Carrefour has announced the acquisition of Dejbox, a firm that specialises in lunch deliveries for business workers in suburban and outlying areas of selected French cities.
Styled as an 'online canteen', Dejbox was founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs Adrien Verhack and Vincent Dupied, and offers a range of fresh, cooked and seasonal dishes at a set price, which are then delivered to a workplace at no extra charge.
The platform was developed to 'meet the needs of the more than 10 million French employees who work in the urban hinterland and very rarely have access to an onsite dining service', Carrefour said in a statement.
Locations
Dejbox operates in Lille, Lyon, Paris, Bordeaux, Nantes and Grenoble, as well as in towns neighbouring these major cities, and delivers more than 400,000 meals per month.
The company employs 300 chefs and delivery personnel, which it says sets it apart from other 'gig-economy' based food delivery services.
Carrefour said that it is confident that following the acquisition, Dejbox will be able to expand its French operations 'at a rapid pace', as well as move into international markets.
Dejbox is currently working on enhancing its B2B services offering, which will enable companies subsidise part of the cost of employee lunches by transferring funds to employees' Dejbox accounts.
Strategic Acquisition
“This acquisition, which reflects Carrefour’s desire to become the leader in grocery e- commerce, is a strategic one”, says Amélie Oudéa-Castera, executive director for customers, services and digital transformation at Carrefour.
“It will give us the opportunity to expand our customer base to include employees of medium-sized, small and micro businesses and also invest in the fast-growing food delivery segment with an offering rooted in quality and affordability.”
Echoing her comments, Dejbox co-founders Adrien Verhack and Vincent Dupied said that they believed Carrefour was the "best possible partner for helping us achieve our ambitious growth plans for Dejbox".
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
