The goPuff rating of the digital store supported by SoftBank has doubled in five months, amid a pandemic increase in the supply of food and food online.
The company announced on Tuesday that it had raised $ 1.15 billion at a valuation of $ 8.9 billion. This is a significant leap from GoPuff’s last round of October 2020 funding, which valued the company at $ 3.9 billion.
GoPuff said in a statement that it will use the new funds, which included an investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 1, to continue its expansion in the US and internationally. It also intends to invest in new technologies, talents and product categories, such as beauty, baby products and healthier food offerings.
Philadelphia-based GoPuff was launched in 2013 by two students at Drexel University. The company aims to take over traditional convenience stores, offering a range of essential household products, such as over-the-counter medications and cleaning products for snacks and alcohol.
The company found early success among students, but has since expanded its consumer base to other demographics, offering products that goPuff calls “instant needs.” Average GoPuff users are over 30 years old, the company said.
“We have people from all walks of life who order goPuff, whether it’s a mother who needs diapers or baby products delivered or a pet owner who needs pet food,” he said. “GoPuff co-founder Rafael Ilishayev told CNBC’s David Faber in an interview on Squawk On the Street” on Tuesday morning. of the traditional core goPuff categories we launched with. ”
The service is available to users in more than 650 U.S. cities. GoPuff says it is able to deliver goods to buyers’ doors in about 30 minutes through contracted delivery drivers who pick up items from the company’s approximately 250 micro-fulfillment centers. which are rented by the company.
Its physical footprint also includes more than 160 stores operated by the alcoholic beverage chain BevMo !, which the company purchased for $ 350 million in November last year.
GoPuff is making more money after the coronavirus pandemic pushed millions of consumers inside, propelling them to rely on online services for both essential and non-essential goods. Food and food delivery services saw a massive increase in activity, including goPuff, which saw a 400% increase in the volume of orders from year to year between the first half of 2019 and the same period last year.
GoPuff is not the only company working to expand the range of products that consumers can deliver to the door within an hour or the same day. Amazon’s 2-hour Fresh service, as well as DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates and Instacart, added categories such as food, personal care items and household items.