Growing Foodology into Latin America's Largest Platform for Virtual Restaurants

This case delves into the expansion strategy of Foodology, a cloud kitchen startup based in Bogotá that operated across four Latin American countries (Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru). Co-founders Daniela Izquierdo and Juan Guillermo Azuero (both HBS, 2019) grappled with the challenge of balancing the growth of the startup presence in the region while improving cost efficiency and profitability. Set in March 2023, the case tracks Foodology's expansion journey since its inception in 2019. It describes how collaborating with various last-mile delivery services in the region created opportunities for expansion but also posed constraints on designing the business model and marketing strategies. Additionally, the case details Foodology’s approach to building its own technological platform—after failing to find an adequate off-the-shelf solution that met its requirements—and explains its various modules, each tailored to specific processes yet interconnected to streamline overall operations. Foodology’s co-founders had to evaluate the benefits of expanding its presence in the region compared to keeping a smaller footprint. They also wondered if switching from a kitchen-based scheme to a software provider business with a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model could create new avenues for revenue generation and higher profit margins.