und of the people would lead to cities full of delicious and authentic cultural flavors. It’s the right place for Chowbus to help Australians discover the best authentic Asian food in their city,” CEO Linxen Wen told Inside Retail. Chowbus’ launch into Australia is part of its local and international expansion plans, which have been boosted by the $33 million investment it received last year, said Wen. Supporting the little guys One of the common criticisms from retailers of food delivery services is around the high associated costs and often, smaller businesses aren’t easily found on the app, making it harder for customers to find them. “A major reason retailers sign on with big delivery services is with the promise that they will bring them an influx of new customers. But too often those new customers don’t turn up.Most of the major apps don’t prioritise smaller retailers and they are hidden so far down in the feed that people can’t find them. If delivery apps do bring in new customers they tack on higher commissions and fees, which means that very little of that revenue goes to the retailers,” he pointed out. “Ordering from independently owned shops versus big-named retailers is the best thing people can do to support small businesses. The food at small independent retailers tends to be more authentic and way tastier, and we want to help them thrive.” Chowbus also aims to support the growth of its retailers by providing them with marketing tools, consulting services and professional food photography. Wen said they also want to support the growth and success of local mom-and-pop shops in Australia. “For every restaurant we get onboard we provide them with marketing tools, consulting services, and professional food photography to help shine a spotlight on the dishes they are the proudest to serve,” he said. Chowbus only partners with independent restaurants, no big names or franchises, because, according to Wen, their goal is to help small businesses be seen and succeed, which can be hard on other food delivery platforms. Carefully selected dishes The delivery service, which currently has more than 3000 partner restaurants in 27 cities across the US, hand-picks restaurants and works with the owners to select only their best dishes for its users. “And for those who want to experience multiple flavors in one meal, Chowbus offers a distinctive ‘bundling’ feature that lets users order from multiple restaurants in a single delivery,” Wen said. Customers with a Chowbus Plus membership have access to exclusive rewards and free delivery without any restriction on distance. Wen said the coronavirus outbreak has helped boost Chowbus’ popularity, allowing them to grow and expand. “The past few months for Chowbus have been a whirlwind,” he said. “We are growing and expanding so quickly. This is in part because we have been able to help people by offering this service to them as they stay at home.” He added that their service has also helped restaurants continue business while their dine-in business took a hit. “Food delivery has skyrocketed in popularity over the past six months, and some independent retailers are struggling to stay in business,” Wen said. Ordering from independently owned shops is the best thing people can do to support small businesses, according to Wen, adding that the food at small independent retailers also tends to be more authentic and way tastier. “And we want to help them thrive,” he said. Some of Chowbus’ Australian partners include By Korea, ABC Chicken, Juicy Bao, HappyLemon in Melbourne, Do Dee Paidang Thai restaurant, Hot Star Large Fried Chicken, Great Dragon Hot Pot, and Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant in Sydney, and Yangguofu Malatang, Chong Qing Street Noodle, Tak Kee Roast Inn, and Superemoji in Canberra. Expansion plans The company recently received some investment, having secured a $33 million series A funding round last July, which Wen said will be used to improve their product features, improve their services and hire more people so they can expand into different markets. “We plan to continue to expand further into the Australian and Canadian markets,” Wen said. “Our goal is to make our platform the best it can be and improve our service in every city we enter. It might take time to learn and to grow, but we are here for it.” Wen said they recently added a “dine-in” feature allowing diners to order and pay for their meals on their phone for a contactless experience at restaurants in cities that have flattened the curve of Covid-19 infections and are now reopening. Containing a data breach The food delivery service experienced a data breach earlier this week after users reported getting access to a database that included customers’ email addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses. Wen sent an email to customers on Monday confirming the incident but assured them that credit card information and account passwords were not stolen. Wen said their security team was able to secure the systems right away after learning about the breach around 1.30 am on Monday. “We take the security of your data seriously and we will continue to seek and implement the best ways to identify and prevent any future vulnerability,” Wen said.