Grocery delivery platform Buymie raises €5.8m in latest investment round
Funds will support rapid expansion in Ireland and the UK
Print16 June 2020
Grocery delivery company Buymie has raised €5.8 million in new investments. This brings total capital raised this year to €8 million.
Buymie’s latest investment round was led by a new investor, Wheatsheaf Group, the food and agriculture investment arm of the Grosvenor Estate. Follow-on investments were 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 Morrisons.com.
“This funding round will help Buymie achieve our goal of becoming the leading same-day grocery delivery provider across the UK and Ireland,” said Devan Hughes, CEO and co-founder of Buymie.
“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 to Buymie.”
In May, Buymie launched in the UK, marking the start-up’s first expansion outside Ireland. The service is initially available in the Bristol metropolitan area in partnership with The Co-op and other UK retailers. The company alleges that the funds raised will enable Buymie to continue rapid market expansion both in Ireland and in the UK, with 15 other UK cities currently being considered.
Additionally, the company claims the funding will allow it to help reduce the environmental impact of grocery shopping. It said its initiatives include limiting the use of secondary plastic packaging, reducing private car journeys, and designing incentive programmes to help facilitate a switch to electric vehicles.
Buymie is the leading player in Ireland’s rapidly growing same-day grocery delivery market. Over the last 18 months the business has expanded to meet the increasing demand for grocery home delivery, a trend which has accelerated dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Working with retail partners including Lidl and The Co-op, Buymie provides a same day ‘concierge’ delivery service to its customers. Users are connected to one Buymie’s trained personal grocery shoppers. These shoppers, which are classified as independent contractors by the company, complete orders on behalf of users.
Buymie recently announced the launch of its new membership offering Buymie Plus, which provides users unlimited free deliveries on all orders of €40 and above, for €11.99 per month or €99 per year. It also offers a pay as you go delivery fee model.
“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,” said Katrin Burt, managing director at Wheatsheaf. “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.”
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