Delivery Service 'MannaPlus' Operator 'Manna Corporation' Accelerates New Business with 'Danal' Equity Participation

Integrated delivery service platform company Manna Corporation announced that Danal, a specialized integrated payment business company, has secured the position of the second-largest shareholder through a strategic investment of 35 billion KRW.

Manna Corporation is a specialized integrated mobility service platform company that operates seven delivery agency platforms including Gongguda, Jetcall, Run, Roadpilot, and Nallaga. Through this investment, it has consolidated six existing delivery agency brands into the specialized delivery agency brand ‘MannaPlus,’ solidifying its position as the number one delivery agency in South Korea and aiming to expand its business areas such as the ‘quick commerce’ sector.

Despite entering the market as a latecomer in 2018 when competition among delivery agencies was fierce, its market share expanded from about 9% in 2019 to 21% in the second half of 2020, and it achieved 24% as of June 2021 according to industry estimates, experiencing explosive growth as one of the top two delivery agency platform companies in South Korea. Notably, unlike competitors who increased their market share by investing hundreds of billions of KRW in external funds, Manna Corporation achieved overwhelming results with only 9 billion KRW in capital, which is highly significant.

The differentiated growth strategy of Manna Corporation compared to its competitors lies in applying the industry’s first one-stop solution through Manna POS used by 43,000 affiliated stores, which simultaneously handles order reception, sales management, tax invoicing, and delivery requests. Additionally, it has built entry barriers through an ecosystem sharing system that unites delivery agency affiliates and rider networks, and a regional monopoly strategy by achieving dominant first place in 83 out of 156 service areas nationwide.

Through this investment, Manna Corporation plans to absorb and merge ‘DodoPlex,’ a same-day delivery service business, and enter the ‘same-day & one-day courier’ market, advancing to become a comprehensive last-mile logistics company and aiming for an initial public offering (IPO) within three years.

To this end, Manna Corporation is expanding its quick commerce brand ‘MartShop’ after long preparation and pilot testing in Jeju Island. Particularly, Manna Corporation’s ‘MartShop’ provides a one-stop service not only for delivery agency but also for order app construction and product management, receiving evaluations for superior platform system scalability compared to other companies that only handle delivery.

Meanwhile, Danal made this investment recognizing the rapid growth of the delivery market due to the spread of untact consumption trends, the expansion potential of the delivery agency business, Manna platform’s IT capabilities, and the market share of ‘MannaPlus.’ Danal plans to maximize payment business synergy by utilizing its own infrastructure such as ‘MannaPOS’ and ‘MannaPay.’

Danal will provide payment services including credit card prepaid charging, virtual account services, mobile payments, and Paycoin (PCI) to Manna Corporation’s MannaPOS and MannaPay, the payment method between restaurants and riders, securing additional new transactions. Through the new service ‘Manna SmartShop,’ which enables direct delivery orders from large e-commerce and location-based platforms, Danal will expand its payment method supply base to the domestic food service industry with a total of 670,000 stores, enhancing synergy between the two companies and solidifying their position in the offline payment market.

Additionally, as the second-largest shareholder of Manna Corporation, Danal plans to actively link Danal affiliates’ services with the Manna platform system. By providing new services such as small loans for riders using Danal’s payment big data and Manna Corporation’s rider data, motorcycle rentals, and rider-exclusive insurance, Danal aims to support Manna Corporation’s mid- to long-term growth.

Furthermore, Manna Corporation expects to create opportunities for external growth and additional revenue through Danal’s Dalkom and Bit Corporation’s coffee subscription delivery service and unmanned store concierge services.

Manna Corporation stated, “Together with Danal, the number one company leading the payment market, we have established an opportunity for IT network and external expansion through B2B sales support and payment infrastructure innovation, which were relatively lacking in franchises. We will firmly establish our status as a market dominator by expanding new businesses as a total mobility platform company beyond last-mile through the launch of SmartShop and IPO in the future.”

Danal said, “This strategic investment has expanded the value of our investment shares and the scope of offline platforms through business synergy following Manna Corporation’s growth. We will continue to strive to expand and strengthen business areas and increase corporate value through active external M&A and investment attraction. We will also take the lead in improving convenience and profitability for delivery agency affiliates and riders to promote mutual growth of local commercial districts and riders.”

The moves of Manna Corporation in the currently hottest mobility service sector in the investment market are drawing attention.