Adios, Instant Delivery
British delivery bots, July 4th data, Rebel Foods MEA expansion
With all eyes on America’s big holiday tomorrow, we thought we’d kick off the week with a more international focus: instant-delivery player Getir is backing out of Spain, while Cartken is making moves in the U.K., and Rebel Foods is heading to Saudi Arabia. And don’t miss some mouth-watering charts!
Today:
Getir Gets Out of Spain
Delivery Bots Roll Out Across the UK
Chart Time | Most Popular Delivery Items for July 4th
Rebel Foods Heads to Saudi Arabia
QUICK COMMERCE | Getir Pulls Out of Spain
Turkey’s Getir is pulling out of Spain, laying off 1,560 instant delivery workers in the process. The quick commerce startup had a strong presence in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville and Malaga; affected positions include couriers, dark store workers, and back office. This comes less than one month after the the “groceries in minutes” company pulled out of France, citing the country’s clamp down on dark store operations.
The Big Picture: After exploding in popularity during the pandemic, companies promising to deliver the world in 15 minutes or less have had a tough year, buffeted by rising regulations and a chilly fundraising environment. At first the industry responded by largely retreating from America (other than Gopuff) and consolidating (Getir bought Gorillas, but appears to have failed in its attempt to buy Germany’s Flink.) While rivals like JOKR are focused on low-labor cost LatAm, the path forward for Getir now looks murky, despite having just closed nearly $500 million in a deal that cuts its valuation in half.
AUTONOMY | Cartken Goes Big in Britain
Autonomous delivery robot startup Cartken is making big moves across the U.K., as it’s in the process of expanding to 10 cities across the country. This follows a successful pilot in tech-friendly Milton Keynes, where the American company delivered over 2,500 parcels for courier DPD.
The Big Picture: While many delivery bot companies have focused solely on moving meals or groceries, Cartken has taken a diversified approach to what kinds of goods it transports. It looks like the plan is paying off, as the company recently announced it was making over 25,000 deliveries per month, achieving profitability on a per-delivery basis. Pretty impressive for a hardware company at this scale!
CHART TIME | Hot Dogs & Hangovers
Here’s two charts that gives you a sense of how Americans will be celebrating tomorrow’s holiday: with indulgence! It’s not shocking that poor-planning patriots will be firing up Instacart to get last minute meats delivered, but color us surprised that hamburgers give hot dogs such a close run for their money. In terms of washing it down, recent data from DoorDash suggests that beer has been humbled, with flavored malt beverages now wearing the boozy crown. Can you picture George Washington crushing a White Claw?
Ghost Kitchens | Rebel Foods Heads to the Middle East
It looks like Saudi Arabia has armed the rebels… Rebel Foods that is. The India-based virtual restaurant / ghost kitchen operator is entering Riyadh, as the start of its push to grow its Saudi food delivery business to $100 million over the next three years. The initial brands along for the ride include Oven Story Pizzas, Fricken’ Fried Chicken , The 500 Calorie Project, and The Messy Burger (we’re assuming these are chicken or mutton burgers…)
The Big Picture: Based out of Mumbai, Rebel Foods hasn’t attracted as much attention as its American contemporaries, but the company has raised over $500 million from VCs as lustrous as Sequoia. With a focus on South and West Asia, they’ve honed in on a market with much more upside for an operator that can bring tech, standardization, and marketing muscle to a fractured and chaotic food scene.
A Few Good Links
New data suggests consumers are more receptive to automated drive-thrus than delivery drones. 7-Eleven tests Neubility delivery bots in South Korea (guess that Serve deal was market-specific…) Only 24% of restaurant delivery customers get alcohol add ons. Teamsters and UPS make progress on negotiations. SoCal hotel strike includes foodservice workers.
This newsletter will be off tomorrow, as we’ll be personally testing whether or not you can get fireworks delivered…