LINE has acquired a 20% stake in Osaka-based online food takeout ordering company, Demaekan. The service currently boasts around 8.3 million members and 13,600 food suppliers, such as bento-box, noodle and sushi restaurants, all searchable by postcode. It aims to replace the simple telephone call order for take-out food with online and smartphone ordering.
LINE currently has 62 million subscribers in Japan alone and plans to expand the Demaekan service.