Today online grocery delivery startup Buymie, which we recently featured in our 10 online supermarket startups zooming through 2020 list, has announced a raise of €5.8 million, bringing its total capital raised this year to over €8 million.
Founded in 2015, this Irish startup brings any grocery or household item from local stores to the user’s house, offering a same-day delivery promise. Over the last 18 months the business has expanded dramatically to meet the increasing demand for grocery home delivery, a trend which has heightened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In April 2020, Buymie raised €2.2 million and signed a deal with Lidl Ireland to roll out their service in every major Irish city, and in May this year they formed another partnership with The Co-op to facilitate its UK expansion. In particular, the partnership with Lidl has seen active online customers growing by as much as 39% month-on-month.
The recently raised funds will enable Buymie to continue rapid market expansion both in Ireland and in the UK, with 15 other UK cities currently being considered. In addition, the new funds will allow the company to focus on its mission of reducing the environmental impact of grocery shopping. Initiatives include limiting the use of secondary plastic packaging, reducing private car journeys, as well as designing incentive programmes to help facilitate a switch to electric vehicles.
This latest investment round was led by a new investor into the business, Wheatsheaf Group, the food and agriculture investment arm of the Grosvenor Estate. Follow-on investments were also committed from existing backers, including: Act Venture Capital, Sure Valley Ventures, Haatch Ventures, and HBAN. Other notable investors include Keith Weed (former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Unilever,) and Scott Weavers Wright (former Managing Director of UK supermarket Morrisons).
Devan Hughes, CEO and co-founder of Buymie added: “This funding round will help Buymie achieve our goal of becoming the leading same-day grocery delivery provider across the UK and Ireland. More and more customers are frustrated by the long waiting times offered by conventional grocery delivery services and delighted with our solution that can deliver groceries in as little as one hour. The success of our Lidl partnership has demonstrated just how much appetite there is for our service, and how important seamless delivery is to retailers’ reputations. They have been a fantastic partner for Buymie.”
Katrin Burt, Managing Director at Wheatsheaf added: “We are excited by the potential for Buymie to lead in same-day grocery delivery across the UK and Ireland with its nimble and scalable approach. The investment aligns with Wheatsheaf’s goals to empower consumers with high quality and sustainable food choices and builds on our growing portfolio throughout the food and agriculture supply chain.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com/ by contact@bcurdy.com, Khareem Sudlow
