OrderUp

OrderUp started as an online food ordering business, called LionMenus, which served State College, PA.^[1] In 2009, the founders relocated to Baltimore, MD and formed LocalUp to expand to additional markets.^[2] The company used $1.5 million in investments to facilitate growth into small markets.^[3] OrderUp is one of a growing number of companies geared towards capitalizing on online food ordering. Other companies, including Grubhub, provide similar services to restaurants and consumers.^[4]

Initially, LocalUp licensed their technology to entrepreneurs who created online food ordering sites in their own communities^[5] These licensees white-labeled the technology and ran the everyday operations.^[1] LocalUp operated under this licensing model until 2012, when the company rebranded as OrderUp and switched to a franchising model. Now, OrderUp has switched most local sites to the national brand.^[1] OrderUp is one of the first companies to provide a digital franchise in order to target local markets.^[6]

In August 2014, the company announced a $7 million Series A investment round focused on growing its technical team and expanding its delivery service nationally.^[7]

In July 2015, Groupon acquired the company.^[8]

In July 2017, Grubhub acquired 27 company-owned OrderUp food delivery markets from Groupon and announced plans to retire the OrderUp brand. Sixty full-time employees were laid off from OrderUp's headquarters in Baltimore.^[9][10]

In October 2018, Grubhub acquired certain assets of 11 remaining franchisee-owned OrderUp food delivery markets across California, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Virginia.^[11]

As of August 2013, OrderUp had sites in about 25 American cities and had launched a mobile application from which users can order food using Android or iOS devices.^[12] In 2016, OrderUp was in 62 cities.^[13]