TO DELIVER:
y apps taking over New York City
JOKR rider James is getting ready to deliver groceries. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Caribbean Life, OCT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 33
the help of investors including Coatue
Management, DST Global and Atlantic
Food Labs.
With warehouses dotted across
Europe, New York City has always been
“the biggest prize,” said a Gorillas
spokesperson via email.
“The grocery shopping culture here
is uniquely suited for our business
model, especially when you consider
how frequently you see lines down the
street to get into the grocery store,”
the spokesperson said. “NYC is a fastpaced
city that needed an on-demand
delivery service that could deliver what
New Yorkers need exactly when they
need them.”
The company made its first foray in
the city in May, making deliveries in
Bushwick and Downtown Brooklyn. It
has expanded rapidly in the following
five months, operating more than 11
warehouses citywide and delivering to
wide swaths of Manhattan, Long Island
City, and Williamsburg, with plans to
open more in the coming weeks —
including one in Prospect Lefferts Gardens
on Oct. 30.
“Each Gorillas warehouse is strategically
located to target a specific neighborhood,
reaching a dense population,”
said the representative. “We only place
a warehouse if we feel fully confident
that we can deliver to the specified
radius on time. That said, larger neighborhoods
have two warehouses if necessary,
and customers must physically
be within range of one at the time of
ordering.”
When setting out for expansion,
JOKR used a tool that broke down “the
whole world” by population density
and food and drink consumption, Trerotola
said, then picked out the most
attractive markets. High population
density is critical for their business
model since each hub delivers to such
a small area.
“We largely are targeting young
adults to young families, I would say
ages 23-40,” Trerotola said. “People
who, at some point, need convenience
and speed in their life. Anything from
families who are busy and don’t have
the time to cook for their children to
the young professional who is trying to
put together a recipe and doesn’t have
the time to go grocery shopping for
that last minute ingredient.”
Gorillas endeavors to tap into local
knowledge to familiarize themselves
with a city and begin community
engagement, their spokesperson said.
“This process entails thorough
research into each neighborhood we
enter, from as broad as the customer
demographic to as specific as the
busiest intersection in the neighborhood,
all for the purpose of offering an
assortment of groceries that reflect the
specific needs of a community.”
Business models
If the expansion of Fridge No More,
which started operations in Brooklyn
just a year ago, is any indication, shoppers
won’t have to wait long before they
have their pick of delivery apps.
The app, which raised more than
$15 million in funding last April, now
delivers to nearly all of Manhattan,
from 143rd Street to Thames Street, as
well as Long Island City, Astoria, and
Brooklyn neighborhoods from Greenpoint
to Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
Both apps also carry products from
much-loved local businesses. Customers
buying groceries from JOKR can
add Flatbush-based Justin’s Nut Butter
to their cart, and Gorillas offers meat
and charcuterie from Brooklyn Cured.
Neither app has a minimum purchase
threshold and JOKR doesn’t
charge a delivery fee. Gorillas’ is nominal,
at just $1.80 per order.
Trerotola said JOKR’s prices are comparable
to a traditional grocery store, if
not a little bit lower.
JOKR buys directly from the source,
Trerotola said, often in bulk and at a
discount. With fewer overhead costs
because of the smaller footprint of the
micro-warehouses versus a large grocery
store and more control over their
stock and food waste, he said, they can
pass on the money they save to their
customers.
“I think we set out, as any startup
does, with a fairly aggressive roadmap
on expansion,” he said. “It was yet to be
seen whether this was something that
took off in a city like New York where
you already have so many convenience
items.”
“To my shock, I think we’ve grown
faster than we ever expected. The
demand has outpaced what we expected,
and I think it has really shown
there is a product market fit here, and
that people do demand more convenience
in this world, especially when it
comes to grocery shopping.”
Our next story in The Race to Deliver
series will include comparison shopping
between these grocery store apps
and items sold at traditional grocery
stores and supermarkets.