The tourism association MaRa has announced that it will file a formal complaint with the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) about the pricing of the food distribution company Wolt.
According to MaRan, Wolt currently has a dominant position in the food supply market, which allows it to control prices and dictate contract terms without fear of losing customers to competitors.
The restaurant association announced its intention to ask the KKV to investigate whether Wolt is violating existing competitive pricing laws.
By Veli-Matti Aittoniemi, Wolt, Executive Vice President of MaRa, includes in its contracts with restaurants a clause obliging them to charge the same price for their meal, regardless of whether the customer eats it in a restaurant or delivers it home.
This means that restaurants cannot charge customers for home delivery, but will have to pay Wolt an additional fee for transportation.
"We want the authorities to clarify whether a company like Wolt with such a large market share can impose such a condition. That’s all we want to know," Aittoniemi said.
According to a study conducted by MaRa, Wolt currently has a 42 percent market share of the Finnish food supply market and 55 percent of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area market.
The Hospitality Association intends to submit its request to KKV at the end of the year.
The complaint only concerns Wolt and does not include competitors such as Foodora, as Wolt adheres to exceptionally strict conditions in its contracts for restaurants.
MaRa: Wolt takes up to 30% commission
According to MaRan, some restaurants do not see a profit from food orders delivered by Wolt.
"Wolt’s commission can rise up to 30 percent. In such cases, there may be no return at all [for restaurants]," Aittoniemi stated.
He believes the Covid-19 crisis, which has hit the restaurant industry particularly hard, has led restaurants to take desperate action.
"For many restaurants, the situation could have been so serious that they were forced to accept these agreements in order to keep their businesses running and the employment of their employees," Aittoniemi said.
Wolt’s high pricing has been discussed in the industry for years, and its contract terms have been of particular concern to smaller restaurants, MaRa added.
Wolt denies allegations of illegal pricing
Wolt has said the terms of its restaurant contracts are legal.
"In our view, the terms and conditions of our agreement are, of course, legal and also in line with the protection of our customers’ interests," Henrik Pankakoski, Woltin ‘s CEO in Finland, said in an e – mail to Yle.
The company confirmed that contracts with its restaurants require the same price to be billed for meals and home delivery. However, restaurants are claimed to be able to set prices themselves.
Wolt argues that its consistent pricing policy allows for transparency and keeps things simple for customers.
"It is a practice that keeps the process simple, clear and transparent and will hopefully inspire confidence in all Wolt customers," Pankakoski said.
The company has reportedly conducted tests in which Finnish restaurants have been charged an additional fee for meals delivered (above the price stated on the menu) and found that food orders from these restaurants fell significantly in the application.
Wolt has indicated its willingness to discuss the consequences of its dominant position with the competition authority, if necessary.
"In general, it would be said that the customer has several ways to buy food, and Wolt’s share of Finnish food sales is still small," Pankakoski stated.