Longevity wasn’t enough to save nine-year-old Melbourne delivery service Your Grocer, which closed its doors on Friday, weeks after raising more than $1 million in crowdfunding.
Your Grocer CEO Morgan Ranieri, founder of the for-profit Tankyo, started his grocery business in 2013. Independent grocers, fruit suppliers, butchers and fishmongers to supply Melbourne. The business had around 60 employees and launched a crowdfunding campaign against Birchall last month.
The campaign attracted $225,000 from 60 willing supporters, falling short of its $1 million threshold for success funding, and did not proceed.
Last week, Ranieri wrote to customers “with a heavy heart” that your grocer is “closing for good” last Friday, December 16.
“As much as we tried, we could no longer continue the company, so we were forced to close the business,” he said.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment caused.
Your Grocer had a strong and loyal following around town, bringing in sales of $9.2 million in fiscal year 2022, for a total profit of $2.9 million, but posted a loss of more than $680,000 for the fiscal year.
The average customer spend was $158 per order, which is 4% more than the average weekly grocery spend for an Australian household.
The company admits that the company is not yet profitable, hoping for up to $1.5 million. YourGrocer did well during the pandemic and lockdown, making its first profit, but reinvested the funds to expand its engineering business development capabilities.
Ranieri was a minority shareholder in the business with a 16.8% stake. He was 23 when he founded Your Grocer.
Its fall follows the recent closure of Sydney grocery delivery startup Volley, which ceased operations last month, and Send, which closed in May.
Australian global food delivery business Deliveroo has entered administration after its London Stock Exchange-listed parent company cut its support for local operations. Last week, it was revealed that Deliveroo was losing about $3 million a month domestically, with revenue slipping this year due to pandemic shutdowns in 2021.
