Quick commerce startup Gorillas “needs a reality check”

Rapid grocery delivery firm, Gorillas, is living in a reality bubble.

So says Viv Craske, Founder of Geeky Foody, a consultancy working with FoodTech and retail tech startups at seed, Series A and B stages.

Craske made the comment as Gorillas launched an ad campaign, #WhateverLondonWants, “celebrating the weird and wonderful data surrounding our grocery orders”.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “From the the visionary/hyperbolic statements of the CEO, to this new advert. They are living in their own hype right now.”

“This advert is targeting too niche a group of people based on a false belief about the sector. It's a waste of talent, resources and money.”

He added: “The reality bubble that created this advert goes like this: Young people want everything on demand and fast; If we market to young people in a fun/wacky/cheeky tone of voice, we will stand out from the competition; Advertising agencies will not challenge this view as this is also what London ad agencies want to believe.”

The actual reality, according to Craske, is that rapid delivery grocery was particularly useful during the Covid-19 pandemic as an alternative to supermarkets and online pure players struggling with demand.

Craske wrote: “The biggest shift to online grocery shopping is when you become a parent and shopping in store becomes hard work and you don't have the time. RGD players are missing this and obsessing over young audiences instead (this advert says this so clearly).”

He continued: “No one knows if speed and on-demand groceries is what most people want as those services have been artificially driven by heavy couponing and discounting and a huge amount of print advertising. I suspect that most people actually want convenience, not ultra-speed.”

The market the aforementioned advert targets is so small compared with the potential audience for a service like Gorillas, the advertising creative and ad spend is failing to maximise the opportunity available.

Craske concluded: “Given Gorillas' valuation, it needs to target all people who buy groceries or affluent urban dwellers who buy groceries. This ad doesn't do that well.”

Gorillas did not respond to our request for comment.

Rapid deliveryStaff WriterGorillas, Viv Craske, Geeky Foody, Startups, Funding rounds, Rapid delivery, Quick commerce, London, Grocery delivery, Rapid grocery deliveryComment