Would Ahold Delhaize buy grocery delivery startup Buyk?

Ahold Delhaize should assess rapid grocery delivery startup Buyk for a possible acquisition.

That’s the view of Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.

Buyk, which promises delivery from dark store to doorstep within 15 minutes, has just soft launched in Manhattan, with ambitions to expand across the US and beyond.

The company was founded by Slava Bocharov (pictured above) and Rodion Shishkov. The pair also co-founded Samokat, Russia’s largest grocery delivery company, in 2018 before selling their stake to fund Buyk.

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“Although I believe instant grocery delivery provides legitimate value to consumers, the majority of rapid grocery delivery companies have failed to leverage technology to create a platform worth investing in,” Ladd says in a LinkedIn post.

“In other words, these companies have attracted massive amounts of investment dollars but the companies themselves are worth very little. Sort of like WeWork. Buyk may be the exception.”

According to Buyk, what separates it from the competition, is that the venture has invested in building a “multi-million-dollar software system that combines the buying experience with stock and delivery management, employing the latest programming approaches and marketing techniques.”

It adds: “Coupled with artificial intelligence, our meticulously selected product assortment provides for the streamlined shopping experience, eliminating time-consuming browsing through the irrelevant items.”

“Until the founders of Buyk allow me to assess their software platform, I can’t state with any certainty that they have truly differentiated themselves from their competitors,” Ladd comments.

“However, if Buyk has created a platform specific to rapid grocery delivery that provides capabilities not found in other platforms, it should be considered a company worth investing in.”

“Ahold Delhaize, who acquired FreshDirect, should assess Buyk and Jokr for a possible acquisition.”

“I plan on watching Buyk’s progress very closely,” he concludes.

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