NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Buyk, a new real-time grocery service promising delivery in 15 minutes or faster, is launching in New York City on September 14th. Buyk will feature no minimum spend and no delivery fee, making ultrafast grocery delivery more affordable than ever, and available to everyone without a premium price. Buyk is now available in Manhattan and is planning to expand across all New York City boroughs by the end of 2021. The company plans to launch operations in 2022 in the largest metro areas across the U.S.
The new service leans on the experience of its seasoned founders, entrepreneurs Rodion Shishkov and Slava Bocharov, who previously started and ran Samokat, one of Europe’s fastest-growing ultrafast delivery services and the largest operator of dark stores among on-demand grocers outside of China with 722 in operation as of August 2021, 323 of which have opened within the last five months.
Slava Bocharov, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Buyk: “Three things are central to the Buyk business model: hyperlocality, execution and, of course, our proprietary technology. Tried and tested through years of our European operations, this technology is the magic through which the whole business operates. With this tech, we can assemble the ideal assortment for each area down to the finest detail, we can optimize picking strategies to ensure your order leaves the dark store almost as soon as you’ve put your smartphone down, and we can study the best routes to shave vital minutes off delivery to ensure your order arrives when you need it, and not a second later.”
The grocery market in the US is valued at $1tn, according to research from the Institute of Grocery Distribution. As global shifts to online, accelerated by the pandemic, become a consolidated part of 21st century living, much of this market is moving online. Through its ambitious business plan, Buyk’s target addressable market is up to 40% of this trillion-dollar industry, taking market share from small and medium sized food retailers.
To fulfill its promise of real-time retail, Buyk uses dark stores, stocked with 2,000-3,000 SKUs to deliver groceries and other essentials to customers’ doors in 15 min or faster. Dark stores are strategically located to enable maximum coverage in the quickest possible time and are fitted out with Buyk’s proprietary technology to optimize the speed of order picking and delivery. Buyk’s technology also provides its teams with detailed information on a hyperlocal level, to ensure each dark store is stocked according to the specific needs and desires of consumers in that particular area.
Rodion Shishkov, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Buyk: “Buyk is a new entrant to the US market, but one that possesses a deep experience and expertise that other players simply cannot match. From our experience building Samokat, we know how to rapidly scale our business, implement the technological solutions needed to optimize margins, and crucially, turn unit economics positive in a market where current players are witnessing significant losses.”
Buyk is committed to providing consumers with the high-quality assortment usually associated with a supermarket, with only the freshest and tastiest products available through the Buyk app. Beyond this, Buyk’s assortment will also feature local partners, so New Yorkers can access all their favorite NYC brands at the touch of a button, and the Company intends to develop a private label offering, giving consumers a more affordable, but still top-quality, option, in the not-too-distant future.
The Buyk app is now available to download, with the service currently operating across Manhattan. A swift rollout will bring this service to all of New York City before the year is out. For more information visit www.buyk.com.
About Buyk
Buyk is a real-time retail service that provides groceries and essential items to customers’ doorsteps in 15 minutes or faster – with no minimum spend and no delivery fee. The company is led by the founding team of Rodion Shishkov and Slava Bocharov, seasoned professionals in the industry who co-founded and ran Samokat, one of Europe’s leading ultrafast grocery delivery services. Their experience, coupled with Buyk’s tried and tested technological platform, provides a solid foundation for Buyk’s launch in New York, and subsequent expansion across the US market. The Company raised $46m from CM Ventures, Fort Ross, Citius and other investors in a recent funding round ahead of its launch.
