At the CRAVE Partner Summit and Awards 2026 finale in Manila, foodpanda recognized outstanding partners and reaffirmed its commitment to helping local businesses grow through technology, stronger customer connections, and digital opportunities.

Behind every food delivery is a business owner working to keep customers satisfied, a team preparing orders, and a livelihood that depends on every successful transaction. For many local merchants, digital platforms have become an important way to reach more customers, keep up with changing consumer habits, and find new opportunities to grow.

Recognizing the people and businesses behind these efforts, foodpanda Philippines wrapped up its nationwide CRAVE Partner Summit and Awards 2026 in Manila, bringing together merchant partners and industry leaders to discuss digital innovation, emerging consumer trends, and the future of local businesses.

Following earlier stops in Cebu and Davao, the Manila finale highlighted the opportunities and challenges facing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including rising operating costs and the need to strengthen digital capabilities.

Held ahead of World Food Day, the gathering also emphasized the important role food businesses play in supporting livelihoods and contributing to community growth.

Representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) E-Commerce Bureau highlighted digital skills and market access as essential tools for MSMEs looking to expand their reach and strengthen their operations.

“Growth looks different for every business, and our goal is to help our merchant partners grow with foodpanda at every stage,” said Prateek Teotia, director of commercial at foodpanda Philippines.

“Through technology, insights, market access, and stronger partnerships, we want to give businesses more opportunities to reach customers, strengthen operations, and build for the future,” he added.
Celebrating the Businesses Behind Every Order
For local merchants, business success can take many forms—from increasing sales and earning customer loyalty to finding creative ways to stand out in a competitive market.

The CRAVE Partner Summit and Awards 2026 recognized merchant achievements across five core categories, celebrating different aspects of business performance and customer engagement.

The Pau Pau’s Top of Table award recognized sales leadership and market performance, while Pau Pau’s Momentum Master honored merchants that recorded strong year-on-year growth in the first half of 2026. The Pau Pau’s Brand Spotlight celebrated creative marketing initiatives and collaboration with the platform.

Meanwhile, the Operational Excellence award recognized consistent service reliability, and the People’s Palate Award honored vendors with high customer ratings and repeat orders.

These distinctions reflected the different ways merchants can build stronger businesses: serving customers consistently, creating memorable brands, improving operations, and encouraging customers to return.

The celebration extended beyond restaurant and food merchants to include partners across foodpanda’s quick-commerce network.

Within Shops, the Checkout Champion Award recognized top sales performers, while the People’s Choice Award highlighted vendors with strong product assortments. For DMart, the Ad-vantage Award celebrated advertising-driven campaign performance, alongside recognition for sales momentum and emerging vendors.

Retail Media Partners were also recognized through the Ad Synergy Award for ecosystem engagement and the Ad Catalyst Award for agency innovation.

Together, the awards highlighted the range of businesses and partners contributing to the platform’s wider digital commerce ecosystem.
Giving Local Businesses More Ways to Grow
For MSMEs, reaching new customers is only one part of building a sustainable business. Merchants must also manage daily operations, respond to changing demand, maintain service quality, and find ways to compete in an increasingly digital marketplace.

To support these needs, foodpanda continues to offer merchant partners access to data insights, delivery infrastructure, advertising solutions, and collateral-free funding through foodpanda Capital.

These tools are intended to help businesses understand customer behavior, improve their visibility, manage delivery operations, and explore opportunities for expansion.

Digital platforms can provide additional ways for merchants to connect with customers, but long-term growth also depends on how businesses use these opportunities to strengthen their own operations and customer relationships.

Through initiatives such as CRAVE, foodpanda aims to bring merchants and industry stakeholders together to share insights, recognize achievements, and explore practical approaches to business development.
Building a Stronger Future, One Partnership at a Time
As food businesses continue to navigate changing costs, customer expectations, and digital transformation, collaboration remains an important part of building a more resilient industry.

foodpanda Philippines said it will continue to focus on demand generation, customer experience, and logistics excellence as it works with merchant partners to strengthen the digital food ecosystem.

For the businesses recognized at CRAVE 2026, the awards celebrate more than sales figures or platform performance. They also acknowledge the work that goes into serving customers, building trust, and creating opportunities for the people whose livelihoods depend on local commerce.

By combining merchant expertise with technology, market access, and stronger partnerships, foodpanda aims to help more businesses connect with customers and pursue their next stage of growth—one order, one customer, and one opportunity at a time.