to hospitality operators via the website with self-service sign-up and integration partnerships, including distribution through Google Search and Maps ordering.

Restaurants and consumers in smaller, non-urban US markets for the delivery business; for the Order Up! platform, hospitality operators including bars, pubs, fast casual restaurants, cafes, theme parks, beach clubs, food trucks and hotels, spanning small businesses and enterprise multi-site groups.

Geography

Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, serving the United States. The delivery business operated in about 25 US cities as of August 2013, 62 cities in 2016 and 37 markets in total; the final franchisee-owned markets sold to Grubhub spanned California, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, Oklahoma and Virginia.

History

The business began as LionMenus, an online food ordering service for State College, Pennsylvania. In 2009 the founders relocated to Baltimore, Maryland and formed LocalUp to expand into additional markets, using $1.5 million in investment to grow into small markets. LocalUp initially licensed its technology to local entrepreneurs who white-labeled it and operated community ordering sites. In 2012 the company rebranded as OrderUp and shifted to a franchising model. By August 2013 it operated sites in roughly 25 US cities and had released Android and iOS ordering apps. A $7 million Series A followed in August 2014. Groupon acquired the company in July 2015 and used its technology for Groupon To Go. In July 2017 Grubhub acquired 27 company-owned markets from Groupon and said it would retire the OrderUp brand, with 60 full-time Baltimore headquarters staff laid off; Grubhub completed the purchase of the remaining 11 franchisee-owned markets on October 30, 2018. The company is recorded as defunct as of 2018. The orderup.com domain now hosts the Order Up! hospitality ordering platform, which states that Nomni is its new home.

Risks & controversies

The Grubhub transaction in July 2017 included plans to retire the OrderUp brand and resulted in the layoff of sixty full-time employees at the Baltimore headquarters. The remaining franchisee-owned markets were sold in October 2018 and the business is recorded as defunct.