Singapore's competition watchdog has ceased investigations into the online food delivery and virtual kitchen sectors, a move prompted by a shared kitchen operator's complaint in July last year that it had been shut out by Deliveroo and GrabFood.
After the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) started its probe, both food delivery operators opened up their services to eateries using the facilities of Smart City Kitchens.
Deliveroo said yesterday it began doing so more than three months ago, while GrabFood said it had begun doing so in January.
Yesterday, the commission said that although the investigation has ceased, it will continue to monitor the conduct of market players in the online food delivery and virtual kitchen sectors.
Virtual kitchens, also called ghost or cloud kitchens, are shared commercial kitchen spaces provided to food and beverage (F&B) operators for food preparation, predominantly for online food delivery services.
In July last year, Smart City Kitchens appealed to CCCS to "help level the playing field" after being shut out by the two food delivery operators just weeks after starting its business.
Smart City Kitchens opened its first facility in Tampines in June last year. It houses 30 individual kitchens that are rented out to F&B operators for food deliveries.
As it is not affiliated with a delivery service, its tenants have to rely on the main online food delivery service providers: GrabFood, Deliveroo and Foodpanda.
A month after the facility opened, its tenants told The Straits Times that Deliveroo and GrabFood, which had initially agreed to list them on their respective apps, had changed their minds. The duo cited the tenants' landlord as the reason.
In addition to providing delivery services, Deliveroo operates three shared kitchens of its own, while GrabFood launched a kitchen space in January, and Foodpanda has one kitchen.
CCCS said its investigation, which began on Sept 30 last year, included the refusal of food delivery providers to supply online delivery services to operators using Smart City's virtual kitchens.
It added that following its investigation, GrabFood and Deliveroo started supplying their online food delivery services to operators in Smart City's facilities, thus giving the tenants "the choice of using multiple online food delivery providers to expand their consumer reach".
A Deliveroo spokesman, in explaining its decision to work with Smart City's restaurants, said yesterday: "We have had constructive discussions with Smart City Kitchens and now have a better understanding of its model and objectives and this has, in turn, led us to revisit our position on working with them," he said.
GrabFood Singapore head Dilip Roussenaly said in January that although the company was contributing to the investigation process, it was not the subject of the probe. He also said then that GrabFood had begun working with some of Smart City's tenants.
CCCS added that before the probe, the operators had access to Foodpanda's services. It also noted that competition in the virtual kitchen sector remains dynamic, with players entering and competing for market share.
Smart City Kitchens general manager Arin Aghazarian said the firm is pleased that Grabfood and Deliveroo are now working with Smart City's customers.
"This partnership offers more opportunity for the restauranteurs in Smart City Kitchens's facilities to reach their customers and for Singaporeans looking for food variety from the comfort of their home," she said.
The company currently has five sites, including one in Telok Ayer that will open next month.
Ms Aghazarian said that the company is very bullish about the Singaporean market, and hopes to open more kitchens here soon. She added that while the number of operators in Smart City's kitchens is continuously changing, the company is running out of available spots in its facilities.
