This Week in Food Delivery & Quick Commerce (15/10/22)

Hi all,

As always, primarily, I urge you to support the Ukraine humanitarian efforts.

Highlights:

1. Getir reportedly to acquire Gorillas

2. Meituan mulls first global push as China growth slows

3. Instacart Cuts Its Valuation for a Third Time to $13 Billion

4. Deliveroo does BNPL

5. Burger King, Popeyes, and Jack in the Box cut ties with Reef

6. US Federal gig worker proposal tanks Uber, Lyft and DoorDash stocks

If you have any questions or feedback, you can always reach me at alex.foodeli@gmail.com or on Twitter at @a_jordanov

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💬 Quote of the Week

“Marketing spending averaged €8 for every single order placed by Gorillas’ customers in the first half of the year. It burnt more than €60mn a month in May, June and July, including what it described as “one-off” restructuring costs that repeated over multiple months. In total, Gorillas’ cash burn in the 12 months to July was more than €750mn, according to its presentation to potential admirers. Many who saw the figures believed it could not survive until the end of the year without new funding or a radical reduction in losses. “I don’t think any sane person would ever buy this company,” said one. ”

Source: FT.com / YipitData

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📊 Infographic/Stats of the Week

Of the many companies to chase the rapid grocery crown, few went harder than Gorillas. Founded in Berlin early in the pandemic and led by former Bain consultant Kağan Sümer, Gorillas reached “unicorn” status — a valuation of $1bn — in less than a year, the fastest ever for a German start-up. In early 2022, as the number of its “dark stores” surpassed 200, Sümer planned to raise another $700mn. But that funding has yet to materialise and by the summer, Gorillas was cutting hundreds of staff and abandoning markets including Belgium, Spain and Italy. In May, Gorillas insisted it had “shifted our focus from hyper growth to a clear path to profitability”. Shortly afterwards, it began to search for a buyer. Figures from Gorillas shown to potential acquirers demonstrate just how costly that “hyper growth” had been. Over the past 12 months, it was, on average, losing more than €1.50 for every €1 it generated in net revenue, according to people who have seen the figures.

Source: FT.com / YipitData

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🚚 Deliveries

• Federal gig worker proposal tanks Uber, Lyft and DoorDash stocks

• Marvel, DoorDash partner to highlight multi-skilled ‘Dashers’ in comic series

• SkipTheDishes Launches Alcohol Delivery

• Seattle reaches $3.3M settlement with Uber Eats over gig worker pay violations

• Delivery Hero offers new AdTech solutions in CitrusAd tie up

• Domino's Pizza beats sales estimates as heavy discounts boost demand

• Amid Delivery Pressure, Domino’s Drives 20% Increase in Pickup

• Domino’s has sold 114 company locations in Arizona and Utah to franchisees for $41.1 million

• In UK PizzaExpress signs delivery partnership with Just Eat and Uber Eats

• Customers can order Deliveroo takeaways using buy-now-pay-later tool Klarna / Experts warn against using Klarna to pay for Deliveroo takeaways

• Relish has signed an agency exclusive delivery deal with Deliveroo

• Starship partners with Grubhub to bring sidewalk bots to colleges

• Goodfood transitions out of on-demand

• Meituan mulls first global push as China growth slows

• Meituan’s Community Group Buying Platform Shifts Into Next-Day Supermarket Delivery Service

• Gojek urges restaurants to make smaller meals cheaper as inflation bites

• JD tests new group-buying service in renewed attempt to battle Pinduoduo and Meituan

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🚀 Q-Commerce

• Getir in exclusive talks to rescue rapid delivery rival Gorillas

• Amid industry pressure, Gorillas is opening a giant distribution warehouse

• Gopuff raises delivery subscription monthly fee for the first time

• Investors shop for Ocado after talk of Kroger tie-up with Albertsons / Ocado shares jump over 10% on Kroger/Albertsons merger report

• Boots UK announces 14 store rapid delivery trial with Uber Eats

• Instacart Cuts Its Valuation for a Third Time to $13 Billion (used to be $39B in 2021)

• Instacart Settles Worker Classification Suit for $46.5 Million

• Instacart sharing when and where its workers can find peak earning opportunities

• Amsterdam wants to force dark stores to move from neighborhoods to business parks

• Yet another speed delivery store in Amsterdam ordered to close

• PepsiCo Pakistan and Pandamart collaborate to promote Q-commerce solutions

• Dunzo expects growth to touch 25%-30% this year

• Indonesian quick commerce firm Bananas is set to close its operations after launching in January

• From click to brick in minutes: How Lego is tapping into “quick commerce”

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🍳 Dark / Ghost Kitchens

• Burger King, Popeyes, and Jack in the Box cut ties with ghost kitchen Reef as the SoftBank-backed startup continues to face operational issues

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💰 Financing / Exits

• Crisp, an app-only supermarket focused on ultra-fresh food, raised €75 million

• Foodology, a Colombia-based cloud kitchen and virtual restaurant company, raised $50M (incl. from a16z)

• Co-living & smart food court firm Isthara raises $10 million to expand further into retail foodtech

• Food delivery software startup klikit raises $2 million to expand across Southeast Asia

• Terra Food Co Raises $1 Million In Seed Funding

• Foodini raises $700,000 AUD ($439,000) to match diners’ dietary needs with appropriate restaurant

• Egypt-based delivery management solution Roboost has secured a six-figure Seed round

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💻 Other

• Meet the App That Helps Gig Workers Know How Much They Really Make

• Uber scales back in Pakistan

• Uber and Lyft slide after US proposes new gig work rule

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📜 Deeper reads

• Biden’s new labor rule tests the gig economy as we know it

• Most rapid grocery apps fail to deliver for investors

• Who owns the biggest stake in Gorillas and what does a sale mean?

• Will Getir gobble up Gorillas and how rapid grocery delivery is getting gory

• Startups Avoid Valuation Cuts With ‘Up Rounds in Name Only’

• Rapid UK Expansion For Fast-Delivery Grocery Franchise Getir

• Why Gopuff and Instacart are breaking into health care

• Still feeling good: The US wellness market continues to boom

• Delivery Firms Boost Alcohol to Drive Loyalty and Increase Spend

• Domino’s effort to fortress its U.S. market is running into a common problem: Construction delays

• The next generation of ghost kitchens: 10 new startup concepts around the world

• Domino’s Pizza Pops as Food and Drink Makers Parry Inflation

• Delivery and takeaway numbers reach ‘all time high’ as customers tighten belts

• The Rise and Fall of Ocado: Middle-England’s Favorite Grocer Suffers Share Price Drop

• Real meat of Flipdish shows unicorn is fantasy

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