London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

The Deliveroo killers: Five start-ups vying to dominate onlline food delivery

The Deliveroo killers: Five start-ups vying to dominate onlline food delivery

Getir has become the latest in a raft of fast-growing grocery delivery operators to raise bumper cash injections to fuel ambitious growth plans.

The Turkey-based company, which said it can deliver to customers in as little as 10 minutes and launched in the UK in January, secured almost £400 million in investment to take its valuation to about £5.3 billion.

German rival Flink also revealed it raised £170 million only six months after launching as it seeks to grow quickly across Europe.

Investors have been keen to pump money into the sector following a rapid surge in delivery demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, this new wave of start-ups faces pressure from established players in the takeaway market – such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats – which have grown with retail partnerships.

Meanwhile, some supermarkets have tried to cut out the middle man with their own propositions.

Here we look at the key payers in the fast-growing sector:

Key start-ups in the UK


Investors clearly believe there is potential for a new type of grocery retailer for customers, with more than 800 million dollars (£566 million) in funding for last-mile start-ups announced on Friday alone.

This comes amid a flurry of other blockbuster funding rounds, including for Gorillas, one of the fastest-growing firms in the market.

Gorillas, which is based in Berlin, was valued at more than 1 billion dollars (£707 million) in March after a major funding round but is already understood to be targeting a 6 billion dollar (£4.2 billion) valuation as it looks to secure a 1 billion dollar (£707 million) cash boost.

Alongside Getir, Gorillas launched in the UK earlier this year with a major marketing push in London.

Meanwhile, a number of UK-based start-ups have also sprung up in the sector.

Weezy – which said it can deliver groceries within 15 minutes – raised £15 million in January in a round led by New York-based venture capital fund Left Lane.

In January, the company said it would use the cash to open more fulfilment centres in London and was targeting some 40 more UK sites this year.

Elsewhere, fellow UK firm Fancy – which operates in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle – was snapped up by the US’s GoPuff.

Getir has said it will also use its latest funding boost – which has valued it more highly than Deliveroo – to expand into more UK cities.

Established delivery firms


Since the onset of the pandemic, takeaway specialists Deliveroo and Uber Eats have rapidly expanded their grocery delivery operations to cope with soaring demand for everyday staples.

The firms have linked up with supermarket chains and local convenience stores to offer rapid delivery services with their couriers.

Sainsbury’s has expanded its trials with both operators, expanding Deliveroo services to 100 of its stores and its Uber Eats scheme to 78 stores.

Supermarkets typically pick items from stores to be delivered by couriers, unlike the independent start-ups, which use their own fulfilment centres and product selections.

Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose and the Co-op have also expanded offers through Deliveroo to reach customers with rapid delivery times.

Meanwhile, Asda is another major supermarket using rapid delivery services, having linked up with Uber Eats last June.

Both courier firms also work extensively with convenience stores, including chains such as McColls, and independent retailers.

Supermarkets


The biggest grocers have utilised the strong networks of the likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats but some have also looked to develop their own propositions.

Last month, Tesco, which had previously not offered any rapid delivery service, launched its own Whoosh trial in Wolverhampton.

It said the one-hour service will be trialled at one store with the potential for expansion.

Sainsbury’s also operates its own service, called Chop Chop, which it expanded to 50 stores in 20 cities last year.

Meanwhile, last month, Waitrose announced plans to shut down its own Rapid delivery service, which it launched in 2018, saying it would instead focus on expanding its partnership with Deliveroo.

Morrisons offers same-day rapid deliveries as part of its tie-up with Amazon, which also offers customers its own Amazon Fresh products.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×