Building the Bridge Between Markets and Product at foodpanda
How I created a new product function from scratch, proved its value in one year, and watched it scale across 24 countries while shipping 100+ features and piloting Europe's first Q-Commerce product.
A Role That Didn't Exist Yet
The gap between local business requirements in regional markets and the central product teams in Berlin was a major bottleneck. Local teams felt unheard, while central teams struggled to prioritize competing needs from dozens of countries.
I stepped into a newly created gap to close this loop. My mission was to translate hyper-local business nuances into scalable product requirements and ensure that every feature shipped was grounded in real-world market data.
From One Person to a 24-Country Model
What started as an experimental individual contributor role rapidly evolved into a structural blueprint for the organization. By demonstrating the efficiency of having a dedicated "Product Specialist" layer, we successfully replicated the function across all 24 markets within Delivery Hero's foodpanda and regional ecosystems.
Model replicated across 24 countries
I eventually led a local team of 4 Product Managers, ensuring our regional strategy stayed sharp while maintaining global alignment.
First in Europe. Three Times.
Partnerships - CEB launch
Pioneering complex partnership integrations that expanded our footprint across Central European markets.
Groceries Flow with Pelican
Redesigning the shopping experience to handle high-SKU inventory through the Pelican system architecture.
Q-Commerce Pilot
Scaling Europe's first 15-minute delivery model, achieving +100K monthly orders and a +1.5% GMV uplift.
100+ Features. One Relentless Prioritization Process.
Shipping isn't just about speed; it's about impact. I implemented a rigorous RICE scoring framework to cut through the noise of local requests. This systematic approach allowed us to ship over 100 high-impact features within a single calendar year.
Features Shipped
100+
Conversion Uplift
+3.2pp
Q-Commerce Orders
+100K monthly
GMV Uplift
+1.5%
Migrations and Market Launches
Product management at this scale is as much about saying "no" as it is about saying "yes." I oversaw the complex platform migrations in the Czech Republic and Hungary, ensuring zero downtime for millions of users.
Additionally, I provided critical support for the Germany launch, localizing the product experience to meet stringent market expectations while maintaining the core foodpanda DNA.
Influence Without Authority
The function is the product
I treated the Product Specialist function itself as a product. Iterating on the communication flows, feedback loops, and stakeholder management until the machine worked autonomously.
Local insight is a global asset
By turning anecdotal "local problems" into structured "global opportunities," I was able to influence the roadmap of teams I didn't directly manage, ensuring maximum ROI for the company.
View Next Case Study arrow_forward"The best product decisions I made at foodpanda weren't features; they were the conversations that got the right features built."
Cristian Bica, Senior Product Manager