Growth of Online Grocery Delivery

We wrote about the most resilient companies of 2020 in our PrivCo 50 report, with the top spot going to Instacart. But online grocery penetration isn’t slowing down, and the adoption will accelerate even further in the US as the pandemic continues to push consumers to buy essential products digitally. In June 2020, online grocery sales reached a record $7.2BN. If the pandemic continues, even at a reduced level, we could see the percentage of consumers purchasing groceries online reach as much as 66% by 2024. 

Aside from big-box supermarkets already picking up the pace with online ordering, startups such as Instacart have challenged traditional grocery shopping with their innovative grocery delivery platforms. Read our detailed report on Instacart and how it became the most resilient company of 2020.

• Boxed is a wholesale online grocery delivery service that is like Costco for Millenials, minus the membership fees. Its last funding raised was in 2018 led by Japanese consumer and e-commerce company Aeon. Boxed is now tapping into the connection to expand to Asia but has also been rumored to be for sale.
• Weee! is an online grocery delivery platform specializing in Asian products. If you want to try your hand at re-creating ramen at home, this is the platform to browse and shop. The California-based company raised two rounds of funding in 2020 and is steadily building up its customer base.
• Jupiter is a Blue Apron meets Instacart grocery delivery service that builds its shopping cart through meal planning recommendations and a personal shopper to buy on your behalf. This seed-stage startup has been spotlighted as a black founders startup but is also women-founded and minority-led.
• Imperfect Foods delivers groceries with a purpose, by taking products that remain unsold due to their perceived ugliness and weird sizes and selling them to its subscribers through a weekly subscription service. The company raised a Series D round of funding in January, which put it close to unicorn status. 
• GrubMarket is an online food delivery marketplace that delivers farm-fresh food to your doorstep. The California-based startup raised a $60M Series D round of funding in October 2020 and has made a number of acquisitions to improve its supply chain.