Alpakas

Building a zero waste venture as a sustainable alternative to instant commerce

EUROS FUNDING

800

ZERO-WASTE PRODUCTS

+90

BERLIN POSTCODES

The ask

Build a sustainable same-day online grocery delivery alternative.

The Solution

Create a zero waste online grocery delivery service that offers same day delivery of unpackaged goods by e-bike.

Background

Fast commerce and delivery services are more popular than ever, offering convenience and flexibility to users. However, these businesses often have negative externalities on the planet by not prioritizing sustainability.

Meanwhile, unpackaged refill grocery stores have loyal customer bases with brick-and-mortar stores, but this has not translated to a delivery model.

The Challenge

We had to drastically rethink the current model for online grocery delivery, harnessing proven ecommerce and logistics expertise and turning that into a working sustainable business that takes the unpackaged, refill grocery concept from physical stores to convenient delivery service.

An online store that delivers without packaging, delivers same-day, and has a commitment to sustainability requires complex systems. Not only did we have to find new methods, but we had to do it fast. Speed was of the essence so we helped assemble a great team to get things off the ground fast.

HOW TO BUILD THE MOST SUSTAINABLE ONLINE STORE

Process

What we did

Research & Validation

First, we validated the concept and the business model. As the concept combined the speed and convenience of same-day grocery delivery with the logistical challenges of refillable goods, it was vital to ensure the feasibility of the product and process, and required new thinking when it came to both processes and logistics.

Set-Up & Scaling the Venture

Having confirmed the viability of the business model, we helped to establish business frameworks and define the best tech set-up to bring the concept to life. Alpakas’ groundbreaking business model required complex technical solutions, and finding the right technical architecture was vital to future success.

Founding Team & Staffing

In parallel, we began searching for co-founders: identifying what was required for success and finding the best people to fill these roles and complement the team. In order to get things started as quickly as possible, we also managed staffing, sourcing profiles that fitted the venture’s requirements, as well as taking control of onboarding new team onto the project, saving the founders valuable time.

achiEvements

Value delivered

When someone comes to us with a great idea, we want to help them make it a reality.

We took alpakas from an initial concept to a funded and staffed business, and helped them to deliver functions far beyond what many early startups can offer. In fact, we believed in the product so much that we invested in the business, too.

The service is live in more than 90 Berlin postcodes, with thousands of orders already fulfilled and over 10000 km travelled by the alpakas e-bikes. After an amazing start, alpakas is ready for yet another big step, with the service launching in Munich this May. And we could not be more proud to be their partner at every step of the way.