A market undergoing transformation
Online purchases of food products experienced their highest level of growth in 2020[i]. In fact, the forecasts for online food purchases were fast-forwarded by almost 3 years due to the health crisis. New trends are emerging, such as the demand for organic products, consumer expectations as regards fair trade, meal-box deliveries, etc.
A start-up at the service of local retailers
Founded in 2016, epicery is a marketplace that puts "foodtech" at the service of local retailers. Based on the principle of a "digitised high street", providing a showcase for all the high-quality products offered by local shops and acting as a symbol of neighbourhood life, food retailers (butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, cheese retailers, etc.) and florists can quickly set up their stall on epicery and provide their products through home delivery or "click & collect". epicery is already well established in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille and Toulouse and has more than 1,000 partner retailers.
Further evidence of GeoPost/DPDgroup's development in the food sector
DPDgroup has extensive experience in the food sector – with its brands SEUR Frío in Spain since 2002, Chronofresh in France since 2015, DPD Fresh launched in Belgium in 2020, as well as the food-shopping delivery services operated by Stuart in France, Spain and the United Kingdom – and aims to further develop its expertise in France and Europe. With the acquisition of epicery, DPDgroup will broaden its range of solutions, particularly in the increasingly popular direct-to-consumer sector. Monoprix, the long-standing shareholder, will retain a share of the capital to support the new entity by contributing its experience as the omni-channel leader in city centres. Edouard Morhange, the co-founder of the company, will remain Managing Director and Olivier Storch, the Executive Vice President of GeoPost/DPDgroup, will become Chairman of the new subsidiary.
"I am delighted that GeoPost/DPDgroup has become a shareholder. This will enable us to scale up our operations while retaining our positioning built on quality, proximity and responsibility. City-centre shopping needs to embrace digitisation and epicery intends to play a major role in this respect."
explains Edouard Morhange, co-founder and Managing Director of epicery.
"This operation is totally in line with the "Together & Beyond" strategy that we put in place last March, aimed at developing our delivery services to private individuals and strengthening our expertise in the food market. We are pleased to be able to give epicery the means to expand its coverage to several dozen other cities in the very near future, and thereby jointly promote the values of proximity, service and responsibility."
says Olivier Storch, Executive Vice-President of GeoPost/DPDgroup.
About epicery
Since 2016, epicery has provided a marketplace that puts foodtech at the service of local retailers, thereby enabling them to digitise their business and promoting "a vibrant local retail trade". Based on the unique concept of a "digitised high street", providing a showcase for all the high-quality products offered by local shops and acting as a symbol of neighbourhood life, food retailers (butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, cheese retailers, etc.) as well as florists and restaurant owners can set up their online store in less than 48 hours, so as to provide their products through home delivery or Click&collect. Already established in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille and Toulouse, with a community of nearly 1,000 partner retailers, epicery is developing its nationwide presence in France. https://www.Epicery.com
About GeoPost/DPDgroup
DPDgroup is the largest parcel delivery network in Europe.
We combine innovative technology and local knowledge to provide a flexible and user-friendly service for both shippers and shoppers. With our industry-leading Predict service, we are setting a new standard for convenience by keeping our customers in close contact with their delivery.
With 97,000 delivery experts and a network of more than 58,000 Pickup points, we deliver 7.5 million parcels each day – 1.9 billion parcels per year – through the brands DPD, Chronopost, SEUR and BRT.
At DPDgroup we aim to be a reference in sustainable delivery and become a leading enabler of e-commerce acceleration.
DPDgroup is the parcel delivery network of GeoPost, which posted sales of €11 billion in 2020. GeoPost is a holding company owned by Le Groupe La Poste.
[i] 95% growth (source: contentsquare.com)
