The future of grocery shopping?
Key Takeaways
Need a bulb of garlic or a bottle of wine?
If youre in Berlin or Cologne, Germany, thenGorillas will deliverthem to you by bike in 10 minutes.
miodrag ignjatovic / Getty Images
Thats quicker than you could get to the store yourself.
Gorillas founders Kagan Sumer and Jorg Kattner did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The delivery fee is a flat 1.80, or around $2.20.
Supermarket shopping is geared towards bulk purchasing.
And you, the shopper, also buy in bulk.
In some places, people are more used to daily shopping.
Elsewhere, youre stuck with a supermarket, or an overpriced corner store with a poor selection.
Gorillas
Gorillas uses an interesting model.
First, its building out a connection of stores that are used only to supply its deliveries.
Next, delivery riders are employed directly, instead of being exploited by a gig-economy-style model.
And finally, the prices look similar to those in stores.
You pay a flat delivery fee, but you dont get gouged on price.
And thats essential if youre to consider the service as a regular alternative to supermarkets.
Convenience only goes so far, after all.
But what about existing local stores?
Will they suffer when services like Gorillas take over?
In that case, local startups like Gorillas arent really making anything worse.
COVID Convenience
The other big factor this year and next is COVID-19.
Deliveries are up in a big way.
In fact, the more you think about it, the more the direct-delivery option makes sense.
They can, in theory, enjoy a properly protected workplace.
One wonders how much of these COVID changes will stick after the virus is done.
