Instant” grocery delivery has been a big theme among food startups in Europe, where customers can order from a limited assortment of items and get their purchases packed from “dark stores” and delivered in sometimes as little as 10 or 15 minutes.
But today a startup that’s built a much bigger proposition — a virtual supermarket of 17,000+ items that it delivers in as little as two hours — is announcing some funding as it expands in Europe.
Rohlik Group, the Czech online grocery delivery company, has raised €100 million in a Series C round that values it at €1 billion.
With the new capital in tow, the company plans to enter the German market with a launch in Munich followed by a deeper push into Western Europe.
The Series C round comes just a few months after Rohlik raised €190 million. This new round was led by Index Ventures with several other previous investors taking part.
“Germany is Europe’s largest market, it’s the neighboring market to markets where we are already present. It’s a market that’s fairly easy to understand,” chief executive Tomáš Čupr said.
Rohlik’s revenues in 2020 passed €300 million, with over 750,000 customers; it’s not yet disclosing any figures for 2021 that would speak to how well its expansion is going, but the funding seems to point to traction. Currently, the average shop is in the range of €60 to €100 per order, with customers typically shopping about once per week, Čupr said.
Rohlik is profitable in the Czech and Hungarian markets, Čupr said, though overall company profitability will be set back by the new investments in Western Europe.
“It’s very temporary and we should be able to turn a city within 18 months to a profit, that’s what we do.”
