Gorillas has announced it is scrapping its 10 minute grocery delivery promise and tweaking its business model as the sector comes under increased scrutiny from regulators and competition heats up.
The Berlin-based firm is planning on removing “wrapping” from dark stores in order to encourage walk-in grocery orders.
Plans revealed to Business Insider show that Gorillas plans to offer in-store grocery pickup from 18 warehouses in New York beginning 26 February.
Initially, the startup advertised its business as a 10-minute delivery service, however now it has switched to a “within minutes” mantra in order to reduce the pressure on its fleet of bike couriers.
Now, the average delivery times New York are somewhere around 15 minutes depending on the day and time of the order, the firm told Business Insider.
“We have never favored fast delivery at their risk, which is why we opted to update our promise to offer delivery in minutes rather than in a specific amount of time, shortly after launch last year,” the source said.
The end of the 10-minute delivery marketing strategy applies to over 60 cities including Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, and Munich in Europe and New York in the US, the startup said.
READ MORE: Gorillas and Tesco go regional with Manchester expansion
The changes comes as New York City Council member Christopher Marte introduces plan to prohibit grocery apps from advertising 15-minute delivery.
The proposed bill, first reported earlier this week by the New York Post, aims to strengthen protections for delivery couriers working for ultrafast startups.
Gorillas is launching a campaign this week to inform New York customers of the opening of its bricks-and-mortar dark stores to the public.
“We are still in the very preliminary stages of introducing legislation but are looking to address the labor concerns with these companies, as well as their impact on New York’s beloved bodegas,” a spokesperson for Marte said in an email to Business Insider.
