Sydney-based grocery-delivery startup Milkrun, has raised $75 million in funding in an attempt to take on the $122 billion Australian grocery market.
Founded by Dany Milham, former co-CEO at online mattress retailer Koala, the company launched in September 2021 and already operates in 35 Sydney suburbs and promises delivery in just 10 minutes.
Milkrun has now received a total of $86 million in seed funding, after raising $11 million in June 2021, from investors including US investor Tiger Global, local funds Grok Ventures, AirTree Ventures, and Skip Capital.
The business employees 500 staff and differentiates itself from other delivery services by employing its riders on a casual, part-time, or full-time basis.
Milham, who featured on last year’s Young Rich List, told the Australian Financial Review that over Christmas he personally made about 1000 deliveries.
‘‘It was the week of the 20th of December, everyone was getting PCR tests, sales went crazy and heaps of staff tested positive or were close contacts. It was the most testing period of my life.’’
Milham said that by buying their own products, they could make money on the margin rather than the service fee, given the high frequency people purchase groceries.
Milkrun joins Voly in the online grocery-delivery scene, who late last year raised $18 million in first round seed funding.