The burgeoning “dark” grocery store space heats up with Dija's 10 minute delivery

The race for speedy groceries has stepped up a gear with Dija, a new service being launched this morning, promising ten-minute deliveries in London.

Backing the company is Blossom Capital, Creandum and Index Ventures, with Dija seemingly able to raise pre-launch. In fact, there are already rumours swirling around London’s venture capital community that the upstart may be out raising again already — a figure up to £100 million was mooted by one source — as the race to become the early European leader in the burgeoning “dark” grocery store space heats up.

Dija — founded by Alberto Menolascina, 36, and Yusuf Saban, 31, two former Deliveroo executives — raised $20 million in December from venture capital investors to fund an ambitious expansion in the capital.

Over the last few months, a host of European startups have launched with the promise of delivering grocery and other convenience store items within 10-15 minutes of ordering. They do this by building out their own hyper-local, delivery-only fulfilment centres — so-called “dark stores” — and recruiting their own delivery personnel. This full-stack or vertical approach and the visibility it provides is then supposed to produce enough supply chain and logistics efficiency to make the unit economics work, although that part is far from proven.

The business is entering an increasingly crowded market and will compete against Getir, a rival newcomer, as well as Amazon, Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Ocado Zoom, Waitrose Rapid and Sainsbury’s Chop Chop, all of which offer fast grocery delivery services.

London shoppers can now order groceries for delivery in 10 minutes, as new delivery service Dija launches. The service launched in South Kensington, Fulham and Hackney today. It will soon expand to Camden Town – and to a total of 20 locations by the summer.

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Super speedy grocery delivery startup Dija launches in London via @siftedeu https://t.co/CIWmfADIuM

— Bomin Kwon (@Bominkkwon) March 5, 2021

The app-based business promises customers that if they don’t get their delivery within 10 minutes, they can get free delivery for three months. The service is supported by local hubs carrying a range of more than 2,000 products - sold at recommended retail prices.

Dija co-founder and chief executive Alberto Menolascina, says: “Gone are the days of fighting for online slots, damaged goods and disappointing substitutions. Dija is here to change every hassle we experience with the weekly shop. We are making this time-consuming and unsatisfactory experience simple, speedy and reliable. Dija combines brilliant execution with bespoke technology to create an exceptional experience for customers across the UK, freeing up their time and energy by delivering what consumers want, when they want it.”

Dija is founded by former Deliveroo executives Alberto Menolascina and Yusuf Saban and backed by $20m in seed investment from Blossom Capital, Creandum and Index Ventures. Dija trialled the service in South Kensington and Fulham and says that up 40% of orders each day are placed by returning customers, and that orders have grown by 300% since launch. By the summer it says more than 3m Londoners will be able to buy using Dija.

The launch comes at a time when grocers have transformed their online deliveries to cater for shoppers that have moved their spending online during Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

Dija cites research suggesting the online grocery delivery market will be worth $117m by 2023.

Waitrose, which is also expanding its online grocery delivery capacity this week, has carried out research suggesting that 60% saying that changes to their shopping habits, made during Covid-19, will stick.

Dija raised $20 million at the end of December – which it says is one of Europe’s largest ever fundraises at seed stage - from Blossom Capital, Creandum, Index Ventures. The funding allows the startup to invest in building both its team and and its operations and technological infrastructure.

Ophelia Brown, co-founder at Blossom Capital, said: “Dija has the potential to be a $100bn+ company. It puts the needs of its customers, and the expectations of an increasing digital market, at the heart of everything it does. Alberto and Yusuf’s experience is integral to their perspective on how to create a viable solution to the problems with grocery shopping and it’s one that millions of people stand to benefit from across the globe. We look forward to partnering with them on this journey.”

Menolascina was director of corporate strategy and Yusuf Saban was chief of staff to the CEO at Deliveroo, which is expected to list shortly. Menolascina also co-founded Everli, a same-day grocery delivery company in Italy, and more recently served as a senior executive at REEF Technology.