Why the foodtech Frichti will be acquired by the German Gorillas

This segment is very recent. And already, in full explosion. In the space of just one year, a slew of start-ups born in Germany, Turkey or the United Kingdom have landed in Paris with an unprecedented promise: to deliver their shopping to the inhabitants of the capital in just 10 minutes, and at attractive prices. In the midst of a health crisis, and while purchasing power is at the heart of all concerns, the argument hit the mark. Especially since to encourage onlookers to download their app, the Gorillas, Cajoo and other Dija have rained down discounts, coupons and promotion flyers. They arrived with colossal means, backed by deep-pocketed investors, in a context of abundant liquidity. The proof? At the time of blowing out its second candle, and while it has only been present in France for 10 months, Gorillas is already worth 3 billion dollars.

The quick trade, opportunity or necessity?

Faced with this tsunami, the founders of Frichti quickly took stock. And asked themselves a question as simple as it is crucial: to jump on the Quick trade bandwagon or not. Historically, the start-up delivered healthy meals for lunchtime. Then in 2018, it began to ship groceries to homes, focusing its communication and its offer on quality, fresh, responsible products. A clever decision, which at the same time made it possible to smooth deliveries throughout the day, and therefore to lower operational costs, and to build consumer loyalty. As a result, pioneers in dark kitchens and dark stores, entrepreneurs have succeeded in building a profitable model, a sufficiently rare occurrence among foodtechs to be noted, with a turnover of around 60 million euros in 2021, according to information from Challenges.

The pair could have been content with it. But the appeal of a budding market, and no doubt also the fear of being taken aback by all these new players, finally convinced them. A few months ago, we suddenly saw posters overflowing with fruits, vegetables and other tempting dishes appear in the metro, flanked by the message “Frichti, the super super supermarket” and above all, a yellow sticker “Delivered in 15 minutes”. The decision was made. From then on, Julia Bijaoui and Quentin Vacher no longer had a choice: they needed a financial partner, and quickly. Because at the same time, the other players were sharpening their weapons: Cajoo joined forces with Carrefour, Gorillas with Casino, Gopuff bought out Dija and Fancy, La Belle Vie raised 25 million euros…

The Frichti brand retained

How did the Gorillas buyout come about? “We were not for sale”, assures Julia Bijaoui. “We had several options on the table. We chose the one that allowed us to go as far as possible in the vision we set ourselves six years ago, and do it on a European scale, in an ultra-fast way, in a market where time matters.” The discussion with Kağan Sümer was decisive. “We discovered that we were trying to do the same thing, on different scales and geographies,” explains the leader. “We shared this vision of creating the new generation supermarket with fresher, local, transparent products. And we brought complementary things: Gorillas, its presence in 9 countries, the colossal resources gathered, the extraordinary growth, the ability to grow very quickly, and we, our six years of experience, the ability to operate this model profitably, and with several categories of products, meals, shopping, recipes.” Gorillas also welcomed, in the press release, “Frichti’s expertise around the private label and ready-to-consume segments”.

For the moment, “the two brands will continue to exist”, assures Pierre Guionin, France director of Gorillas. Together, they account for 17% of express delivery in Paris, according to fresh data from FoxIntelligence. The new entity will combine the 24 sites of Gorillas in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice, and the 23 of Frichti in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence and Lille. “We want to let Frichti continue to operate, assures Pierre Guionin. For the moment, we have no plan to merge the teams, on the contrary, we want to provide them with our means.” The entrepreneur recalls that the Gorillas deliverers are salaried, without agreeing to give the number of company employees in France. At this stage, the 450 employees of Frichti are not threatened. As for Julia Bijaoui and Quentin Vacher, Gorillas is counting on their experience. But like most entrepreneurs who get bought out, it’s a safe bet that sooner or later they will regain their freedom.