What happens when one of Europe’s most innovative marketers takes the reins of a high-growth tech unicorn? In this episode of The Partner Marketing Podcast, Matthias welcomes Anh Nguyen, VP of Marketing at Wolt - and one of the driving forces behind the company’s explosive growth across Europe and Asia.
Anh and Matthias delve into a wide-ranging discussion that uncovers not only Anh’s impressive marketing career across gaming and tech startups, but also the sophisticated growth engine powering Wolt’s global operations. The episode is packed with lessons on performance marketing, data strategy, organizational design, partner enablement, and AI readiness—all seen through the lens of a hyperlocal, mobile-first commerce platform on the rise.
From Angry Birds to Grocery Bags - Anh’s Journey into Growth Marketing
Matthias: “Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Partner Marketing Podcast. My guest today is Anh Nguyen, VP of Marketing at Wolt. Anh has been at the forefront of driving growth at one of the most exciting tech companies in Europe. Welcome, Anh, it’s great to have you on the show today! Maybe as a starter for all our listeners, could you share a little bit about your background?”
Anh: “Thank you, Matthias. Great to be here. So, my name is Anh, as you have been hearing. I am based in Finland, the northern part of Europe, in the beautiful city of Helsinki. And all of my career, I’ve been in marketing, online marketing, MarTech, and now I’m leading the whole marketing team at Wolt. I started my career in one of the Rocket Internet ventures in Berlin named Foodpanda. Back in the early days, that was my early access to online marketing and MarTech.”
Anh Nguyen recounts his early years at Rocket Internet’s Foodpanda in Berlin, where he was first exposed to the dynamic, data-intensive world of digital marketing. He then transitioned into the mobile gaming industry, where he worked at Rovio (Angry Birds) and Wargaming. These roles taught him the fundamentals of performance marketing, especially the use of real-time analytics and MarTech to optimize user acquisition. When he joined Wolt six years ago, the company was a modest startup with 200 employees. Since then, he has helped scale Wolt’s marketing function from a small performance team to a global marketing engine overseeing everything from CRM to regional brand marketing in over 30 countries.
Beyond Food - Wolt’s Vision to Redefine Urban Convenience
Wolt’s transformation from a food delivery app to a multifaceted commerce platform is a central theme in this episode. Anh describes how Wolt’s mission has evolved: the goal is no longer just food -it’s about delivering anything a user might find in a shopping mall. He outlines the ambition to create a hyperlocal version of an online mall where customers can browse and order not just meals, but also groceries, cosmetics, pharmacy items, flowers, and more—all from nearby stores. Anh explains that this shift isn’t just about expanding product categories; it’s about enhancing urban life by supporting local merchants and making neighborhoods more livable and connected.
To deliver on its hyperlocal promise, Wolt must maintain a finely tuned balance between supply (local merchants and couriers) and demand (users). Anh details how orders placed in the app are routed to restaurant and merchant partners via their own app interface. While the merchant prepares the order, Wolt’s logistics system dispatches couriers using real-time data to ensure timely pickup and delivery. Wolt’s tech platform synchronizes all moving parts to keep deliveries under 30 minutes. He emphasizes that Wolt’s business can only succeed if its partners thrive, making merchant success an integral focus of their marketing and operations strategy.
Building the Marketing Machine - Tech, Talent, and Process at Scale
Leading nearly 300 marketers across 30+ countries, Anh emphasizes the need for clear structure and empowered leadership. He describes Wolt’s matrix team structure: vertically, there are expert teams focused on areas like performance marketing, CRM, and MarTech; horizontally, regional teams manage local execution and strategy across clusters of 8–10 countries. Anh sees his role as building the system, setting the vision, and hiring exceptional leaders- not making every decision himself. By giving regional leads budget ownership and functional support, Wolt ensures agility, focus, and deep local relevance while maintaining strategic consistency across the Brand.
Anh breaks down the foundations of Wolt’s marketing success into three key components:
Marketing Tech Infrastructure: Wolt uses third-party tools like AppsFlyer or Singular for mobile attribution, alongside in-house systems and visualizations tools like Looker and Tableau. Anh emphasizes the need for real-time data flow, attribution modeling, and LTV forecasting as the bedrock of scalable performance marketing.
Hiring Strategy: Early hires at Wolt were selected for their generalist capabilities - individuals who could manage strategy, hands-on execution, and analytics. These foundational team members had to be adaptable, wearing “ten hats” in a fast-moving environment.
Operational Process: Anh insists that even in early startup phases, companies should standardize campaign structures, naming conventions, and workflows. Wolt’s current global systems still build on the foundations he helped lay over six years ago. This early discipline allowed the company to scale with consistency and efficiency.
One App, Many Markets - Customizing Channel Strategy by Region
Marketing at Wolt isn’t one-size-fits-all. Anh explains how the company tailors its strategy based on the maturity of each market. In early-stage markets, the focus is on high-efficiency user acquisition through channels like Google and TikTok. These platforms are favored for their reach, optimization capabilities, and user engagement. As markets mature, spend shifts from acquisition to brand building, cross-selling, and subscription promotion (e.g., Wolt+). Anh also points to the growing importance of affiliate marketing and connected TV, especially in countries like Germany, where affiliate channels have proven to be effective and scalable.
