Baemin Rides with Uber, Gains Momentum to Maintain Industry Leadership

Increased Capacity for Marketing Investment Expected
Existing Brand to Be Maintained

With Baedal Minjok (Baemin) welcoming Uber as its new parent company, there are growing expectations that the company will have greater momentum for investment and marketing. The competition between Baemin and Coupang Eats in the domestic food delivery platform market is expected to intensify further.

According to the global investment market and the food delivery platform industry as of July 20, Uber announced on July 16 (local time) that it would acquire Delivery Hero (DH), the parent company of Woowa Brothers, which operates Baemin, for approximately 14.8 billion dollars (about 21.92 trillion won). Uber had previously considered acquiring only Baemin, but decided instead to acquire the entirety of DH. As a result, platforms operating in around 50 markets worldwide, including Baemin, will now be part of the 'Uber Group.' It is expected that Baemin's existing brand and platform will remain unchanged, even as the parent company shifts to Uber.

Monthly Users of Baemin and Coupang Eats in the Last 3 Months

With the issue of DH’s sale of Baemin now resolved in this manner, attention has shifted to how Baemin, the number one player in the domestic industry, will compete with the second-place Coupang Eats moving forward. Baemin has provided annual dividends of around 500 billion won to DH and has been under pressure to maintain profitability. If the parent company changes to Uber, Baemin is expected to have greater capacity for investments such as marketing within the domestic market. In 2023, Baemin paid dividends of 412.7 billion won to DH, and in 2024, it paid 537.2 billion won by way of treasury share cancellation. As there have been ongoing controversies and criticisms in Korea over the repatriation of funds to the parent company, it appears that there is a sense of relief within Baemin about this new development.

While Baemin’s growth had slowed as it operated as a cash cow to cover DH’s deficits, Coupang Eats rapidly eroded Baemin’s market share. Since May, Coupang Eats has expanded its free delivery service to all customers, not just RocketWow members, and introduced 24-hour delivery in the six major metropolitan cities. By exploiting gaps in Baemin’s service, Coupang Eats is aggressively pursuing marketing strategies. This has heightened the need for Baemin to pursue more aggressive investment and marketing efforts.

Performance of Baedal Minjok and Dividend Records of Delivery Hero in the Past 5 Years

There is also the view that Baemin has gained greater flexibility regarding the expansion of 'B Mart,' its own quick commerce business and a key driver of future growth. While B Mart has steadily expanded its service areas, it is still limited to parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

In a statement released immediately after announcing the DH acquisition, Uber Korea declared, "Uber plans to continue investing in Baemin’s outstanding talents, brand value, and technology capabilities, and will provide the necessary support and resources to ensure that Korean users can continue to rely on the trusted service and experience." Uber Korea also stated, "We will continue to invest in both restaurant partners and delivery partners, and will work to support sustainable growth and stable profit opportunities."

Uber plans to complete the DH acquisition by the second half of 2027. Having entered the Korean market in 2017 with Uber Eats, only to withdraw after two years, Uber will reenter the Korean market with Baemin as its key platform. With this acquisition, Uber will expand its mobility and delivery services from 34 countries to 58 countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.