Grocery delivery tech startup Gopuff partners with UK retail giant Morrisons for speedy deliveries

We covered Gopuff back in January when the SoftBank-backed delivery tech startup expanded into the private label business with the launch of its own line of private label products. The Pennsylvania, PA-based startup kicked off with bottled water under the “Basically” brand, followed by other household items like cleaning products, batteries, paper products, and food storage.

Now, as Gopuff heads toward its highly anticipated IPO, the company announced Friday it has inked a partnership deal with U.K.-based grocery chain Morrisons to deliver items to people’s doors in a matter of minutes. The partnership marks Gopuff’s first tie-up with a rival retailer in Europe.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Gopuff will sell products from Morrisons through its app in more than 20 cities across the U.K. Morrisons will act as the wholesaler to Gopuff, which delivers essential goods from a network of small warehouses known as dark stores. The deal will also enable Morrisons to sell its fresh food, own-brand, and branded products on Gopuff’s platform.

In a press release, Morrisons CEO David Potts said: “Gopuff is an acknowledged leader and innovator in rapid delivery and this partnership will enable us to deliver a very strong range of Morrisons fresh food and customer favorites to front doors across the UK in a matter of minutes.”

Yakir Gola, co-founder and co-CEO, Gopuff said: “Morrisons’ product offering, sustained focus on supporting local producers and suppliers, as well as their relentless commitment to the customer, made this an ideal partnership for Gopuff. As we continue to expand Gopuff’s presence and product offering across the UK, we’re proud to partner with one of the largest and most beloved brands in the market. Morrisons can now meet their loyal customers where they are, and we look forward to bringing local Gopuff customers access to more of the products they love.”

Meanwhile, Gopuff is one of the many dozen startups in the booming grocery delivery space. Getir, Gorillas, and Jokr now offering deliveries in as little as 10 minutes.

Gopuff also becomes the second startup to ink a deal with Morrisons. In September, British food delivery firm Deliveroo launched its own rapid grocery delivery service with Morrisons, called Hop.

The rapid grocery delivery market is already seeing signs of consolidation. Gopuff only recently launched in the U.K. and France following its acquisition of speedy delivery start-ups Dija and Fancy. Istanbul-based Getir, meanwhile, acquired British rival Weezy.

Founded in 2013 by two college students Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola while at Drexel University, the Pennsylvania, PA-based GoPuff owns, operates, and stocks its own micro-fulfillment centers with full-time employees, whereas other companies connect customers, drivers, and retailers on a platform. Since its inception nine years ago, Gopuff has raised more than $3.5 billion and it was last valued at $15 billion in 2021.

GoPuff delivers daily essentials and groceries in minutes across over 500 U.S. cities. The startup currently operates more than 250 micro-fulfillment centers servicing over 650 U.S. cities, in addition to the recently acquired BevMo! locations. According to Gopuff, 30% of Americans are within one mile and a half of a Gopuff fulfillment center.

Headquartered in Bradford since 1899, Morrisons is a British food retailer with around 107,000 colleagues in 497 stores serving millions of customers every week.