Food delivery platform Menulog will cease operations in Australia from later this month, marking the end of the country’s only locally born major delivery service.

The company cited “challenging circumstances” for the closure decision, with the platform’s website and app to stop accepting orders on November 26.

“As the only Australian-born platform, Menulog has a proud history but ultimately, as a business we have been navigating challenging circumstances and the decision was made to close local operations,” the company said in a letter to customers.

Menulog will honour unused account credits and vouchers over a two-week period following the shutdown, it said.

The closure leaves Uber Eats and DoorDash dominating Australia’s increasingly competitive food delivery market, which has faced persistent profitability pressures. Deliveroo exited the Australian market in mid-November 2022, based on “purely economic grounds”.

Later that month, Menulog axed a “small number” of management and support roles from its Sydney head office.

About 120 employees will be provided with redundancy packages, and eligible couriers will be entitled to four weeks of “voluntary payment”. Couriers who have completed a delivery in the past eight weeks will be eligible to receive payment based on their average weekly earnings.

The decision to exit Australia was made by Menulog’s new European owner, Prosus, a Dutch investment company that acquired Menulog parent company Just Eat Takeaway.com for €4.1 billion ($7.3 billion) earlier this year.

Prosus is focused on core markets in Europe, and the Australian closure is not related to Australia’s financial performance, said a source who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

“This strategic decision reflects our ​focus on accelerating growth and investments in other markets and to deliver the best experience for customers, partners and couriers,” Just Eat Takeaway.com said in a statement.

Menulog local managing director Morten Belling said it was a tough day for the business.

“I would like to reassure everyone this decision was not taken lightly,” Belling said in a statement.

“Our priority now is to support our customers, couriers and partners. This is why we are providing everyone a two-week transition period, in which customers can redeem unused vouchers and credits.”

Menulog has been unprofitable for years. Financial reports filed to the corporate regulator showed losses of $32.1 million in 2024, which was an improvement on the $110.3 million loss the year prior. In 2022, Menulog recorded losses of $275.5 million. Revenue fell from $447.8 million in 2021 to $244.6 million in 2024.

Market share collapsed from more than 24 per cent in early 2022 to below 10 per cent by September this year, according to IBISWorld data. Menulog ceased operations in New Zealand in May last year.

As pandemic lockdowns temporarily boosted the uptake of food delivery services, Menulog sought to raise its profile against Uber’s aggressive marketing by casting Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry in advertising campaigns that popularised the jingle “Did somebody say… Menulog?”

It also created local campaigns involving hip hop duo Bliss n Eso, Baker Boy and Big Twisty.

Menulog’s exit effectively leaves a duopoly of Uber Eats and DoorDash, both of which are international players with deep pockets, according to retail expert and Griffith University adjunct associate professor Graeme Hughes.

“They control the ecosystem, and we know the most valuable thing these days is being an app on your phone. Uber certainly has a leg-up in that environment where you’re catching transportation and ordering food in the one ecosystem,” he said.

This leaves DoorDash as effectively the last major rival standing, said the founder of restaurant ordering system HungryHungry, Shannon Hautot. He said small businesses and customers would be worse off because of the reduced competition.

“We typically have an issue with competition in Australia if you think about industries such as banks or supermarkets,” said Hautot. “The hope will be that today’s news doesn’t signal another step towards what would be a damaging monopoly.”

The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has called for the remaining food platforms in Australia, including Uber Eats, DoorDash, Hungry Panda and Easi to strengthen gig economy standards.

“In the gig economy, workers are still languishing with below-minimum wage rates, no sick leave or superannuation, and deadly pressure to rush to make a living and avoid being deactivated,” said TWU national secretary Michael Kaine.

A “decade of neglect” had led to stagnation in gig economy laws which resulted in “exploitative and dangerous” jobs, fewer players in the market and reduced competition, he argued.

“We urgently need standards in the gig economy to stop the relentless downward spiral. New laws introduced by the Albanese government will significantly level the playing field – but DoorDash, Uber Eats, Hungry Panda and Easi now need to come to the table to ensure we get standards in place as soon as possible.”

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