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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Weezy

Weezy Raises $20M Series A for Fast Grocery Delivery

UK-based speedy grocery delivery service Weezy has raised a $20 million Series A round of funding. TechCrunch was first to report the news, writing that the round was led by New York-based Left Lane Capital, with participation from DN Capital, existing investors Heartcore Capital and angel investors. Today’s funding announcement follows a $1 million pre-Seed round raised by Weezy in August of last year.

Weezy promises grocery delivery in as little as 15 minutes, thanks to its network of smaller fulfillment centers that are nestled within neighborhoods, closer to shoppers. Orders are then delivered via a network of its delivery people riding electric scooters or bicycles.

Weezy operates in London and will use the cash to expand to more neighborhoods in that city and across the U.K. As TechCrunch notes, the presence of a U.S.-based lead investor could indicate that a hop across the pond to the states could be in the offing.

Speedy European grocery delivery appears to be a sector that’s heating up for venture capital. Last month, Germany-based Gorillas raised $44 million for its similar, smaller fulfillment center approach to grocery delivery.

Here in the U.S. we see companies such as Fabric building out small automated grocery fulfillment centers and DoorDash building out a network of dark convenience stores that are delivery only.

It’s no wonder that money is flowing into online grocery services. The pandemic pushed record amounts of people into e-grocery shopping last year. With the virus still raging across the globe and subsequent lockdowns, online grocery shopping remains sticky with consumers, who are now habituated to new purchasing behaviors.

Weezy Raises $1M for Speedy Grocery Delivery

London-based grocery delivery startup Weezy, came out of stealth today and announced it has raised a $1 million pre-seed round of funding. TechCrunch was first to report on Weezy and its news, writing that the round was led by Heartcore Capital with participation with from former execs from grocery-related companies like Tesco, Ocado and Sainsbury’s Chop Chop.

The hook with Weezy is that it promises to deliver your groceries in 15 minutes. It does this through a combination of “strategically located fulfillment centers” in different neighborhoods along with a fleet of electric scooter and bicycle couriers, according to TechCrunch.

Customers use the Weezy app to shop for groceries, which because the fulfillment centers are tucked in neighborhoods, also features goods from local bakers and butchers. Weezy then delivers the order in less than 15 minutes between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., charging £2.95 per delivery. Weezy currently serves the Fulham and Chelsea districts of London.

From the sounds of it, Weezy seems to be a speedier Farmstead, which also uses a more localized fulfillment center approach to grocery delivery here in the U.S. (though doesn’t promise 15 minute delivery). This distributed network of smaller fulfillment centers is also what robotics companies like Takeoff and Fabric are looking to build.

Not living in London, we haven’t had a chance to try out the service, but one question we’re curious about is how large a Weezy grocery order can be. If they are delivered via bike and scooter, that means a week’s worth of groceries for a family is probably out of the question. But then again, this type of quick service is probably geared more towards last minute items or nice-to-haves rather than replacing full-on shopping trips.

Weezy is certainly launching at an opportune time. The COVID pandemic has spurred record amounts of online grocery shopping as people limit trips to physical stores. With the pandemic’s waves, Weezy’s speedy delivery will certainly make it an attractive option for families still stuck at home.