With the rapid development of technology, doorstep food delivery service has made its way to one of the most profitable sectors that have attracted the attention of investors. From delivering meal kits to on-demand groceries or ready-made orders from the nearest restaurants, it acts as a time saver for most of the population.
It has made life easier for people who no longer need to be tense about their next day’s grocery shopping. Especially the looming paranoia of the global health crisis has made the investors ambitious in funding these food items delivery startups.
But in the case of groceries, customers often step back for high price margins incompatible with the usual grocery face. Blowing such misconceptions, Rohlik, a Czech Startup, has developed an online grocery delivery system that combines the usual price of groceries available in the market or acts in collaboration with established businesses like Marks & Spencer. The company has sourced its items from small local grocers and has bagged $230 million.
The startup plans to use the amount in its expansion across Europe’s metropolitan cities targeting the main three markets, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria, and also enter Germany, Romania, Poland and several other countries in the future.
With the market exceeding in startups that offer online grocery delivery, the unique ticket of Rohlik is to target delivery within a short span of fifteen minutes. This is done with the collaboration of local butchers, fruit and vegetable sellers, fishmongers and many more.
Another attraction of Rohlik is its use of logistics technology clubbed with a detailed and thorough understanding and study of the market, aspiring to build a successful online delivery platform.
By not using huge out-of-town centers, it has remained close to the buyers with its choice of centers near its customer settlements. This makes them unique and doesn’t offer a substitute for existing services in vogue.
The company stocks 17 thousand items in its online store and witnessed a 101% rise in revenue in FY 2020, rising to €300 million with 7,50,000 happy customers. During the pandemic, their move from large parts of the population to shelter-in-place orders that focus on socially distancing to keep a check on the spread of COVID-19 has made the customers trust its platform and place their orders related to grocery needs from the respective platform.
In various parts of Europe, grocery has remained one of the most used online markets and has acquired huge turnovers. This has made investors overtly interested in funding the startups with a happing plan to gain immense success in the near future. Therefore startups are springing up in various parts depending on the target audience, market preferences, and food choice. While some of these use “dark” convenience stores in cities such as Gorillas, others use large fulfillment centers, for example, Ocado. Most of them also construct their supply chains with big or small retailers, while some build the chain from the ground up. Although there the customers are looking for smarter developments in this oeuvre.