Gopuff Partners With Grubhub; Expands Private Label
Rapid retail delivery company Gopuff continues to explore new retail opportunities and revenue streams with this week’s announcement of a new partnership with to-go restaurant platform Grubhub and the launch of a new private label line of health and wellness products branded Goodnow.
Grubhub Partnership Expands At-Home Delivery Options
Gopuff has been eyeing an interest in moving into the fresh, ready-to-eat food space since launching Gopuff Kitchen in July 2021, which was expanded in March with the introduction of a NYC-style pizza brand called The Mean Tomato.
Tuesday’s announcement of the Philadelphia-based company’s partnership with Grubhub seems to be an extension of these goals while allowing the two companies’ to stay competitive in the rapidly changing to-go food and grocery delivery industry.
By establishing a formal partnership with one of the leading food delivery apps, Gopuff aims to leverage the respective strengths of each company’s platforms to bring in more customers.
The pilot of the partnership has started in select locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Austin and will eventually put thousands of products from more than 500 Gopuff locations on the Grubhub Marketplace.
Partnering with Grubhub introduces Gopuff into more shopping occasions, said a Gopuff representative. Customers will be able to order The Mean Tomato, via a dedicated virtual store in the Grubhub app, add a bottle of wine to enjoy with a restaurant meal they have ordered, or simply restock home essentials while waiting for a lunch delivery.
Gopuff will receive orders for grocery, alcohol, pet goods, health and wellness, household products and baby supplies via the Grubhub app and will prepare the orders in stores or micro-fulfillment centers. Then, a Gopuff delivery partner delivers the items to the customer.
“Diners now have more options when it comes to ordering fresh food, grocery items, snacks, and alcohol – all from the convenience of the Grubhub app,” said Grubhub senior VP of growth Ariella Kurshan in the press release. “These expanded offerings complement Grubhub’s vast restaurant network and keep diners engaged across the Grubhub Marketplace.”
This isn’t the first instance of delivery apps branching out into new categories. DoorDash has been rapidly expanding instant-delivery options within its app, unveiling a slew of new partnerships with grocery, club, convenience and even sport goods stores in September.
Private Label Products Streamline Shopping Experience
As consumers seek relief from inflated prices at the grocery store, Gopuff is also doubling down on its private label business. Under its new Goodnow brand, the platform will offer pain relievers, cold and flu remedies, sleep aids, allergy medications and first aid supplies as well as electrolyte drinks, antacids and certain at-home diagnostic test kits in Gopuff locations nationwide. The brand is using third-party GMP-certified facilities to manufacture its products.
“Health and wellness – an $80+ billion market in the U.S. – has been one of Gopuff’s fastest-growing categories,” said Jessica Glendenning, Gopuff’s director of private label.
The segment represents a growing segment of Gopuff’s business. The company took its first step into private label in January when it began selling grocery and retail staples like bottled water, cleaning products, snacks and paper goods under the Basically brand. The company has also collaborated with NBA basketball star Chris Paul and Netflix’s Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp offering the celebrities’ plant-based products like Good Eat’n snacks and tbh milkshakes respectively to Gopuff customers.
After the pandemic shuttered in-person dining and depressed consumers from in-store shopping, many instant delivery providers banked on consumers to continue using platforms as restrictions eased and businesses reopened to the public. However, as order volumes decreased some companies have been forced out of business or had to make cuts to stay above water. At Gopuff, hundreds of employees were let go from a variety of positions in March, ostensibly to streamline the businesses operations and attempt to bring profitability to the company.
Yet, the company remains confident that there is a profitable business in the instant commerce space and is prepared for tougher economic times ahead. In a Gopuff blog post from August, the company laid out that one key to remaining relevant and building profit is to garner larger orders from Gopuff customers while preventing “small orders which can be extremely detrimental to our economics.”
