Exclusive Interview with Gorillas, the European Unicorn of On-Demand Grocery Delivery

by Zoey Ginsberg

2 min read

Your favorite baguette delivered in 10 minutes! That’s what start-up Gorillas promises clients. The fastest company in Europe to achieve “unicorn” status with a valuation of more than $1 billion raised only months after launching into the fast delivery grocery market.

Gorillas is now present in more than 30 cities, including Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, New York, Milan, and Munich, and built up more than 100 warehouses centers. Currently, the app is available in Germany, France, Italy, the US, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK. They are working on a quick expansion within these cities and across the world! Wabel had the opportunity to interview Fabien Canu, the head of buying for Gorillas France. We learned how consumer groceries are delivered that fast, their main Stock Keeping Units (SKU), and what it takes to be a supplier for Gorillas.

What is Gorillas?

“Within the French perimeter, Gorillas is a new company. But if we look at the European approach, we have already been present for quite a while. What is Gorillas by itself? Basically, we deliver groceries, beverages, household products, and different items within 10 minutes at retail price.

Overall, we have more than 2500 SKU’s in France that we are covering regarding every area of the business, from dried food products to frozen products to chilled products and of course; fresh products, which is definitely one of the most important categories for us. As soon as you use Gorillas, there is no need for big weekly shopping trips anymore. You can order exactly what you need, which also means less food waste and of course, a shopping experience that is way more simplified.”

What Does It Take To Be a Gorillas Supplier?

“I would say that in terms of the requirements to be a Gorillas supplier, there are a few things that are the most important for us:

We want our customers to be able to purchase them 24/7. When I say availability, I'm speaking about replenishments and about having the capacity to work with us on the growth that we have. We are growing extremely fast at Gorillas and we have an extremely strong expansion plan for the entire French market, not only in Paris but across the entire French market. We need companies that are willing to engage together to grow. We have the capacity to deliver products within our logistical centers.”

How Do You Choose Your Products?

“We have two approaches: we have one range that is coming from industrial companies that you could basically find at any retailers. The importance for this is we want also to give the opportunity for our customers to find the right product and the product that they're used to. But also, and this is extremely important within our DNA, we want to develop the local business.

One thing that we are extremely proud of at Gorillas is our local partners. As an example, we are working with a local bread company called La Boulangerie L’Essentiel from Anthony Bosson. We support all of these local brands by adding a specific category on the app, which is called Parisian Favorites.”

One thing that we are extremely proud of at Gorillas is our local partners. As an example, we are working with a local bread company called La Boulangerie L’Essentiel from Anthony Bosson. We support all of these local brands by adding a specific category on the app, which is called Parisian Favorites.”

Gorillas found new innovative products at the Online Wabel Frozen Summit and are so satisfied that they plan on coming back for more!

“The Online Wabel Summit was definitely useful because we've basically signed three suppliers that are working with us now since this Summit.”

They will be joining Wabel for the Online Wine summit, the Online beers and ciders Summit, the Online Spirits Summit and the Online Chilled and Dairy Summit

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