How Chicago’s Newest on-Demand App Delivers Munchies in 30 Minutes or Less

Heading to the convenience store usually isn’t something anybody is looking forward to, let alone in the middle of the night during a deep Netflix binge of obscure British comedies. But sometimes you just need a pint of ice cream or a box of cookies. While existing options like Instacart will go to the store for you, it can come at a significant price and isn’t exactly quick.

Chicagoans have a new delivery option with g oPuff, which is now offering 30-minute deliveries of convenience store goods at a flat $1.95 delivery fee.

The key to goPuff’s model is its local warehouses. By stocking 3,000 popular items in compact, centrally located warehouses, most orders are on the road within three minutes. Drivers don’t have to head to a store, find the right item and wait for a cashier to check them out, meaning the average delivery is completed in just 22 minutes.

GoPuff’s warehouses don’t skimp on selection, either, with more than three times the selection of the average corner store, according to the company. In the month and a half since goPuff’s Chicago launch, the most popular items delivered include Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, bottled water, Nerds Rope, and condoms.

The company, which is based in Philadelphia, is now delivering in 11 markets, but Chicago has seen the fastest growth so far.

GoPuff was founded by Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola, who saw first hand a need in the market for fast, cheap delivery after many late college nights while living in a house with six people. Gola was the only one with a car.

"Everyone kept asking for favors: 'Can you drive me to 7-Eleven, can you drive me to grab some pizza, to pick up some beer?'" Gola said.

But even with a car, the trip was a hassle. "We wanted to make it affordable to bring the convenience store to your door instead," he said.

Bringing down those costs isn't as simple as setting up some warehouses. From the start, the duo had to work to make sure goPuff delivered on its low-cost, quick-delivery promises.

“The whole core of being an entrepreneur, and being a good entrepreneur, is working harder than everybody else,” Ilishayev said. “It really was just me and Yakir working 16 hours a day, every day, for three or four months before we even hired anybody.”

That hard work continues today, but now includes new challenges like regulatory hurdles in new markets and navigating supply chain hiccups to ensure a full stock of products.

Originally, the service focused on the munchies market, even delivering hookah products alongside whatever snack you were craving. But goPuff quickly expanded its offerings with organic snacks, household cleaning products, and staples like eggs and milk. Even still, it has a few standout options, including a wide selection of alcohol and some electronic essentials like phone chargers or speakers so a late night tech mishap doesn’t harsh your buzz.

In the future, goPuff hopes to launch smaller warehouses stocked with the most popular products — about 70 percent of the current warehouse selection — allowing the team to cut down delivery times of those items to just 15 minutes.

GoPuff has about 70 full-time employees nationwide, with dozens of contract employees delivering goods. In May of this year, the company raised $8.25 million in a Series A round of funding.

Image via goPuff

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