Introducing new 400,000-euro support package for restaurants in Finland

In short: We want to do our part in helping restaurants through the Covid-19 crisis, and take every action possible to help out the industry. On top of what we announced about a month ago, we’re now committing to the following:  

1) We’ve started a support program for small restaurants with less than five venues. Starting from April 28th, we’re giving each restaurant in Finland an additional 1€ (+VAT) for each delivery order. We’re continuing the support program until May 27th.

2) We’re continuing 0% commission on takeaway orders until May 19th.

3) We’ve introduced Edenred as a payment method to Wolt, and we’ll keep working hard to add other lunch benefit providers to our service as quickly as we possibly can.

4) We’re sticking with the restaurant tipping feature so that Wolt users can easily support their favorite restaurants with voluntary donations.

The first two alone add up to a new support package of about 400,000 euros in total. 

A closer look at the situation

It’s been almost 7 weeks since the Covid-19 outbreak began in Finland. The way corona has impacted us has been unpredictable, and we’re still not sure what’s going to happen in the next few weeks.

The unpredictable nature of the crisis is clearly visible in how much people order food. During the first weeks of the outbreak, our sales remained at a normal level apart from a few occasional rush-hour spikes. Over the following weeks, things got a bit more hectic: the rush hours were a bit busier than normal, and the number of orders exceeded our predictions from time to time. Then came Easter week, and our sales all of a sudden dropped significantly. It remains to be seen what the coming months will be like. (At Wolt, we also need to prepare for a possible global recession, which would mean that people spend less on services like ours. We need to look at different options, not only on the app development and expansion side, but also financial options on the medium to long term. No one knows what’s ahead.)

One thing we do know for certain: The restaurant industry is in turmoil, and struggling. Many have lost up to 50-80% of their business and hundreds of venues have closed down due to Corona.

When the crisis began, we took immediate actions to help the restaurants, and now we’re taking more actions as this situation continues.

1. We’re starting a support program for small restaurants with less than five venues. 
   Starting from April 28th, we’re giving each restaurant in Finland an additional 1€ (+VAT) for each delivery order. We’ll do this until May 27th. The maximum compensation per venue is 3000 euros. The program includes 70% of all companies on Wolt in Finland, and excludes only the bigger chains and companies that don’t sell restaurant dishes.
2. We continue 0% commission on takeaway orders until May 19th.
   The amount of takeaway orders has increased, and we want to encourage people to order from their favorite restaurants.
3. We’ll keep bringing lunch benefit providers to Wolt. Last week, we introduced Edenred as a payment method, which has already brought lots of orders for restaurants. Currently, we’re preparing collaboration with two more lunch benefit providers.
4. We’re sticking with the restaurant tipping feature. The feature has been well-received, and we want Wolt users to have the option to support their favorite venues with voluntary donations. The way it works is that customers can choose an additional item in the restaurant’s menu called “tip” and then decide the tip amount. 

The first two actions add up to a fully new support package of about 400,000 euros in total. The sum doesn’t include product development costs (f. ex. tipping or lunch benefit as a payment method) or extra investments on acquiring more customers and orders for restaurants. 

Ordering food for delivery or takeaway helps restaurants keep their business running. Thank you for supporting your local restaurants during this difficult time.

Let’s help each other stay safe. ?