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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Deliv

Deliv Raises $40M for Same Day Delivery, Brings on Google as Investor

Deliv, the appropriately named same day delivery service, announced today that it has closed a $40 million Series C round that includes Google as an investor. This brings the total amount raised by Deliv to $80.4 million.

Founded in 2012, Deliv provides crowdsourced, same-day shipping services for more than 5,000 retailers including Walmart, FreshDirect and Plated.

Bulking up its war chest was a necessary play for Deliv, as the logistics and delivery sector is red hot and loaded with competition. So far this year, $3.5 billion has been invested in food and grocery delivery startups, with players like Instacart, Postmates and DoorDash all raising hundreds of millions of dollars as they try to provide last mile logistics as a service. Even mega retailers are getting in on the delivery game: Target acquired Shipt, while Amazon and Walmart both launched their own homegrown delivery services.

Not only that, but delivery is being revolutionized beyond the standard cargo van cruising down roads. Autonomous delivery vehicles are (slowly) becoming a thing, with players like Kroger and Farmstead piloting the technology for grocery delivery. On a smaller scale, companies like Starship are using li’l robots to autonomously deliver packages to your door.

Deliv is distinguishing itself from the others in at least one way: it coordinates not just the last mile, but the last feet of delivery. Last year, it partnered with Walmart and August smart locks to provide grocery delivery directly into your fridge when you weren’t at home (with permission, of course).

That type of delivery may be too personal for some, but it illustrates how companies vying for market share in this competitive space won’t be able to rely just on delivery speed. They will also need to innovate to stand out.

No End in Sight for Innovation in the World of Food Delivery

Commerce’s path, from mall-based retail foot traffic to the ‘90s bloated iteration of digital shopping leading to Amazon’s far-reaching store-to-door tentacles, may appear to have taken a circumventurous route. The exact opposite is true. From the early days of the web to today’s AI/VR-powered shop-on-voice command, the value proposition remains the same—convenience.

The major change from clunky versions of e/t/m/d-commerce (electronic, TV, mobile, digital) to a more transparent experience results from a focus on partnerships and a more realistic view of the value chain. Amazon, as an example, understands that it cannot alone drive the future of purchasing goods and services; the Seattle-based giant has amassed an array of teammates from grocery chains to CPG manufacturers to department stores with Alexa-powered kiosks. There was a time, not so long ago, when Apple, Amazon, Google, and Apple wanted to own every building block from manufacturing to consumer products. Time and a lot of failed experiments had led to more realistic aspirations in the world of commerce.

Grocery delivery is a case in point. Early 2018 points to some dramatic changes in the world of home shopping. Players in the space—big and small–are breaking the meal journey down to micro inflection points to hit consumers when they are taking actions (or inactions, as the case may be) where ordering fresh food and pantry staples are likely to take place. For example, the term “shoppable recipes” is especially buzzy as it refers to turning the passive act of reading a recipe into an actionable event. Companies such as Chicory, Fexy, Serious Eats, Amazon, and Kroeger are using technology to allow home cooks to order ingredients in real time for a given recipe while scanning the step-by-step process of making tonight’s dinner.

Another key inflection point in the meal journey is the delivery process with a focus on the delivery of groceries (and other items) to residences when no one is home to accept packages. Amazon’s 2017 announcement of its Amazon Key at-home product/service raised significant skepticism but “homeowner not present” delivery services are gaining traction in the new year. With an understanding that in successful partnerships each party does what it’s best at, lock maker August (owner by lock giant Assa Alboy) is expanding its August Access delivery service which allows delivery to homes where the owner is away. Teaming up with Deliv, a UPS-backed delivery startup, grocers (using the Deliv Fresh service) and other retailers can securely open the front door of a home to drop off a package.

“Through this unique partnership, we are bringing a bit of magic to the shopping experience,” said Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, in a statement. “Deliv provides the last mile fulfillment solution for a broad retailer network across the country while August Home supplies the technology to take the final step into the home for a totally seamless experience, start to finish.”

