What's going on?

Deliveroo gave a better-than-expected trading update on Thursday, as the UK food delivery platform makes sure everyone adheres to their daily recommended intake of takeout.

What does this mean?

Most Brits have only made it through the last couple years by pushing restaurant-quality gyoza into their mouths in the fleeting moments between each sob. But there was always the risk that the end of lockdown would encourage them to go back to doing that in restaurants, rather than in their own homes. Not quite: Deliveroo reported that it added 37% more monthly active users last quarter compared to the year before, bringing its total to 8 million. Better still, they placed more orders on average than they did in the depths of the pandemic, helping push up the total value of orders by a better-than-expected 36%.

Why should I care?

For markets: A portion of worries.
Investors sent Deliveroo�s stock up 6% after the announcement, but they still have plenty to be hangry about. After all, the company�s share price has fallen around 50% since it listed on the stock market in March, and it�s not out of the woods yet: decades-high UK inflation is putting the squeeze on diners� spending money, and an end to the country�s Omicron-inspired restrictions could lure them back to their favorite eateries. Then there�s the red tape: regulators are preparing to introduce new rights for delivery workers � rules the European Union reckons could cost the sector more than $5 billion a year.

The bigger picture: Who needs humans?
Uber�s hoping to find a canny way around that issue: the US food delivery service announced last month that it�s partnering up with self-driving vehicle company Motional to roll out driverless food deliveries Stateside early this year (tweet this). Uber thinks it�s a good way to deliver to harder-to-reach places and cut out the expensive meatsack in the middle, which should save the company � and you � a garnishing of money.