PHILADELPHIA — Craving made-to-order breakfast, lunch, dinner or late-night food and drink? App-based convenience delivery service Gopuff’s new category, Gopuff Kitchen, brings made-to-order hot and fresh food to customers alongside everyday essentials.
The Philadelphia-based company’s mobile kitchen facilities are in or adjacent to its micro-fulfillment centers, and customers can order food alongside other essentials in a single order, delivered in minutes, for a flat $1.95 fee, the company said.
“Gopuff is launching a completely new category and raising the bar on how technology is making our lives more convenient,” said Daniel Folkman, Gopuff’s senior vice president of business. “Nowhere else can you order your everyday essentials while also taking care of dinner for the family or getting a quick coffee, all from one platform. This is only possible through our unique business model that features a network of hundreds of our own micro-fulfillment centers, and now, kitchens. Today’s milestone represents a new way of thinking about the instant-needs economy and will redefine consumer expectations.”
Gopuff leverages both its own recipes and ingredients from local partners to offer a mix of healthy and indulgent menu items, including hot, freshly prepared pizza, chicken tenders, salads, fresh brewed coffee and matcha, breakfast sandwiches and more for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night, the company said.
Gopuff Kitchen has already delivered hundreds of thousands of orders across more than 20 micro-fulfillment centers through its initial pilot program—including in Austin, Texas; Mesa, Ariz.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Antonio; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Tampa, Fla.; and Tempe, Ariz.—with plans to launch additional kitchens across the country by the end of this year.
By eliminating the need for customers to place multiple orders from different services, Gopuff Kitchen reduces the risk of delivery delays and food getting cold due to multiple stops, the company said.
Late last year, Gopuff acquired Bandit, the first app-only coffee shop in the United States, launching the company’s fresh-food offering and jumpstarting Gopuff Kitchen. Max Crowley and James Gallagher founded Bandit in 2019. Crowley, co-founder of Bandit, is now leading Gopuff’s business expansion efforts, including the Gopuff Kitchen vertical.
“We started Bandit with a focus on improving the customer experience, understanding that consumer preferences were rapidly shifting to mobile orders, especially for fresh everyday items such as coffee,” Crowley said. “Together with Gopuff, we are taking this mission to the next level and beyond by making it easier than ever to get everyday essentials alongside quality food and drinks all in less than 30 minutes.”
Gopuff has also made a major push into local products, having launched more than 1,100 from more than 300 partners, including local in-market supplier partners La Colombe, Au Fournil and Dizengoff in Philadelphia, Cartel Coffee in Phoenix, and Bandit in Austin. Some of those items are also featured in their kitchens.
Gopuff Kitchen consists of a proprietary all-electric fleet and maintains “clean cooking,” meaning no open flames, odors, propane gas or fryers, and no combustion in the cooking or climate control processes. Gopuff’s innovative modular design also allows the kitchens to adapt menus and equipment to the preferences of the communities it serves.
Gopuff is open 24/7 in many markets and late night in other locations.
Founded in 2013 by co-founders and co-CEOs Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola, Gopuff currently operates more than 450 sites, including more than 275 micro-fulfillment centers and more than 185 recently acquired BevMo!, Fancy and Liquor Barn locations.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.