How Gopuff Plans to Continue Leading in the Instant Needs Space

The company is adding 40 to 50 micro-fulfillment centers every month.
9/23/2021
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PHILADELPHIA — Eight years after launching, Gopuff continues to grow not only in geographical reach but in product reach as well.

Speaking at the Groceryshop conference in Las Vegas, Gopuff co-founder and co-CEO Yakir Gola said the Philadelphia-based company is adding 40 or 50 micro-fulfillment centers every month and entering new categories, according to CNBC.

When the COVID-19 pandemic led consumers to stay home, Gopuff added household items to its list of offerings. It also began delivering hot food in select areas.

In addition, it even began delivering at-home COVID-19 tests, as Convenience Store News previously reported in December.

As students at Drexel University, Gola and co-founder Rafael Ilishayev launched the startup as a wat to get late-night snacks without running to a convenience store. The company began delivering those goods, along with hookahs and tobacco products, CNBC noted.

While there are other companies entering the "instant needs" space — a term Gopuff coined — Gola said he believes Gopuff "is in a category of one."

The company operates in more than 1,000 cities and carries more than 4,000 items, and its network includes brick-and-mortar stores, which double as warehouses. Its valuation reached $15 billion in July. 

In late 2020, it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BevMo! for $350 million, and this past June it acquired Liquor Barn, a chain of beer, wine and liquor stores based in Louisville, Ky., from private equity firm Blue Equity.

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