La Nevera Roja

La Nevera Roja was a Spanish e-commerce and online food-ordering company founded in Madrid in 2011 by Iñigo Juantegui and José del Barrio. Its platform connected consumers with restaurants offering prepared food for home delivery or customer pickup. Orders could be placed through the company’s website or mobile application, with payment available online or in cash depending on the restaurant and order arrangement. The company developed a broad national restaurant network. At its reported peak, it was present in more than 600 Spanish cities, worked with approximately 7,000 associated restaurants, and listed around 30 types of food from different culinary traditions. Rather than operating restaurants itself, La Nevera Roja functioned primarily as an intermediary: it provided customer acquisition, digital ordering infrastructure, restaurant discovery, and coordination of delivery-related services. This marketplace model allowed independent restaurants and food businesses to reach online customers without building their own ordering platforms. La Nevera Roja’s early growth took place during the expansion of European online takeaway marketplaces, when venture-backed delivery companies competed aggressively for restaurant coverage and consumer adoption. Marketing, promotional codes, and discount coupons were important tools in attracting users and generating order volume. The business was acquired in February 2015 by Rocket Internet, after which it became part of the Global Online Takeaway Group, an international food-delivery portfolio that also operated brands including Foodpanda and Hellofood in different markets. Following the acquisition, Iñigo Amoribieta was appointed chief executive, while the two original founders left to pursue other projects. Rocket Internet later reassessed the company’s economics. Although reported sales were high, a substantial portion of order activity was associated with intensive couponing and discounts. When the company reduced or removed particularly generous promotions, reported sales declined sharply. This exposed the difficulty of converting promotion-driven order volume into sustainable, repeat demand and contributed to the decision to sell the business. In April 2016, Rocket Internet sold La Nevera Roja to Just Eat as part of a package that also included PizzaBo, Hellofood Brazil, and Hellofood Mexico. The reported aggregate transaction value was €125 million. After the transaction, La Nevera Roja no longer operated as an independent long-term brand in the Spanish market and was ultimately integrated into Just Eat’s business. Its history reflects the rapid rise, consolidation, and changing economics of online food-delivery marketplaces in Europe.

La Nevera Roja emerged in 2011 in Madrid as an internet platform for ordering prepared food from restaurants. It was founded by Iñigo Juantegui and José del Barrio during a period when Spanish consumers and restaurants were increasingly adopting online services. The company’s model was marketplace-based rather than restaurant-owned: it aggregated restaurants, displayed their menus and ordering options, and gave consumers a digital channel through which they could request delivery or arrange pickup. The service used a website and mobile application to connect customers with participating restaurants. Depending on the restaurant, customers could pay online or in cash. This structure enabled La Nevera Roja to serve a wide range of food businesses and cuisines while avoiding the capital requirements associated with operating its own restaurant network. Its value proposition to restaurants centered on digital visibility and access to online demand; for consumers, it offered local restaurant choice and a single interface for ordering. The company expanded its geographic reach across Spain. Reference material describes a network covering more than 600 Spanish cities, approximately 7,000 associated restaurants, and about 30 food categories or types representing cuisines from different parts of the world. The scale of this network made La Nevera Roja one of the more visible Spanish participants in the developing online takeaway sector. Growth was supported by the wider international expansion of venture-backed food-delivery marketplaces. In February 2015, Rocket Internet acquired La Nevera Roja and placed it within the Global Online Takeaway Group. That group operated food-delivery brands in multiple regions, including Foodpanda in Asia and Hellofood in South America and Italy. The acquisition changed the company from an independent Spanish startup into a local brand within a multinational delivery portfolio. Iñigo Amoribieta was appointed CEO, while founders Juantegui and del Barrio departed to work on new projects. The company’s growth metrics later came under scrutiny because a significant amount of activity was generated through coupons and discount codes. Promotions reportedly offered savings of up to 50 percent. While these offers helped attract customers and increase transaction volume, they also made it difficult to determine how much demand would remain once subsidies were withdrawn. When the discount-heavy approach was changed and the most generous coupons were removed, sales declined dramatically according to the reference account. Rocket Internet subsequently chose to exit the business. In April 2016, Just Eat purchased La Nevera Roja together with PizzaBo, Hellofood Brazil, and Hellofood Mexico in a package reportedly valued at €125 million. The transaction formed part of the consolidation of the online takeaway industry, as larger platforms acquired local competitors and combined restaurant networks, customer bases, technology, and delivery-market expertise. Following the Just Eat transaction, La Nevera Roja ceased to function as an enduring independent brand. Its operations and market presence were absorbed into Just Eat’s Spanish activities. The company’s trajectory—from startup formation and rapid geographic expansion, through international acquisition and promotion-led growth, to sale and integration—illustrates both the scalability and the commercial challenges of online food-delivery marketplaces.