Matthias: "What are the overall most important channels for you in the different regions across Europe?"
Anh: "I would say, Google and TikTok have been one of the, let's say, key partners for us. We're actually working with like 10, 20 different partners. There are some that we actually invest more in, and some we invest less in. But for the users that we want to bring in and scale, I would say Google and TikTok have been the key partners. TikTok has been one of the partners that has emerged a lot during the last few years: their targeting is getting better, their user base is getting better, their user behavior is also getting a lot different than the young TikTok audience a few years ago, because actually nowadays it's more appealing to the broader audience. (…) And another partner that is actually growing to be a bigger partner for us is affiliate. Or let's say within the affiliate space, it's especially connected TV. It's one of the partners where, in some of our strategic markets, like Germany, it's actually working really well. It doesn't mean that every single channel or partner is working really well across 30 countries. But I think in countries like Germany and a few others, this has been one of the fastest growing channels for us."
Don’t Just Acquire - Retain, Upsell, and Delight Your Users
Wolt’s marketing strategy goes beyond acquisition. Anh highlights the company’s increasing focus on user retention and upselling, driven by behavioral data and customer segmentation. For example, if a customer begins ordering diapers, Wolt identifies them as part of a new family segment and tailors future offers - like household items or baby supplies - accordingly. Through CRM and targeted paid campaigns, Wolt aims to deepen engagement and grow each customer’s lifetime value by expanding their use of the platform beyond restaurants.
Anh reveals that Wolt’s marketing performance is largely driven by two core KPIs: Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and Gross Order Value (GOV) Efficiency. CPA helps monitor how much it costs to acquire a new customer, while GOV efficiency reflects the return on marketing spend - measured by how much revenue is generated per dollar spent. Anh explains that these metrics are not mutually exclusive; rather, both must be optimized in parallel. Local and functional teams use these indicators to decide when and where to scale spend, which channels to prioritize, and how to evaluate campaign success over time.
Building the Digital Shopping Mall of Tomorrow
Looking forward, Anh says Wolt is just beginning to fulfill its vision of becoming a digital shopping mall. Many users still see Wolt as a food delivery app, so a key marketing priority is expanding awareness of its other verticals. This involves platform-based messaging, better in-app navigation, and enhanced personalization. Wolt is also exploring ways to use AI to scale these efforts, both by automating internal workflows and improving customer targeting and messaging. The next two to three years will be focused on solidifying Wolt’s identity as a holistic, hyperlocal commerce platform.
Anh: "Our mission and vision is actually trying to become a shopping mall in your pocket. And the shopping mall, as you know, is: you go to the shopping mall, you go to the first floor, you're buying groceries; You go to the second floor, you buy clothes; You go to the third floor, you buy cosmetics, flowers, and pharmacy. And then of course, the top, normally that's where the food courts are, that's where the restaurants are. So, our ambition is to go from every single layer of that shopping mall, but bringing everything into your mobile phone, bringing everything into your app."
Navigating a World of AI, Regulation, and Reinvention
Anh reflects on two major forces impacting modern marketing: artificial intelligence and data regulation. Operating under strict European frameworks like GDPR and the Digital Markets Act requires constant adaptation. Yet Anh views these constraints as drivers for innovation, forcing marketers to build smarter, more resilient systems. On the AI side, he shares a case where his team used ChatGPT to model conversion outcomes, saving time and freeing up analytical resources. Anh predicts AI will continue to reshape content creation, campaign ideation, and data analysis - but only for teams that learn to integrate it effectively.
Learn Fast, Fail Smart, Stay Curious
In the final section, Anh offers advice for young marketers. His core message is to be relentlessly curious, prioritize learning over salary, and embrace new technologies like AI from day one. He shares that in his early years, he would volunteer for tasks no one else wanted - not for pay, but to build knowledge. Over time, that initiative helped him grow into leadership roles. He recommends the book No Rules Rules by Netflix’s Reed Hastings for anyone looking to foster a culture of ownership and experimentation. Finally, he shares that if he weren’t in marketing, he would likely be building a startup of his own - underscoring his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship.
This podcast episode provides a rare inside look at how one of Europe’s most dynamic tech companies scales its marketing operations globally while staying local in spirit. Anh shares frameworks for building teams, managing complexity, adopting AI, and navigating regulation - while always staying grounded in data and user experience. Whether you’re building a startup or leading a global brand, Anh’s insights offer a practical and inspiring playbook for modern marketing leadership.
Listen to the entire episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, our website, and all other podcast platforms.
About The Partner Marketing Podcast
The podcast brings together thought leaders and professionals from across the globe. In each episode, our host, Matthias, sits down with guests to discuss the evolving world of Partner Marketing and share personal stories.
For more details, please visit www.tradedoubler.com/podcast