Instashop

InstaShop is a Dubai-based online grocery delivery marketplace, founded in 2015, acquired by Delivery Hero in 2020 and moved under Talabat in 2025.

Industry: Online grocery delivery | Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2015

About Instashop

InstaShop is an online grocery and convenience delivery marketplace headquartered in Dubai. Customers order from supermarkets and local retailers through a mobile app, with instant or scheduled delivery. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Talabat, which in turn is controlled by Delivery Hero, and it continues to trade under its own brand.

InstaShop was founded in Dubai in 2015 and launched in the UAE in June 2015, according to Entrepreneur Middle East. John Tsioris was its founder and chief executive. Wikipedia names Ioanna Angelidaki as a co-founder and records that Tsioris stepped down as chief executive in November 2023; neither point was confirmed by a second source.

By October 2016 the app worked with more than 50 supermarket chains and had more than 60,000 active users, Entrepreneur Middle East reported. That month Souq.com took what it called a significant minority stake for an undisclosed sum. The funds were meant for regional expansion and app technology. Earlier backers included Jabbar Internet Group and the Greek fund VentureFriends.

Delivery Hero announced the acquisition of InstaShop on 27 August 2020, Wamda reported, in a deal valued at USD 360 million on a cash and debt-free basis. Reuters, quoted by Wamda, said USD 270 million was paid initially and USD 90 million depended on future growth and profitability. At that time InstaShop operated in the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Qatar and had an annualised gross merchandise volume of USD 300 million, and Tsioris was to keep running it as an independent brand.

In September 2024 Delivery Hero agreed to sell InstaShop to Talabat. Enterprise reported on 7 March 2025 that Talabat acquired 100 percent for USD 32 million in cash, a price that reflected InstaShop's capital amount rather than its fair value, as part of a restructuring. Enterprise said InstaShop's 2024 gross merchandise value rose 16 percent to USD 631 million, equal to 8 percent of Talabat's total, and that it operates in the UAE and Egypt. No later development was found.

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