Rivian Vans' Expansion Plans
3PDs premiere Super Bowl ads, Starbucks fumbles, international expansions
We’re rolling into this week with something for everyone: hot new electric delivery vans, fun ad campaigns, wobbly earnings reports and some interesting international expansions. Let’s dive in.
This edition is brought to you by Curbivore 2025 — Ticket Prices Jump This Weekend!
Today:
Rivian Vans Now Available for All Orderers
Super Bowl’s Delivery Lineup
Chart Time | Starbucks Stumbles
New Markets for Familiar Networks
VEHICLES | Rivian Begins Van Sales to New Commercial Customers
EV upstart Rivian is making a renewed push into the electric van segment, as its RCV is now available to commercial operators not named Amazon. The Delivery 500 and its lengthier sibling the Delivery 700 can go up to 161 miles per charge, carry a payload of 2734 pounds and start at $83,000 before incentives. Other tech-forward features include automated bulkhead doors that slide open when the van is parked and a proximity sensor that can close the door if the operator is too far away.
The Big Picture: While you’ve seen Rivian vans on the road since 2022, they were initially only available to Amazon, which placed an order for 100,000 vans as part of a larger investment into the SoCal-based company. Since then the ecommerce giant has taken delivery of 20,000 vehicles, using them to deliver over one billion packages last year. Rivian’s broader roll-out may also be aided by the otherwise disastrous implementation of new tariffs. Yes, they’ll surely crimp the supply and pricing of some vehicle components, but Rivian’s plant in Normal, Illinois is better situated than competition like BrightDrop’s CAMI plant in Ontario, Canada or the Ram ProMaster plant in Coahuila, Mexico.
EVENTS | Last Call for Super Early Bird Curbivore Tickets
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MARKETING | 3PDs Prepare for Super Bowl Ad Madness
This weekend is the big game, which can only mean one thing: advertising! The major third party delivery platforms have all started teasing their spots, each with some different celebs lending their talents to the cause. Uber Eats has lined up the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Martha Stewart and Charlie XCX while DoorDash is leaning on comedian Nate Bargatze. Instacart is relying on a different sort of celebrity: famous food mascots like The Kool-Aid Man and Cheetos’ Chester Cheetah.
The Big Picture: After spending the last few years advertising not eats — retail, grocery — Uber is notably putting the focus back on restaurants, with a spot by Special Group LA. DoorDash’s campaign — by Wieden+Kennedy Portland — leans into memberships, promoting DashPass. TBWA\Chiat\Day\LA was in charge of Instacart’s campaign, which represents the deliverer’s first push into Super Bowl advertising. (Noticing some big west coast energy among these agencies!) Notably absent is Grubhub, which used to dole out the big bucks required for these spots back in 2015; maybe they’ll be back in the mix next year now that they’ve got Wonder backing them up?
CHART TIME | Starbucks Needs A New Jolt of Energy
Starbucks released its Q1 2025 results and the F&B-heavyweight is looking a bit tired. Revenue sagged from $9.42 billion to $9.39B, while net earnings fell a whopping 23.8% and operating income dropped 24.5%. In response, new CEO Brian Niccol is slashing the size of the menu, and looking to speed up order delivery time. Starbucks is also in the process of expanding its partnership with Uber Eats to 2,000 stores, representing 1/4 of its U.S. footprint.
EXPANSION | International 3PDs Push Into New Markets
Across the globe, ambitious third party delivery platforms are moving into new regions. South Korea-focused Coupang Eats has made its first international expansion: pushing into Japan. Deliveroo is doubling down on the UAE, as it starts a grocery service there in partnership with Choithrams. Bolt is also making supermarket moves, as it introduces Bolt Market to its Kenyan operations.
The Big Picture: Expansions are easier said than done. Coupang previously tried to expand its ecommerce business into Japan, but it pulled out after two years of losses (add that to the long list of Japan-South Korea grievances.) Glovo shows another way to tap into new markets: it’s opening a real-time operations hub in Nairobi, thanks to the skilled but low-cost local labor force.
A Few Good Links
DoorDash's Harshit Agarwal talks unified search and discovery. Grubhub partners with Avride for delivery bots, adds new pet retailers. U.S. delays tariffs on Mexico; Canada retaliates with 25% tariffs on select American goods; elimination of De Minimis Exemption could spell the end for Temu and Shein; automakers brace for huge losses; Musk’s Tesla looks for exemption on Chinese graphite tariffs. Wolt raises fees in Israel. Delhivery unveils 2-hour parcel service in India. TrueFood shows the amount of processed junk in grocery food, suggests healthier alternatives; can we bake this open data set into the 3PD apps? Uber adds support for guide dogs. DD Canada partners with Northern Super League. Philly Whole Foods unionizes. Walgreens suspends dividend. CVS looks to use app to allow customers to unlock guarded merch. Shipt debuts small biz accelerator. Three French LEV brands merge. How does the demise of ACT rule affect Love’s California rollout?
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