e until 4 March 2026. “It’s a tough exit to see,” said Varun Saraf, CEO and co-founder of WhyQ, a Singapore-based food-tech player. “B2C delivery in Singapore is extremely competitive. High per-meal delivery costs and a discount-heavy culture mean operating on razor-thin margins.” A mature market with structural limits While Singapore is a relatively small country, its food delivery market is hardly small. According to consultancy Momentum Works, gross merchandise value (GMV) reached US$2.9 billion last year, up 13 per cent from US$2.6 billion the year before. Across Southeast Asia, platforms now fulfil between 8.5 million and 9.5 million daily orders, roughly double India’s volume, powered by affordable delivery fees. But in Singapore, growth has slowed relative to regional peers. The city-state’s compact geography, high smartphone penetration and sophisticated logistics networks mean food delivery penetration is already deep. The challenge for Deliveroo, then, was shared defence.  Grab controls roughly 55 per cent of Southeast Asia’s food delivery GMV, amounting to US$12.5 billion. In Singapore, it leverages its rides business, fintech arm and advertising platform to cross-subsidise food. Delivery is one leg of a tripod. Meanwhile, ShopeeFood, backed by the logistics muscle of Sea Ltd’s e-commerce operations, has overtaken Foodpanda regionally to become the second-largest player in Southeast Asia. Integrated warehousing, last-mile infrastructure and marketplace data create efficiencies that pure-play delivery apps struggle to replicate. Against this backdrop, Deliveroo – founded in the UK and acquired by DoorDash last May for US$3.85 billion – faced a daunting equation. It entered Singapore in 2015 and spent more than a decade building rider fleets, merchant relationships and brand equity. Yet longevity alone could not offset the economics. Promotions have long defined Singapore’s delivery battlefield. Free delivery codes, one-for-one meals, and platform-funded discounts became customer-acquisition tools during the low-interest-rate era, when capital was abundant, and growth narratives dominated investor calls. That era has ended. Delivery in Singapore is expensive per order. Labour costs are high. Distances may be short, but riders must be compensated competitively in a tight employment market. Consumers, accustomed to subsidies, are resistant to higher fees. Restaurants, operating on thin margins themselves, push back against commission hikes. Thus, platforms absorb costs to maintain order volumes, but path-to-profit timelines stretch further out. Consolidation without comfort The acquisition of Deliveroo by DoorDash was initially framed as a transatlantic power play to strengthen its European footprint against Just Eat and Uber Eats. Britain, Ireland, France and Italy remain core geographies. Yet peripheral markets, including Singapore and Japan, appear to have failed the post-merger stress test. Last year, Deliveroo also exited Hong Kong after nine years of operations. Experts suggested sub-scale markets, even profitable on a contribution basis, may not justify management attention or capital allocation in a world demanding clearer returns. DoorDash, founded in 2013, now operates in more than 40 countries. Its core US business remains dominant and increasingly diversified into advertising and logistics services for merchants. International operations, however, are more fragmented. “Our priority is supporting our teams and partners through an orderly transition as we focus on the geographies where we can offer the best products and build for long-term success,” Miki Kuusi, head of DoorDash International, CEO of Deliveroo, and co-founder of Wolt, said in a statement.  Ecosystems over apps Perhaps the clearest lesson from Singapore is that standalone delivery apps are at a disadvantage against ecosystem players. Grab’s latest annual performance highlighted the importance of cross-vertical synergies. The company reported net profit of US$268 million in 2025, its first full-year profit. Its grocery business grew 1.7 times faster than its food delivery segment. Grab also forecasts revenue to grow 20 per cent compounded annually from 2025 to 2028. ShopeeFood’s integration with e-commerce logistics allows cost-sharing across parcels and meals. Delivery riders can pivot between grocery, fashion and food orders. Economies of density compounds. Pure-play platforms without adjacent revenue streams must make unit economics work solely on delivery. In a high-cost, highly penetrated market like Singapore, that is increasingly difficult. “Profitability is no longer optional,” Saraf said. “In 2026, being EBITDA positive is the ultimate ‘survival of the fittest’ metric.” Further reading: Deliveroo Singapore’s MD Jason Parke on the company’s retail arm launch.