Commissions Revealed: How Wolt Is Trying to Capture a 6 Billion Shekel Market

For years, the food budget received by employees of high-tech companies and large firms was perceived as a fairly simple benefit: the employer allocates a daily amount, the employee chooses a restaurant, and one of the two large platforms — 10bis or Cibus — takes care of transferring the payment.

However, in the past year, this market has changed its character. Last December, Wolt announced the launch of "Wolt Benefits" and also entered the corporate market — a move that, of course, did not go unnoticed by competitors and even led to a conflict with Cibus, with which it has been collaborating for several years.

Now, the card that was supposed to pay for lunch is gradually turning into a broader benefits wallet, and the struggle is no longer just over the restaurant where the employee will eat, but over the platform through which they will spend their welfare budget.

Thus, Cibus is promoting the Cibus Pay card, which expands payment options for employees even outside of restaurants. And 10bis, the oldest player in Israel of the three, is expanding the variety of businesses and uses for its card.

The test is threefold: who will hold the most significant direct relationship with employers, who will benefit from the habits that employees have already developed, and who will turn the catering budget into a broad platform of benefits and consumption.

60% of Cibus

The market for catering and employee benefit solutions is estimated at about 6 billion shekels per year. According to industry estimates, of the two veteran players, Cibus holds about 60% of the activity, while 10bis holds about 40%. Wolt is indeed just starting its direct activity in the field, but its entry may change this distribution and pressure both companies to offer employers better conditions and open up additional uses for employees.

Behind every player stands an international group: Cibus is part of the French Sodexo, one of the giants of catering services in the world; 10bis operates under the Dutch Just Eat Takeaway; while Wolt is owned by the American DoorDash. For all three, the Israeli market is relatively small in global terms, but it is concentrated and technological — and therefore can also serve as a laboratory for new products.

One of the focuses of competition between the companies is the amount of commission charged to businesses. Data that reached Globes shows that Wolt Benefits charges a base commission of 4.5%, without a clearing fee (which varies from business to business and stands at 1%-2%), compared to about 6% at Cibus and about 7.5% at 10bis. These gaps can be especially significant for restaurants and businesses operating on low profit margins, and can influence the willingness to join each of the platforms.

Alongside the low commission, Wolt needs to strengthen its relevance among employers as well. For them, the important parameters are service costs, reporting systems, level of service, and the ability to define different uses for employees and different groups in the organization.

In fact, HR and procurement managers are no longer required only to compare the number of restaurants on each platform. They need to decide whether they are interested in a budget limited to food, a broader benefit, or a combination of the two; whether balances can be accumulated; where the money can be used; what happens to an unspent budget; and to what extent the system allows the organization to control expenses and analyze them.

Cibus-Wolt Battle

Until the COVID-19 period, 10bis was the dominant name in the field, thanks to building a wide network of restaurants and employers. However, over the years, Cibus has gradually eroded its hold. One of the moves that helped Cibus was the connection to Wolt, which allowed employees holding the card to order from the delivery app, and created a value proposition that is difficult to compete with.

On one hand, the company continued to provide employers with the budget management and reporting system they know; on the other hand, employees received access to the Wolt interface, which gradually became the default in the delivery field.

For high-tech companies seeking to compete for employees, the ability to present Wolt as part of the benefits package was worth much more than another list of restaurants. However, the successful partnership has turned into direct rivalry in recent months.

And so, Wolt announced that it would end the engagement with Cibus by the end of 2026, as part of its entry into the employee benefits market; while Cibus announced that through a new payment feature, it would still be possible to order from Wolt through it. This "battle" even reached the commercial breaks, with stinging campaigns.

Increase Usability

For Wolt, entering the corporate market is a logical move. The company already maintains daily contact with a large number of consumers, knows their ordering habits, and enjoys an especially strong brand among high-tech employees. Through Wolt Benefits, it seeks to turn this connection into a tripartite relationship, also including the employer. Instead of the employee receiving a budget from one company and realizing it on another platform, Wolt wants to control both sides of the transaction.

Cibus is also in a transition period. Its new service, Cibus Pay, was launched recently with the goal of allowing employees to pay at a wider range of businesses, and to reduce dependence on certain delivery apps.

In the industry, there is criticism that the model relies on an infrastructure similar to a credit card, and therefore may require employees to undergo identification or underwriting processes. Cibus will have to prove that expanding payment options does not come at the cost of additional friction for the employee — especially in a market where ease of use is one of the most important assets.

While Cibus and Wolt are busy with each other, 10bis is trying to take advantage of the opportunity to return to center stage. In an interview with Globes about two weeks ago, the company's CEO, Tomer Peper, described a series of moves designed to turn the 10bis card into more than a means for ordering lunch. Employees holding the card can also pay at businesses from other fields, receive discounts, and accumulate cashback, without going through a separate underwriting process with a credit company.

10bis's assumption is clear: the more useful the card becomes, the greater the chance that the employee will perceive it as a significant benefit — and the employer will find it difficult to replace the supplier.

It is still too early to know who will come out on top. Cibus currently holds a significant advantage in the number of employers and market share, 10bis enjoys an old infrastructure and is trying to reposition itself, and Wolt has a brand that employees already know and want to use. What is already clear is that from now on, the competition is not for the falafel, schnitzel, or shawarma for lunch, but for the entire wallet.

Wolt Benefits responded: "Hundreds of companies have already joined Wolt Benefits in a short time. We are happy to bring more competition, innovation, and choice to the field, and this is just the beginning."

Cibus responded: "The company is not another delivery app, but a marketplace that gives employees freedom of choice. Through Cibus, it is possible to order on all delivery platforms, alongside realizing the budget in restaurants, retail chains, and thousands of businesses."

10bis chose not to comment.