Dive Brief:
- Delivery service goPuff announced on Tuesday that it raised $1.15 billion, with the new funds more than doubling the company's valuation in five months to $8.9 billion.
- The funding will support goPuff's geographic expansion, the rollout of new product categories, hiring and investments in technology.
- GoPuff, which currently operates in 41 states and Washington, D.C., is eyeing growth outside of the U.S., but did not specify where in the announcement.
Dive Insight:
GoPuff's latest funding round will help fuel the company's rapid expansion.
Participants in the investment round include D1 Capital Partners, which is also an investor in Instacart. Fidelity Management and Research Company, Baillie Gifford and SoftBank, all of which were part of a recent round of funding for autonomous delivery company Nuro, also participated.
In October, goPuff unveiled $380 million in new funding that put the company's valuation at $3.9 billion, along with the hiring of three new senior-level executives from Uber, Lowe's and TripAdvisor. The announcement followed goPuff tripling its footprint in 18 months.
Later that fall, goPuff bought alcoholic beverage specialty retailer BevMo for $350 million — a move that expanded goPuff's then-limited West Coast presence. In addition to the BevMo locations, goPuff services more than 650 cities in the U.S. with more than 250 micro-fulfillment centers.
Founded in 2013 and based in Philadelphia, the company has an order minimum of $10.95 and offers delivery in 30 minutes or less for a flat fee of $1.95. Orders containing alcohol include an additional $2 fee. Its membership service, called goPuff Fam, costs $5.95 per month and waives the delivery fee on all orders.
GoPuff has continually grown its product categories and now offers cleaning and home products; over-the-counter medications; baby and pet products; food and drinks; and in some areas, alcohol. In January, goPuff launched a better-for-you category following an expansion of its baby category and introduction of beauty products. The company has also recently debuted Curated Mystery Boxes with a variety of themes, including jerky, baking decorations and snacks, and added more than 500 local products to its digital storefront.
To help brands better connect directly with shoppers, the company created a media platform called goPuff Marketing Solutions to allow brands to run media campaigns.
As goPuff aims to reign the instant delivery space, it faces competition from convenience retailers, like 7-Eleven, that are increasing their same-day delivery and from Dashmart, which DoorDash rolled out last summer to offer delivery from dark stores.
