Thu, 16 Sep 2021 

The Growing Grocery Landscape

On-demand grocery startups are sprouting quicker than carrots. Their main targets seem to be cities – and rightly so. Especially in central parts of a city – large supermarkets are rare. On-demand grocery services (especially with their speedy delivery times) fill this demand. 

In fact, what sets them apart is the delivery time. Most of these startups tend to sell their products at the retail average or slightly more. Therefore, using them isn’t exactly a bargain (although many have major discounts for first time users). 

Chain Reaction?

In comparison, chain supermarkets usually deliver food in 3-5 days (if you’re lucky to get a slot). This poses questions: will supermarkets meet the competition or will their delivery services attract fewer users?
On-demand grocery services do not directly oppose food delivery services but will definitely take up space in the overall ‘Foodtech’ world. To put it into context, they can be seen as the lovechild of food delivery services and meal prep services. 

Let’s Talk Money

Of course, stating groceries could be the next gold is a slight stretch. But what isn’t a stretch is the large amounts of funding many on-demand grocery startups are receiving. Below, we have a table looking at some of the biggest names in on-demand grocery at the moment, along with their funding so far.

This year in the UK alone, these startups have raised more than £68m in equity funding, from big names including crowdfunding platform Seedrs. It’s almost impossible to go out of the house or take a scroll on Instagram without seeing an ad for one of them, (Dija, Gorillas, Jiffy, Weezy, Zapp (to name a few) along with their large promos and freebies to reel you in (how can I say no to a free tote bag?!). Sifted.eu have put together a really useful cheat sheet on all the latest on-demand grocery delivery launches and expansions, watch this space!