Gopuff launched its instant grocery delivery service in the U.K. late last year. The company operates a network of 20 dark stores. These stores have around 4,000 different products. Customers can order groceries, household essentials, alcohol, ice cream, diapers, iPhone chargers. Basically, whatever you can think of.
Gopuff is officially expanding to Europe starting with France. In addition to the Paris area, the instant grocery delivery service is now live in Marseille, Lille, and Toulouse. There are more European countries on the company’s road map, such as Spain.
Market launch and local competition
For the market launch, the company is taking advantage of its acquisition of Dija. Even before Gopuff acquired the European startup, Dija had already soft-launched its service in France. The company has raised $1 billion last year and is in the process of raising $1.5 billion.
Gopuff is also trying to partner with local brands to customize its offering to local customers. In France, it means that they’ll offer fresh baguettes from La Parisienne as well as beers from La Fédération Française de l’Apéritif. In France, Gopuff will compete with quite a few companies already in the niche, such as Flink, Gorillas, Getir, Zapp, Cajoo etc.
CEO on expansion and future
Gopuff’s co-founder and co-CEO, Yakir Gola seems confident in the company’s capability to lead the market and says that they decided to expand in Europe because the customers asked for it. He also added that the company has the best technology stack. That’s both on the consumer side and rider side. This technology stack is to operate this kind of service at scale. It also has quite a big team already, with 2,000 people working for the company in Europe. In France alone, there are 600 Gopuff employees.
If you look at a market like Philadelphia, we have a double-digit penetration of the market — double-digit percentage of the people living there are Gopuff customers. But the market is also growing by double-digit rates year on year
Yakir Gola , Gopuff’s co-founder and co-CEO
Hurdles ahead for Gopuff
There are many challenges ahead for this industry. Not only is it seeing heated competition, some local governments have been working on strict new regulations against instant delivery services.
“The approach that we have taken as Gopuff, as a market leader, is a very different approach. Considering what we’ve done in the U.S., we’ve been very proactive with local governments,” Gola said.
The CEO admitted that Gopuff is trying to profoundly transform the grocery sector. “Look, we’re disruptors,” he said, adding that Gopuff is making the world a better place. “We’re changing people’s lives for the better and we’re doing it in the right way by partnering with neighborhoods.”
