It was not until the summer that two food delivery services, Fresh Post and GetFaster, had to file for bankruptcy. Now this fate meets another company that was active in many parts of Germany.
The concept of Yababa is slightly different than other delivery services. The company, which only started at the end of 2021, has specialized in the delivery of Turkish and Arabic food. “We deliver products from Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya to your home!” is the start-up’s slogan. According to its website, Yababa has around 50,000 customers in Germany. The delivery service is mainly active in the northeast of the state and in parts of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.
Difficult market situation and lack of investors reason for Yababa’s bankruptcy
After initially good figures, Yababa had to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of February. Like the portal “start-up scene“ reported, the current developments on the market – such as the rising prices in the wake of the Ukraine war and inflation – have given the delivery service too much trouble. That’s why Yababa minimized its running costs last year. For example, the company switched from delivery within two hours to delivery the next day and increased the minimum order value to 40 euros. According to its own statements, Yababa achieved annual external sales of eight million euros. In May you would have been profitable for the first time.
Also read: Two well-known food delivery services file for bankruptcy
As a start-up, Yababa was dependent on investors from the start. At the beginning, they were enthusiastic about the approach of supplying the Turkish and Arabic community in particular and thus closing a niche in the market. They therefore invested more than 13 million euros in Yababa. Actually, there should be a new round of financing this year, for which the start-up has already advertised. Yababa wanted to get another 10 million euros. But unlike in 2021, investors are now much more skeptical. Due to the market situation and the company valuation of Yababa, which was ultimately too high, the hoped-for financial injection did not materialize. The result is bankruptcy.
Delivery service uncertain
Around 100 employees are affected, whose wages are still secured by the insolvency money for the next three months. It is still unclear what will happen to them, the company and the 42 locations in total. The insolvency administrator Niklas Lütcke now has to take care of that. He told the portal Gründerszene that everyone involved was trying to ensure that the company continued.