Irish digital food-ordering platform Flipdish is to create 200 jobs in the next 12 months, as the pandemic fuels a rapid expansion for the company.
Recruitment for 50 jobs will begin immediately, with the remainder expected to be filled by December 2021. The bulk of the jobs will be in Ireland, with a small number of sales roles in Britain. The company has also created 100 jobs throughout 2020 and now employs about 150 people.
The new role are mainly technology-based, including software engineers, engineering managers, software architects, data scientists, mobile engineers, and product designers. Flipdish’s engineering and product development in located in Dublin.
Flipdish provides software that powers direct ordering from restaurants, offering a “white label” app solution that allows restaurants to retain control over their business data while still tapping into the growing market for eating at home.
Growth
The company has seen significant growth in recent years. “We grew 100 per cent last year, and 200 per cent the year before. This year we’ve grown 300 per cent . Part of that acceleration in growth is due to Covid, but it was happening anyway,” said James McCarthy, co-founder of Flipdish.
“Restaurants were moving online and users were ordering more online rather than the telephone, and there was a big movement towards delivery. I think that’s going to continue even after Covid , but it certainly accelerated things.”
He predicted the company will continue to double its business in the next couple of years as more restaurants see the benefit of using the Flipdish software.
“Expansion was always on the cards for Flipdish in 2020, but we could never have imagined, pre-Covid, how rapidly we would need to grow this year to play a crucial role in alleviating the crisis the hospitality industry faced,” said McCarthy’s co-founder and brother Conor, who is chief executive of the business.
“Hiring 200 roles next year looks different than it has in the past for us. We are reimagining what the workspace looks like for Flipdish in 2021. We know that the in-person office job is over but our focus is now on finding the best talent regardless.”
Multinational operations
The company, which is headquartered in Dublin, operates in 15 countries including Britain, the US, France and Germany. Among its partners in Ireland are Eddie Rockets, Press Up Group, Base Pizza and Bombay Pantry.
The company also partners with Irish drone delivery company Manna, with its online ordering system connecting Manna with Tesco and other outlets in drone delivery trials in Oranmore, Co Galway.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, welcomed the news of the new jobs, describing it as a great example of an Irish company adapting quickly to the changes brought about by Covid. "More and more of us are ordering online from our favourite take-aways and restaurants. It's great that there is an Irish company behind it all," he said.
