Background: Uber Eats has grown into one of Australia's biggest convenience platforms and is a major part of Uber's business. In fact, Uber Eats has become so popular in Australia, it hit one billion Uber Eats deliveries late last year. But it ain't just food with Uber Eats now covering everything from takeaway meals to groceries and even hardware supplies.

What happened: Last October, Mitre 10 signed a non-exclusive delivery pilot with Uber Eats. But shortly after, Uber Eats signed an exclusive partnership with Bunnings and quietly ghosted Mitre 10's partnership.  But now, Mitre 10's parent company, Metcash, is getting the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission involved. And now, the ACCC is doing a preliminary investigation into whether Uber Eats' exclusive agreements could breach competition laws.

What else: Uber Eats also had exclusive delivery partnerships with Hungry Jack's and Guzman y Gomez, limiting rival delivery platforms like DoorDash from accessing those brands. So, the issue centres around what regulators call "exclusive dealing," and potentially anti-competitive conduct.

What's the key learning?

💡 Exclusive dealing is when a supplier or platform requires businesses to work only with them and not with competing services. These arrangements are common in business, but regulators step in when they potentially reduce competition across an industry.  

💡 Under Australia's competition laws, the issue is whether a deal "substantially lessens competition" in the market. Which basically means regulators start paying attention when a big company locks up brands, suppliers or partners and makes it harder for competitors to compete realistically.  

💡 These exclusive dealings are becoming a bigger deal as the industry gets bigger. Uber Eats has huge scale in a rapidly growing market. In fact, it controls roughly 55% market share of an industry is worth around $1.8 billion. That means exclusive deals with brands like Bunnings, Hungry Jack's, and Guzman y Gomez are more likely to attract regulatory attention.