• 2016

  Sold to Just Eat

  [1]La Nevera Rojaen.wikipedia.org

  Just Eat acquired La Nevera Roja in April as part of a wider purchase of Rocket Internet food-delivery assets.

• 2015

  Acquired by Rocket Internet

  [1]La Nevera Rojaen.wikipedia.org

  Rocket Internet acquired the company in February and added it to the Global Online Takeaway Group.

• 2015

  New chief executive appointed

  [1]La Nevera Rojaen.wikipedia.org

  Iñigo Amoribieta became CEO after the Rocket Internet acquisition, while the two founders left the company.

• 2011

  Company founded in Madrid

  [1]La Nevera Rojaen.wikipedia.org

  Iñigo Juantegui and José del Barrio founded La Nevera Roja as a Spanish online food-ordering and restaurant marketplace.

A broad Spanish digital marketplace for ordering prepared food from local and national restaurants, emphasizing restaurant choice, online convenience, delivery, pickup, and promotional discounts.

• Online food-ordering marketplace · 2011

  La Nevera Roja website

  The company’s web platform allowed customers in Spain to find participating restaurants, review available food options, submit delivery orders, and in some cases arrange pickup directly from the restaurant. The website served as an intermediary between consumers and restaurants rather than as a direct food producer.

• Mobile restaurant-ordering platform

  La Nevera Roja mobile app

  The mobile application extended the marketplace experience to smartphones, enabling customers to browse nearby restaurants and place orders digitally. It formed part of the company’s effort to make restaurant delivery and pickup available through a centralized consumer interface.

• Food delivery service · 2011

  Restaurant delivery and pickup marketplace

  La Nevera Roja connected a large network of Spanish restaurants with customers seeking prepared food for home delivery or collection at the restaurant. Payment could be made online or in cash depending on the participating establishment and order conditions.

• Discount coupon and promotional-code program

  Spain

  La Nevera Roja used coupons and discount codes to attract customers and stimulate order volume. The reported offers could provide savings of up to 50 percent, making promotions a significant part of the platform’s customer-acquisition strategy.

  Outcome. When the most generous discounts were removed, reported sales fell sharply, raising questions about the sustainability of promotion-led demand.

  Source

• 2016

  Reduction of heavy discountingStrategy

  Background

  Rocket Internet determined that high sales were substantially associated with coupon and discount-code campaigns, including offers reportedly reaching 50 percent off.

  Action taken

  The company changed its promotional strategy and removed the most generous discount coupons.

  Aftermath

  Reported sales declined dramatically, contributing to Rocket Internet’s decision to sell the business.

  Source

• 2016

  Sale to Just EatM&A

  Background

  After reviewing the company’s financial performance and the effect of reduced discounting, Rocket Internet decided to exit the Spanish food-delivery asset.

  Action taken

  Just Eat acquired La Nevera Roja in April 2016 as part of a package that also included PizzaBo, Hellofood Brazil, and Hellofood Mexico.

  Aftermath

  The transaction reportedly totaled €125 million for the group of assets. La Nevera Roja was subsequently integrated into Just Eat and did not continue as an independent long-term brand.

  Reported aggregate transaction value for La Nevera Roja, PizzaBo, Hellofood Brazil, and Hellofood Mexico. €125 million transaction value (April 2016)

  Source

• 2015

  Rocket Internet acquisition and portfolio integrationM&A

  Background

  La Nevera Roja had established a substantial Spanish restaurant and consumer network and was operating within the expanding online takeaway sector.

  Action taken

  Rocket Internet acquired the company in February 2015 and placed it within the Global Online Takeaway Group.

  Aftermath

  The founders left, Iñigo Amoribieta became CEO, and La Nevera Roja operated as a Spanish brand within Rocket Internet’s international food-delivery portfolio.

  Source

1. 1La Nevera Rojaen.wikipedia.org