While the UK remains hugely important to us, the great thing about our business is that it can cross borders, and fast. Just Eat, which started in Denmark in 2001, is now active in 13 countries, including emerging markets such as Brazil. The internet has created a truly global marketplace. The capabilities are there in most places to begin connecting with restaurants and customers, and for a brand profile to be born. This is not to say, however, that just because we can, we should expand to every corner of the globe.
Our choice of high-potential markets such as India and Canada came down to a number of factors. Local know-how played a part. In countries where our market knowledge has been weaker, it has been important for us to use acquisitions, rather than trying to grow from the bottom up.
Our partnership with Restaurante-Web, Brazil's leading online takeaway service, meant that we tapped into a business with existing on-the-ground knowledge, while providing our expertise in return. When we acquired GrubCanada.com, one of Canada's original online food-ordering services, it had just launched a bilingual website due to its presence in Quebec, showing that it understood the local market. Our acquisition of Hungry Zone, the first major European e-commerce investment of its kind in India, allowed us to take advantage of a strong local team and customer base in a country where the industry was just taking off.
The companies we acquire must also match our philosophy and sit comfortably within the group. It's essential that a company's ethos, innovation and energy fit well with our own, and that it is willing to embrace our bold marketing strategies, which many brands, even within our own sector, would shy away from. This was particularly true of GrubCanada.com, which matched our entrepreneurial philosophy. Its appearance on Canada's version of TV show Dragons' Den demonstrated an ambition akin to our own hunger for success.
But the logistics of marketing in different countries can have its headaches. In São Paulo, one of ResturanteWeb's main hubs, the use of billboards and stickers in restaurant windows is prohibited. As this is a large part of our marketing strategy, we had to adapt by creating other branded merchandise, such as bags and menus, to maintain our brand presence.
Cultural differences are also a big factor in the way we approach our national marketing. We are passionate about maintaining our "don't cook" message across borders; however, we do tweak it to make sure it matches the national persona. In Brazil, for example, where home cooking is particularly ingrained in the culture, we created the slightly less confrontational phrase "enough of cooking", while in France we use "not tonight".
We also understand the need for social media. In most cases, this is Facebook (we have nearly 2 million fans worldwide) and Twitter, but markets differ. In Brazil, the Google-run social networking website Orkut dominates, which required a change in our tack.
We're now excited about extending the Just Eat experience all over the world. After all, who doesn't enjoy a takeaway?
David Butress (pictured) is CEO of Just Eat
