Big hitters back Buymie as it eyes UK expansion
Irish grocery delivery startup Buymie has announced a €5.8 million funding round, taking its total capital raised this year to over €8 million.
The round was led by new investor, Wheatsheaf Group, the food and agriculture investment arm of the Grosvenor Estate.
Follow on investments were also committed from existing backers including Act Venture Capital, Sure Valley Ventures, Haatch Ventures, and HBAN. Keith Weed, former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Unilever, and Scott Weavers Wright, former Managing Director at Morrisons.com, were also involved.
Buymie’s retail partners include Lidl and The Co-op. It recently launched in the UK, marking the venture’s first expansion outside Ireland. The funds recently raised will enable it to continue market expansion both in Ireland and in the UK, with 15 other UK cities currently being considered.
Buymie will also use the cash to focus on reducing the environmental impact of grocery shopping. Initiatives include limiting the use of secondary plastic packaging, reducing private car journeys, as well as designing incentive programmes to help facilitate a switch to electric vehicles.
Katrin Burt, Managing Director at Wheatsheaf, says: “We are excited by the potential for Buymie to lead in same-day grocery delivery across the UK and Ireland with its nimble and scalable approach.”
“The investment aligns with our goals to empower consumers with high quality and sustainable food choices and builds on our growing portfolio throughout the food and agriculture supply chain.”
Weavers Wright adds: “Consumers want same day grocery delivery, and traditional chilled van based grocery e-commerce solutions aren’t able to do same-day; that is why I backed Buymie which has unique capabilities in grocery e-commerce.”