Business & Innovation
- March 15, 2021

How we built a global brand from the ground up

10 questions with Sofia Tavares, Global Senior Vice President of Brand

Sofia, you’re the keeper of Delivery Hero’s portfolio of brands. That’s a massive task! What’s your mission? 

To build the best brand experiences by delivering fast, easy and to your doorstep. We want to build successful brands that people really love and want to talk about. We do this by supporting our brands on their journey to becoming more meaningful.

What does it take to build a brand – how do you discover the essence of a company, and then make this essence tangible?

Each brand is a key player in the markets they are present in, and has a specific personality that fits that region very well. For example, I’ve been working on the PedidosYa brand for 7 years and it’s great to watch it grow and develop into something amazing. The spirit of PedidosYa that began with its founders is still very present, but now that spirit feels true for so many customers across multiple markets.

We constantly evaluate how we can make sure the brand essence is felt throughout the brand experience: from the advertising people see on their way to work or the way a rider stands out when you see them on the street, to helping you find and experience the tastiest burger in the app.

How would you describe Delivery Hero’s brand?

I really believe in the strong company culture at Delivery Hero. There’s a real culture of care that we live up to every day. 

When I think of Delivery Hero, I think of a mix of people that want to be part of something big and special. The entrepreneurial spirit is present in our day to day, which makes us stand out as a brand and as a company.

Being the global brand that we are puts us in a unique position, and offers amazing opportunities. Every day we connect with our markets, we share knowledge and grow together.

Being the global brand that we are puts us in a unique position, and offers amazing opportunities. Every day we connect with our markets, we share knowledge and grow together.We deliver solutions on a global scale, and that feels powerful.

Has that always been the case, or did the brand change over the years? 

The growth has been exponential but I must say that after more than 7 years at Delivery Hero, the spirit is very much the same as when we started. As more people join the team, we get to share more expertise, more unique profiles and even more ambition to join our missionThat spirit hasn’t changed, but now it’s amplified because with more amazing talent comes more opportunity to do even bigger things.

The Berlin brand team pulls together a diverse mix of people with different backgrounds, skills and perspectives. How did you go about building such a creative team?   

To be relevant and to be able to actually build global brands, you need to have different profiles; different walks of life, backgrounds and personalities. 

I am very happy (and proud) to say that people actually stay here for a long time and grow their careers within the team. Our aim is to provide new challenges for people, allowing them to develop, and to be honest, watch them grow.

Last year, the pandemic changed our ways of working drastically. How do you manage to collaborate and stay connected with our brands across the globe? 

Zoom, zoom, zoom…

Now seriously, we try harder to stay connected and put in even more than before, as we don’t want to lose the partnerships or collaborations that we have developed over the years.

We have to put in extra effort to maintain those relationships and social ties: from workshops with stakeholders from 6 different time zones (yes, that happens!), to knowledge sharing sessions and of course some evening quizzes, we stay engaged with our colleagues, wherever they are.

In your role, you focus on Delivery Hero as well as a global network of subsidiary brands. Are all these brands unique, or are there things that unite them?

They are all different and special yet somehow similar as we are able to share ways of working and how we plan and set up our efforts.

For example, foodpanda is just going through a brand refresh. Working with the regional team, we managed to include all countries and stakeholders in the process and we’re super excited to see the outcome going live soon. The amazing results are a consequence of the involvement from every market. We acknowledge that each market and brand is unique, but the tools we use to build them are the same.

To be relevant and to be able to actually build global brands, you need to have different profiles; different walks of life, backgrounds and personalities. 

As an inhouse agency, we develop a lot of our own tools. For example, something we call spotON is used for testing and optimizing creatives. We are in constant communication with the markets for this one as it specifically relies on local insight. The last campaign we tested is about to go live in the Middle East for our talabat brand. It’s a really cool campaign!

In your position as Senior Vice President, you are one of the most senior female representatives in the company. How do you leverage being a role model when it comes to inspiring and supporting your female colleagues? 

I try my best to keep pushing for more opportunities for everyone across all areas. I mentor many women across the globe on their challenges as they become leaders within our business, and I try to constantly showcase the good things that people are doing, drawing attention to different people and how they are adding value.

For me, success is about uplifting the individual and if somebody has brought value to a project, they should be applauded. Whatever someone’s background, I encourage people to step into their potential, and I try to offer new opportunities when people are ready to grow.

What motivates you? 

The people I work with. My team, the teams in the markets, the constant willingness we share to improve and do great things.  

Final question: what advice have you received in your career that you’re most grateful for and would like to share?

Don’t be afraid of change. I think that it’s super important to find opportunities with each change that happens in our lives and amazing things can happen if we are open to it.

Want to know more about the ins and outs of our Brand team? Check out the Brand blog!

Written by


Robin Nierynck

Senior Specialist, Global Communications Delivery Hero

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