Portland Pedal Power

What Portland Pedal Power does

Portland Pedal Power, LLC is a Portland, Oregon-based sustainable catering and delivery company founded in 2009 by Ken Wetherell. The company operates a fleet of 15-16 custom-built cargo bicycles, including the proprietary Pyxis™ enclosure invented by the founder, to deliver food from a curated network of 70+ local restaurants, food carts, and markets to corporate offices in Central Portland. Service tiers range from standard delivery and set-up (base price) through Premier Set-Up (10% service fee), Premier Set-Up with Clean Up (15%), Full Service with on-site server (18%), and Premier Full Service with bartender (22%). The business also operates an Active Advertising product that uses cargo bikes as mobile billboards staffed by Brand Ambassadors, and runs a no-fee Corporate Account program with recurring billing, order cloning, and standing-order features.

The company monetizes through a transaction-based take rate layered on top of underlying food purchases, supplemented by advertising fees and a tiered service-fee structure on catered events. Its primary customer segments are Central Portland businesses (geographic), Corporate Accounts with recurring needs (business unit), and advertising clients seeking urban sustainability-positioned brand exposure. Go-to-market combines direct B2B sales for corporate catering, a self-serve online ordering portal, and event-driven active advertising at community venues.

On January 6, 2020, Portland Pedal Power was acquired by Silicon Valley-based Waiter.com (founded 1995, 1,300+ restaurant partners), and now operates as a controlled subsidiary under the name Portland Pedal Power by Waiter.com. Post-acquisition, the company has consolidated its ordering infrastructure on the Waiter.com platform while retaining the PPP brand and its Central Portland operational footprint. The business has been recognized with Portland Business Journal's Small Business Innovation Award (2018), Willamette Week Best of Portland (2016), and the City's Sustainability at Work Silver Certification (2016).

Name

Portland Pedal Power

Legal name

Portland Pedal Power, LLC

Website

https://portlandpedalpower.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Portland Pedal Power, founded 2009 and acquired by Waiter.com in 2020, operates a cargo-bicycle fleet delivering food from 70+ local Portland restaurants to Central Portland offices via tiered catering, corporate account, and mobile-billboard advertising services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Catering and Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery

NAICS

Local Messengers and Local Delivery (492210)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Cargo Bikes & E-Cargo Bikes Rental/Leasing (TLABAGAB)

Keywords

• Bicycle food delivery
• Corporate catering delivery
• Mobile billboard advertising
• Sustainable last-mile delivery
• Office meal delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Office Catering Services: Catering and delivery of food from local Portland restaurants to business offices. Full concierge services including custom menu creation, dietary accommodations, delivery, and on-site catering.
2. Standard Delivery: Standard delivery includes food delivery and set-up service to office locations.
3. Enhanced Catering Services: Higher levels of service for larger events with tiered pricing: Delivery and Set-Up (standard), Premier Set-Up (10% service fee), Premier Set-Up with Clean Up (15% service fee), Full Service (18% service fee), and Premier Full Service with bartender (22% service fee).
4. Active Advertising: Mobile billboard advertising using cargo bikes with Brand Ambassadors providing face-to-face engagement and integrated social media campaigns.
5. Corporate Account Services: No-cost corporate accounts offering simplified billing, order cloning, standing orders, personalized access, samples, and discounts on large deliveries.
6. Food Waste Reduction Services: Leftover food donation coordination to local nonprofits including Portland Rescue Mission and Urban Gleaners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Portland Pedal Power provides corporate catering and food delivery services to Central Portland businesses using a fleet of 15-16 cargo bicycles, pulling from approximately 70 local vendors. The company also runs an active advertising program that turns its delivery bikes into mobile billboards for brands seeking street-level exposure in the Portland central business district.

Product overview

Portland Pedal Power operates as a single-platform service offering two interconnected core products: sustainable bicycle-based catering and delivery services, and active mobile advertising. The catering service uses a fleet of cargo bikes to deliver food from 70+ local Portland restaurant partners to corporate offices, with options for family-style or individual packaging. The advertising product transforms their bikes into mobile billboards with human Brand Ambassadors. Additional value-added services include Corporate Account management with billing and ordering perks, tiered service levels from basic delivery to full-service catering with on-site staff, and a vendor partnership program that connects local food vendors with business customers. The company was acquired by Waiter.com in January 2020.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pyxis: Proprietary cargo bike delivery enclosure designed and built by founder Ken Wetherell for food delivery operations.

Products and services

• Cargo Bike Corporate Catering Delivery

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% on-time delivery rate
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Caviar: Caviar (owned by Square/Block) is a premium restaurant delivery service operating in Portland, directly comparable to Portland Pedal Power as a higher-end delivery alternative. Was specifically named as a competitor PPP beat for Best of Portland 2016.
• Uber Eats: Uber Eats is a major food delivery platform with significant Portland presence, offering restaurant delivery comparable to Portland Pedal Power's core catering and delivery service. Competes for the same office lunch customer base.
• DoorDash: DoorDash is a dominant third-party delivery platform operating in Portland that competes directly with Portland Pedal Power for office catering and food delivery from local restaurants. It is comparable in the local restaurant delivery category but operates at vastly larger scale.
• Waiter.com: Waiter.com is the parent company that acquired Portland Pedal Power in 2020, offering online restaurant ordering from over 1,300 businesses nationally. It is comparable as a broader online food ordering platform serving similar restaurant vendor relationships.
• Postmates: Postmates (owned by Uber) operates on-demand delivery in Portland, competing with Portland Pedal Power for restaurant delivery orders. Named specifically as a competitor PPP outperformed for Best of Portland 2016.

Direct peers

• Fooda: Fooda is a corporate catering and workplace food platform offering office lunch programs and pop-up restaurants. Comparable to Portland Pedal Power's office catering model with similar B2B target customers.
• Cater2.me: Cater2.me is a corporate catering service providing office meals from local restaurants, very similar to Portland Pedal Power's catering concierge model targeting businesses in urban markets.
• ezCater: ezCater is a leading online corporate catering marketplace connecting businesses with local restaurants, offering a comparable B2B office catering platform with similar target customers in the corporate food delivery space.

Regional players

• Imperfect Foods: Imperfect Foods is a sustainable food delivery service with similar ESG positioning around reducing food waste. Comparable mission alignment on sustainability and local food sourcing, though focused on grocery rather than prepared meal delivery.

Others

• Rad Power Bikes: Rad Power Bikes is a major electric cargo bike manufacturer based in the Pacific Northwest. Comparable as a cargo bike ecosystem participant whose products enable the urban delivery model PPP pioneered with its Pyxis enclosure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pdxpedpow
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Portland-Pedal-Power-LLC/81372914587

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Portland Pedal Power