Favor Delivery

Favor Delivery
Privately held company
Industry Logistics
Founded June 2013
Founders Zac Maurais and Ben Doherty
Headquarters Austin, TX
Area served
 Texas
Key people
 Jag Bath (CEO)
Number of employees
 140
Website favordelivery.com

Favor Delivery is an on-demand delivery company based in Austin, Texas. Favor offers anything delivered in under an hour and has expanded to 50 cities across Texas. Orders are placed through its app or website and then self-employed couriers transport orders from stores to customers. As of February 2018, Favor is a wholly owned subsidiary of H-E-B,[1] a Texas-based food retailer and the largest private employer in Texas.[2]

Early Expansion

Austin natives Zac Maurais and Ben Doherty piloted a version of Favor in January 2013 as part of the Boost.VC accelerator program in San Luis Obispo, CA. The pair moved to Austin, TX later that year and officially launched Favor Delivery on June 5, 2013. [3]

Favor received largely positive press, being praised for its ability to deliver anything -- even from restaurants and stores that do not typically offer delivery. In 2014, the Wall Street Journal dubbed Favor the “Go-To Delivery Service in College Towns”,[4] and in 2015, Business Insider listed Favor as one of the 25 “hottest under-the-radar startups in America.” [5]

In September 2015, Jag Bath was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of Favor, after serving on the board of directors since May 2015. [6]

In October 2015, Favor delivery announced they had completed one million deliveries across 15 markets in the US and Canada.[7] Favor continued to expand to 23 major cities throughout the US and Canada in early 2016.[8]

Shifting Focus to Texas

From June 2016 to January 2017, Favor pulled out of all markets outside of Texas to shift focus to achieving profitability in its home state. CEO Bath stated “we are shifting our near-term focus back on Texas...Our approach mirrors the growth strategy of several successful Texas brands, including Alamo Drafthouse and H-E-B, that perfected their model within the state before expanding more broadly." [9]

In May 2017, Favor announced they surpassed five million deliveries.[10] Two months later in July 2017, Favor announced $22 million in Series B funding and that it had achieved profitability at scale -- the first of any U.S. based on-demand delivery company. [11]

On February 12, 2018, Favor launched in Waco, TX[12] and Denton, TX[13], bringing the total number of active cities to 50 across Texas.

H-E-B Merger

On February 15, 2018, Favor announced it had officially merged with H-E-B as a wholly owned subsidiary. Favor is the second wholly owned subsidiary in H-E-B’s 112-year history, with Central Market being the first. [14] H-E-B Chief Operating Officer Martin Otto confirmed Bath would remain CEO and all Favor employees would be retained.

References

  1. ↑ Dinges, Gary (February 15, 2018), "Retailer H-E-B buying Austin-based delivery service Favor", Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX
  2. ↑ Fechter, Joshua (April 12, 2017), "H-E-B now largest private employer in Texas with 100,000 workers", San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX
  3. ↑ Lorek, Laura (July 2, 2013), "Favor Moves to Austin and Launches a Food Delivery Service", Silicon Hills, Austin, TX
  4. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (September 4, 2014), "Favor Seeded to Become Go-To Delivery Service in College Towns", Wall Street Journal
  5. ↑ Kosoff, Maya (August 27, 2015), "The 25 hottest under-the-radar startups in America", Business Insider
  6. ↑ Lorek, Laura (September 9, 2015), "Favor Names New CEO", Silicon Hills
  7. ↑ Lorek, Laura (November 10, 2015), "Favor on a Fast Growth Track, Hits 1 Million Deliveries", Silicon Hills
  8. ↑ Anderson, Will (March 29, 2017), "Will Favor deliver profits in 2017? How the Austin startup bucked expand-at-all-costs mindset", Austin Business Journal, Austin, TX
  9. ↑ Anderson, Will (January 17, 2017), "Favor loses appetite for expansion as investment in on-demand delivery startups slows", Austin Business Journal, Austin, TX
  10. ↑ Dinges, Gary (May 9, 2017), "Rapid growth continues for Austin app-based delivery service Favor", 512 Tech, Austin, TX
  11. ↑ Crook, Jordan (September 7, 2017), "Favor, the on-demand service focused on Texas, picks up $22 million Series B", TechCrunch, Austin, TX
  12. ↑ Sutton, Caroline (February 12, 2018), "Texas-based delivery service to launch in Waco", KXXV, Waco, TX
  13. ↑ Heinkel-Wolfe, Peggy (February 12, 2018), "Delivery service via app comes to Denton", Denton Record Chronicle, Denton, TX
  14. ↑ Dinges, Gary (February 15, 2018), "Retailer H-E-B buying Austin-based delivery service Favor", Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX
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