Tech in Africa
Pick n Pay has completed a purchase agreement with Bottles, an on-demand delivery startup. The acquisition is slated for some time in November this year. Bottles was founded by Vincent Viviers (co-founder and CEO), and Enrico Ferigolli (co-founder and CEO).
The new partnership will see Pick n Pay deepen its partnership with Bottles – and strengthening its online grocery business.
Delivery of Alcoholic beverages and groceries
Bottles was launched in South Africa in 2016 as an on-demand alcohol delivery app. The app then partnered with Pick n Pay in 2018. The company had an ambitious operational model that promised delivery within 60 minutes.
Following the Covid-19 containment measures outlawing the sale of alcohol, Bottles repurposed their app to offer on-demand grocery essentials to its customers. Since it’s pivot to groceries, the app has recorded over 700,000 downloads from 350,000 registered users. The product currently offers 7,000 of its products at current store prices where they are delivered in 90 minutes.
In comments that appeared on a Bizcommunity share, Richard Brasher, Pick n Pay’s CEO pointed out a “surge in demand” when looking at South African online grocery stores. He mentioned how they have expanded their stores that offer click and collect services. The doubling in sales numbers have seen 200% increase in active customers.
