The goPuff rating of the digital convenience store backed by SoftBank has doubled in five months amid a wave of pandemics in the delivery of groceries and food online.
The company announced Tuesday that it raised $ 1.25 billion at a valuation of $ 8.9 billion. This is a significant leap from GoPuff’s last round of financing in October 2020, 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 to expand across the United States and internationally. It also plans to invest in new technologies, talent and product categories, such as beauty, baby products and healthier food offerings.
Philadelphia-based GoPuff was launched in 2013 by two college students from Drexel University. The company aims to acquire traditional convenience stores by offering a range of basic household items, such as over-the-counter medications and cleaning supplies for snacks and alcohol.
The company found early success among college students, but has since expanded its consumer base to other demographics, offering products that goPuff calls “instant needs.” Average GoPuff users are in their thirties, the company said.
“We have people from all walks of life who run goPuff, whether it’s a mom who needs to deliver diapers or baby products or a pet owner who needs pet food,” he told goPuff co-founder David Faber. David Faber, of CNBC. Squawk On the Street “Tuesday morning.” We’re actually seeing the fastest year-over-year growth in these innovative new categories, rather than a kind of traditional basic 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 collect items from the company’s nearly 250 microcomplete 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 acquired for $ 350 million last November.
GoPuff is making more cash after the coronavirus pandemic pushed millions of consumers inside, prompting them to rely on online services for essential and non-essential goods. Grocery and food delivery services experienced a massive increase in activity, including GoPuff, which recorded a 400% increase in order volume year after year between the first half of 2019 and the same period of the year. ‘last year.
GoPuff is not the only company working to expand the range of products that consumers can deliver at home in an hour or the same day. Amazon’s 2-hour Fresh service, as well as DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates and Instacart, have added categories such as groceries, personal care items and household items.