French food delivery startup Epicerie closed for business on Tuesday after the latest holiday hustle for clients and local food businesses that used the platform during its nine-year run in exchange for a 25% commission. stop.
In a message announcing the decision to customers earlier this month, Epicerie's team said it was “a result of the economic and financial challenges we have faced for several months and, despite our best efforts, This is a result that we were unable to overcome.” ”
Epicerie, which focuses on high-end groceries and local delivery, has suffered as inflation has caused customers to rethink their food spending. Even after suspending operations in some cities, sales in 2023 amounted to 2.57 million euros and EBITDA was -4.69 million euros.
But before these challenges arose, the startup reached unexpected heights when France went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company was still riding the wave in late 2021, when Geopost/DPD Group, the express parcel division of France's national postal service Groupe La Poste, acquired a majority stake in the company.
At the time, this corporate partnership made sense. Geopost also invested in last-mile delivery service Stuart, of which Epicery was a heavy user. But in recent months, La Poste has severed ties with several startups in which it had previously invested, most notably selling Stuart at a significant loss.
In a statement shared with TechCrunch, Geopost said the decision was “made based on thorough analysis.” [Epicery’s] As a result, “the short- and medium-term profitability of our subsidiaries will be severely impacted by the development of the food delivery market, the gradual return to direct consumption from local stores post-COVID-19, and intense domestic competition.” I came to the conclusion that “I have received the following.” catering department. ”
Food delivery in France in 2024 looked very different compared to Epicery's first years (launched in 2016). At the time, competitors included Take Eat Easy, which ceased operations in 2016, but Deliveroo and Uber Eats were nowhere to be seen, and QuickCommerce had not seen its rise and fall. Although Cajoo, Flink, Gopuff and Gorillas are no longer operating in France, their marketing presence has not escaped them for some time.
By comparison, Epicery's size and profile have always been modest. After winding down its national footprint, it had about 25,000 regular customers shopping at about 1,100 local stores, mainly in Paris and Lyon. While this may have made sense as an independent lifestyle business, it definitely doesn't make sense as a VC-backed business, especially if the synergy with Stuart is lost. , it makes even less sense as part of a large group where such numbers barely move.
Edouard Morange, co-founder and CEO of Epicery, was unable to comment on strategic aspects due to a confidentiality agreement. However, in a personal statement, he commented on Epicerie's legacy. “We are very proud to have brought e-commerce to local retailers over the past decade, and we are confident that they will continue to advance their digital sales.”
Morange plans to continue working in the food sector, saying he is currently working on “ambitious new models that will enable the food industry to drive digitalization in France and abroad.” As for Epicerie employees, Geopost said each employee will receive “support from the human resources team to discuss opportunities within the group and find work.”
French entrepreneur Nicolas Machard, whose food market Prudebon is also a subsidiary of Geopost, said he was confident that Epicerie employees would soon take up their new positions. He also believes that Geopost and Pourdebon remain the best fit both mission-wise and economically. Prudebon is not only a heavy user of GeoPost's food delivery service ChronoFresh, but is also on track to become profitable in 2027, and is likely to work toward achieving that milestone early.
Epicery didn't do the math well in terms of profitability, but the local stores it worked with were seeing sales of 10% and even 20%. This was a huge milestone, said Elsa Hamar, who co-founded Epicerie with Morhange and venture capitalist Marc Menasseh before leaving the business in 2019.
“What's great and what's really important to me is that that's what we committed to.” [shop owners] What initially took us a long time to achieve is now an important part of their business,” said Hamar, who is also a business coach and impact investor through the climate fund Satgana. spoke.
As an investor, Hamar knows Epicerie was operating in a complex niche, but he doesn't think it's impossible. “Logistics business is complex and difficult in terms of metrics, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.” Local businesses are getting a taste of this, and in a situation where every sale counts, a model like Epicerie's could one day become a reality. It wouldn't be all that surprising to see it make a comeback.