Other early stage opportunities in the meal journey take a series of inflection points and bundle them into a single solution. Tovala, a Kickstarter-funded manufacturer of smart ovens, tackles the chore of meal prep and the hassle of buying/ordering groceries by selling prepackaged meals that are geared to work with their appliances. A frozen meal’s barcode is scanned into the Tovala and the oven takes care of the rest.

All of these developments take us back to the value proposition of convenience as it relates to the meal journey. Consumers want to save time and have the ingredients for tonight’s dinner (or the dinner itself) magically arrive at the door (even when they are not home) but at what cost.  And who bears that cost? And how much are today’s busy millennials willing to spend? In the ultra-competitive grocery world Albertson, Kroger, Whole Foods/Amazon, Sprouts, and others may be willing to absorb the cost of home delivery just to win market share. On the other hand, if you buy a meal kit or want a hot meal delivered to your door, the cost hits your pocketbook with a premium for the convenience. For consumers engaged in the ever-changing meal journey, the cost-convenience continuum is at its earliest stage. Like the halcyon days of premium channels on cable, subscribers loaded up on Showtime, HBO, Cinemax and a few others only to be hit with the budget–blowing cable bills. In a world where the click of a mouse or a few kind words to Alexa can bring Peking Duck to your front door, or your 10th week of a meal kit service, everything is fine and dandy until your credit card bill arrives.

Yes, life sure was convenient—but at what cost?

August Home Expands In-Home Delivery Platform, Adds Deliv as Partner

Not long ago, my mom ordered a box of tea online, which a guy in a pizza delivery car tried to steal from her front porch while she was at work. Obviously, she’s not the first person to ever experience this. In her case, a neighbor happened to catch the guy in action and set the cops on his trail, recovering the package in process. Most folks, though, aren’t so lucky, and lots of them are ordering much more than a $20 box of tea.

All the same, risk of theft doesn’t deter most who order goods via same-day delivery. As we get busier and more mobile, we rely more and more on the convenience factor for anything from stereos to dental floss. And since this is as unlikely to change as mankind’s need to steal, it makes sense that that same-day, in-home delivery is rapidly becoming an option for both consumers and retailers.

News from August Home should help accelerate that option. The smart-lock maker just announced that it is opening up it’s in-home delivery platform to any retailer, and that it has formed a partnership with same-day delivery service Deliv for last mile delivery fulfillment.

It’s a pretty straightforward operation. August owners can order at a participating retailer and choose “same day” at checkout, along with their desired time window. Once the transaction is completed, they can opt to authorize “secure in-home delivery.” If no one answers the doorbell, the delivery driver can access a one-time-use passcode to unlock the door and leave the package. Users are notified via phone, so they know a delivery is occurring, even if they’re up the block folding the last of their laundry. If they have the equipment, customers can also choose to watch the delivery in real time through the August app (or view a recording of it later).

August’s move to expand its platform comes after Amazon launched Amazon Key in late 2017, which uses its own combination of smart lock and cloud camera, and helped make the concept of in-home delivery more prominent with mainstream consumers. Just last month, Amazon also purchased the maker of Blink security cameras, in a move that could bolster Key offerings.

August and Deliv partnered with Walmart this past September to test drive their new service. Not only did consumers have the option of in-home delivery, they could also get “in-fridge” delivery, where the driver enters your pad and puts any perishables in the fridge or freezer. Presumably, the same option will exist for this wider rollout of the August-Deliv service.

I’d love to say I’m weirded out by the idea of some dude walking into my house and opening my fridge, but I’m not. People open their homes to strangers all the time— cleaning services, maintenance work, and pet care, for example. And while a camera and a one-time passcode don’t guarantee complete security, they beat having your groceries swiped off the front porch by, of all things, the local food delivery guy.